Page 32 of SEAL's Sky
“I was just mentioning it.”
“Yeah, I know.” Jen’s pocket vibrated and she pulled out her phone to see that Murph was downstairs. Saved by the text. This was not a conversation she wanted to have with her mother. She was worried enough about heading off to the woods with the SEAL. He was so much like her dad, a truly good caring man. But Kurt had broken something inside her she wasn’t sure she could fix.
While her mom went downstairs to let Murph in, she grabbed her toothbrush and the rest of her stuff from the bathroom. She didn’t have much and she sure wasn’t bringing all the too colorful makeup she’d been using as part of her disguise. She hadn’t bothered to use the hair color she’d bought yesterday. Ironic really, since she’d gone out to get the hair color and been found. The pink and blue had faded some but whenever she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror she did a double-take. She was looking forward to getting her usual color back.
Hauling her backpack over her shoulder, she met Murph in the living room. Her mom was right, he was a glorious hunk of man, from the top of his close-cropped brown hair, down to his six-pack, and his muscled thighs she bet felt like rocks. But all that proved is she wasn’t totally dead inside.
“Ready to go, Sky?”
“You don’t have to keep calling me Sky. Right?”
“I know, but I like it. It fits you.”
Jen wasn’t sure about that, but okay. “I’m ready. I’m not sure Mom is ready to let me go, though.”
“I promise, Pam, we’ll be back before you know it. I will not let anything happen to your daughter. Do you trust me?”
Her mom nodded her head and hugged Murph, then turned and hugged Jen. There were tears in her eyes. “I love you, baby girl. Please be careful and listen to Murph even if you think he’s wrong. Promise me.”
Her mom knew her so well.
“I promise. I love you, Mom. Try not to worry too much. Maybe you should go to a movie with Tony,” Jen said with a wink. It was all she could think of to try to ease her mother’s stress. It worked long enough to distract her from their leaving. If she’d totally broken down, Jen would have lost it too.
Chapter 12
The sun was low in the sky by the time they arrived at the cabin. Murph wanted to make sure they weren’t being followed and took what he called the scenic route. It was just like she remembered, and her eyes got misty. The last time she’d been there was with her dad over eighteen years ago. It didn’t feel that long and she could almost hear his voice calling for her.
“Hey, Sky? Are you ignoring me because I called you Sky and not Jen?”
It wasn’t her dad, it was Murph. “Sorry, it’s been ages since I’ve been here, and I was reminiscing.”
“I was just telling you to stay in the truck until I make sure it’s safe inside.”
“Didn’t you and Ryan put cameras up everywhere?”
“Yeah, but I still want to check it out just in case. So back in the truck and lock the doors until I come back out.”
“Yes, Sir.” He could be so bossy. But the more time she’d spend with him the more she realized there was a huge difference between bossy and controlling.
Climbing back into the truck, she did as he asked and watched for him to come out. Even with the work they’d done outside, it was still overgrown, and the cabin looked like it had seen better days. She was surprised none of the windows had been broken and the inside wasn’t trashed or infested with animals. Murph said it was really dusty when he’d opened it up but otherwise in good shape.
“Dad, were you watching over this in case I needed to come here?” It wasn’t the first time she’d wondered if he’d been watching over her, especially lately. There were little signs, like when Kurt had to accept a delivery of the chair that gave her a chance to escape. And now an abandoned cabin for almost twenty years still in usable condition?
Jen jumped when Murph knocked on the window.
“All clear, c’mon. Let’s get you settled before it gets dark.”
This time he was there to help her out of the truck. He carried in all of the supplies and her pack. Once he got everything inside, she put away all the food and then they made the beds. He’d even bought an extra blanket to throw over the couch since it was so dusty. He was glad the electricity and water had been turned on, but it would be a while for the fridge to be cold.
“Sky?”
“Yeah. Just a minute.” She’d been unpacking in her old room. It had a twin-sized bed and there’s no way she would make Murph sleep there.
A heartbeat later, he was leaning against the doorframe of her room. “I wanted to tell you I brought a SAT phone. It’s in the drawer next to the Fridge. I don’t think we’ll need it, but we are out in the middle of the woods.”
“Right. I’m not sure how good the coverage is. It wasn’t something I had to think about when I was here last.”
“I put your pack in the other bedroom, why are you in here?”
