Page 36 of SEAL's Sky
After she downed the second one, she put her glass on the table and drew her legs up on the blanket. He was aching to comfort her, but he didn’t know what to do.
“Feeling any better?”
“Yes. Thanks, I’m feeling much warmer now.”
“Whiskey will do that,” he said gently. “Can you talk about the dream?”
“I’ve been having this same one for the last week. Kurt has my mother in the kitchen of the bar with a knife at her neck. Then he slowly slices across her skin and the blood bubbles up and pours out of the wound.”
No wonder she screamed like she had. He didn’t know how he’d react.
“Now I understand why you needed the whiskey. That’s one fucked up nightmare. But that’s all it is.”
“I know it, but I feel like it’s a warning or something. Why am I having the same dream over and over?”
“Stress, fear, you’ve been through so much in less than a year, it’s all piled up and focused on the one person who caused it all. I think your mother is in the dream because you love her the most and she represents safety and home, and he’s trying to steal it all away.”
“You know, that actually makes sense. Thank you,” she said. Some of the color had returned to her face.
“Happy to help, ma’am,” Murph replied with a smile.
“You know your accent gets thicker when you’re angry or upset?”
“What accent?” He knew what she meant but he was trying to keep the conversation light, help her to relax and maybe go back to sleep.
“Right. Where are you from? Originally, I mean.”
He hated talking about his life before the Teams but if it would help her, he’d gladly cut open his chest and bleed for her.
“Arkansas, born and raised.”
“Do you ever go back to visit?”
“Nope, haven’t been back in years. No reason to.” He tried to sound relaxed but whenever he thought about his family he wanted to punch a wall.
His sperm donor had been a mean son-of-a-bitch and a violent drunk. He’d come home from work on payday totally plastered and use his mom as a punching bag. Murph tried to stop him but he wasn’t strong enough back then.
“I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk about it, we can talk about something else.”
He’d like nothing more, but maybe it needed to be told. “It’s not a pretty story. It might give you more nightmares.”
When she put her hand over his, it did him in. It was the first time she’d initiated any type of physical contact.
Chapter 13
Without thinking about it, Jen laid her hand on top of his and squeezed, offering what comfort she could. The stark pain in his eyes tugged on her heartstrings.
“We can talk about something else. I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“No, it’s okay. I haven’t thought about home in a very long time. It wasn’t a happy place. Not even close.”
“That really sucks. Even though I lost my father when I was fourteen, my parents were amazing. I forget how lucky I was.”
“It’s okay. Sky, I want to tell you, maybe I even need to tell you. It will help you understand the man I am, and I want you to like him. Because I like you a hell of a lot. It sounds lame to say like we’re in high school. I know you’ve been through hell, but I want to be part of your life. To help you heal and to see if there is a future for us as a couple.
Had she heard him right? He wanted a relationship with her? All along she’d figured he was being the hero he was trained to be. Butterflies flew circles in her stomach, and the first blush of hope bloomed in her heart. Maybe once Kurt was taken care of, she’d have a chance for happiness. He liked her. He was right, it sounded like they were in high school, but it was the perfect word. If he’d told her he was falling in love with her, she’d have run as fast as she could in the opposite direction. But like, it sounded kind of great. She could handle like. For now.
“I can’t make any promises, but I like you too. You’re a bit bossy but you’ve been so good to me.”
