Navy SEAL Rescuer by Shirlee McCoy

months and haven’t had any
problem.” She moved aside, letting Eileen have her way.
    Darius helped Eileen to her feet. “There you are.”
    “Thank you. You sure that you don’t have a problem with me
snooping around your place? Because if these old legs can hold me, that’s what
I’m planning to do once we get there.”
    “Eileen!” Catherine wanted to slap a hand over her
grandmother’s mouth, keep anything else from popping out of it, but Darius
laughed.
    “Snoop as much as you want, but don’t wear yourself out. I’m
trying to stay on Catherine’s good side, and she won’t be happy if you make
yourself sick wandering around my house.”
    “Her good side? Don’t bother. It’s not possible,” Eileen
responded.
    “That’s not true.” Not really. Catherine was cautious and
careful about her friendships, but that didn’t mean there weren’t people that
she trusted and respected. Ryder Malone, for example. His fiancée, Shelby.
They’d been responsible for her exoneration and release from prison, and she
trusted them completely even if they weren’t part of her daily life.
    “If you’re ready, ma’am, I’ll take you over to Osborne’s place
so that you can get started on that snooping.” Ashton slid an arm around
Eileen’s waist and led her away. She looked tiny and fragile next to his strong,
sturdy frame, and Catherine wanted to run after them, slide her arm around
Eileen and help escort her to Darius’s house.
    She’d been in prison for four years, and when she’d found out
she was going to be released, her one thought had been Eileen. She knew she’d be
given a nice monetary settlement, compensation for the time she’d served and the
emotional trauma she’d experienced. She’d planned to spend it fixing up Eileen’s
home, making sure her grandmother was comfortable and happy. Then, she’d planned
to leave town and never look back.
    Things hadn’t worked out that way.
    Seconds after she’d walked into Eileen’s house, she’d known
that her plans would have to change and that things weren’t going to be anything
like she’d imagined them. All her years spent working as a nurse’s aide and then
as a registered nurse had kicked in as she’d looked into Eileen’s jaundiced
eyes.
    Sick, she’d thought. Really, really sick.
    She’d been right.
    “You’re deep in thought,” Darius said.
    “She doesn’t look good,” she responded.
    “I know, and I’m sorry. My mother died of cancer. It’s
difficult to watch someone you love fade away.” He touched her shoulder,
standing beside her as Eileen and Ashton disappeared from view. That small,
tentative connection burned through Catherine until she wanted to lean into
Darius, accept more of his warmth and comfort.
    “You were a teenager. It must have been even more difficult for
you.” She moved away, because she was too tempted to do what she shouldn’t. Cold
air swept over her, but the heat of his fingers remained on her shoulder.
    “Age has nothing to do with it, Catherine. It’s all about love,
and when you love someone, saying goodbye in bits and pieces is never easy.”
    He was right. So right that Catherine’s eyes filled with the
tears she’d been refusing since that first day home, that first glimpse of what
the next weeks and months would bring.
    She shoved them away.
    “Do you think they’re done checking the inside of the house?”
She changed the subject, because she couldn’t break down. Not in front of Darius
and not alone. Eileen needed her to be strong. She needed to be strong, because collapsing into a heap of grief and fear would
accomplish nothing.
    “Looks like it. Here comes Randal.” He switched gears easily,
letting the conversation shift.
    “Catherine? I saw Eileen heading to Osborne’s place. Good
idea,” Logan said as he approached.
    “It wasn’t mine.”
    “Still a good idea,” he responded, taking off his hat and
running his hand over thick hair. They’d known each other since