She had to smile, even though she was still worried sick about Hal. This man had an infectious smile and a manner that made you feel as if everything would be all right, even when you knew it wouldn"t. And might never be again.
"Infamous is probably closer to the mark," Hal muttered as she offered the other man a small smile.
"Stop flirting with my girl and just help me get to the chopper."
"Yes, sir. Anything you say, sir."
"And stop being a smart a.s.s." Rick helped Hal lever himself out of the small car, supporting his weight easily.
"Right away, sir."
"I"ll call you tomorrow, Cas." Hal leaned down for a short goodbye as Casey leaned over the seat. His eyes held messages he couldn"t speak aloud and she nodded, letting him know his instructions were
received and understood. He straightened and talked to Rick loud enough for her to hear every word. "I want someone to see her safely home."
"Got you covered, Cap"n. That"s what Jeeves is here for." Rick nodded toward the other man who
moved silently from her car door to the pa.s.senger side.
"Good man," she heard Hal say before he leaned down a little to speak to her again. "Casey, Jeeves is
going with you to your place. He can find his own way home from there. He"s a member of my unit and a good friend. I trust him with my life, but more importantly, I trust him with yours."
"It really isn"t necessary. I can get home on my own."
"Get out of the car."
"What?" His voice had turned to steel, though he still had to be held up by Rick"s firm arm under his
shoulders.
"You heard me. Get out of the car and come here to me now."
She didn"t want to argue with him so weak, so she did as he asked. Oddly the firm tone of command did
something to her insides that made her want to follow his orders.
She moved around the car in the light misting rain to stand before him.
"Now what?"
She was caught totally off guard when he raised one hand to her cheek, pulling her close for a light kiss to
her lips. He backed off, his eyes speaking directly to hers, but she couldn"t believe what they were
saying.
"Let Jeeves drive. You"ve had a rough night. Let him take care of you in my place. This way I know you"ll be safe."
His warm, rough palm stroked her cheek and she noticed Rick watching them both closely. Moving into his caress, she capitulated.
"Okay. If you insist."
With a sigh of relief, Hal jerked his head at the man they"d called Jeeves and he moved once again to
take the driver"s seat she"d just vacated. She climbed back in the pa.s.senger seat and left the door open, not minding the light mist of rain as she watched Rick help Hal to the waiting chopper.
"My name"s Jeff Penworthy, but they call me Jeeves because I"m usually the chauffeur."
His clipped tones brought her out of her reverie as she watched Hal make his way up into the chopper and the door close behind him.
"And I guess that cute British accent has nothing to do with it?"
He looked a bit sheepish as he started her car. "Well, that might be part of it, I guess."
"So you"re part of Hal"s unit?" She shut the car door and watched after the chopper even as Jeff got them
headed toward the exit and back the way they"d come.
"Yes, ma"am."
"Do you think he"ll be all right?"
He watched her closely before answering. "Just a bit of stomach flu. A few of the guys have it. He should
be right as rain in a day or two."
She tried to smile and failed. She couldn"t let on that she suspected anything different, but she was truly worried. "I"ve just never seen him so weak before, and I knew him when we were little. I"ve seen him
sick with the flu and in the hospital right after he had his appendix taken out, and I don"t remember him ever like this."
"Well, being out in the desert does things to your const.i.tution. We were all pretty weakened by all the
months out there. It"s taken some time to readjust and we"re still in the process of doing so."
She knew she needed to let it drop. Hal had made her promise.
"Yes, that must be it. It was just a surprise, you know? I mean, Hal"s always been Mr. Invincible."
"Hmm, now that"s a new nickname I think he"d get a kick out of," the man mused with a smile as they
headed toward the expressway. He didn"t seem to need any directions from her, but navigated the back
roads as if he were a native.
"So how does a Brit become a Green Beret?" She struggled for some kind of conversation to fill the miles.
"I"m only half British, actually. I was born in Florida. My dad was a Green Beret in Viet Nam and when my folks split, my mom took me to live in Surrey with her family." He took a curve almost too fast on the wet roadway, but his confident control of the vehicle made her feel somehow relaxed. "I visited Dad a few times a year until I finished school, then joined the Army after college."
"How long have you been part of Hal"s unit?"
"Oh, I"ve known him about five years or so. Been part of the unit for just over a year now. It was quite a coup when I made it onto the team. Our unit is elite, even among spec ops."
"Why is that?" She tried not to let on just how interested she was in his response. She kept her gaze fixed
out the window at the stormy night, letting him talk if he would in the cozy confines of her small car.
He shrugged. "We"re all specialists with varied backgrounds. Hal and I both have degrees in ancient
history, though we differ a bit in culture and time periods. I myself specialized in ancient Celtic peoples."
"And Hal was into the Middle East and Biblical history. All that cradle of civilization stuff. I remember it from when he was in college and I was finishing high school. He helped me with a school project once. I got an A." Her mind was spinning. Why would the Army Special Forces be at all interested in ancient history?
"That"s our Captain. Always the overachiever." Jeff laughed as he moved into the left lane, speeding along on the Long Island Expressway as if he did it everyday. For all she knew, he did. He rested one arm on the armrest as he easily controlled the car on the wet pavement. "A couple of the other guys have similar specialties. We have three archeologists, two geologists, a medical doctor-whom you met tonight-and a couple of guys who specialize in ancient languages."
"Sounds more like a research team than a fighting unit." She tried to keep her observations light, but her mind was busy. Why was he telling her so much? Was he trying to test her in some way? Or was he trying to tell her something? Something that Hal wouldn"t tell her? Just whose side was he on? Hers or Hal"s or the Army"s? It was all too confusing.
"We"re a bit of both, actually. We"re all highly trained and in top physical shape, of course. We all earned our places in the ranks, pa.s.sing the regular courses and schools to get where we are, but we also have these other interests, and sometimes they come in handy. Like in Iraq. We actually visited the sites of ancient cities. Places the Bible and the ancient Greeks speak of in their writings. Even though it wasn"t my exact field of study, some of the sights we saw in our travels blew my mind."
"I bet Hal was in Heaven."
"You could say that again." Jeff grinned, showing her his straight white teeth as he flashed a friendly smile over at her. "He was forever going on and on about some of the sites we visited, clearing them of the enemy and securing the antiquities for the Iraqi people."
"I understand there was a big problem with national treasures going missing from the museums early on in the war."
He nodded. "There was some problem with that, but a lot of it was cleared up when the curators came forward. They"d hidden a lot of the treasures to keep them safe, and another team was dispatched to the museums to deal with the remaining difficulties, but we were sent out into the field. Our task was a little different. We went to the places to investigate and secure those things that couldn"t be put into a museum. We went to the sites of ancient cities and permanent monuments made by peoples long gone. It was amazing."
She nodded, hearing the nostalgia in his voice. She looked over at him and from the dim light of the dashboard, she could see the look of awe on his face as he remembered something only he could see.
"For me, it was like the first time I visited Stonehenge. The feeling of the ancient stones and the power of the place. It was nearly overwhelming." His expression hardened. "And then to see the destruction, the bullet holes and RPG burns from all the fighting that"s gone on. In ancient Babylon, the former regime set fires in the museum"s display cases, just out of spite. We also saw the rubble of the ancient Buddhas in Afghanistan and I nearly wept. The Taliban wantonly destroyed one of the wonders of the ancient world. It was disgusting."
"I saw that on television," she said softly, remembering her own feelings of sadness when she saw what the former regime had done. "That was a crime."
Jeff nodded as he took the exit that would take them to her apartment without being prompted. As the car slowed she realized her time with this interesting man was coming to an end. She"d learned a great deal from him-more than Hal had even hinted at about his activities overseas-but she still didn"t quite understand why he"d been so forthcoming.
He pulled up in front of her apartment complex, parking in her usual s.p.a.ce. She realized then that they must have been watching her and Hal"s activities much more closely than she ever would have guessed. Jeff shut off the car and turned to look at her in the gloomy darkness.
"Hal needs to trust somebody. I"m betting it"s going to be you. You probably don"t realize how much you mean to him, but I know for a fact that he carried around each of your letters and cards, re-reading them a million times, and each time your words brought a smile to his face." She didn"t quite know what to say, but he continued. "I"m telling you this for a reason, Casey. He won"t bring it up. You have to do it."
"Why?"
Jeff sighed heavily, turning to stare out the dark window. "Something changed him. Changed all of us. It"s not good or bad, it just is. But it"s hard to deal with. We"ve all tried to be there for each other, but Hal needs more. He"s our commander, our leader. He"s had to be strong for all of us, and he hesitates to let us be strong for him. That"s why he needs you, Casey. He needs to share his burden with someone who will care enough for him to help him find his way. I"m thinking that someone is you."
Casey shook her head, a little overwhelmed. "I don"t know what you think our relationship is, but Hal is like my older brother. He never lets me close enough to know what he"s really thinking or feeling. I don"t expect that is going to change anytime soon."
But Jeff smiled as he closed his eyes briefly. "Not to worry, Casey. Things will proceed as they were meant to. All you have to do is recognize your opportunity when it knocks."
She chuckled, a bit uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking. "Now you sound like some ancient philosopher, or maybe that old Oracle at Delphi."