Search and Seduce Read online

  Tommy sobered instantly. “Sorry, man.”

  Mark nodded, apology accepted, as he pushed through the door. In the break room, Mark opened his laptop, the one he’d quickly set aside when the mission had dropped. While he waited for it to connect, he glanced down. Blood covered his shirt. No way he could talk to Amy like this. He pulled it over his head and tossed it aside.

  “Mark?” Amy’s soft voice filled the quiet space followed by her image on the screen. She held a cup of coffee in her hands, her blond hair loose and flowing over her shoulders. When she was out working with her dogs, she always tied it back, tucking her long bangs behind her ears. But it was early still in Oregon, not even six in the morning. He knew she woke up hours before the sun every Sunday for this call.

  Keeping in touch and maintaining their friendship meant something to her. Even though part of him wanted to sever ties with everyone back home, he couldn’t let go of Amy. She’d already lost so much, burying her husband at twenty-eight. If there was anything he could do to help her, he would.

  For months after Darren’s funeral, they’d played the memory game, writing up long lists and sending them back and forth. She reminded him of some of the best parts of growing up in Heart’s Landing. She’d made him laugh, and once or twice, her list had reduced him to tears.

  “I’m here.” He studied the screen. Amy kept her computer on her kitchen table. Through the window behind her, he could usually see Oregon’s coastal range. But today, on an early October morning, it was too dark. Part of him missed those mountains and the smell of the ocean in the air.

  Mark turned his attention back to Amy, taking in the dark circles under her blue eyes. He forced a smile. For her sake, he put on a front, trying to be the fun-loving guy she remembered, not the jaded solider. “Amelia Mae, you look exhausted. Are you sleeping?”

  “Hmm?” She drew her lower lip between her teeth, running her tongue back and forth, her gaze fixed on his bare chest. She hadn’t even noticed his smile. She’d been staring at his muscles. Maybe she was reading the words tattooed across his pecs—so that others may live. Or maybe she was just plain looking.

  And that look, combined with the way she nibbled on her lower lip, swirling her tongue as if she wanted to taste, maybe touch, spoke to part of his body that had no business participating in their weekly chat.

  Hell, this was Amy. But one more second of that look and he’d freaking want her. Every beautiful, blond inch of her.

  Mark closed his eyes, pushing the thought away. He couldn’t go there. And dammit, he should have taken the time to find a clean shirt. He’d loved Amy for years, but never in a let’s-get-naked way. They’d been friends since high school. Nothing more. Not a chance.

  Still, he wasn’t blind. Amy was gorgeous. But wanting what he couldn’t have...he knew better.

  “What happened to your shirt?” she asked, finally looking up at his face.

  “Bad day.”

  “You lost someone,” she said softly.

  “American. Special Forces.” She didn’t need to know the details, to picture the man bleeding out in the helicopter. He’d probably already said too much. Amy’s husband had been a SEAL. Darren had died over a year ago, but Mark knew the grief still weighed heavily on her.

  “I’m sorry.”

  He nodded. What was there to say? He was sorry, too.

  “You can talk to me, Mark. I’m here and I’m listening.”

  “Are you trying to make me tear up?” he said, forcing a lightness he didn’t feel, not by a long shot.

  “We can joke and laugh if you want. But if you need to get it off your chest—”

  “He’d lost both legs. Bled out in the helicopter. We couldn’t get him to a hospital in time. It sucked. Just plain sucked.” He rubbed his hands over his face. He’d been kidding about crying, but now he wasn’t so sure.

  “We can wait and talk next week,” she said. “If you need to clean up. Rest.”

  “No, my shift’s over, and I’ve been looking forward to catching up. The shower will still be waiting for me when we’re done,” he said. “But I can grab a shirt.”

  She shook her head. “No. Don’t worry about it. I was just...surprised.”

  There was a long pause. Mark wondered if the screen had frozen. But then Jango, the dog that had served with his best friend, appeared in the background. The Belgian Malinois was technically retired after years of working alongside navy SEALs, sniffing for bombs and weapons in war zones, but Jango didn’t act like a senior citizen adjusting to a life of chasing balls. Years of training, combined with natural instincts, might always prevent the dog from relaxing. Instead, Jango followed Amy as if she was his new handler.

  Mark cleared his throat. “In your email, you said you had something to tell me. Big news.”

  “I do. And you’re the first one outside of family to know about this.” Her face lit up like a kid’s on Christmas morning, and he damn near fell off the couch. He hadn’t seen her that excited in years.

  “I’m opening a military war dog breeding and training facility. It will mean shutting down my current K-9 training business and remodeling the kennels, but in the end, it will be worth it.” Amy spoke quickly, her fingers drumming the side of her coffeecup. “Darren’s mother and his brothers support the idea. In fact, they’re donating a few acres of their land. I’ll be able to expand the training grounds and, in time, build another kennel. If I have the funds.

  “The Department of Defense offered preliminary approval. They have their own breeding programs, but they’ll buy my pups, too. Provided the dogs fit with what they’re looking for. And they will. I’ve already bought a pair of Belgian Malinois from Denmark, both from top bloodlines. In the past, the DOD has been sending someone over there to purchase puppies. Now they will be born and receive their basic training right here in Oregon.”

  She paused and lifted her coffee to her lips, then lowered it. “So, what do you think?”

  “It’s great.”

  For the first time in months, Amy sparkled. She looked like her old self again. Sure, turning her business into a military war dog program sounded cool, but she could have told him she was joining the circus, and he would have supported her 100 percent if it made her this happy.

  “One more thing,” she said. Was it his imagination or had the light in her eyes dimmed? Shit, maybe she’d been looking for more enthusiasm. This was huge for her—a way to move on with her life. And he wanted that for her.

  “I’m planning to open in three months and hold a dedication a few months later, probably in early March, when some of Darren’s brothers are expected home for a visit,” she continued. “Nothing big. Just family and friends. Maybe a few members of the community who express interest. Do you think you can come? You can stay in the spare bedroom.”

  Heart’s Landing wasn’t a place he’d planned to visit during his brief time stateside. But the thought of seeing Amy again, in person, pushed against his reservations. This time, when he returned to his hometown, it would be for her, 100 percent. She was his closest friend now. And if there was anything he could do to help her, he was on board.

  “I’m done here around then. So, yeah, I’ll be there,” he said. “You can count on it.”

  2

  Five months later

  BLOND HAIR TRAILED over his bare chest. She kissed his stomach, moving lower...

  “Amy.” Her name was a plea. “Amy.”

  “Hey, Rhodes.” The familiar sound of his teammate’s voice silenced his dream. “Better wake up, man, before you embarrass yourself. I don’t know who ‘Amy’ is, but she sure as hell isn’t here.”

  Mark opened his eyes, blinking. What the hell? He was on a freaking plane over the ocean, still a helluva long way from Heart’s Landing and the wild, sexy woman in his dream. Amy. Except Amy had never been wild. She was quiet, always holding back. At least in high school. They’d had that in common.

  Of course, he’d changed, and she probably had, too. But i
t didn’t matter if she’d taken up pole dancing now that she was single; she wasn’t for him.

  “Yeah, crazy dream, man,” Mark said. “But it’s not what you think.”

  Thinking about Amy like that, dreaming about her... Guilt rose up, wrapping around him, adding to the weight on his shoulders.

  “Could have fooled me.” His teammate shook his head, picking up his book.

  Mark looked out the window. He didn’t need to fool his fellow PJs. Just Amy and everyone else in Heart’s Landing.

  * * *

  AMY STOOD OUTSIDE the remodeled kennel holding an empty dog food dish and waiting for her cousin. A very hungry Belgian Malinois sat at her feet.

  She stole a quick peek through the glass-paned door into the reception area. Three men gathered around the box of doughnuts and coffee she’d set out on the folding table. The food had bought her a five-minute delay, ten tops. But leaving three soldiers waiting was like placing puppies in the living room and expecting them to keep their mouths off the furniture. As soon as the doughnuts disappeared, the guys would become restless. They wouldn’t chew the chair legs, but they’d get into something.

  If Eloise didn’t get here soon—

  “You are the only person in the whole world I would drop everything for to deliver a ten-pound bag of gluten-free dog food.”

  Amy stepped back from the door and turned to her cousin. She was Amy’s mirror image, same blond hair and blue eyes, except Eloise stood four inches shorter, even in her cowboy boots. Amy always felt like a giraffe next to her cousin.

  “I got up at three in the morning last Saturday,” Amy said. “Packed five puppies and Jango in my car, and drove over an hour to pick you up when you decided to sneak out on your date after he fell asleep.”

  Eloise dropped the bag at Amy’s feet. “We’ll call it even.”

  Jango sniffed the food before looking up at them.

  “Yes, that’s for you, old man. Easier to digest,” Amy said. “And better for you than puppy chow. You don’t need the extra calories.”

  “But you do.” Eloise held out a bag. “Blueberry muffin. I’m guessing you forgot to eat this morning.”

  “I was planning to grab a doughnut while I discussed the opening with the guys.”

  Eloise stepped around her and stood on her tiptoes to peer through the glass. “Wow. Talk about testosterone overload. I don’t know how you do it. If I was in the same room with them, I wouldn’t be able to form a coherent sentence. I’d be too busy trying to figure out which one would look best without his shirt.”

  Mark. Her brain heard the words without his shirt, and she thought of Mark. Those muscles begging to be touched, maybe more...

  Amy swept her long bangs behind her ear, trying to erase the thought. Months had passed since she’d seen a half-naked Mark on her computer screen, and still, she couldn’t forget the well-defined lines of his chest and his sculpted abs. Probably because he was the only half-naked man she’d seen in more than a year—the ones on the covers of her romance novels didn’t count—but even if she wanted a hot fling, it wouldn’t be with a man serving his country. Active-duty soldiers spelled heartbreak, and she’d learned that lesson already.

  “My bet?” Eloise continued, gesturing to the men on the other side of the window. “Gabe. But T.J.’s a close second.”

  “Stop,” Amy said. “They’re my brothers-in-law.”

  And Mark was like a pseudo-brother-in-law, too. Except she didn’t think of him that way anymore. He was her friend, first, foremost and always. He was the one who had been there for her, talking to her each week, not only about Darren, but also about life. She spoke freely with him, holding almost nothing back. Almost. There were some things she couldn’t share, especially not through a computer screen.

  “Or maybe Luke,” Eloise said. “The way that man talks about his dog, you can tell he loves her to pieces. It’s so easy to trust a man who is crazy about his four-legged friend. And trust, well, that can be key in the bedroom. I bet—”

  “Please, I’m begging you,” Amy said. “I’ve known them forever.”

  “Doesn’t change the fact that you are about to enter a room full of hotties. Maybe I should stick around and wait until you put them to work, so I can see those hard bodies in action.”

  “It’s cold today. Even for March. I think they’ll keep their clothes on while they work. And don’t you have patients to see?”

  Her cousin shrugged. “Two cats coming in for teeth cleanings. Both owners are young, single women. I’m sure they’d understand if I told them I had to watch the Benton brothers.”

  “Your feline patients might not be so understanding.”

  “True.” Eloise moved away from the door. “I don’t think they left you a doughnut. I didn’t even see the box.”

  “I need to get in there. If I don’t keep them busy, they’ll get into trouble.” Amy tossed the bag of dog food over her shoulder. “Thanks for driving out here. I couldn’t handle a sick Jango on top of everything else.”

  “Anytime. If you need help keeping those boys busy, call me. I know a few ways to keep bachelor soldiers entertained.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Amy said drily.

  Eloise pointed at the bag. “And eat your muffin. You won the tall-gene lottery. You don’t get to be superskinny, too.”

  Amy waved to her cousin and went into her meeting, Jango following at her heels. “Hi, guys.”

  “Let me get that.” Gabe, the oldest of the bunch, plucked the bag from her shoulder.

  Her cousin had been right about one thing. The testosterone level in here was through the roof. Thank goodness the fourth brother, Jeremy, was still deployed. One more and she might have to take precautionary measures.

  The Benton brothers each possessed an overwhelming male presence. When they got together, they were lethal. Three brown-haired, blue-eyed gods among men. And apart from T.J., the youngest and the runt at six feet, the brothers towered over mere five-foot-seven mortals like her.

  Amy watched as Gabe placed the dog food bag on the ground, his biceps flexed. These men had to-die-for muscles. Eloise was right about that, too. Every woman in Heart’s Landing would love to see these guys without their shirts.

  Except Amy.

  To her, the Benton brothers were walking, talking reminders of the man she’d loved and lost. Darren had inherited the same blue eyes and brown hair. And like his brothers, Darren had walked into a room, and everyone had known he was there. They’d gravitated toward him. For most of their marriage, Amy had been by his side, content to bask in his glow.

  But he was gone. The loss had been crushing at first. Darren had defined her world since she was fifteen. Year after year, she’d waited for him to come home and counted down the days until he deployed again. While he’d been on the other side of the world, she’d trained and boarded other people’s pets, dreaming of the day when she would have her own kennel and raise her own dogs. But those plans had always taken a backseat to Darren’s commitment to the SEALs.

  Now, after eighteen months of mourning, she was ready to redefine her life.

  “Do you want me to fill his bowl?” her brother-in-law asked, drawing her attention back to the office.

  Amy shook her head. “I’ll do it. He doesn’t like it when others feed him.”

  Gabe stepped back. No one in this room would question Jango’s preferences. Three of the four remaining Benton brothers were military war dog handlers, and T.J. worked as a vet at Lackland Air Force Base, caring for the animals and helping the trainers implement their programs.

  “Great place, Ames,” Luke said.

  “Thanks,” she said. All of Darren’s family had started calling her Ames when Darren had first brought her around. They hadn’t even been dating yet, but she’d already been part of the family. “How was your trip?”

  “From Afghanistan?” Luke said. “Long, but uneventful. I’m looking forward to my two-week vacation before I report back.”

  �
��Well, this won’t be a trip to the beach. I hope you got a good night’s sleep and are ready to work today. I have a list of projects a mile long to get this place ready for the puppies. I would love to move them out of my spare bedroom before we officially open. Bullet, the father of this litter, has been living here for a while now, but I still have five puppies and their mama in the house.”

  T.J. clapped his hands together. “Bring it on.”

  “We want this place to be perfect. Mom said most of the town will be here for the opening reception and dedication,” Luke added.

  Amy nodded. Over the past few weeks, the simple ribbon-cutting ceremony for family and close friends had spiraled out of control. Amy had turned to her mother-in-law for help with the guest list, and the next thing she knew, one hundred and fifty people were coming to see her cut the ribbon. Caterers had been hired and a tent reserved. She was expected to give a speech.

  “We’re here, Ames,” Gabe said. “For whatever you need.”

  “Good. You guys are my crew for the next few days. The tent arrives Thursday afternoon. I told the rental company that my volunteers could handle putting it together. I’m investing everything in the dogs and the reception.”

  Amy ran though her list of projects—build the obstacle course in the field, finish the fencing and install doggy doors so the pups could move between an indoor shelter and outdoor play area.

  “Damn, Ames,” T.J. said. “You’ve thought of everything. Your training course sounds better than Lackland’s.”

  “These dogs will be the best,” she said. Her pride would stand in the way of anything less. She understood what these dogs were capable of doing, and she knew the training they needed. When the DOD came to see them, her animals would be ready to ship out.

  Gabe stepped forward and slung one arm over her shoulders, drawing her close to his side. “Darren would be so proud. He deserves this. To be remembered as a hero.”

  Darren had given his life for his country. That was the definition of the word, wasn’t it? Whether she built a dog breeding facility in his honor would never change that fact. “He does,” she said. “But—”