The Navy SEAL's E-Mail Order Bride (Heroes of Chance Creek) Read online

  “I don’t recognize the truck.”

  They waited until it rumbled down the worn track and came to a stop nearby. An old man climbed out stiffly and made his way to them.

  “Hello,” he said. “I don’t suppose you recognize me.”

  Mason wracked his memory. “Allen James?”

  “That’s right!” The old man chuckled. “I was friends with your grandfather. Used to stop by to shoot the breeze with him when you were just a little thing.”

  “Nice to see you again, Allen. What can I do for you? Did you come to get a look at the place? We’re doing our best to fix it up.” So Zeke owed Allen money too. Was there no end to the creditors he needed to pay off? How much would it be this time? Two hundred dollars? Two thousand? Shame washed over him on behalf of his uncle. Allen James had been like a brother to Zeke’s father, Abraham Hall. They’d grown up together.

  “Your father would be proud of you for what you’re doing. Everyone’s been saying what a shame it was that Zeke let the place go like he did. I’m glad you’re putting things back to rights. The county wouldn’t be the same without the Hall.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Well, I won’t take up much more of your time. I just wanted to give you this.” He handed an envelope to Mason.

  “What is it?” A bill?

  “I heard about the way you’ve been going around town making good on Zeke’s debts. Made me happy to know how well you’d turned out. Your grandfather was always an honorable man. So was your father. I miss them both. When Abe died I lost a good friend.” The old man swallowed. “I owed him a little money at the time, too. Just a little, mind you. We’d gone out fishing one day, stopped at the bar on the way home. I’d left my wallet in the truck and he covered my tab. Forgot all about it until it was too late.” Allen looked away for a moment and Mason knew the past had enveloped him. “It’s always bugged me a little I didn’t settle my debt with him before he passed. Now I’ve settled it with you.” He patted the envelope in Mason’s hand. “I’ll be on my way now, but I’ll be back from time to time to check in on you. It’s good to see a Hall in the Hall again.” He smiled at his own small joke and made his way slowly back to the truck.

  When he was gone, Mason opened the envelope and pulled out eighteen dollars and fifty-two cents. For one moment he felt as if his father was at his side, sharing the joke. Sharing the warm feeling that came from knowing that someone believed in you, even if you were fast losing faith in yourself.

  Eighteen dollars and fifty-two cents didn’t put a dent in the amount of money he’d already spent on the ranch, but the gesture meant more to him than all the gold in the treasury could have. He was home—back to a place where honor mattered. Where family mattered. Where the Halls had always lived in the Hall.

  He turned to Regan, saw tears sparkling in her eyes and was almost undone by the emotion that assailed him.

  He would restore the Hall. He would restore his family. He would be the man that Regan deserved.

  That’s it, son. You’ve got this. He heard his father’s voice in his mind. Felt the pat of his hand on his shoulder, like he used to do when times got tough.

  He swore he wouldn’t let his father down.

  “Let’s have lunch. Then we’ll get back to work.”

  Regan nodded and they ate the lunch they’d packed on the tailgate of the truck. Afterward, they moved back to the task of tying the wire to the uprights. Energized by Allen’s visit, Mason found himself moving faster, getting the job done with efficiency and speed. Once he’d helped Regan finish her part of the fence, they repeated the process of spooling out the wire and attaching it to the uprights several times. The clouds got more ominous as the afternoon progressed. When they took another break for dinner, Mason squinted up at them.

  “I’m not sure our luck is going to hold. If we see lightning, we’ll have to call it quits. Otherwise I intend to work through it. Are you up for that?”

  Regan nodded. “Of course.” She finished up her sandwich, gulped down a few swallows of water. “Let’s get back to work, then. No more fooling around.”

  “Damn, I like fooling around.” But she was right. It was time to get serious. Stringing the barbed wire at the top of the fence was going to be the biggest pain of all. Doing it in the rain would be even worse. The prospect didn’t faze him, though—not as pumped as he was to conquer this obstacle.

  A half-hour later, the rain came, at first in scattered drops, but quickly increasing to a steady shower.

  “Grab our jackets.” Mason gestured toward the truck as he tightened the come-along on the wire he was installing. Regan raced off to fetch them and was back in a moment. Mason was glad he’d had the foresight to bring them along.

  The rain picked up its pace as they fastened the wire to the posts and tied the individual metal ties. It took longer now that everything was slick. Mason sped up his motions as best he could, but Regan was slowing down as evening drew in.

  “Just the barbed wire to do now.” He’d had them string all the plain wires around the entire pasture first, saving the barbed wire to do all at once. “We have to be even more careful now, okay? Gloves on all the time.”

  Regan nodded. Strands of her auburn hair had straggled out of the practical ponytail she wore. Water dripped down from them onto the collar of her raincoat. She looked small and serious. Mason longed to take her home and warm her before a fire, but he wasn’t going to quit until they finished this pasture. It had become a milestone to him in almost a superstitious manner. If they completed it, then they could do anything else that the ranch threw at them. If not—well, he didn’t want to consider that. Once more they approached a corner post. The barbed wire went above all the others on the fence, so Mason looped it around up high and attached the staples that held it in place. This spool was heavier than the others had been and Regan staggered as they walked the length of the pasture to the next wooden post.

  “You can do it,” he cheered her on.

  “I know.” But Mason heard the strain in her voice. They were long past joking around with each other now. As the day had lengthened, all conversation and kidding around had stopped. Now they had to save all their strength for the work at hand. Regan was breathing hard by the time they put the spool down and she looked thoroughly spent. He eyed her warily and took over without a word, looping this end and attaching the come-along. Once the wire was tight enough, they moved along its length again, attaching the ties. Regan was lagging far behind by the time they were done. Mason didn’t blame her; the rain made a difficult job even harder and she was tired, but he also knew they needed to kick up the pace or they’d run out of daylight.

  In the distance, thunder rumbled.

  Regan’s gaze met his. “We’d better head back to the house. We can finish this up tomorrow.”

  Mason shook his head. “You go. I’m staying and finishing this today.”

  “Mason—”

  “I said I’m staying.” Her eyes widened at his sharp tone, and he was instantly sorry. “Honey, I have to.” He willed her to understand. He couldn’t give up now. If he did, he didn’t know how they’d catch up again.

  After a long moment, she nodded and got back to work.

  “You should go back to the Hall. I can do the rest myself.”

  “If you’re staying, I’m staying.”

  “Then let’s get going.”

  * * *

  They were out of their minds working on a metal fence in the middle of a thunderstorm, but she refused to leave Mason’s side—not when he’d half worked himself to death already. Night after night he’d gone back to work after bringing her home and grabbing a quick bite to eat. Even when she could barely walk up the stairs to their bedroom, he’d worked long into the night until the whole ranch was pitch black except the tiny pinprick of his flashlight. He was up again at dawn. She didn’t know how he remained on his feet.

  With the rain falling harder and thunder rumbling in the distance there was no wa
y she’d leave him alone now. Her only hope was to work fast enough to know they’d get the job done before the lightning came close. Mason attached the wire to the corner post and they started down another length of the pasture, trailing out the barbed wire from the spool they carried between them.

  “As soon as we’re done we’ll get a hot bath and a good meal,” Mason said.

  “Great.” She squinted as the rain fell in sheets around her, stumbling in the mud as they went. This was beyond ridiculous—this was crazy. Thunder rumbled again. A flash of light far off in the distance caught her eye.

  They reached the far end and she waited for him to attach the wire to the corner post and use the come-along to tighten it. Then it was back to tying the barbed wire to the metal uprights in between.

  She worked as fast as she could, but the rain made her fingers clumsy and it was difficult to attach the little pieces of metal to the wire and poles. When she dropped her pliers twice in a row, she swore and had to take deep breaths to keep from chucking them into the next field.

  Mason, on the other hand, seemed to be catching a second wind. He nearly vibrated with energy as he worked down the line, and she wondered if this crisis reminded him of his time with the SEALs. Maybe life on the ranch had been too slow and easy for him. Maybe he needed the adrenaline of a tense situation to get him through the day. As they tied the barbed wire to the uprights, the storm moved closer, until she could count the seconds between the flashes of light and the roar of thunder.

  When they finished the second side of the pasture, she went to help him with the spool of wire again. Just like before, he looped one end around the wooden corner post and stapled it on tight. She couldn’t believe he meant to continue working with the storm nearly overhead.

  “Mason, we have to go!”

  “We’re nearly done. Go on—I can do the rest myself.” He turned back to the work before she could protest and there was nothing for it but to follow his lead. In another moment they were hobbling down the slick muddy pasture to the third wooden post. Not an inch of her was dry anymore. Her hair straggled into her eyes and water streamed down her neck into her clothing. She was cold, tired and every muscle in her body ached. When they reached the far end, she dropped her side of the spool. A bolt of lightning zig-zagged across the sky and fractured it into pieces. The thunder that followed on its heels shook the ground beneath her feet.

  Mason had attached the come-along and was cranking it like a madman, tightening the wire until it went taut.

  “Go home,” he bellowed over his shoulder. “Get back to the Hall.”

  “You have to come too!”

  “The storm will be past in a minute—I’ll be fine!”

  Another stab of lightening split the sky. Thunder roared over their heads.

  “God damn it, Mason! We’ve got to go!”

  He gave the come-along another few violent cranks. “Go, Regan—I’ll be right there!”

  “Mason!”

  He cranked it one last time just as she ran to his side and grabbed his arm. The wire snapped with a sound like a whip cracking—the end skimming by barely an inch from both their faces. Regan shrieked. The come-along clattered against the fence post.

  Mason stood stock still—his arms outstretched to shield her—his face blank with shock.

  Regan stared back at him, all too aware of how close both of them had just come to being hurt.

  “Regan—”

  She knew what he meant to say—knew this moment would etch in his mind forevermore. Knew that as single-mindedly as he’d just tried to finish the job, he’d never meant to hurt her. Never meant to put her in danger.

  But he had.

  Regan began to sob in a delayed reaction to her fear. She was so tired. So overwhelmed. She tried to scrub the tears from her face but they kept on coming. “I’m sorry. I’m fine,” she babbled, but Mason still stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time in days.

  She used her sleeve to wipe her eyes, then laughed at the impossibility of it. She was soaked through. Not one inch dry enough to dry anything else. Her laughter turned into another sob.

  To her horror, Mason’s knees buckled and he sank into the mud.

  “Mason—” She lunged for him.

  He held up a hand to fend her off. “That wire could have sliced you to the bone. Jesus—it could have killed you.”

  “But it didn’t. I’m fine.” She pushed her hair roughly out of her eyes. Mason’s face was twisted in anguish and she knew him well enough that he’d blame himself for the accident. The rain continued to bucket down, but she didn’t care anymore. The only thing that mattered to her was getting that expression off of Mason’s face.

  “What the hell am I doing?”

  She knew he was referring to more than their current working conditions. Above them, lightning flashed again and thunder shook the ground beneath her feet. “We can do this. Even if we don’t finish the fence today, we can still do this.” Helplessness filled her as she saw the impossibility of their task overwhelming Mason. She couldn’t stand the pain etched on his features.

  “No, we can’t.” He was shaking his head. He was in shock, she knew it. Knew too that this day of reckoning had probably been a long time coming. Mason was fresh out of the military. Fresh out of a war zone, for heaven’s sake. He’d made the transition home so seamlessly until now. Was it any surprise that it would all come crashing down?

  “Let’s get you home. Let’s get you dry.”

  “You go.” He braced his palms on his thighs, his shoulders hunching. The rain streamed down over him. Over her, too. There was no way she was leaving him like this—all but drowning on solid ground.

  She fell to her knees in front of him. “We’ll work harder tomorrow. Faster. When the rain’s gone. We’ll get it done.”

  “It isn’t just the fence.” Lightning shot across the sky again, revealing his hollow eyes and taut face, but the pause before the thunder came was longer than before. The storm was already passing.

  “Then what is it? Tell me—I can help.”

  He shook his head again. “You asked me once what my nickname was. I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want you to know what I could be like.”

  “I don’t understand. What is it?” She was frightened for him. She’d never seen him like this, full of shame and self-loathing.

  “Straightshot. It’s because of the way I accomplish missions.” His voice was rough. “Because of the way I always know the fastest way to get from here to there. To get things done. Give me any objective and I’ll tell you exactly how to accomplish it. Whether or not it can be accomplished. I’m always right.” He broke off. She could hear his ragged breathing. “It worked—in the Navy it worked. I got things done. I got the men through, we did what we had to and we got out again. Alive. I bullied them, hounded them, taunted them—pushed them to the edge of their limits. Whatever it took to keep them moving when things got tough. Their lives depended on it. Sometimes they wanted to give up and die. I couldn’t let them. I didn’t let them. I did anything—said anything—I had to do or say to keep them going. I was good at finding the shortest distance from start to done. The best. But now—”

  Regan’s eyes filled again as his voice cracked. She knew what he meant to say. That he’d left behind the world he knew. That what made him a star in the military didn’t work here on the ranch. It didn’t work with her.

  “If I’d lost you—because I fucked up—”

  “You didn’t lose me. You’re not going to lose me.” What could she say to stop him from losing faith?

  “Yes, I am.” He paused, hands braced on his thighs, his head bowed. “Regan, I did something.” He turned a hopeless gaze on her and she went cold.

  What had he done? The thunder and lightning were farther away now, the rain beginning to taper off.

  “I didn’t tell you everything. Heloise has more conditions.”

  She started breathing again. This she could handle. She touched his
shoulder, felt his muscles hard and cold beneath his wet jacket and shirt. Nothing he could say about Heloise would change her mind about the way she felt about him. “What are they?”

  “Austin, Zane, Colt and I—we all have to get married within the year.”

  Regan blinked. The wife wanted ad. Now it made perfect sense. “Okay, so you needed to meet someone fast and you placed an ad. So what? I wouldn’t have met you if you hadn’t.”

  “There’s more.”

  “Tell me.” She wanted to take him into her arms and tell him all was well, but she sensed he wouldn’t accept that comfort. Not until he’d come clean.

  “We have to have a baby. Before the year is up. That’s why I’ve been pushing so hard. That’s why I rushed you into this.”

  She heard the self-reproach in his voice, but that wasn’t why she pulled back. “You don’t love me? Tell me right now if you don’t love me, Mason Hall!”

  “Of course I love you.” His lethargy fell away as his gaze snapped to hers and he cupped her face in his cold hands. “Regan, honey—” He didn’t waste time on words. He kissed her, and as thunder rumbled again in the distance, Regan leaned into his kiss, tasting all that was sweet about Mason, all that she craved.

  Of course he loved her. She knew that better than she knew her own name, but—

  “You don’t want a child?” She pulled away to ask the question.

  “I’ll give you a child right now if that’s what you want. Anything to be with you.”

  It was almost enough. Almost.

  “You have to want it too.”

  He sank back, letting her go. “I don’t know how to be a father. I don’t know how to be a husband. Look at me.” He rose to his feet and tugged her up, too. Their pants were coated with mud, their clothing soaked. “How can I get you pregnant when I don’t even know if we’ll have a place to live?” He surveyed the fence, the barbed wire slack by their feet. She could tell all his late nights and early mornings had caught up with him. The strain of paying Zeke’s debts and watching his careful budget fall apart. Mason was only a man.

  The rain began to tail off as the thunder receded. “Are you afraid your brothers won’t marry?”