A SEAL’s Desire Page 21

  When she’d hung up, Renata faced Greg. “Did you come here to call off the wedding?”

  One corner of his mouth tipped up. “No. Sorry about that proposal.”

  “I suppose I deserved it.”

  “No. You didn’t. You deserve the best of everything.” To her surprise Greg sank down on one knee. “Renata Ludlow, I’ve loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you in the middle of a disaster in Peru. The woman I met there was strong, fierce, determined to help everyone and tireless in her desire to bring comfort to twenty-three girls and their teachers. I can’t tell you how much you inspired me that day. Even if we’d never met again, you would have changed my life.”

  Renata squirmed, uncomfortable with his praise, but Greg went on. “I haven’t been my best self these past few months. I should have told you immediately we’d met before, but my pride kept me silent. I should have told you why I came to Base Camp, but I was worried you’d think I was a fool—or worse—for following you. When I met you all those years ago, I saw everything I’d ever wanted in a woman, all in one wonderful package. I think I lost my mind that night, and I haven’t fully recovered since.”

  “But—”

  “Hang on,” he said quietly. “I came to Base Camp because I was looking for something important to do and because I saw your name as the director of the show. I wanted to see if you were really the woman I’d thought you were or if I’d dreamed up some fantasy that was making it hard to settle for less. The first day I got here I realized you were exactly the woman I’d fallen for so many years before.”

  “The day you got here I was bossing you all around, trying to make you uncomfortable in front of the cameras so you’d inadvertently spill your innermost secrets,” she pointed out tartly.

  “And you also rescued a half-grown chicken that had wormed its way out of its coop and put it back without anyone else noticing. And went and found some extra feed and made sure it got some because you thought the other chicks were crowding it out.”

  “How—how did you know that?” Renata sputtered. No one had been there to see that—she’d made sure. She’d needed all the men of Base Camp to think she was a hard-ass so they’d be afraid of her.

  “I saw you,” he said gently, pulling a little velvet-covered box out of his pocket, “And I immediately knew you were exactly who I thought you were. You go looking for people—and chickens—to save, regardless of what you want everyone to think. You pretend to be heartless when the truth is you have a heart a mile wide.” He opened the box and showed her the ring inside. “Which is just one of the hundreds of reasons I want to spend the rest of my life with you. What do you say? Will you marry me, Renata?”

  “I—” Her words stuck in her throat. She felt exposed and cared for all at once. Greg knew her in a way she didn’t think anyone ever had—or would. Was that worth taking a chance on? Maybe loving him would leave her open to heartache. Maybe some unthinkable disaster would take him away, too, just like it had her parents and her first foster family.

  Did she want a life so safe it meant she let no one else in?

  Everything inside her rejected that idea. She wanted people to love who would love her back, even if there was a chance they’d leave her. She wanted Greg. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, I will marry you.”

  Greg surged to his feet, scooped her into a bear hug and whirled her around. “I’ll never get in your way if you’ve got big plans,” he promised her. “I’ll always be right here, though. If you need me.” He set her back down, pulled the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger. “Do you like it?”

  Renata held up her hand to see the ring better, a beautiful, swooping thing with a cluster of diamonds that winked in the light. “It’s wonderful.” Far more than a circle of silver and a few precious stones, it meant she was being given the chance to start a new family. One she hoped would last.

  He pulled her close again and kissed her. “Not half as wonderful as you. Let’s go tell everyone you said yes.”

  She didn’t point out that half of Base Camp had been there when she said yes last time. She understood why he needed to make a far more official announcement, and so would everyone else.

  A half hour later, everyone was assembled in the bunkhouse.

  “I want you all to know that I asked Renata to marry me for real, and she’s accepted me,” Greg said. Renata lifted her left hand and waved it like the queen of England in a parade, having trouble holding back a smile as the diamonds on her finger glinted. After all the long months of stress, and especially the last few weeks with Clem here, her relief was overwhelming, and she found it possible to smile for real.

  “You’re never going to get rid of me now,” she called out.

  Riley approached the front of the room as the rest of Base Camp’s participants clapped and cheered, and the camera crews filmed it all. “That’s okay—we need all the extra hands we can get here. We’ve got a lot of babies coming!” She gave Renata a big hug.

  Groans and laughter greeted this. “That’s for sure!” Clay shouted from the audience.

  “Speaking of babies,” Avery said, pushing forward to the front of the room, too. “I have an announcement to make.” She paused for silence.

  Riley broke away from Renata and turned to look at her, openmouthed. The camera crews fairly bristled with interest. Walker, lounging against the far wall between the windows, straightened.

  Avery scanned the room. Made sure all of them were facing her. “I’m pregnant!” she cried.

  Renata turned to Walker, like everyone else in the room. The man stood as still as stone. Renata didn’t think she’d ever seen him so stricken.

  “Psych!” Avery shouted. “I’m just joking. For now. But just because I’m still here doesn’t mean I’m not going to create the life that I want.”

  “Avery, we want you to have—” Boone began.

  “I want a husband. I want a family. I want a tiny house.” She met Boone’s gaze, and Renata could see Avery had changed. There was steel in the line of her jaw. She wouldn’t be put off with empty promises. “I’ll take his. Now.” She pointed to Walker, who was breathing hard, his hands shoved in his pockets.

  “But—” Boone said.

  “He owes me that much. You all can build him another one come spring. I know his isn’t finished, but it’s close enough. I’ll move in tonight. I’m not sleeping in here anymore.”

  “Avery—”

  “Give it to her,” Walker growled.

  “Where are you and your bride supposed to sleep?” Boone asked him.

  The look Walker gave him should have felled him where he stood. Renata held her breath, then tried to break the tension.

  “You’re not alone,” she said. “I’m not pregnant, either,” she added lamely when Avery turned her way.

  “Yet,” Greg said.

  “I’m not pregnant,” Angus said darkly.

  Avery shook her head at him. “You’re not even a woman.” She turned to Clay. “You’re in charge of the tiny houses. Get theirs done.” She pointed to Renata and Greg. “And then finish mine. I’ll camp in there until you’ve managed it.” She crossed the room to where she and the other singletons stored their gear, pulled out a large duffel bag and headed for the door. Walker tracked her with a gaze so bleak it squeezed Renata’s chest. When the door shut behind Avery, it was quiet in the bunkhouse for a long moment.

  “Well, we have an engagement to celebrate,” Riley said shakily. “Savannah, would you play us something?”

  “Of course.” Savannah handed Jacob to Jericho and made her way to the upright piano. Soon her fingers tripped across the keys, and a lively melody filled the room.

  Around them, conversations sprung up, low at first but soon gathering steam. Renata let out a gusty sigh. “Walker needs to get it together.”

  “I bet he knows that now if he didn’t before,” Greg said dryly. “What about you and me?”

  “What about us?”

  “Do we have it together
?”

  She had to laugh at that. “You know what? I think we finally do.”

  “Good. Any time you’re ready to try for that baby,” Greg murmured to Renata as conversations buzzed around them, “just let me know. I’m your man.”

  “You are my man.”

  “Soon there’ll be paperwork to prove it,” he agreed. “Want to check out my tiny house?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  ‡

  “I thought you were never going to live in a commune again,” Greg’s mother, Phoebe, said on the day of his wedding, when Greg was on his way to change into the Revolutionary War uniform all the Base Camp men wore on these occasions. It was strange how a community that hadn’t even existed for a year could have so many traditions already, he’d mused earlier. It seemed like a good sign, somehow. Traditions stood for continuity, after all.

  “Please, it’s a sustainable community,” he said, giving her a peck on the cheek. He was glad his parents had made it to the wedding.

  “Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Phoebe said dryly.

  “Renata and I would like to come visit Greenside when the show is over. Maybe this summer?”

  “Can’t wait. Eileen has settled in well.”

  Greg thought of the home his parents had built from scratch when they were in their twenties. The farmland they’d worked jointly with the other members of the commune all those years. For the first time he really understood what Greenside meant to his parents.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been an ass and not come home much,” he said. “That changes as of now.”

  “Good.” His mother hugged him. “Where’s your sister? Wasn’t she supposed to be here by now?”

  “I’m right here,” Eileen said, coming down the hall toward them. “I wouldn’t miss this wedding for the world.”

  Greg met her embrace and held on a little too long, grateful beyond words to see her again. It had been several years. He swore that length of time would never pass without a visit again.

  “You look good,” he told her. Something had changed, he thought. She seemed happier than he remembered. Lighter—like a burden had been lifted.

  “You know what? I think settling down in one place for a while might suit me.”

  “Me, too.”

  “My babies are all grown up,” their mother dead-panned. “My work here is done.”

  “No, it’s not,” Greg told her. “Pretty soon there will be grandkids. You’re just getting started.”

  “Well, well, look at the blushing bride.”

  Renata stiffened and turned to see Clem lounging in the door of one of the guest rooms at the manor where she’d come to prepare for her wedding day.

  “What are you doing here?” Avery and Eve, her bridesmaids, had gone downstairs to get tea and give her a moment to her herself before the wedding. Evidently, she wasn’t going to get that.

  “Fulsom asked me to come.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “So he could congratulate me, I guess.”

  “Clem—”

  “There you are.” Fulsom pushed past Clem into the room and looked her up and down. “Renata, you look radiant,” he said. “You’re going to make Greg a happy man.”

  “Just because I’m getting married doesn’t mean I can’t finish doing my job,” Renata hastened to tell him as Eve and Avery returned, too. She’d been directing the show ever since Clem disappeared after their last game of nickels. It had been a little awkward, since she needed to be on camera a lot, but her crew were professionals, and they knew what she wanted for the most part. She huddled with them several times a day to talk strategy and then left them to it.

  “I know that. I’d hate to lose you before the show ends, but after that the future is open,” Fulsom said. “I’ve gotten a feeling from the last couple of episodes that you’re thinking about making a change.”

  “When the show is over, I want to take a break and decide for myself what to do next. It’s been a long time since it’s been my decision to make.” Now that she’d paid off most of what she’d pledged to Mayra and Gabriela, and Greg and the others had already said they’d make up the rest, she could do whatever she wanted.

  “Maybe we should open a film school right here,” Avery said. “We could build a dormitory somewhere on the ranch. Classrooms. Have people come to study.”

  “I think it’s an interesting idea,” Eve said.

  “Maybe,” Renata said, but her mind was already whirling with possibilities.

  “Time enough to figure it out later,” Fulsom said. “You have a wedding to get to.” He took out his phone, messed with it for a moment and nodded at Clem. “That’s your final payment. You were right—you pulled it off.”

  “Of course I pulled it off.” Clem winked at Renata. “She never suspected a thing.”

  “What are you talking about?” He was trying to rile her up again, and this was her wedding day.

  Fulsom tsked at her. “It was clear the first time I came here that Greg Devon had fallen for you—hard. It was also clear you were going to be so damn professional you’d never even look at him. I could see where things were headed. As long as you were directing Base Camp, you’d refuse to see the good thing standing right in front of you. I hoped I was wrong,” he added, “so I let things play out for a few months until it became clear you were as stubborn as I thought you were. When it came down to just a few men left and I knew Greg would draw the short straw soon, I sent in the big guns.” He pointed to Clem, whose smug grin widened.

  “You thought I’d fall for Clem?” she asked in disbelief.

  “I thought you’d quit in a huff, and go for it with Greg,” Fulsom said. “But you didn’t quit. You kept hanging on by your toenails.”

  “Which is where I came in. I’m the one who realized you needed cash,” Clem said. “I could smell your desperation from across the room.”

  “Eww,” Avery said.

  “Clem hatched a plan,” Fulsom said. “A good one. He’d let you win until you got as much as you needed, I’d foot the bill and—voilà!” He gestured to her wedding gown. “You’d say yes to Greg.”

  “You realize that’s insane!” Avery told him. “You were playing with Renata’s life!”

  “I’m playing with all of your lives,” Fulsom said bluntly.

  “You didn’t let me win!” Renata turned on Clem. “Not once. I beat you fair and square.” She turned back to Fulsom. “I did!”

  “I believe it.” Fulsom put out his hands as if to ward her off. Clem was shaking his head, his smug satisfaction enough to drive a woman to drink.

  “I beat him,” Renata said again to Avery.

  “I know you did,” Avery said. “But I guess it doesn’t really matter, does it? The important thing is you and Greg found each other.”

  “The important thing is that I get to get the hell out of this godforsaken place,” Clem said. He patted his pocket. “Now that I’ve got some extra cash and you all have rehabilitated my reputation, I’m hitting the beach.”

  When he was gone, Renata shook her head at Fulsom. “You really think you made me marry Greg?”

  “I know I didn’t want to see you lose your chance,” Fulsom said. “Kiddo, you’ve been with me a long time. You’ve been incredibly loyal. Worked your ass off. Put up with all my shit—and I know I dish out a lot of it. I want you to be happy.”

  “Even though I’m quitting on June first?”

  He clapped a hand to his chest as if she’d shot him. “Ugh. Yes, even though you’re quitting. I have no idea where I’ll find someone to replace you.”

  “Not Clem,” Avery said.

  “No, not Clem. I only used him for a particular purpose, and between you and me,” Fulsom grinned, “I don’t think his reputation is as rehabilitated as he thinks.”

  “Start with Byron. He’s going to go far,” Renata suggested.

  Fulsom nodded thoughtfully. “Byron. Interesting.” H
e straightened again. “It’s just about time to walk you down the aisle. How do I look?” He joined her by the mirror, and Renata gave herself a once-over.

  “You look fine,” she said.

  “So do you. I hope you’ll be very happy in your new life.”

  “I think I will.”

  It had seemed right to choose the last two unmarried men at Base Camp to stand up with him at the altar on his wedding day, especially since he’d learned that whoever picked the short straw would face an additional challenge. The backup brides had confronted Fulsom with an ultimatum, and he’d gone along with it. They’d demanded that one of their number be allowed on the show for a thirty-day period during which they’d date the next man to marry. The man who drew the short straw wasn’t required to marry her, but Greg could tell there would be a lot of pressure to do so.

  Greg was more relieved than he could say that he wasn’t letting down the rest of the inhabitants of Base Camp or being forced to date a woman he didn’t love. He hoped Angus and Walker could find their way to happiness, too.

  All those years ago in Peru he’d felt a visceral connection to Renata, but he hadn’t dared to hope that it would turn into something real. Now here he was, getting everything he’d ever wanted.

  “Almost time,” Angus said as they checked their old-fashioned uniforms in the mirror.

  “That’s right, and you know what that means.” Boone came into the room, holding up a fist with two straws poking out of it.

  “Hell, I’d hoped you’d forgotten,” Angus said. “It had better be your turn,” he told Walker.

  Walker just grunted, strode over to Boone’s side and yanked a straw from his fist.

  Held it up. It was definitely long.

  “Come on,” Angus growled. “Are you serious?”

  “Walker’s always serious,” Boone said, nudging his friend. “You’re up, Angus. Sorry, but you’re going to have to get over Win and move on.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  “I’m not just saying it.” Boone looked uneasy. “Your backup bride will arrive tomorrow, and she’ll stay here for the next thirty days. You’re going to need to pull it together.”