“Okay. So.” JJ took a sip of coffee, set the cup down. “Now that you’re back and you’re officially out of hiding, I think it’s time we got you acclimated to bein’ here.”
Leaning back, he studied her. “And just how do you propose we do that?”
Her gaze dropped to his chest. “For one, you’re not in the military anymore, sailor. It’s time you stopped dressing like it.”
Brantley peered down at the black T-shirt he wore. As far as he was concerned, it went fine with the black BDUs and the combat boots. “What’s wrong with my attire?”
“Put it this way,” she said softly. “Add a ski mask and this place is gonna clear out.”
Cocking an eyebrow, he waited for her to continue because he could see her determination.
“Tomorrow, we’re goin’ shoppin’,” JJ declared, knocking back the rest of her coffee and blinding him with a smile.
“Are we?”
“We are. Pick me up at ten. We’ll make a day of it.”
Interesting how, for the first time, Brantley didn’t even consider declining the offer.
Although shopping … right up there at the top of his things to avoid at all costs list.
Right below: eating glass.
Chapter Three
After spending the majority of the next day with JJ, eating glass now sounded preferable to shopping.
Every single thing Brantley had selected, JJ had shot down. Good thing he was a SEAL. Otherwise, she might’ve managed to persuade him to shift from his comfortable cotton T-shirts to those fancy button-downs she said made him look hotter than hot. Her exact words. In the end, he’d told her his goal was to be comfortable, not hot. She’d told him his reasoning sucked but had finally given up. And fine, as a concession, Brantley had bought a few pairs of Wranglers, some boots, a belt. He’d declined the fancy buckle. Not his thing.
And yes, he’d bought a hat. Two, actually. One straw, one felt. They were seasonal, after all.
But when JJ wasn’t looking, he’d tossed in a couple of trucker caps. While every cowboy needed a Stetson or two, Brantley was more of a cap kinda guy.
Thankfully, the rest of the day hadn’t been horrible.
Once he’d finally convinced JJ that he had no desire to buy anything else, he had treated her to lunch. Then she’d treated him to an hour at the gun range. Before they left, JJ had introduced him to the range owner and Brantley had gotten himself on the schedule for the next few weeks. He tried to tell himself it was to maintain his skills, but he knew better. It was the best way for him to blow off steam. Shooting things was always a stress reliever.
Evidently, Reese Tavoularis had thought the same thing, because they’d run into the man on the way out. The conversation they’d shared had been brief, but that too short encounter had solidified a couple of things for him. One, JJ was wrong about the hottest guy in town being gay. As far as Brantley was concerned, Reese far surpassed Brantley in the looks department. And he was pretty sure, after that brief chat, JJ was on board with his way of thinking. As for the second thing, there was no doubt JJ would get farther with Reese than Brantley would.
Very unfortunate.
Now, as he and JJ headed back to Coyote Ridge, Brantley peered over at her. “Mind if I ask what you’re doin’ these days? In regard to employment?”
“I’m in between jobs,” she said, not looking over at him.
He’d noticed she had avoided his questions most of the day. Only those specific to work, of course, which had piqued his curiosity. Never had JJ been the secretive type. Or one to avoid anything.
“What were you doin’ before?”
She shrugged, then pushed her sunglasses farther up on her nose. “This and that.”
Brantley sighed. “You know I’ve been trained in interrogation, right?”
“Trained to withstand interrogation,” she countered.
“Doesn’t change my question, JJ.”
“It’s not important,” she said easily. Too easily.
“Then what’s the big deal? Why won’t you tell me?”
Her attention shifted his way, but Brantley kept his eyes on the road.
“I’ve been helpin’ out a friend from time to time.”
Waiting, he dared a look her way, realized she was staring at him.
He quirked an eyebrow, urging her to continue.
“Dante.”
Ah. Explained why she didn’t want to tell him. Dante Greenwood wasn’t high on Brantley’s list. The bastard had dragged JJ through hell and back when they were younger. Guy had strung her along, then used her for his own gains, and finally dumped JJ without so much as a backward glance. Or so the story went. Never mind the fact that Dante had cheated on her for the better part of their relationship and raised his hand to her once, a move Brantley had warned Dante was the equivalent of a death warrant.
Brantley breathed in slowly, exhaled.
“I knew you’d be mad,” she said softly.
Mad wouldn’t begin to describe what he was. Dante Greenwood was a selfish prick, and if Brantley never saw the guy or heard his name mentioned again, it would be too soon.
“And what’s Dante doin’ these days?” he asked with a calm he didn’t feel.
“He’s workin’ for a security firm. They help big companies shore up their cybersecurity.”
“And that’s where you come in,” he mused, realizing where this was going.
“Yes. I’ve been hired a time or two to hack a company’s system, to identify its weaknesses.”
He considered that. JJ was a big girl; she could take care of herself. Didn’t mean Brantley didn’t want to wrap her up and keep her safe. From the government, who would most definitely not approve of what she was doing. From Dante, who would most definitely take advantage of her at the first opportunity. From—
“He’s not the same guy you remember,” JJ noted.
“No? He have a personality overhaul?”
JJ gave a lengthy sigh that said she’d expected that much from him. “No, Brantley. He grew up. Just like the rest of us.”
Brantley sighed.
“I know you won’t believe me,” JJ added, “but he’s changed.”
He cut his eyes to her. “How so?”
“Well, for one, his dad’s the governor of the state of Texas.”
A laugh escaped him, but there was no humor in it. “Fantastic. Our own governor’s one who condones hittin’ women.”
“Dante didn’t hit me,” she declared hotly. Her tone cooled when she added, “I know you’ll never believe that, either, but it’s true. What happened that night … it was unfortunate, but he didn’t intentionally hit me.”
“But he did hit you?”
“We were arguing, and I got rough with him.”
“No excuse,” he snarled.
Another sigh from JJ, then, “He’s changed, B. You have to trust me on this.”
Thankfully, they were pulling up to her house because Brantley was well and done with this conversation.
“You wanna come in? Grab a beer?”
“No. I’ve got things to do.”