Avery chuckled. “Is that what you’re calling them?”
He smiled, then sighed. “I haven’t had much luck in the dating department,” he told her. “Either the woman doesn’t hold any appeal once I get to know her, or she’s psycho.”
“Psycho? Sounds like there’s a story behind that,” Avery said with interest.
“Not much to tell,” Phantom replied with a shrug. “I met this woman, Mona Saterfield, when I was out one night. She was a cute little thing.”
“Everyone’s little next to you,” Avery interrupted with a chuckle. “You’re huge.”
“I’m only six-five,” Phantom complained.
“Only,” Avery said with an eye roll. “And sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your story. Go on.”
“Right. So, Mona was cute. She was a foot shorter than I was and had pretty long blonde hair and blue eyes. She seemed…vulnerable. That’s not really the word I’m looking for, but it’ll do. She seemed skittish and out of her element at the bar, not like one of the usual bar bunnies who’re there trying to pick up sailors. We talked for a while, and then I asked for her number and said goodnight—no, I didn’t take her home for a one-night stand. I was interested in getting to know a woman for the first time in a long time.”
When Phantom didn’t continue right away, Avery asked, “And? I take it things didn’t work out?”
“You’d be right. We talked on the phone a few times, and I took her out for dinner about a week later. It was like she was a completely different person. She started talking about what kind of house she wanted to live in and how she’d stay at home with our kids while I worked. She thought being a SEAL was too dangerous, though, so she said I’d have to quit and find a safer job.”
“Holy crap! Really? On the first date?” Avery asked.
“Yup. And when I smiled at our waitress when she brought our food, Mona lost it. Telling the woman that I was her man, and she needed to keep her eyes to herself. It was totally nuts.”
“Wow! What’d you do?”
“We finished the meal, but when I took her home, I told her that I didn’t think it was going to work out between us. She was really upset. Crying, hyperventilating, the whole thing. Believe it or not, I’m not always an asshole, so I lied my ass off, telling her that she deserved a man who would put her first in his life, and I wouldn’t want her to always be worried about me when I was deployed. I was never so relieved in my life when she finally got out of my car.”
“Jeez, Phantom, just because you dated one crazy woman doesn’t mean we’re all like that,” Avery told him.
He shrugged. “You’re right, though…I probably would be protective and possessive of both my wife and kids. And too blunt. My kids would probably be swearing like sailors, pun intended, by the time they were four years old. I’m still mostly an asshole, and I know it. I can’t imagine what kind of woman would last through a few dates, forget about spending the rest of her life with me.”
“She’s out there,” Avery told him. “You might be a little rough around the edges, but not all women are psycho, like Mona, and some of us actually like it when our men are protective…as long as they aren’t controlling, abusive assholes in the process.”
They were both silent for a moment. Then Phantom spoke. “I will keep you safe, and I will get you back to your family,” he vowed.
“I know,” Avery said softly.
“And when we get back to the States, you and Rex had better get over the tiptoeing you’ve been doing around each other and go out already.”
Avery smiled, glad he’d lightened the mood. “I’ve already asked him out,” she informed Phantom.
“You told me that,” he said.
“Oh, that’s right.” She shook her head. “I just blurted it out when he came into the cave to get me. It was slightly embarrassing, actually,” Avery admitted.
Phantom chuckled. “Not for him. He was probably giving himself a mental high-five.”
Avery laughed at the visual.
“But seriously, you guys are made for each other. He needs someone like you.”
“Someone like me?”
“Yeah. Someone who’s not afraid to get her hands dirty. Someone who will put him first. We’ve spent our whole career putting others’ lives before our own. He thought he was going to die back there in the river. I saw it in his eyes when he lifted his head to breathe. You could’ve easily let go of that tree trunk and floated downstream. But you didn’t. You fought to save his ass. I know he’s thankful, but more than that, I’m thankful. As the rest of the guys will be when they hear what happened. It’s not very often we come across someone who’s just as willing to put their lives on the line for us as we are for them.”
“I’m a nurse,” Avery reminded him. “It’s what I do.”
“Again, you’re perfect for him,” Phantom said.
“I feel like we’re talking in circles,” Avery teased.
“Then maybe you should just stop talking then.”
Avery didn’t take offense at all. She lightly socked him in the arm. “Shut up.”
“You shut up.”
“I said it first,” Avery informed him like she was six years old.
When Cole first said he was going to check out the area, she’d been nervous about being left alone with Phantom. But now she was glad she’d had a chance to talk to him. To really talk to him. She was once again reminded that everyone had a story. You couldn’t just look at someone and see a doctor, a soldier, a dancer, a homeless person, a clerk at a grocery store. There was so much more to them than what the world saw on the outside.
She liked him. He was real. Had flaws and worries just like she did. “How much longer do you think Cole is gonna be?”
Phantom shrugged. “Probably not too long. You wanna hear all about his flaws while we’re waiting? Might as well get them out in the open so there won’t be any surprises down the line after you’re dating.”
Avery rolled her eyes. “No.”
“Aw, come on, just a few? Like how his feet are the most disgusting-smelling things you’ll ever come across in your life?”
“Shut up, Phantom,” Avery said with a laugh. “Besides, I’ve smelled some pretty gross things as a nurse.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“There was a homeless veteran who was found on one of the beaches and brought to the hospital. He had maggots inside a festering wound on his leg. When we unwrapped the absolutely filthy bandages, hundreds of the things fell out onto the emergency room floor. And the smell…good God, it’s not something I’ll forget anytime soon.”
Avery couldn’t interpret the look on Phantom’s face, but she knew he was remembering something extremely unpleasant. She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, but was interrupted by Cole’s voice from behind her.
“Looks like your nefarious plan to spill all my secrets went awry, Phantom,” he said with a chuckle.
By the time Avery turned back around to look at Phantom, the haunted expression on his face was gone, replaced by a blank mask.