Sweetest Goodbye (Navy Book 3)

Chapter 13

When Lee pulled up in the driveway at Kate's house he noticed that Josh and Kellan were sitting on her back porch relaxing and having a beer. Kate was still upset about what had happened at the restaurant so she said a polite, but stilted, goodnight as she sailed past the guys, closing her backdoor softly behind her.

Lee sat down easing the weight off of his aching leg. He was confused by her reactions. He was convinced that she had been glad that he hadn't tried to fight Earl and his buddies, but then she had been upset because he hadn't. He really was confused.

"What's eating her?" Kellan asked as he focused his attention from the closing door onto Lee.

"Hell if I know," Lee said, closing his eyes.

"I guess Devon's little plan didn't work?" Josh said as he took a swallow of his beer.

"Thank you for admitting there was a plan, and remind me to thank her for her subtlety." Lee laughed more amused than upset. Devon and Kellan's wife, Charlie, were always trying to set him up with one girl or another, and usually he enjoyed it.  It saved him from having to find a date for most weekends.

"So what went wrong after we left, why is she mad?" Kellan settled into his chair ready to listen.

"Nothing." Lee tried to evade the question, knowing everything he said about Kate would be reported back to Charlie and Devon. Normally he didn't mind, but this time, for reasons he wasn't willing to look too closely at, he did.

"I like her and Devon likes her." Josh, who rarely shared his feelings, and only with close friends, added in an attempt to get him to open up and share.

Lee could feel their eyes on him and he knew that they weren't going to let it go anytime soon. Sighing, he sat up a little, ready to set his friends straight on a few things.

"I ran into Earl Forrest at the bar as we were leaving. He felt the need to try and call me out by using one of my childhood nicknames-"

"What was the nickname?" Lee could hear the curiosity in Josh's voice as he was momentarily distracted by the potential humiliation of his good friend.

"Little Lee," Lee supplied and waited for their chuckles to cease. "You wanna hear this or not?"

"Sorry, please continue," Kellan said with mock seriousness, "Little Lee." He added for good measure.

Lee couldn't help the smile that escaped as he continued. "He was with two of his buddies, and they were all drunk, so I ignored him and we left. Kate seemed pleased that I didn't fight and then upset that I didn't fight. I have no clue beyond that."

"She was worried for you and then angry on your behalf, and I'm guessing, knowing you, that you honestly weren't upset by it. As your friend, I have gotten upset many time on your behalf when you didn't care. I'm also guessing that she doesn't understand that you could have taken them all out in under thirty seconds?" Kellan questioned.

"No, she has no clue about my life away from here."

"Why not?" Kellan asked. "Are you pulling a page out of Josh's book, you don't want her to worry about you? We all know that was why he didn't tell his family or Devon what he did for a living." Kellan looked at Josh who was focused on Lee.

Lee shrugged, "No, I haven't told her because it doesn't matter."

"So what is between the two of you?" Kellan turned his attention back to Lee.

"Nothing. I'm selling up and leaving town in a few weeks and she knows that, so I'm keeping it friendly and nothing more." Lee slunk back into his chair.

"But I'm guessing that it's a fight to keep it only friendly." Kellan was always too good at reading people.

"Look guys, I'm happy that you both found your happily ever after's but I'm career Navy. When the teams are done with me and spit me out I will still be Navy. It's what I love and it's my future."

"I don't understand why you can't have both if you want?" Josh asked with a shrug.

"Not every woman is strong like Devon," Lee said softly, thinking of Kate's breakdown over the photos. He had wondered who the little boy was, perhaps a little brother or her son? If he was her son, why was he not with her? Was he with his father?

"No, but love can make people strong," Josh replied.                            

"Or it can make them weak." Lee thought of the scene with Kate again.

They were all silent and Kellan must have picked up on the fact that Lee was done with the conversation because he changed the subject. "Earl Forrest?"

"Yes, the fact that he approached me this evening has to mean that he has no clue that we suspect him. I think he felt full of himself and he wanted to prove to his buddies that he was a big shot by egging on the guy he's stealing from. If he had thought that I knew about it, I think he would have kept a low profile this evening."

"You could be right, but that still leaves Eve, do you think she suspects that we're on to her?" Josh was all business, the previous conversation forgotten.

"No, I think that she still meets Earl on a regular basis, and the town is convinced that they're having an affair." Lee shrugged. "I've only been back a day so I'm not one hundred percent sure on that."

"Don't worry Spider, you'll get the chance to beat the hell out of him before it's all over and done with." Kellan used his team name.

Lee smiled and shook his head, knowing that he wouldn't waste his time.

******

Kate entered the kitchen closing the door behind her and putting her keys and bag where she always did before she walked over to the sink and got herself a glass of water. She could hear the men's voices they were only a gentle murmur so she couldn't make out any words. When she heard laughter she decided that she was finished being upset by it all and walked back to her bedroom to get ready for bed.

She had no clue why Kellan and Josh were visiting Lee, but she assumed that it had something to do with the ranch. Lee had said that they were only there for a few days and then they would be gone and he would be gone shortly after that.

If she was smart she would stop thinking about him and do her best to keep her distance. The problem was that she didn't really want to.