Page 71 of The Seal's Promise
“And here I thought you lived in some abandoned building. This is pretty posh.”
Wes hopped down from the pull-up bar and wiped his face with a towel he had nearby. “I figured I had the space, so why not have some basic amenities?” Then he chugged his water and sat down on a weight bench.
“So, what brings you here finally after months of being home?”
Dalton gritted his teeth and faced his big brother’s speculative eyes.
“I need to tell you something,” he said.
“If you’re trying to figure out how to tell me nothing is wrong with Gran and you think she just made it all up to get you here, you’re too late.”
“Wait, what?”
“I stopped over at Gran’s earlier and overheard her telling her drinking buddies that her grand plan had worked. She thinks you’re home for good, so please don’t tell me you’re about to break her heart.”
“Well, I have been meaning to tell you that all those tests all proved only one thing,” Dalton said. “Gran is totally healthy for her age, and the doctors all say any little blips are natural aging at this point. But I can’t believe she would plot and lie to me.”
Wes laughed. “Oh, I can. You were never coming back, so she said she had no choice.”
“I don’t think I can even be mad at her,” Dalton said, running his hand through his hair. “But I need to tell you something else.”
“Is this going to be one of those conversations that go better with whisky?” Wes asked.
“Probably after you hear what I’m about to tell you.” Dalton spread his feet wide and crossed his arms over his chest, preparing to reveal his darkest secret to his brother.
“Alright, let’s have it,” Wes said.
Dalton rubbed his hands together and looked down at the floor for a heartbeat; it was now or never. He could admit what he’d done then leave town again, but he couldn’t stay another minute without getting this off his chest.
“The night Mom and Dad died, I was on the phone with Dad. He was driving out on Bluff Road and we were arguing.” Dalton met his brother’s eyes. “We were arguing about me getting into the Navy. Dad said he forbade it. So I told him to go to hell, and hung up. Then he crashed the car and they both died.”
The air whooshed out of the room as he took his last breath, and he sat staring straight ahead. Wes rose from the weight bench and stepped closer. The surprise was clear on his face but his eyes were narrowed and his shoulders were tense.
“Are you saying you think it was your fault Dad lost control of the car?” Wes asked.
“I know it was. I was pissed he said I couldn’t go to the Academy, pissed he thought he could stop me by threatening to cut me off financially. Pissed he thought he knew better.”
“Did he? Do you regret being a SEAL?” Wes asked.
“I can never unsee or undo the things a mission requires. I’ll never accept the idea that good men have to die to keep our country safe, but I don’t regret serving.” He hung his head.
Wes nodded. “I think Dad just didn’t want to be one of those Gold Star parents who had to lose a son. And I know for a fact it wasn’t your fault they had an accident that night.”
Dalton’s head whipped up.
“How do you know that?”
“Because I was the one who retrieved their things after identifying them. I was the one who had to manage their estate.”
“What does that mean?”
“It wasn’t a phone call that drove Dad off the road, it was a big truck and a stormy night. And…”
“And?”
“I think Mom may have told Dad she was leaving him.”
“What?” A small part of Dalton’s chest started to relax, like someone had been squeezing his heart in a death grip and now it was being released.
