a surprise. Not with what I’ve been having you do.”
She’d gone pale. “I thought you were just short-handed. Wanted me to help out.”
“I am short-handed. I lack a manager. I want you to do it.”
She shook her head. “I…I can’t. I have a job back in New York. I can’t stay here.”
Dammit. “Can’t—or won’t? Why are you here, anyway?”
“It’s a vacation.” Her jaw was tight. “The modeling agency hired me the day after I left college, and the only vacation I’ve taken since was to attend a friend’s wedding in Texas.” She stared down at her hands, clasped on the table.
“Most people don’t pick up a job during their vacation.” He kept his voice level. Non-confrontational.
She pushed her hair back, her gaze still averted. “I wanted to meet people. I like people. Working is the easiest way.”
“I see.” If he’d learned nothing else in his life, it was that telling someone they were full of shit shut down a conversation real fast. But…for fuck’s sake.
This was no vacation to Frankie. Aside from that hike when she’d been shot outside the PZ compound, she’d never even gone sightseeing. “Do you have any idea how long you’ll be in Rescue?”
“Um…” She bit her lip. “I’m not ready to go back to New York. Not yet. But I’ll have to, eventually.”
Not yet was good. Never would be better. He barely managed to resist reaching for her hand. “You said ‘have to’, not want to. Maybe you should pursue what makes you happy rather than what you think you’re obligated to do?”
Her head tilted. “Is this a case of “do as I say and not as I do”?
“You lost me.” Bull straightened. “I love my work.”
“Yes, you’re happy at work. But you want more than just work. I’ve seen your expression when Regan jumps into Caz’s lap, when your brothers are cuddling with their girlfriends. You want a family of your own. Why aren’t you going after that rather than working all the time?”
She was right. He did want what Caz and Gabe had. And…if he answered that honestly, he might scare her right back to the East Coast.
Instead, he smiled. “I’ll do just that when the time is right. We were discussing your happiness and… Let’s just say you don’t seem eager to return to New York.”
Her mouth tightened, and unhappiness flitted over her face again.
Leaning back, he looked deeper, studying her body language. She wasn’t fearful about what awaited her in New York. She hadn’t fled the city like Audrey had from Chicago.
But Frankie wasn’t here to have fun, either. If anything, she appeared…determined. Like when he and his SEAL team had reconnoitered a city, taking jobs, assuming personas, waiting until the mission was a go. Not knowing when that would be.
She was here for a reason, but pushing her for answers would force her to lie to him. It was time to take a leap of faith.
“Frankie.” He waited until she finally met his gaze. “I’d still like to offer you the job of manager, even knowing you’ll leave when the time comes. You’re doing most of the work already. I’d like to dump the rest on you.”
She exhaled slowly. “You’re crazy, Bull. You don’t know me.”
“But I’m trying to.” He laid his hand over hers. “Someday, I hope you’ll trust me enough to tell me what really brought you here.”
She blinked hard, dropping her gaze. “It’s not… I do trust you.”
There was that, at least.
As though unhappy with what she’d said, she rose hastily. “I’ll take the position. Show me what I need to know and what my duties are.”
Cheering would probably scare his little prey right out of the room.
She frowned. “I still want to put in time as a server in the bar. I won’t give that up.”
Interesting. Why so adamant? “You’ll be doing the scheduling. That will be in your control.”
“Oh. All right then.”
As he led the way to her office space, he felt his own determination rising inside him. Damned if he wasn’t going to figure out what was going on with her.
Chapter Sixteen
There are two ways to do something…the right way, and again ~ US Navy SEALS
In the city park woods, Frankie tripped over a root and used her staff to catch herself. Whew. Face-planting would really hurt, since she was wearing something that resembled a mini-telescope over her left eye. The head mount, which consisted of a bunch of straps around her head, held the night vision monocular device—the NVM—over her left eye. It