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he had to choose either her and the pack or the SEAL team and his missions.
    â€œI don’t want you to draw any kind of conclusions. I doubt he’s changing his mind about staying around here for good.”
    Emma took a sip of her hot cherry tea. “Catherine warned me. Allan told her that Paul blames himself for losing a hostage they were trying to rescue on this last mission. You know how Paul was when his parents died. He really takes losing someone to heart.”
    Lori stared at her grandma in surprise. She’d never imagined that anything could have gone wrong on the SEAL wolves’ last mission. Paul seemed fine to her, and she felt bad that she hadn’t intuitively realized anything was the matter.
    â€œYou know he’ll move forward like he’s done in the past. He’ll pretend nothing happened and won’t work through it.”
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œCatherine said Allan wouldn’t give any of the details. Just that there were four hostages, and one was killed before they could save her.” Emma reached over and patted Lori’s hand. “You were the only one he finally opened up to after his parents died.”
    â€œHe had been taking care of us.”
    â€œYes. Too busy and unwilling to deal with his own grief while the rest of us were in shock over what had happened. He’s a natural-born leader like his parents were, and you, young lady, were the only one who could help him to heal back then.”
    â€œIf he doesn’t want to discuss what has happened…”
    â€œMaybe not at first. But make yourself available to him. Let him know you’re there for him if he wants to confide in you. You can’t keep running away every time he returns.”
    Lori snorted. “He doesn’t even notice that I’m not here.”
    Emma tilted her chin down. “You can’t tell me he would have kissed you the way he did if it didn’t mean anything. He notices when you’re not here. He always asks about you. I bet you anything, his kissing you was a way to show you just how much he’s missed seeing you. Like you’ve taken the easiest way out by avoiding him, he’s taken a similar path in not chasing you down.”
    â€œ That would be the day.”
    â€œProve me wrong.” Emma cut up some more of her enchilada. “ Actually , Paul already proved me right when you smacked him upside the head with the broom and he kissed you.” Her eyes sparkled with mirth. “He probably feels you aren’t ready for him .”
    Was that what he thought? No way. He was too hung up on his missions.
    Lori let out her breath. “All right. I’ll…hang around this time. I already did, didn’t I?” Which had everything to do with Catherine entering Paul and Allan in the auction, and Emma getting the notion to bid on them. That meant Lori had to watch out for her grandma. “Not to change the subject, but why don’t I do the bidding at the auction for you?”
    â€œNothing doing. It’s my bid, my prize. If you were doing the bidding, he might think you have the hots for him and want him for something other than… work .”
    Lori smiled and shook her head. She loved her grandma. “And what will you have him do? If you win a SEAL’s services for the weekend? You just had a bunch of work done on your house…by professional repairmen.”
    â€œI’ll find plenty for him to do.”
    Lori leveled her with a warning look. “ No matchmaking .”
    â€œYou think I’d spend a whole bunch of money just so you can go on a date? No way. The two of you have to figure that out on your own.”
    Well, Lori didn’t think so. Her grandma was levelheaded and frugal, and usually did a great job with her expenditures. But still…Emma kept worrying that she’d leave this world, and Lori wouldn’t have a mate. And she could be leaving sooner, rather than