he had to choose either her and the pack or the SEAL team and his missions.
âI donât want you to draw any kind of conclusions. I doubt heâs changing his mind about staying around here for good.â
Emma took a sip of her hot cherry tea. âCatherine 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.â
Lori stared at her grandma in surprise. Sheâd never imagined that anything could have gone wrong on the SEAL wolvesâ last mission. Paul seemed fine to her, and she felt bad that she hadnât intuitively realized anything was the matter.
âYou know heâll move forward like heâs done in the past. Heâll pretend nothing happened and wonât work through it.â
âWhat happened?â
âCatherine said Allan wouldnât give any of the details. Just that there were four hostages, and one was killed before they could save her.â Emma reached over and patted Loriâs hand. âYou were the only one he finally opened up to after his parents died.â
âHe had been taking care of us.â
âYes. Too busy and unwilling to deal with his own grief while the rest of us were in shock over what had happened. Heâs 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
âIf he doesnât want to discuss what has happenedâ¦â
âMaybe not at first. But make yourself available to him. Let him know youâre there for him if he wants to confide in you. You canât keep running away every time he returns.â
Lori snorted. âHe doesnât even notice that Iâm not here.â
Emma tilted her chin down. âYou canât tell me he would have kissed you the way he did if it didnât mean anything. He notices when youâre not here. He always asks about you. I bet you anything, his kissing you was a way to show you just how much heâs missed seeing you. Like youâve taken the easiest way out by avoiding him, heâs taken a similar path in not chasing you down.â
â That would be the day.â
âProve me wrong.â Emma cut up some more of her enchilada. â Actually , Paul already proved me right when you smacked him upside the head with the broom and he kissed you.â Her eyes sparkled with mirth. âHe probably feels you arenât ready for him .â
Was that what he thought? No way. He was too hung up on his missions.
Lori let out her breath. âAll right. Iâllâ¦hang around this time. I already did, didnât I?â 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. âNot to change the subject, but why donât I do the bidding at the auction for you?â
âNothing doing. Itâs 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 .â
Lori smiled and shook her head. She loved her grandma. âAnd what will you have him do? If you win a SEALâs services for the weekend? You just had a bunch of work done on your houseâ¦by professional repairmen.â
âIâll find plenty for him to do.â
Lori leveled her with a warning look. â No matchmaking .â
âYou think Iâd 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.â
Well, Lori didnât think so. Her grandma was levelheaded and frugal, and usually did a great job with her expenditures. But stillâ¦Emma kept worrying that sheâd leave this world, and Lori wouldnât have a mate. And she could be leaving sooner, rather than