Lori relaxed then. “Never.”
“Right. Never. So they’re just working together, doing practice dives as a team so when they have risky dives to make, they’ll be working in sync with each other. And look, they didn’t have to dive here in front of us, knowing we’re observing every move they make. He could have taken her anywhere to practice with her.”
“True. But they won’t always be here under our watchful supervision.”
Paul chuckled. “Lori, you are a worrywart.”
*
The day was nice and hot, perfect for practice dives, if that’s all that was going on between Allan and Debbie. But Lori knew she wasn’t just paranoid. She knew Debbie was interested in Allan and he returned the interest right back. What was not to like about Allan anyway? He was sexy and fit and loved to do what Debbie loved to do—dive. They had an easy way with each other, like they already knew each other intimately, not like people who had just started to work together. No formality between them. No getting to know each other.
Though Lori supposed he’d met Debbie on other occasions before she was partnered with him, like during monthly emergency rescue training.
There was just something about the two of them that seemed overly comfortable between new partners. Though Allan was careful not to be too friendly around Debbie when he was with Paul and Lori, she saw the way he cast Debbie looks. Intrigued looks. Not just on-the-job-training looks.
Paul was trying to calm her fears, but he was worried about Allan too. How could he not be?
Debbie was a lovely brunette and vivacious, something that totally appealed to Allan. She was definitely an alpha, ready for adventure. She loved the police work, loved saving people and animals, just like Allan. Worst of all, she was single.
Even if he hadn’t been totally attracted to her at first, it would have been hard not to be when Debbie clearly admired him. She asked about his missions—that he could talk about—and wanted to know about his personal and family life. Any man would be flattered with the way she seemed to genuinely care about him, and Lori sensed that Debbie wasn’t just intrigued with him because he was a hot SEAL.
As far as Lori was concerned, Debbie should be ultraprofessional and just get the job done.
“You need to talk to him,” Lori told Paul.
“He’s a grown man and knows what he’s doing.”
“He’s human, well, and wolf, and both are going to get him into trouble.”
“I’ll talk to him, but he’s going to wonder what all the fuss is about.”
Lori was certain Allan would know just why they were concerned.
*
Allan was just as concerned about working with a human woman as Paul and Lori were, but he knew he could handle this. Going on dives with Debbie sure was a hell of a lot different than going with Paul.
He’d become so used to working with Paul over the years that they did everything in perfect sync—the hand signals, the body movements, the awareness of their partner. Some signals were universal, but he and Paul, along with the other members of their SEAL wolf team, had developed some over the years that were distinctive to them.
Allan knew Paul and Lori were warily observing them. He had to admit watching Debbie swim was a hell of a lot more attention-grabbing than watching Paul. And when she smiled at him, she made him feel as though he was dating her and not just working a job. He had to remind himself to act professional and get the training done. On an assignment, they had to concentrate on the mission so they could get the results they needed—evidence from a crime scene, people or animals to safety—while ensuring they came out unscathed.
If he’d been assigned to a human male dive partner, no problem. But working with a single female, one who fascinated him like she did, was different. He could see it would take a lot of diligence on his part to keep his mind on business and not on Debbie. If he could just become interested in one of the new single females in the pack, that would solve all his problems.
But when he swam next to Debbie in the clear blue lake, she fired his testosterone sky-high. That didn’t happen when he was around the single women in his pack. He hoped he could deal with this without getting them both into dangerous waters.
Chapter 2
Four months later
The tires of Allan’s hatchback slid on a patch of ice on the bridge just as he spied tires sticking up out of a deluge of water in a culvert. A rush of adrenaline poured through his veins, readying him for the frigid conditions and a rescue mission. In the cold of winter in northern Montana, he and his dive partner were the first to arrive on the scene of the accident and had to act quickly.
Debbie was requesting emergency backup and an ambulance as she held on to the dashboard, looking just as alarmed when the tires lost traction on the ice. He worried that they’d end up down the embankment, crashing into the upside-down SUV.