Claiming Jane, page 1
CLAIMING JANE
SEAL TEAM ALPHA
HOPE FORD
CONTENTS
1. Grant
2. Jane
3. Grant
4. Jane
5. Grant
6. Jane
7. Grant
8. Grant
9. Jane
10. Grant
11. Jane
Epilogue
JOIN ME!
Be a Hottie!
About the Author
Claiming Jane © 2024 by Hope Ford
Editor: Kasi Alexander
Cover Design: Cormar Covers
Cover Models: Brian Boynton & Kayle Berry
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
CHAPTER 1
GRANT
I should be focused on the man in the casket because the closest thing to a brother I have is being lowered into the ground, but I can’t keep my eyes off of his sister, Jane. She is sitting in the front row, surrounded by men and women in uniform, and I am standing at attention by the closed casket.
A possession like nothing I’ve ever felt before comes over me. I wonder where her friends are. I wonder why her brother is about to be buried and she has no one sitting next to her, trying to comfort her as the tears roll down her cheeks.
Just watching her, I know I can’t leave without making sure she is going to be okay. And yes, a part of me feels like I owe it to James. He was my best friend, and he would do the same for me. But it’s more than that because just seeing the pain etched on to Jane’s beautiful face fills me with an emotion that I haven’t felt in a long time. I pride myself on staying emotionally detached—being a SEAL demands that. But one look at Jane and all the things I thought I knew about myself are gone.
I fist my hands at my sides, fighting the urge to go to her.
When the funeral is finally over and the crowd breaks off into smaller groups, I walk over to where she’s still sitting, staring at the fresh dirt. With my hands in my pockets, I approach her. “Hey, Jane. I’m not sure if you know me or not, but I’m Grant. I was your brother’s—”
She forces a smile to her face and cuts me off. “I know who you are. Besides seeing you in pictures, James talked about you all the time.”
I nod as my stomach clenches. Life just isn’t fair sometimes, and I’ve lost brothers before, but James, man, losing James just hits hard. I clear my throat. “He talked about you all the time too.”
She sucks in a breath and pulls back her shoulders. She’s physically trying to hold herself together, and it’s obvious that she’s about to lose it. I don’t know why, but I need to be here when she does.
I don’t ask her about her family because I know it was just her and James. Fuck, and now it’s just her. I want to ask her where the hell her friends are, but I’m afraid of upsetting her even more.
I cross my arms over my chest to keep from reaching for her. “I’m on leave for a week. Can I help you with anything while I’m here?” My plan was to go to my home in Whiskey Run after the funeral, but if Jane needs me, I can stay in California.
She shakes her head. “There’s nothing to really do. The house sold a month ago, and what’s left of James’ things are in a rental unit.”
I try to think back and recall if James told me he was selling his house. I don’t remember it if he did. “I didn’t know you all were selling.”
She draws her knees up and pulls her long skirt down over them as she does. As she wraps her arms around her legs, she shrugs. “Yeah, I’m not sure it was planned. He got into some trouble and owed some money so…”
Her voice trails off, and I ask, “What do you mean, he got into some trouble?”
Her gaze turns curious, and as if she’s made a decision, she shakes her head side to side. “You don’t know, do you?”
I can tell by the way she says it that I’m not going to like it. “I don’t know what?”
She shudders, and I swear her shoulders drop even farther as if she’s holding the weight of the world on them. “You don’t know that he gambled our house away. He lost it in some tournament when he was on leave a few months ago.”
I think back to a few months before, and I remember when James went on leave. “You mean when you were sick… he came home to take you to the hospital… right?”
She stands up and wipes her hands across her skirt, straightening the material. “It’s fine. What’s done is done.”
I put a hand up and walk toward her. “Wait, talk to me and tell me what happened. He told me you were sick and he needed to come check on you. He stayed with you in the hospital…”
She throws her hands up in the air. “If that’s what he told you, that’s what happened.”
I put my hands on her shoulders to stop her from walking away. “Jane, talk to me. I’m not a fool. I know that James once battled with addiction, but I thought he was done with that.”
She nods. “Yeah, for awhile, he was doing better. I thought he’d kicked the gambling addiction, but the fact is he only got better at hiding it. He succeeded for awhile. Time and time again, I thought I’d misplaced our parents’ coin collection or my mom’s necklace and rings. But everything was going missing when he would come home.” She lifts her shoulders in a shrug. “He had nothing left to give… so he bet the house.”
She winces as my hands tighten on her shoulders. I jerk away. “Sorry. Okay, so he lost the house. What about his truck?”
Her answer is immediate. “Gone.”
“Your parents' trust fund?”
She raises her eyebrows. “You knew about that?”
I nod. “Yeah, do you have it?”
Her eyes widen. “I’m eighteen, Grant. I can’t touch it until I turn twenty-one. But it doesn’t matter. It’s gone.”
“Fuck.” I grunt out the expletive and shake my head. James loved his sister. It had to be bad if he did all this. This side of him is not the man I know. James is the type to step in front of a bullet to save someone. “Where are you living, Jane?”
She juts her chin and looks at me with so much pride in her face, it’s painful to watch. “I live in a shelter downtown.”
“A shelter?”
She nods and doesn’t seem to see the problem with it. “Yes, a shelter. It’s not that bad. Don’t be judgmental.”
“You’re not living in a shelter.” My mind starts to turn, and I lean toward her. “His benefits. You’ll get those.”
She nods her head to the men at the other side of the cemetery. “The troop commander said my brother didn’t add me as the beneficiary. He said he’s going to see what he can do, but it may take a while. But I’m fine. I have a waitressing job at night, and I walk dogs during the day. I’m fine. I’ll have money saved to get an apartment in no time.”
She’s working two jobs and living in a shelter. Anger takes over, and I want to punch something. “Did you drive here?”
She opens her mouth and then closes it before shaking her head. She doesn’t have to say anything. I’m sure she’s about to admit that either her car has been pawned or it’s broken down or something, and it’s going to piss me off even more. I hold my hand out to her. “Come with me.”
She crosses her arms over her chest protectively. “I can see the way you’re looking at me, and you need to know that I don’t like pity. I don’t want it, and I don’t need it.”
With my hand out, palm up, I stretch my fingers hoping she realizes that I’m not going to give up. “Trust me, pity is not what I think when I look at you.”
Her eyes widen, and I shake my head. Geez, Grant, really? Hitting on her at her brother’s funeral is the lowest of lows. I drag my eyes back to her, and she’s looking at me with curiosity. “Come eat with me so we can talk.”
Instead of putting her hand in mine, she tightens her arms around herself. I expect her to say no, but when she says, “Okay,” I don’t hesitate. Since she won’t take my hand, I put an arm around her shoulder and walk with her to my truck.
We walk in silence, but that’s okay because I don’t think I could form a thought if I wanted to. Having Jane under my arm and pressed against my side is like nothing I’ve felt before. I shouldn’t enjoy her touch or the feel of her, but that’s impossible.
I know she’s too young for me. I know she’s off limits. I know this is the absolute worst time to be attracted to someone, but I can’t help it. There’s just something about her I can’t resist.
CHAPTER 2
JANE
He made me order food.
Okay, I shouldn’t say made me because the way he did it made me want to please him and do what he asks. I nibbled at my food with him watching me the whole time. He’s not happy, and even though I know it’s partly from burying his best friend, it’s obvious there is more to it.
“Can I ask you something? About my brother, I mean.”
He nods his head, and I blurt it out before I change my mind. “Did he suffer?” I hold my hand up. “I know you can’t give me details, but I just need to know if he suffered.”
He leans his head to the side, and it’s obvious by the anguish on his face he’s a man that’s hurting. A part of me feels bad for even asking him, but I need to know. He leans forward. “He didn’t suffer. It was an enemy attack, and we were under intense fire.” He stutters through the words. “It
I lift my chin to him. “Were you there?”
He shakes his head. “No, I was on the other side of the country on another mission. If I had been…”
When his voice trails off, it’s obvious what he’s thinking. I drop my voice. “It was his time, Grant. Even if you were there, it wouldn’t change the fact he’s gone now.”
He grits his teeth and just stares back at me.
I set down my fork and look him in the eye. “Why did you invite me to dinner?”
He opens his mouth but doesn’t say anything, so I continue. “It’s obvious you don’t want to be here, so why don’t you say what’s on your mind, and we can go our separate ways.”
I pick up my glass of water to keep myself busy. I’m completely on edge, and I hate feeling like this.
He leans forward. “Marry me.”
I choke on the drink of water I just took, and after a few seconds of hacking, I strangle the words out. “Marry you? Are you high or something?”
The people at the tables around us all turn to look, but I don’t care. What he’s suggesting is crazy talk. Obviously, there’s something wrong with him.
He’s fucking with me. That has to be it. There’s no other option.
His voice is soft and gravelly as he puts his hands palm down on the table. “I’m not high. In fact, this is probably the most lucid I’ve been in a long time. I think you should marry me.”
I shake my head because there’s no way I’m hearing him right. “Marry you?”
He nods while his gaze bores into me. “Yes, I want you to marry me.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. And once I start, I can’t bring myself to stop. I laugh so hard, my cheeks and my sides start to hurt. I’m wiping at the tears rolling down my face. “Well, thank you, Grant, I needed a good laugh. That was a good one. Thank you.”
He grits his teeth. “I’m not joking.”
“No,” I say without hesitation. I say it so fast because I’m afraid that I’m going to get caught up in all of this and say yes, which would really be stupid. All I need is to tie myself to some SEAL. He probably has a wife or girlfriend at every port.
He grabs on to me and threads our fingers together. His thumb caresses the back of my hand, and I’m transfixed on the sight of him holding me.
“Look at me,” he demands.
With heat rising in my cheeks, I raise my eyes to his.
He nods and squeezes my hand in approval. Damn, why do I feel that between my thighs? One nod with a small smile causes blood to rush through my veins, my heart to race, and butterflies to flip around in my stomach.
“Why? Why would you want to marry me?”
He looks stunned, and it takes him a second to form any words, but once he does, he doesn’t stop. “Because you’re my best friend’s little sister. Because you need someone on your side right now, and I can do that… I want to do that. Because I can’t leave here and do my job, if I’m worried about you living in a fuckin’ shelter. Because—”
I cut him off. “I’m fine. I can take care of myself.”
He nods in agreement. “I believe that. I wasn’t kidding; James talked about you all the time. I know you can take care of yourself, but why would you want to when I can help you?” He pauses for just a minute, sits up a little straighter, and continues, “And you can help me.”
I scrunch my nose up. “Help you? How can I help you?”
“My house sits empty while I’m gone. Back in the winter, a pipe froze and I didn’t know it. It ended up flooding the whole first floor and cost me thousands of dollars to renovate. You can live there and take care of things while I’m working.”
My forehead creases in confusion. “You need a caretaker. Why would you marry me for that?”
He clears his throat and pulls his hands back, and instantly I miss his touch. “I understand if you don’t want to marry me. We just met, but I thought it would be mutually beneficial. You would get my health insurance, and James talked about how you wanted to go to school. Being married to a SEAL will save you money on that. And I would have someone to take care of my house—make it into a home—for when I get out.”
I ask him the first question that pops into my head. “How old are you, Grant?”
“Thirty-one.” And even before I can do the math in my head, he continues. “I’m thirteen years older than you. I’m not trying to take advantage of you, Jane. We’ll go to Tennessee and get married. I’ll help you get settled into the house, and then I’ll be back in California or somewhere in the Middle East. I’m not trying to take advantage of you… I’m trying to help you.”
I look down at my hands and try to reason with myself. This is ridiculous, and I should get up and walk away, but what he’s offering is tempting. I have nothing right now. I don’t have a home, a car, I walk three miles a day just to get to and from work. I don’t have any friends here. The few friends I had in high school have all moved away. I don’t have any family. I have nothing.
“Stop,” he commands.
My eyes jerk to his in alarm. “Stop what?”
He reaches for me again, wrapping his hands around both of mine. “Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. I can see the sadness on your face, and it’s killing me, Jane. Instead of thinking about whatever you’re thinking about, imagine this. A big white house with a white picket fence. A house that needs to be turned into a home. I have a little Honda Accord, it’s a little older but runs perfectly, so you can drive it. You can go to school if that’s what you want to do. Or you can just focus on you. Whatever you want to do.” He pauses for a minute and then lowers his voice. “And if you’re worried about what I want in return, don’t be. All I want is for you to help me with the house. It will be one less thing for me to worry about while I’m gone.”
“And…”
I let my voice trail off because I’m not sure if I should ask or not.
He squeezes my hand. “And what? Go ahead. If we’re going to do this, you need to know that you can ask me anything.”
I bite on to my lower lip and stare at him. He’s been upfront about everything, and I know I just need to say it. “And if we get married, what about me and you… what will you expect from me… as your wife?”
His face hardens, and then it’s as if I can see him forcing himself to relax. “I will expect you to take care of the house and yourself. That’s it.”
“But…” I start but don’t finish. I should just leave well enough alone, but I’m the type of person that needs everything spelled out. “But we’ll be married. You won’t expect…”
I can feel the heat crawl up my face in embarrassment, but I don’t look away from him. I know this conversation is important, and we need to have it.
He lays my hands on the table between us and covers them with his. The weight of them feels good, but I try not to think about it. When he starts to talk, his voice is husky. “I won’t lie to you, Jane. I’m attracted to you, but I won’t act on it. You’re eighteen and way too young for me. I’m doing this because I want to—I need to—know you’re okay. The house and you are the only two things you need to worry about.”
I try not to show my disappointment. It’s crazy; we just met, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that a part of me was secretly hoping for more. At least he admitted that he’s attracted to me. At least I wasn’t imagining that.
“For how long?” I ask him.
His forehead creases in confusion. “How long for what?”
I pull my hands out from under his and rest them on my lap under the table. This discussion is real and intense, but the sounds of the diner with the clinking of glasses and silverware hitting plates that are playing in the background are keeping me grounded. “How long will we be married?”
He blows out a breath and with a look of distaste says, “Until it’s not mutually beneficial anymore. You can divorce me any time you want to. I’m not holding you captive. You can do what you want, Jane.”
