SEALs of Honor: Cooper by Dale Mayer

more than that.
    “Cherry, this is Dr. Sasha. Can you look up a patient’s record for me? I’m looking for the contact information for Cooper Braxton.”
    Her receptionist squealed. “Oh my gosh. It’s you. Are you okay? We heard about you being taken hostage.”
    “I’m fine,” she reassured the young woman who’d worked at the clinic longer than Sasha had. “I’ll be in next week, but in the meantime if you could get me that information…”
    “Oh, I’m sorry. Hang on…” Cherry bubbled away with the news as she searched for the information. “Sandra is pregnant and due in three months, Chelsea is engaged, and I have a new boyfriend,” she spouted out randomly. “It’s been an exciting couple of months for all of us.”
    “Yes, very exciting.” Sasha missed the office staff. They were all generous, outgoing people. And had yet to step inside the building to let them know she was fine – because they’d ask questions she didn’t want to answer.
    “Okay, I have the information.”
    “Email it to me, please,” Sasha said. “Sorry I don’t have time to talk, I’m in a hurry.” And she didn’t want to chit chat about her adventures.
    She hung up.
    It took less than a minute for her phone to beep with the incoming message. “Thank God.” She opened the message and clicked on the phone number inside.
    It started to ring. And ring.
    Shit. She stared at it, frozen.
    His answering machine kicked in.
    She made a strangled sound and hit cancel.
    And breathed deep.
    She was overreacting.
    Just a stress induced panic attack.
    She should go inside and forget this foolishness. She actually got as far as opening her car door, but the thought of going inside her house made her stomach heave.
    Crap.
    She collapsed back inside the car, tears starting to burn in the corner of her eyes.
    Her phone rang.
    She stared down at it.
    It was Cooper.
    Shit. Shit. Shit.
    *
    Cooper let the phone ring through to voicemail. He wasn’t sure of the number but someone had called him. It could have been a pocket dial, but he figured in his line of work it was better to be safe than sorry. He waited for the voicemail to kick in. When it did he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. That muffled exclamation had to be Dr. Sasha’s voice. He was sure of it. Dr. Sasha had called him. Hope tempered with reality as he immediately called her back. “Sasha? I see you called, but I missed it. Call me back please.” He left it at that. Terse but friendly. Concerned but not worried.
    At least he thought so. But her voice had been strange…
    “New girlfriend,” Markus teased.
    Cooper studied his phone, wishing he’d managed to reach her. “I wish but this one is a little out of my league.”
    “Oh, who is it,” Markus said with a frown. “Don’t think of yourself that way. You are second to nobody.”
    “It’s Dr. Sasha.”
    “Did you say Dr. Sasha called?” Levi asked.
    Evan joined them then. And Cooper realized there wasn’t going to be anything private at this point. He explained.
    “She’s a hell of a doctor,” Levi said in a respectful tone. “She’s helped a lot of men here.”
    “I heard that,” Markus said. “I haven’t had to see her professionally thankfully.”
    “You have her number, do you?” Levi asked, a quirky grin on his face. “Are you into sharing?”
    “Hell, no.” Cooper’s response was instant and heartfelt. The other two laughed.
    “Besides,” he said. “You two aren’t looking for permanent and the doc, well she’s no one’s plaything.”
    “No, she isn’t. The doc is good people,” Markus said quietly. He slapped Cooper on the back. “But if you ever change your mind… Or if it doesn’t work out for you…” And he took the closest exit. “I’ll see you two tomorrow.”
    Levi nodded at the direction he went. “Markus is good people too. He needs someone in his life again.”
    That’s when Cooper remembered Markus’s first wife died in a diving accident. She’d