SERENITY: A Path Home (Beauty 0f Life Book 6)

by Laura Acton

  “Couldn’t be better. Mom forgave me for lying to her.”

  Lexa chuckled. “As I told you she would. What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

  “Breakfast soon. Mom and my aunts are cooking up a storm. The aromas wafting up here are making my stomach rumble.”

  “Make sure you feed it, so it doesn’t become too angry.”

  “Will do,” Dan said as he chuckled at her comment. “After we eat, I’m going to reveal my other surprise. We should have a grand time. It snowed heavily last night. Perfect for my plans.”

  Still worried about the decision not to tell Dan his full injuries, Lexa cautioned, “Stay warm, ensure you rest, don’t forget to take your antibiotic, but most of all enjoy your time with family. I’m glad we have additional days off. Do you plan to stay in Ottawa the entire time or come back home?”

  Home? Dan grinned. He had many homes. “I’m planning on staying here until New Year’s Eve. I’ll be back in time for Jim’s bachelor party.”

  A small pang ebbed through Lexa’s heart. It would’ve been enjoyable to have a few days to spend with Dan, but she couldn’t begrudge him his desire to remain with his family. “That’s nice.”

  Torn between staying and going, Dan asked, “What are your plans?”

  Lexa sighed but then smiled. “Thought I might start on the renovation of the downstairs bathroom.”

  “Oh, you mean the leaky pipe?” Dan quipped.

  Chuckling, Lexa joked, “Yeah. I’ll be sure to say the right words, so the pipe comes … off with ease.”

  His lower parts began to stir with Lexa’s suggestive comment, Dan’s voice dropped a bit as heat infused his words, “You always know what to say. I’m better with my hands than I am with words.”

  Heat flooded her core. “Oh, I’m not so sure about that. Both your hands and mouth work magic.”

  “Hmmm wish I could give you a gift this morning.” Dan wondered if he was too forward … too much … too soon … but he didn’t care at the moment. His body craved hers. “If I were there, I would start with kissing your luscious rosy lips. Heat will increase as our tongues dance, and I’ll savor your sweetness as my hands thread through your silky hair.

  “Trailing hot kisses down to the nape of your graceful neck, I’ll leave my mark, low enough to be hidden from prying eyes but there.”

  Lexa’s body shivered, heating up with Dan’s words.

  “My fingertips will trace up and down your soft skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. My lips will work lower until I capture one of your perfect globes and pay homage to your tender flesh with my mouth, nipping and suckling. One hand will shift to your lovely thigh and leisurely glide upward, making you squirm with anticipation.

  “Bucking, you’ll plead for me to touch you as I tease, driving you into a frenzy of tingling nerves. Your pleas will fall on amorous ears bent on the desire of stoking your flames. When you don’t think you can take more, my fingers will slip in, my thumb finding and rubbing the sensitive spot which makes you purr and mewl with pleasure.

  “You’ll rock in time with my motions, seeking release. When you come close, I’ll pull away, keeping you on edge. Your whimpers and begging will increase, and I’ll press myself against you. Our eyes will lock … mine will ask, yours will answer. In one hard, deep stroke I’ll join our bodies.

  “Our worlds will become one … one heartbeat … one soul … as we reach the peak of ecstasy together. Crashing down the other side, rolling and taking your body on top of mine, I will hold you close as our breath catches up with our need for air.”

  Lexa’s body convulsed as her hands fisted in the pillow. Never before had she orgasmed without touch. Only Dan’s voice in her ear, his words painting a vivid image, her body reacted sending her over the crest. She softly moaned.

  As Lexa moaned, Dan thought, perhaps I’m better with words than I think.

  Releasing her grip and held breath, Lexa floated as a warm sated sensation enveloped her. “Hmmm, magic. What a wonderful gift.”

  Dan shifted, contemplating taking a cold shower before breakfast. “Glad you liked. Never given a present quite like that before.” A knock on his door startled him. “Um, hang on a moment, Lexa.” He called out, “Who’s there?” as he blushed thinking how embarrassing it would’ve been if whoever was at his door had come a little sooner.

  Yvonne schooled her voice keeping it even, and didn’t open the door, not wanting Dan to observe her bright red face. My boy isn’t a boy. No, he’s most definitely a grown man. “Breakfast is served. Come down when you’re ready.”

  Dan moved Hobbes over his groin at his mother’s first sound, praying she wouldn’t enter and witness his aroused state. He breathed a sigh of relief when the door remained closed. “Um, thanks, Mom. I’ll be down shortly.”

  Lexa snickered at first. “Oh boy! Did she overhear you?” Then she busted out laughing.

  “Quit laughing.” When she didn’t, Dan joined in, finding it deflated him.

  General Broderick’s Home – Kitchen – 8:20 a.m.

  “Uncle Danny, sit here!” four-year-old Courtney McKnight yelled as she shoved her fraternal twin Caleb off the bench to make room for her new favorite uncle.

  “Dat spot is for Uncle Scott!” Caleb complained as he stood with fists clenched ready to do battle with his sister.

  Vicky grimaced. Her twins were either each other’s staunchest ally or rival. In this case, her daughter glommed onto Dan, and no one else mattered. Scott’s younger twin cousin had displaced Scott in Courtney’s eyes. “Children, behave. There’s room for both uncles.”

  Scott and Dan shared a smile as they both ambled to the table. Several people shifted making room to divert World War III. Satisfied Dan was next to her, Courtney launched into a rambling, disjointed tale of a golden girl and a glowing winged man. Listening to his niece, Dan wistfully remembered Sara’s vivid imagination and their tea parties. Being an attentive uncle, he commented at appropriate intervals while also enjoying a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, waffles with fresh strawberries, orange juice, and coffee.

  Yvonne stood near Ann only half-listening to the conversation as she watched Dan interacting with the children. Her mind whirled on what she overheard, not the actual words, that was private and should be forgotten—particularly by a mother. But the fact Dan had someone in his life with which he would engage in that type of relationship, made her smile.

  Her wish to have grandbabies might not be as far off as she once thought. Not that it was a competition, but Ann already had three grandchildren with two more on the way from Lily and Scott, plus Amelia was married, and there were sure to be children from her in a year or two.

  Becca was still too young to settle down. The relationship with Drake never got off the ground, most likely because Becca lived in France while attending school. She was only home for the holidays this year. But Danny … he was twenty-eight, soon to be twenty-nine. The age William was when he married her. Plenty old enough to marry and start a family.

  Though Broderick males, and females for that matter, only married their one true love. Her eyes darted to Adam … oh, how I wish he could find love again. The loss of Sophia was so tragic and unexpected, his fiancée’s death blindsided everyone. There must be another love waiting for Adam.

  Yvonne sighed as her eyes drifted back to Dan. Unbidden his rather detailed narrative crept back in, and she quickly squashed it and focused on the name of the lady he was speaking to … Lexa. Oh goodness. His teammate is named Lexa. Not a common name, though it could be someone else. A hand landed on hers, and her preoccupied gaze turned to Ann.

  “Earth to Yvonne,” Ann said, her tone tinged with worry. Yvonne’s Chronic Fatigue Syndrome often intruded at the worst possible moments, though her sister always soldiered through with a positive attitude.

  Breaking into a smile, Yvonne answered, “Sorry, my thoughts are a little distracted. What did you want?”

  “You seemed lost for a moment. Do yo
u need to lie down?”

  “No. I’m fantastic.” I want to confide in Ann that Dan has a special someone in his life, but if this Lexa is a teammate that might be an extremely sensitive thing—certainly there is a non-fraternization policy in place. In her mind, Danny’s happiness came before any rule, but she wasn’t naïve enough to not appreciate that if word ever reached Walter, godfather or not, as the TRF Commander, he would have to take action.

  Ann hugged her identical twin. “Sorry I couldn’t tell you his secret plan. I’m aware it upset you immensely when you believed Danny wouldn’t be here, but I hope you’re not mad at me for not spilling the beans.”

  “Never could be angry with you. Some secrets are worth keeping. This surprise is … well, I don’t have the words to describe my feelings adequately. My prayers are finally answered.”

  General Broderick’s Home – Back Patio – 9:30 a.m.

  Adam smirked observing his younger brother as he continued grousing about Dan’s surprise. Eyeing his hands, he mentally weighed the two activities, a tie maybe? In this hand, yanking Zach’s chain, in the other, the exuberance he anticipated after Dan revealed the secret. Grinning he had made his decision, indubitably more fun teasing Zach.

  Almost the entire family gathered on the covered patio for the unveiling because his brother made such a big deal of whining to everyone that no one ever shared secrets with him. Their curiosity piqued, they all wanted to know what Dan hid under the plastic tarp. The only ones missing at the moment were their fathers. A few minutes ago, Kyle offered to locate and bring them out here when Dan noticed they were missing from the group.

  Scott looked expectantly at Dan when he assembled him, Adam, Jeff, Zach, and Kyle on the porch. He knew this would be loads of fun by the gleam in Dan’s eyes. Hell, it could be a rotten apple and Scott would be happy because he had not seen that light shining so brilliantly since Danny was six.

  Jeff eyed the bulky tarp covered item. Catching Runt covertly taking pain pills before coming outside, Jeff figured the surprise involved physical activity and Runt expected to join in. Having learned during JSTF Recovery just how stubborn Runt could be, it was the only conceivable reason Dan would willingly take pain meds. I’m gonna have to keep an eye on Runt, so he doesn’t overdo.

  Impatient by nature, Zach paced, waiting to find out the surprise. He eyed Dan trying to force him to reveal it instead of postponing until their dads arrived. His glare entirely ineffectual on Dan who only grinned at him.

  Kyle exited the house, followed by the remaining males. “Okay, they’re here. So what’s this surprise that’s got Zach’s panties all in a bunch?”

  As he lightly jabbed his elbow into Kyle’s ribs, Zach said, “Hey, you want to know just as much as I do.”

  Kyle laughed. “True but you didn’t hear me griping to everyone that I wasn’t in on a secret. You’d think being in the military would train you better for accepting the fact you won’t always be told everything.”

  Dan surveyed the group, and his eyes landed on the general. He grinned and his dad offered one back. We are making strides in reconciling. Things are improving. Perhaps I can do better and do as my godfather suggests, learn to view past actions through my father’s eyes. From some of the things Mom shared with me, Dad went to great lengths on my behalf. Dad never took credit for his efforts, always worked in the background.

  The main thing Dan now fully comprehended, regardless if they agreed on a subject or action, his father loved him—always. He spent this past summer and fall trying to sort out fact from what his child’s mind perceived as truth. It was still easier to talk to Mom about his recollections. Her gentleness and total acceptance of him in their long conversations helped him to slowly rebuild his childhood memories with fact rather than misconstrued fiction.

  Though, the recollection of his sixth Christmas he knew was fact—a blazing light illuminating the darkness which had once been a bleak childhood. A memory that, until he found out his parents didn’t disown him, served as a painful reminder of all he lost when Sara died. Now the remembrance was one he cherished with all his heart.

  Dan cleared his throat and grinned at the assembled group. “When I was six, Scott and Adam were fourteen and Jeff was eleven,” He looked at Zach and added, “You were only one.” Grinning at Kyle, he teased, “You were still half-baked as Uncle Erik liked to say.”

  Kyle chuckled as Dan’s gaze moved between his youngest male cousins. “So you two didn’t participate in the most epic snowball fight ever.” He switched his focus to Jeff, Adam, and Scott. “You three were a lot older than me, but you made my Christmas Eve one to remember. We planned some awesome tactics, and I still recall being on the winning team each time.”

  Dan laughed as he turned his eyes to Ashley and Vicky. “That includes the team you two and Sara formed to rescue me from the tree when guys chased me up it after I bragged a little too much about winning.”

  Vicky smiled recalling the day. “Enjoyed building a snowman with Ashley, Sara, and you and making snow angels while you boys fought your war.”

  Ashley said, “Saving you was all Sara’s idea. She saw her Danny trapped and she wouldn’t let the bullies keep you up in that tree.”

  Eyeing his sister Ashley, a frequent accomplice in shenanigans, Jeff retorted, “Hey, we weren’t bullying him. Runt deserved what he got.”

  Chuckling, remembering how Jeff and Ashley teamed up in all sorts of questionable activities, many of which happened to be pranks on him, Dan redirected back to his purpose. “Anyway. I asked Scott if he thought a nerf launcher, the one I was hoping to receive and did get, might be a good snow rifle. He laughed and thought it would be a good idea. When Adam and I took on Scott and Jeff, Adam lent me his slingshot to lob snowballs at them from a distance they couldn’t throw. Worked well distracting them from Adam who snuck up with a snow bomb.”

  He gripped the edge of the plastic covering. “Mother nature helped out. We have tons of snow on the ground which reminds me of that year with the amount. I requested Adam’s help, and he came through.” Dan lifted the tarp revealing his surprise. “Originally, I asked Adam to order six of them so we could have an epic snow war. But recalling how much fun we all had with paintball going against our dads, and with the whole family here, … I decided to buy more. Who’s game for a snowball war?”

  Everyone stared at the pile of snowball launchers.

  Tiffany’s oldest child, fifteen-year-old David, exclaimed, “So cool!”

  Ashley’s daughter, eight-year-old Diana, pulled on her father Landon’s arm. “I wanna be on your team, Daddy.”

  Zach beamed at Dan as he reached for one of the toys. All the waiting had been worth it. “I’ll team up with you. We’ll slaughter the rest of them.”

  “If we’re gonna do that we need my dad on our team.” Dan turned a hopeful eye to his father.

  Stepping forward, William picked up a launcher, happiness filling his heart. “I’m in. Happy to team with the world’s bestest sniper. We’ll take them all out.” William enjoyed using ‘bestest’, Danny’s choice of word when he was six.

  All adults in the family halted their action at William’s words as Dan’s mouth gaped open slightly, and he gawked at his father trying to process what the general just said. Does he genuinely believe I’m a better sniper than he is?

  Slinging an arm over Daniel’s shoulders, William beamed. “Close your mouth, son. Yes, you’ve surpassed my abilities! I should know, I trained you. Glad to pass the torch to my son. Let’s play!”

  Yvonne stood next to Ann, who held her two-year-old grandson Tony as everyone except Ann, Kim, Connie, and Lily started to form up teams. She sighed and brushed away a happy tear. “His sixth Christmas was one of our happiest ever. Dan embraced the giving spirit that year. I’m so thrilled to see his spirit shining so brightly again.”

  Ann placed her free arm around Yvonne. “I’m so happy for you too. Dan has truly returned. The light has returned to both your eyes.”

&n
bsp; Connie hugged Yvonne too. “We all missed him for so long. I’m delighted Dan managed to come home.”

  Kimberly came up behind them and lay her hand on Yvonne’s shoulder in sisterly affection. They all comprehended and witnessed the pain Yvonne endured ever since Sara died. She said quietly, “I think Sara’s smiling.”

  Yvonne laughed as her smile grew, gazing at Dan and William who now added little Courtney to their team. The sweet girl’s breakfast story of a golden girl sitting in William’s lap and a man with wings holding Dan mixed with an old conversation about angels she had with Dan as a child and conjured up images in her mind. Guardian angels exist. Perhaps she is William’s and Danny’s special angel. “Yes, I believe Sara is smiling, but I expect her expression is changing to a young lioness preparing to deflect snowballs from William and her Danny.”

  The others smiled and only nodded as the sounds of laughter from twenty-eight family members rang in the clear, crisp morning air as the snowball war got underway.

  Hearts of Gold and Belsnickel

  62

  December 25

  General Broderick’s Home – Family Room – 3:00 p.m.

  William wandered into the room refreshed and more content than he had been in years. His mid-day nap, the reason for his rested physical state, his son, responsible for his mental bliss. Surveying the cozy room and all the still napping bodies, young and old, he smiled.

  Scott sat in the corner of one side of the long sofa being cuddled by Lily. Anthony and Tiffany nuzzled together on the opposite side. Derek and Vicky lay on the plush carpet being used as pillows by their three kids, Tony, Caleb, and Courtney. Ashley and Landon claimed the loveseat and their daughter Diana sprawled out across their laps.

  Riley occupied a stuffed rocking chair with Pamela sitting in his lap and her head on his shoulder. Zach and Adam crashed on the rug near the fireplace. Those two wouldn’t be too pleased when they awoke to find Jeff’s sock-clad feet in their faces. William could envision the teasing that would start when those three woke.