by Jaime Lewis
“What are you looking at?” Autumn asked, noticing his interest in the house. Maybe she knew if someone was living there.
“Does anybody live in that house?”
She pointed to the house in question. “That one?” He nodded, but she shook her head and scrunched up her nose. “No. Nobody has lived there since we moved in. And we’ve been here a little over a year. Now and then, someone comes and cuts the grass. Mrs. Higdon said she’s spotted some homeless people coming and going from it, but she hasn’t said anything lately. Why?”
He didn’t want to alarm her.
“Just wondering. I thought I saw someone in there last night when I pulled in.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows, maybe it was just an animal in there?” She agreed, but something told him it wasn’t an animal. His gut was telling him someone was living there. He just hoped it was an innocent person just looking to get out of the elements. He’d need to keep his eyes open.
Chapter Sixteen
“Autumn seems to be enjoying herself.”
“She does, and so does Cody. Thanks for hanging out today, Potter, and bringing Alejandra.”
“My pleasure, just as long as your boy knows to keep his dick away from my little girl, everything will be just fine,” Potter said as he took a drink from his beer.
Ace started laughing, but Frost looked at Potter with an unbelievable expression. “Oh, for fuck sakes, Potter. He’s ten.”
Potter pointed his finger at Frost and grinned. “Exactly! I remember the thoughts I started having when I was that age. And, isn’t he close to eleven?”
“So, I’m guessing you worked everything out with her last night,” Ace asked.
“Yeah, we came to the conclusion we were both somewhat at fault. It was a breakdown in communication, and she has some reservations about my job. I understand where she’s coming from. She lost her husband to the war. We talked, and I explained that anything could happen at any given time. I used the situation with Tenley as an example.” Frost took a drink of his beer. “I think she’s good now, though. I’m hoping that a little time with Alex and Tenley will also help.”
“Yeah, that has to be hard losing a spouse to war, and when you finally start to date again, and you wind up with another person serving, but to make matters even more intense, this person has an even more dangerous role in the military.”
Frost thought back to what Autumn was telling him about her husband’s deployments. He wanted to get Ace and Potter’s take on it and see if they had the same thought he did.
“Actually, I wanted to get your opinion on something. Autumn told me a little about her husband’s military career, and something doesn’t sit right with me.” He explained how Autumn told him about the last couple of years before her husband’s death, how his deployments were more spontaneous.
“Shit…are you thinking he may have been Special Forces?”
Frost shook his head. “It crossed my mind. If he were truly in the Infantry unit as Autumn said, he would have had a start and end date for deployments. According to her, the last few years weren’t like that. She called it a revolving door. He’d leave at a moment’s notice and wouldn’t know when he’d be back. Sometimes, he was gone for weeks; sometimes, it was months.”
Potter let out a low whistle. Then Ace spoke. “Talk to the commander. Maybe he could ask his buddy Tink to look into it. That’s if you want to know.”
Frost looked over at where Autumn was sitting down by the pool with Alex and Tenley. She was smiling at something Alex was saying. “It’s not that I want to know. I just think it would be nice for Autumn and Cody to know exactly what Kevin was into. Special Forces…that is something to be proud of.”
“Did you find out why she’s living in that shit hole of a complex? Because after you left last night, the guys and I were talking some, and none of us like the fact or feel comfortable with her and Cody living there alone. That is a terrible area of town.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. As soon as I pulled into the parking spot, my danger vibe was going off. I didn’t like the feeling I was getting.”
“You see any of her neighbors?”
“Yeah, I met the lady who lives next door. She’s a sweet elderly lady who lives alone. Autumn seems to like her a lot. A couple of houses down, though; I’m not so sure about. When I got there last night, there were a lot of people hanging out outside of it and flowing into the parking areas. Then there’s the abandoned house across the street. I swear I saw the curtain in the front window move. I mentioned it to Autumn, and she said, sometimes homeless people go in there to sleep.”
“Her place is tiny. Stitch and mine’s apartment is twice the size of her place. She has it decorated nicely and all, but Jesus, everything in there is like miniature. I get a sense that she doesn’t have much money, but I don’t understand that. I mean she has a good steady job, she should be receiving survivor benefits, and I would think she got a nice sized check from her husband’s life insurance policy.”
“Not to mention, she sends her son to that Academy by the hospital. I’ve heard the tuition for that place is outrageous.” Potter chimed in.
“She mentioned this morning that she would prefer to send Cody to public school, but logistically she can’t with work.”
“Why is that?”
“She doesn’t have anybody to watch him after school.”
“Shit, Juliette could pick him up if you or Autumn couldn’t. She picks up Alejandra.
Frost watched Ace take a sip of his beer and set it down. He had a look on his face that told Frost he knew something.
“What?”
Ace rubbed the back of his neck. “I probably shouldn’t say anything because Alex spoke with me in confidence, but if you’re concerned, you should know and make a plan to ask Autumn about it. Alex was still wound up after you left last night, and she mentioned something about the government screwing Autumn over and something about a sister-in-law. I believe Alex called her a bitch.”
Frost thought back to his conversation with Autumn the other week when she was talking about her life back in California and leading up to her moving here. She mentioned a sister-in-law a couple of times, and each time her facial expression had a look of disgust.
“She’s mentioned a sister-in-law before in conversation, but she didn’t elaborate too much on it. She did mention how she swindled money away from Kevin and her after Kevin’s parents were killed in a car accident. I’ll talk with her because I sure in the hell don’t want her living there anymore.”
They all agreed and then started talking about the baseball scores.
◆◆◆
“Look at those two. You would think they’ve known each other for years.” Autumn said, referring to Cody and Alejandra. She, Tenley and Alex were sitting next to the pool talking while the kids splashed around in the pool playfully and giggling. Even Alex’s chocolate lab, Zuma, was enjoying the pool with the kids. The dog was amazing. He would actually dive down to the bottom of the pool to retrieve his toy when the kids threw it. Cody had always wanted a dog, but it had never been the right time.
She was a little worried about Cody’s head since he still had a slight headache, but he seemed to be having fun. She had given him some medicine before they left their house.
“She’s a sweet girl, Tenley. Frost shared with me her story. It’s such a sad situation she had to go through, but thank goodness you were there and were able to turn her life around.”
Tenley looked at Alejandra and smiled. “Yeah, it was tough at first. I don’t know if Frost told you that Alejandra had to stay behind when I came back from Ecuador because of all of the legalities.”
“No, he didn’t mention that.” She took a sip of her iced tea.
“Yeah, I was also going through some bad times as well. Some deep personal issues. At the time, things were complicated between Potter and me. I think I fell in love with that beast of man the moment I met him.” Autumn saw her glance at Potter with such admirati
on and love in her eyes.
“I think he fell in love with you as well that day,” Alex said, chiming in.
“Anyway, with everything going on, I was a hot mess, and I kind of hit rock bottom. I was hiding a lot from my friends and Potter.” Autumn saw the way Tenley looked over at Alex. It was almost like she was saying she was sorry again. “One night, I snapped. I ended up on a beach here in town, though at the time I didn’t know Potter’s condo was directly behind where I was. I was so deep in my head, not to mention drunk about half a bottle of rum and ended up passing out on the beach as high tide was coming in.”
Autumn gasped and touched Tenley’s hand. “Who found you?”
“Thankfully, Potter had just gotten home and happened to be out on his balcony and saw me. He got to me and brought me up to his condo. The next day, he and I talked a lot. I opened up and finally let him in on everything going on. The following week, we were married, and he surprised me by flying Alejandra up for the wedding. While she was here, all of my friends and family helped out with the legal issues, and we were able to adopt her. She’s Potter’s little princess. From what I heard, she had him wrapped around her little finger the moment they met.”
“So, Potter met her in Ecuador, too? Was he there with you?”
“Yes, but he was there with the team.”
“Oh, I understand their travels are classified.”
“No, they were there because of me. A few days before I was supposed to fly back home, I was attacked at the medical tent I’d been working at. I was alone, and some guys tried stealing stuff, and one thing led to another, but some guys had been passing by and saw what was happening and stopped the bad guys from hurting me further.”
“Holy shit, Tenley!”
Tenley finished telling her everything about how the guys who stopped the attack actually worked with her biological dad, whom she had never met, and how he had always kept a watchful eye on her. She then explained about her ex-boyfriend and the drug cartel leader he was working with and how they were trying to use her to get to her father. By the time she finished the story, Autumn’s head was spinning. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster.
“Did any of that have to do with the guy who shot Frost?”
“Yeah, if it wasn’t for Frost, I don’t know if Alejandra would be with us. He saved her life that day.” Tenley wiped her eyes, and Autumn noticed Potter was looking directly at Tenley with a concerned expression. The man was definitely in tune with his wife.
“Honey, I think your man is worried.”
Autumn saw Potter pointing at Frost and saying something. From here, it looked as if Potter was upset about something. But then she saw the smirk on Frost’s face, and Ace was roaring with laughter, so she knew it couldn’t be that bad.
The guys made their way over to where she and the girls were sitting.
“What was Potter saying that was so funny, babe?” Alex asked Ace as he picked her up and sat in her seat and pulled her on his lap. Alex snuggled against his chest.
Frost placed his hands on Autumn’s shoulders and squeezed gently. She looked up at him, and he gave her a wink.
“Potter’s got the case of protective daddy syndrome.”
“Speaking of the kids, where did they go anyway?” Ace asked.
Alex looked up at him. “Inside to change and then play air hockey. Zuma went in with them.”
“Oh, I hope they know to change in separate rooms,” Tenley said and winked at Autumn and then started giggling when Potter’s face paled. She pulled on his hand, and he bent down, and Tenley kissed him. “I’m just teasing, honey. You need to stop being such a Papa Bear. I’m sure Cody will take good care of our little girl.” He caressed her belly, and the move almost made Autumn shed a tear.
Frost leaned down and asked Autumn how Cody was feeling. She smiled up at him. Happy that he thought to ask.
“He seems to be okay. He’s having fun. He and Alejandra really hit it off. Tenley and I are going to schedule some more playdates for the two of them, especially now that summer break is just around the corner.”
“What is Cody going to do this summer?”
Autumn thought about it and then realized she hadn’t planned anything except for his Sea Cadets trip to Washington, DC. Last year, they were still in California for most of the summer before moving.
“Shoot. I’m not sure. I wasn’t even thinking about that. I’ll get on online and look for some camps. I know there are two Sea Cadets summer trainings he wanted to do. They are each a week and overnight. The plus side is they are right in Norfolk, so I won’t have to spend money on travel expenses. And there is the DC trip he is going on, but their unit raised enough money to cover all of the kids’ travel expenses.”
“That sounds like fun. If you want, I can see if my mom will watch him the weeks he doesn’t have anything planned. I mean, she watches Alejandra for us. She already has activities lined up, like taking her bowling, to the movies, things like that.”
“Oh, I couldn’t ask her to do that. I’m sure I can find something.”
“Nonsense. She’d be happy to. She loves kids, and now that she isn’t working, she needs things to do.”
Autumn nibbled on her lip, and she felt Frost squeeze her shoulders again.
“Are you sure?”
Tenley smiled and nodded her head. I can talk to her later tonight and let you know. But trust me when I say she will say yes.”
“Okay, I guess so. I’d pay her, though.”
“Oh, honey,” Tenley said, reaching over grabbing Autumn’s hand. “You don’t understand. You’re with Frost now, which means you are now a part of our unit. We all take care of one another. My mom is dating their commander, Derek, who is Alex’s dad.”
Autumn looked at Alex, who had a big smile on her face, and she nodded. “What she tells you is true. We are a unique little unit, and as Tenley said, we take care of each other and are there for one another no matter what.”
Ace squeezed Alex a little tighter against him. “The way you ladies like to venture into things, us guys have to be on our toes at all times.” Alex slapped Ace’s chest. “We aren’t that bad,” she said, snuggling close to him with a big smile on her face. The sight of the two of them warmed Autumn’s heart.
All the guys started snickering, then started telling Autumn stories about Tenley and Alex and the trouble they’ve gotten into. Autumn was having so much fun she lost track of time until Frost’s watch caught her attention. They’d been sitting out here talking for about two hours since the kids went inside. Not that she was concerned they would get into anything, but she was still worried about Cody’s head.
She went to get up, and Frost grabbed her hand and gave her a curious look.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just going to check on the kids. I didn’t realize it’s been over two hours since they went inside, and I haven’t seen nor heard anything from them.”
Potter looked at Tenley and patted her leg.
“We need to get going. Your mom and Derek will be at the house shortly.”
Everyone got up and started gathering everything, then went inside in search of the kids.
“Look at them! They look so adorable,” Alex whispered as she took out her phone to take a picture. Autumn and Tenley were getting their phones out to take pictures as well.
Frost and Ace stood there, watching Potter biting the inside of his cheek. It was just too easy to mess with the big guy. Frost felt sorry for the poor bastard who had the balls to ask Alejandra out on a date once she was old enough.
Frost had to admit the sight of the two kids was cute. The two were curled up on the floor in front of the massive TV, fast asleep. They were both on their sides facing each other, snuggled under the blanket and sharing a pillow. Zuma was out cold at their feet.
“Potter…you okay over there?” Ace asked with laughter in his voice. Potter shot him the finger, and Frost started laughing.
“Fuck you two. You just wait u
ntil you have kids. I hope you have twin girls. Then you’ll know exactly how I feel.”
Everyone laughed. Frost looked at Cody, and a thought hit him, making his chest tighten a little. He already had a kid. He may not be blood, but he considered Cody his son. Then he glanced over at Autumn, who was watching him. He glanced at her belly and envisioned her belly round with a baby growing inside. His baby. A little brother or sister for Cody. He felt his cock start to grow as he thought about taking Autumn home and burying himself in her. He shook his head. Holy shit, he was seriously getting a hard-on standing in front of his friends.
Chapter Seventeen
“Wow, Mom. You look hot!” Cody told his mom, smiling at her as she stepped out into the living room. She and Frost were finally going on their first official date. She wanted to look nice and also wanted to be comfortable since it was supposed to be a warm evening, so she decided on a simple jade green strapless dress that came to just above her knees and hugged her shapely figure.
The restaurant Frost was taking her to had outside seating. He made reservations for a table on the patio, which overlooked the beach. Her friend Eileen at work told her the place had a very romantic atmosphere and was known for its excellent seafood menu.
She ran her hands down the dress. “Are you sure it looks okay?”
“Seriously, Mom. You look great. Frost will think so too!”
She smiled. “You think so?”
“I know so.”
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Cody said he’d answer it. She knew it was Frost. They were going to drop Cody off at his friend’s house on their way to the restaurant, and he was staying the night, which meant Autumn had the house all to herself tonight. Would tonight be the night she let go of all of her fears and let Frost in completely?