“Whoa, there, Joe. I’m one of the good guys, remember?”
Joe sighed, dropped his arms and his shoulders, and nearly collapsed. T.J. took the Sig away from him, and uncocked the hammer so he wouldn’t shoot himself in the leg.
Police and rescue squads descended all over the house. Kyle and the others retreated and disappeared. Armando had to stay, as did T.J. Their liaison, Collins, as well as other Navy personnel showed up to run interference and guarantee neither of the two SEALs were exposed to the public. It was decided the attack would be classified a robbery stopped at gunpoint by a sharp-thinking retired carpenter who happened to be pretty good with a gun.
Lined with tears, Shannon looked exhausted. Of course, Courtney was nursing and didn’t seem to be affected by the sea of activity around her. Mrs. Benson attempted to bring coffee and water to the investigators and crew who had shown up. She tried to engage the services of her husband, but Joe appeared to be in shock still. T.J. sat him down.
“Joe, you did real good, there.”
“Man, I’m sure glad I didn’t have to shoot that thing. I’m not sure I would have.”
“Trust me, you would have. The way you looked at me and pointed it right at my chest, you would have. Just took you awhile to register who I was, but you were ready.”
“I could never do what you do, T.J.”
“You would if you had to, and you would have tonight. But you didn’t have to, and that’s what we’re all about.” He draped his arm around the man he would forevermore consider his father. “Frankie was right there with you. He’s jumping up and down in heaven, Joe. Believe me, he is.”
That brought a smile to Benson’s face.
The local police were able to control the two news vans that showed up at the scene and worked to keep a wide perimeter of neighbors.
Collins brought T.J. two yellow ponchos so they could exit as part of the rescue squad. They concluded their questioning, Collins observing everything. “I’m afraid I can’t have you leave with the family. It just would draw too many questions. They’ll be here awhile and I’m going to sit in on Benson’s interview, make sure the story goes the way it should.”
“Only guy I’m worried about is that prick from the FBI who interviewed me yesterday.”
“May not be able to keep you away from him, but I’ll try. Now you and Armando go crash at his place and get some rest. I’ll get the family over there as soon as I can, okay?”
T.J. put on his yellow rubber slicker and looked for Shannon, who was changing Courtney.
“You did great, sweetheart,” he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Shannon collapsed into his chest. With one hand on Courtney and the other arm squeezing the love of his life, he propped her up until her sobs ended.
“I’m so grateful, T.J. I’m—”
“You guys were troopers. You got nerves of steel, Shannon. I’m gonna need that in the months and years to come, honey. You’re my rock.
“Dad was—”
“Awesome,” he interrupted. “He was freakin’ awesome.”
She chuckled. “He was kind of, wasn’t he? I thought he was going to shoot you.” That brought a smile to her face.
“I think you would have jumped him, rather than let that happen,” he joked. “You’re tough, babe. Really tough. You guys kept your wits about you. That’s what it takes.”
“And training.”
“There is that.”
“Do you think this will end it?” She picked up Courtney and held her against her shoulder, patting her back.
T.J. didn’t want to answer, but he had to be honest with her. “No. Unfortunately, no. But I think this group is done, for now. I think we can expect more. I’m going to have to wait to see. Might be they relocate me to an East Coast team, but the Navy’s got their work cut out for them. Getting this close to our families is going to be something they’re going to have to look at.
She smoothed his cheek with her right hand. “Thank you, T.J. for coming into our lives. You kept your promise to Frankie. You protected me and Courtney. I love you.”
Armani and Collins interrupted their long kiss at the doorway.
“Gotta go, Talbot,” Collins’ voice was curt and efficient.
T.J. kissed Shannon one more time quickly and then addressed her, “I’m going to slip out with Armani, and we’ll meet up later at his house. Collins here is the man you want if you have any questions. He’ll be here when they formally interview Joe and Gloria. He’ll make sure you get to where you’re supposed to be without the news media or nosey neighbors getting in the way.
“Right.”
“Okay, then.”
It was hard to leave them behind, but for their best interests and for the circumstances, it was their only option. As he made his way toward a waiting unmarked van, next to the Puerto Rican sharpshooter, he discovered something else about himself.
The anger and anguish he’d been feeling before he’d gone over to the house, before he’d given the ring to Shannon, before the gunfight, was completely gone. He knew it was something he’d be dealing with his whole life, but one huge problem had been solved.
Shannon said it earlier.
You kept your promise to Frankie.
Chapter 36
T.J. was dressed in a tux and felt like a stuffed penguin. Kyle, Armando, Tyler and Fredo were beside him as they watched the last of the attendees filter into the little chapel. Green leafy vines covered the side of the building, with a large terrace at the back where the reception was going to be held. Sounds of birds echoed throughout the mostly stucco surface of the Spanish-style complex.
It wasn’t the grand, lavish wedding Shannon had the first time, but it was what she wanted, and T.J. was grateful for that.
Cindy, Shannon’s former maid of honor, flounced by wearing a bright blue dress, on the arm of another SEAL T.J. recognized from one of the other Teams. She twiddled her fingers at him with a sultry smirk.
And I’m not even slightly interested. But he winked for her benefit, and gave her a warm smile anyway. Fredo, Kyle, Armando and Tyler followed the two women until they disappeared into the church. It was just what they always did. No one said a word.
Mrs. Moore was to be escorted to the front row, and that was T.J.’s responsibility. Though it would normally be his best man’s duty, T.J. had insisted it be his job. She appeared before him, looking wound up tight but gorgeous. He noticed she smiled at him a lot more, which gladdened his heart. Maybe the truce they’d called during the wedding planning would work after all.
“Why, Mrs. Moore, you look absolutely divine,” he said as he bowed in her direction.
“Glad to see you haven’t taken off for Alaska,” she said and winked at him. T.J. could clearly see where Shannon got her fiery spirit.
“Never. I messed up Shannon’s first wedding. I won’t mess up the second. I promise.”
She dazzled him with her smile, her eyes filling with tears, just the way Shannon’s did when she was overwhelmed by emotion. “I know I can count on that promise.”
The groomsmen each punched T.J. in the arm and went ahead to stand at their places in the front of the chapel. Organ music wafted through the hallways and mixed with the sounds of the birds. He would always remember this as a perfect day. He was going to be stepping into a role he had never had before, to complete a mission he was made for.
He took Mrs. Moore’s arm and accompanied her toward the entrance to the chapel. Mr. Moore appeared out of nowhere and stood behind him. T.J. turned, and they shook hands.
“Son,” he said, “I’m very proud you’re marrying my daughter. Nothing could please me more.”
As he escorted Shannon’s mom down the aisle, he looked at his side of the church. They’d talked about someone else standing in for his parents, but T.J. told everyone to leave those seats vacant. Joe and Gloria Benson defied his edict and stood tall in the front row anyway, next to his sister Connie. He brought Mrs. Moore to her seat and stopped to give
her a warm kiss on the cheek. “You’re beautiful, just like your daughter,” he whispered.
Mrs. Moore straightened for a second, her eyes darting up to his face, unsure about the compliment, but then he could see her insides melt. Something else was on the tip of her tongue, but she tempered it. “Thank you,” she breathed back to him softly.
T.J. took his place next to Tyler, held his hands together and winked at his sister.
The audience began rustling as the music changed and everyone turned to see the vision of Shannon, standing in the same wedding dress she’d worn before. He was surprised and wondered about the protocol of this. He remembered that day, how Frankie had fallen and her bodice had been pulled down. He blushed and cleared his throat as he relived that memory.
Whatever possessed her to wear the same dress?
Looking at Mrs. Moore, he caught her wink at him. This had been her suggestion, he realized.
But as he watched her lightly drift down the burgundy carpet towards him, a proud Mr. Moore on her arm, he saw that yes, this was the perfect choice. He was stepping into the role that had been created for him. He was on a path that had been blazed for him, part of the tradition he’d always shunned, veered away from. As a SEAL, he was following the brotherhood of those who had fought before him, some of whom had perished. He wasn’t independent of them, he was part of them. The living and the ones who had passed on.
As it should be.
Shannon stood before him as Mr. Moore gave him her hand. He kissed her palm, the one with the now-healed scar in the center. Her eyes were glistening, her breathing ragged. “I am the luckiest man in the world.”
She slipped her fingers into his hair and shook her head. “I wish you could kiss me right now.”
“Very well.” He pulled up her veil, and, completely without regard to protocol, pulled her to him and kissed her, as she exploded in his arms. They listened to the crowd titter, but he didn’t care. He could see she didn’t care either. He kept his hands around the small of her back and no lower, but damn, he wanted to.
Just as he had the day of Frankie’s wedding, though it was so inconvenient, he was getting a hard on. It’s the dress. Something about all the flouncy, crinkling material flowing everywhere. It brought out the familiar wild side of him.
The minister cleared his throat, and again a ripple of laughter waved through the audience.
“I guess I should get you properly wed before I get you out of this dress,” he whispered. She remained in his arms, waiting for him to take the lead. She’d have stood there half a day if he wanted, and he loved that about her.
“You can take your time, I understand you’re a special operator, and I’m going to let you special me all you want.”
“Let’s get you mine, legally. I don’t want you slipping away on me.”
“Never going to happen, T.J.”
The crowd was laughing now heartily. Several Hooyas enthusiastically gave him encouragement. He turned to the audience and gave them a thumbs up, and several returned his gesture.
“I’m ready now,” he said to the minister, whose face showed a mixture of concern and amusement.
“Good. Okay, ladies and gentlemen …”
But T.J. had kept his arms around Shannon as she leaned in all her perfumed glory against him, her breasts pressing against his biceps. He matched her breathing, as they stared into each others eyes at several places during the reading of the canon. The minister had to interrupt their gazing for the presentation of the rings.
For the second time in his life, he slipped his mother’s ring on Shannon’s finger, looking over at his sister. Connie immediately lowered her chin and could not look back at him. Shannon was now his for all eternity with the pronouncement. Her veil was already tucked back from her head. He lifted his hands to cup her face and spoke, “If you can find it in your heart to love me a tenth of the amount I love you, you’ll make me a happy man, eternally.”
Their kiss was brief. Shannon wanted to say something, “T.J. you are the man I was always destined to be with. My heart is filled to bursting. I’ll be here for you forever.”
T.J. picked her up and whispered, “Honey, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve got the biggest hard-on I’ve ever had, and I need some cover.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Perfect. Don’t ever change, T.J.”
“Not to worry, baby.”
He carried her down the aisle, as he winked and she waved to faces in the audience. He continued carrying her down the brown tiled floor to the minister’s office, which was locked. Still with Shannon in his arms, he found a Sunday school room open and slipped inside.
His hands were all over her, first pulling down the bodice to expose her breasts. He knelt and suckled them, at the same time reached under her white skirts and found she was not wearing underwear.
“How did you know?”
“I was hoping. And I liked the feel of walking down the aisle without them on.”
“You’re a wicked bride.”
“I am that. So wickedly in love with you.”
He sat her on a countertop, brushing the contents aside.
“Hurry,” she whispered as he began unzipping his pants.
All he could do was fumble. He’d never had so much trouble with his zipper in his life. Then it got stuck in the fabric of the front closure.
“Fuck!” he said.
“Please, yes.”
“No, I mean, the zipper is stuck.”
“Let me.” She squeezed his package, massaging lower, pushing his hands away. Her fingers deftly found the zipper, untangled the fabric from the teeth as she pulled the device down slowly and her hands found his shaft. “Ah, there we are, T.J.” She slipped his trousers over his thighs.
She guided him to her entrance, and he at last felt her moist folds around him as he squeezed her buttocks, pulling her onto him.
Shannon was not going to leave his side. She didn’t want to dance with anyone else, but in the end she caved and socialized. She watched him from behind as he talked to his Teammates. She watched how delicately he treated her mother. He even danced with his sister.
She was happy that at last they would be able to move forward together.
Joe Benson asked her for a dance. “I think I am just as happy today.”
Shannon’s eyes filled with tears. “He would be happy for me, for all of us, Dad.”
Benson looked down and lost his timing for a second, stepping on her gown, and apologized. “I think he would. Gloria and I have no regrets, Shannon. None.”
At last she was able to dance with her handsome groom. T.J. swung her around the room with the practiced composure of a professional dancer, and it surprised her.
“You’ve been practicing,” she said.
“Sophia’s dance lessons. Secret stealth mission.”
“Ah, I see. And what else have you been practicing?”
“You’ll just have to wait, Mrs. Talbot. That has taken a lifetime of planning. I may have to do a lot of practice, but I plan on becoming absolute master and commander.”
“Counting on it. And I’ll be your second in command.”
Please enjoy these other books in the Bad Boys of SEAL Team 3 series, listed in order:
SEAL My Home
SEAL’s Code
All these books available in Audible format as well.
New Years SEAL Dream
Bone Frog Brotherhood Book 1
Sharon Hamilton
Chapter 1
“No thanks needed, Tucker. I didn’t ask you to be part of the wedding party because I didn’t think you’d fit into a 5X tux on top with your XL waist. You’re an action figure, Tuck. Besides, you drool.”
Tucker growled as he turned his back on the groom, Brawley Hanks. The dressing room full of handsome penguins grunted and politely guffawed, since they were all dressed up and on good behavior.
“And there’s no room for even a Barbie on his arm. Damn those church aisles,” barke
d Riley Branson.
Another former Teammate, T.J. Talbot, grabbed Tucker’s arm and drew him out of the Room of Doom, as the single SEALs called it. “Pay no attention to them. They’re assholes. Also, who wants to walk down the aisle with a Barbie Doll?” He winked at Tucker.
He felt at ease immediately. Tucker’s huge hands and fingers knotted themselves to oblivion, having no place to hide and looking like a bushel of antlers he was carrying. “Thanks, T.J. I hate these things,” he said, pulling on his lapel. “But I’ve been out of commission so long, thought it would be nice to see some of the guys.”
“And now you’ve seen that nothing has changed.” T.J. was nearly as tall as Tucker, perhaps an inch shorter. He bumped foreheads. “But the girls will be younger because of Dorie, and that’s probably a good thing,” T.J. whispered.
“You having regrets, you old married fart?” Tucker murmured back.
Brawley’s dad appeared in the church hallway before T.J. could answer and slapped both the former Teammates on the back simultaneously. “Glorious day, isn’t it?”
Tucker knew old man Hanks was relieved his son had finally settled down and picked somebody. Brawley had more breakups than a pre-teen homeroom class.
“Yessir. Just took the right woman.” T.J.’s face was shriveled up, like his last comment had soured his tongue. Tucker knew he was lying through his teeth. Privately, he thought, it took more alcohol than could fill a battleship to convince Brawley it was time to man-up.
“Dorie’s a real nice gal,” Tucker offered up. “You’re gonna be a lucky father-in-law. She should fit in well with the rest of the family,” he added, trying to keep a straight face. He knew it would be painful for T.J.
Both gentlemen looked back at him, T.J. not showing an ounce of expression. Mrs. Hanks was raised in the local Mennonite community. She was as plain as a saltine cracker, without any makeup or hair curling or adornments. Her two daughters were younger, even paler copies of her. Whereas Dorie looked like she could handle a Las Vegas pole and entertain a whole room of men. Those were going to be some interesting family dinners during the holidays, Tucker figured.
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