by Margaret Kay
Angel took Sammy back from Michaela as he was getting fussy. It was time for him to nurse and then go down for a nap. “Sure, you can. You’ll do everything else the next week or so without him here. Besides, I want you to open the gift from Jackson and me.”
“Mine too,” seconded Michaela. “Anthony won’t mind. And you can send him pictures of what you guys got, maybe do a little video for him. He’ll like that.”
Sienna thought it over. “Okay, only the gifts from the three of you. The others wait till he’s home.” She got the big blue gift bag from Angel and Jackson first. She read the card, tearing up from the wonderfully welcoming sentiments Angel had written in the card. “Thank you. I feel the same way.” Then she pulled the super-soft blue throw blanket from the bag. It would look great draped over the living room couch. “This is so soft. I can see us snuggled up beneath it while watching television. Thank you, Angel.”
“There’s something else in the bag,” Angel said with a sly smile.
Sienna was cautious as she reached her hand back in. Wrapped in tissue paper, she brought out a crystal figure of a naked woman. “This is unusual.”
Angel laughed. “That’s Inanna. She was the Sumarian Goddess of love and war in ancient mythology. Anthony will know who she is. We thought that was appropriate for your household.”
“Wow, yes, I guess so, unless you’re thinking those in love would be at war with each other too.”
Angel laughed again. “No, I don’t want you and Anthony to be fighting with each other. That’s not what she’s about.”
“Angel, you’re rotten,” Yvette moaned. She had her phone up to her face. She handed her phone to Sienna. She had Googled Inanna.
“The goddess of procreation and fertility? Seriously!”
Angel laughed so hard Sammy startled off her breast and cried. “Sorry baby,” she cooed, and switched him to the other side. He had nearly been asleep. “You can’t blame me for wanting more kids in our ranks. I’ve decided I’m never going to make any friends with babies outside the agency. I’ll never be able to be honest with anyone, so no one will ever understand what our lives are like. Even my aunt and cousin don’t understand enough to be what I need,” she paused and blew out a breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make that about me. Open another gift, Sienna.”
Sienna considered her for a moment. Then her eyes swept over the other women. “We have talked about having a family, Anthony and me. I’ve always wanted children.” She nodded her head and smiled. “We’re going to give this about six months, to make sure it’s what we both want and then we’re planning to get married and start working on that family.”
“Ooh, yay!” Angel squealed. “Then keep that fertility goddess close by!”
Sienna laughed. Even though Anthony wasn’t there with her, she was surrounded by friendship and support, and knew this was where she belonged. After everything that had happened, she never could have remained in Virginia, living her old life. She was no longer that person, and that place was no longer home. She felt so grateful that she had this life now, these friends, and Anthony.
She glanced around their home as Bailey hopped on the couch beside her. Above the fireplace was a metal sculpture she and Anthony had bought in Ohio at a Fall Festival they had passed and decided to stop at. On the wall beside it, a framed picture of her and Anthony, a selfie they had taken in front of this townhouse after closing. On the other side of the fireplace in an identical frame, a picture of her, Anthony, and Bailey sitting on the couch. Bailey was in the middle of them. They were already building memories. She knew that Anthony was her present and her future. She was home.
The End
Shepherd Security Series:
Book 1, Operation: Protected Angel
Book 2, Operation: Recruited Angel
Book 3, Operation: Dark Angel
Book 4, Operation: Fallen Angel (Coming Summer 2019)
Books 5-8 not in order (Delta Team’s stories)
Operation: Beach Angel
Operation: Bayou Angel
Operation: Departed Angel
Operation: Unknown Angel
Acknowledgements
I truly say thank you, to you, the reader, for choosing this book. If you enjoyed it, would you please leave a review, so others might find this book to enjoy, as well? As an Independent Author, without a publishing house to help advertise my work, I rely on reviews from readers such as you and followers on social media to promote me. Thank you! I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you to my sisters, RK Cary and Charlie Roberts, who are writing their own Romance books. RK has finished up her Destined & Redeemed series and has several other Science Fiction/Fantasy stories in the works. Charlie is working on a contemporary romance series, the Stevens Street Gym Series. Both have been wonderful friends with the honesty and encouragement that only a sister can give. Check out their work on Amazon! Links directly to all our books on Amazon can be found on our website. The link is below.
Thank you to my wonderful and supportive husband for his patience and love while I spend hours upon hours to research and write this story. Also, for advising me on any parts of this story requiring knowledge of the military or weapons that I did not have.
Thank you to my mother who shared with me her love of books. As a child, the wonderful example my mother set for me as an avid reader led my sisters and me to write our stories. She has encouraged me to publish and I thank her for her support.
My friend, photographer, and graphic artist, Harry R., shot all the covers for this series. Thank you, Harry!
A big thank you to my girlfriends who have encouraged me and made me feel that I could do this at the times I felt insecure in my ability to accomplish this. You know who you are ladies! You hold a special place in my heart.
Thank you to my editors, who gave of their time selflessly to help me with the grammar, which is not my strongpoint.
Also thank you to two other authors who read and critiqued various sections of this book as I wrote it. Daniel Giallombardo and Thomas Dorsch, both of you are true gentlemen and amazing writers.
The model for this cover is a father, a grandfather, an amazing friend, and the owner of his own professional pet and house-sitting service. He rides a Harley, and when I saw one of his photos on his bike on Facebook, he immediately came to mind for this cover. Thank you, Tony!
Baptismal prayer used in this story was a compilation from different passages on https://connectusfund.org/12-best-baptism-prayers-for-babies.
About the Author
Hello! I am Margaret Kay. They say being a Military wife is the toughest job in the Armed Forces even though there is no MOS for the position. As the veteran of more than a few deployments, I have to agree. My husband proudly served 8 years in the United States Navy in the 80s. That was before cell phones and the internet.
For anyone who’s never had a loved one who’s served, being associated with the military is being part of a special community of people who support each other, who understand what the day to day is like when your loved one is deployed half-way around the world.
Saying goodbye to your loved one as they leave on a lengthy deployment is unlike saying goodbye to someone for any other reason. It’s not like dropping a son or daughter at college or hugging an aging parent after a visit. Your military member is being deployed, part of a mission. You cannot go visit when you miss them too much. You know it’s different. You plan for it differently. They may be getting deployed into harm’s way. And even if they are not, you know what their purpose is and that they could be in harm’s way at any time.
The emotions you feel when you stand with other families, when the unit, boat, or flight returns after many months of separation cannot be described in words that bring adequate justice to it, but I will try. There is a level of excitement equaled only by a child’s wonder on Christmas morning. A pride in your country, in the unit, and in your loved one that courses through your vein’s as you, your children, an
d all around you hold American flags and signs welcoming them home, waiting all together sometimes for hours before they appear and make their way towards you. As a spouse, you’re hungering for your partner’s touch, for their lips to meet yours, and for the reunion that will occur later, when you’re alone. With that excitement also comes nervousness because it has been so long since you’ve been together as a couple, sharing your bed.
My husband honorably separated from the Navy and easily transitioned to civilian life, but I never forgot what it was like while he served. Many of our returning servicemen and women have not had it so easy. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they recover from physical and emotional injuries. Many struggle to find employment. If you have the ability in your work to encourage the hiring of a Vet, please do.
Our military members are special! I honor all past, present, and future members of our military with my stories. Salute the flag, stand for the national anthem, and thank a Vet for their service. Freedom is not free, a lot of people sacrificed for the freedoms we enjoy.
Don’t ever forget!
Margaret
Please stay in touch. I have more books in the Shepherd Security Series in process plus two more, separate stories I think you will enjoy. And remember to check out my sister’s books. You can be kept abreast of my sister’s work and mine at our website:
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