by Tessa Bailey
Vaughn leaned back against the bureau, finally setting his gun down and easing it away. “I told Riv I’m staying, that I want to be a real father. But it doesn’t seem right unless I’m River’s husband, too. I’m supposed to be her husband.” He cleared the emotion out of his throat, then threw Duke a look brimming with annoyance. “Why aren’t you uncomfortable talking about this?”
Duke’s low laugh filled the room. “Man, I’ve got four sisters at home. They all got married and divorced while we were serving. All of them.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “They always were competitive, but without me here to intercede, it got out of control. Now I’ve got sisters coming out of my fucking ears. Are you hearing me? My life is non-stop emotion. Non-stop. Listening to your shit is a cake walk, compared to what I have to deal with.”
By the time Duke finished talking, Vaughn’s sides were aching with suppressed laughter. “Sounds like maybe you’re the one who needs to talk about his shit.”
“I need to be distracted from it,” Duke clarified. “What do you think I’m doing in this Miami Vice-themed junk hole at eight in the damn morning?”
Vaughn held up both hands. “All right, Crawford. I’ll distract y—” He broke off when a thought occurred. “Any of those sisters of yours babysit?”
Duke dropped his head into his waiting hands. “Yes. Please give them something to do. Just get them out of the house for one night so I can watch SportsCenter in my boxers.”
“I’ll talk to River,” Vaughn said. “Actually, that’s the whole point. I need to explain what happened before I left.” Or try anyway. “The talk with her father. What happened overseas. All of it. I just need to get her somewhere we’ll actually talk and not—”
“Bang like bunnies on spring break. I hear you.” A darker kind of light entered Duke’s eyes as he stood. “That’s the other reason I’m here. Colonel Moriarty called me again last night. Looking for you.”
Discomfort balled in Vaughn’s stomach. “What did you tell him?”
Duke’s extended silence said it all, but he explained anyway. “I told him you were in Hook for the duration. You deserve the damn honor they want to give you, man.” He had to speak over Vaughn’s grated expletives. “Why do you insist on pretending that night never happened? The army has the right to acknowledge—”
“I don’t want to be acknowledged,” Vaughn shouted. “I don’t want some medal and a pat on the back for doing what I signed up for.” Pain ticked in his temple, an ache he remembered from that first year back on U.S. soil. “Look—”
Vaughn’s cell phone rang on the bedside table, and he bypassed a stone-faced Duke to go answer it. River. Her name came up now, since he’d programmed in her number. Just seeing those five strung-together letters eased his headache. “Hiya, doll,” he answered.
“Hey.” She sounded distracted, or maybe worried, putting Vaughn on alert. “There’s a man at the house here to see you. A Colonel Moriarty? I told him you were staying nearby, so he’s having coffee on the back porch…waiting.” Silence. “Do you have any idea what he wants?”
“I’ll be over in five minutes,” Vaughn managed, before hanging up and turning to Duke, anger bubbling in his veins. “You gave him River’s address?”
“No, I did not.” Duke headed for the door. “But if he asked anyone in Hook where to find you, they all would have directed him there, if for no other reason than to fuck with you.”
Vaughn snatched up his car keys. “I hate this town.”
“No, you don’t.” Duke preceded him to the parking lot, sauntering toward his own pickup truck, obviously without a care in the world. “I’ll send my sisters over later. Good talk.”
Chapter Thirteen
River frowned down at the phone in her hand, replaying the brief exchange with Vaughn. Whoever this Colonel Moriarty was, Vaughn didn’t seem to be thrilled about having to meet with him. Why?
She leaned into the living room to check on Marcy, finding her wrapped up in a blanket, singing the lyrics from a Disney movie song into a static-ridden karaoke machine. Curiosity eating away at her, River decided not to waste another minute in figuring out what the man on her porch needed. Once Vaughn showed up, she might not get the chance. Even at their closest, secrets had swirled around Vaughn, and somehow River suspected it would be impossible to gain insight if she waited for him to open up. At least about his time with the military. Time she knew nothing about because Vaughn had left Hook the same day he returned.
River slipped out onto the porch, leaving the door ajar so she could hear if Marcy called. Colonel Moriarty watched her through intelligent eyes over the rim of his coffee mug. “Did you get in touch with De Matteo?”
“I did. He’s on the way.” River cupped her elbows. “Listen, it’s probably none of my business, but did Vaughn do something…wrong?”
“Wrong? No.” The colonel stood, setting his steaming mug down on the porch railing, the movement very precise. “I’ve been sitting here wondering why I didn’t check for De Matteo at your residence more than once, after my initial search. You were listed as his only next of kin in his file, after all. He would have made his way back eventually.”
Pressure shoved against River’s sternum, the colonel’s words thunking against the inside of her skull. “He listed me as his only next of kin? But he has an uncle…”
When she didn’t continue—because there was no one else to list—the man nodded once. “Just you.” Whatever he saw on River’s face must have interested the colonel, because he tilted his head, squinting eyes that reminded her of old western movies. “Our intention is to bestow the Medal of Honor on Mr. De Matteo, if he would deign to grace us with his presence. I’ve been seeking Vaughn out since he was discharged.”
“Oh my gosh.” River sat down out of necessity, pulse going wild in her wrists and neck. A thousand questions occurred at once, so she asked the most insistent. “H-how did he earn the medal?”
He sighed, staring out into the backyard. “We teach them everything but how to communicate to the people back home, don’t we?” The colonel considered her for a beat. “I suppose you’ll have to hear it from him. But suffice to say, he gave a lot of families closure. Including mine. Which is why tracking him down and ramming the honor down his throat is something of a personal mission to me.”
“Oh,” was all River managed before Vaughn came bursting onto the porch, hair standing in several different directions, obviously having cut through the side yard. His exhausted gaze seesawed between her and the colonel, before sticking on her, softening. “You didn’t tell her, did you, Colonel Moriarty? My River…she shouldn’t have to hear terrible things like that.”
“No, he didn’t tell me. But you will,” River whispered, answering for the colonel. Something important was playing out here. She had no idea what. She only knew Vaughn had kept something huge from her, something he’d just confirmed was terrible, and it had happened prior to their breakup. Sensing she wouldn’t get a word out of Vaughn until they were alone, she broke their stare and faced the colonel. “How does he receive the honor? Where?”
“I could have brought it with me, but that would be far too easy, De Matteo, after I’ve spent four years looking for you.”
Pain slashed across his features. “I made it pretty difficult to be found.”
The older man’s eyes briefly floated between Vaughn and River before he took three crisp steps forward. “But find you I did. And we’re having a ceremony at Fort Hamilton in two days. It would bring my family great pleasure to have me present you with the medal.”
“He’ll be there.” River blurted the promise, but once it was out, she straightened her spine and owned it. “If you leave me the details, I’ll make sure of it.”
Vaughn rolled his neck, clearly uncomfortable with so much attention focused on him, but his voice was firm. “Riv, I’m not leaving when I just came back. No way, no how.”
She thought back to the young man everyone had discounted except for he
r. The guy who’d treated her like spun gold, hating himself for bringing her to a motel or his tiny studio apartment. The guy whose parents had abandoned him to TV dinners and an impersonal upbringing via his uncle. And she decided if Vaughn had done something worth honoring, his next of kin should damn well see it carried through. “Marcy and I will come with you. To the ceremony.”
His chest lifted and then shuddered down. “You will?”
“Yes,” she breathed.
When they managed to break eye contact, the colonel was no longer standing on the porch with them, but they found a note with the time and location of the ceremony inside on the kitchen table. As she scanned the blunt-scripted words, River felt Vaughn’s breath coast up her neck. “Come out with me tonight.”
Oh Lord, she needed to be with him. Needed the gaps of their history filled in…hell, being around him would be enough. Even now, she felt stronger just having him in the room. More substantial. “I’d have to find a babysitter.”
He dragged his bared teeth up River’s nape. “Got it covered, doll.” They both released a shaky laugh when Marcy screamed for mommy out in the living room. “Be ready at seven.”
River nodded, practically deflating when Vaughn released her and backed out onto the porch. Before he could vanish, she murmured, “Are you going to tell me what happened, Vaughn?”
His throat worked. “As much as I can.”
He left her wondering exactly what he would leave out. And if, once again, they would be the most important parts.
Chapter Fourteen
Duke dropped off his sisters at seven o’clock sharp and burned rubber down River’s street, leaving Vaughn to herd the bickering women into River’s house. River had insisted on speaking with Duke on the phone before agreeing to let the sisters watch Marcy, and seemed satisfied with what she’d been told. But it occurred to Vaughn as they arrived at the door that maybe…he wouldn’t mind being comfortable, too. His time with Marcy so far had been minimal—which he would change as soon as he and River were on even footing—but his daughter’s safety had become his concern the moment he’d found out about her.
“Excuse me, ladies,” Vaughn said, attempting to cut through an argument about someone’s cousin’s cousin, who’d apparently married the hairdresser who styled the Real Housewives of New Jersey, but hadn’t invited any of them to a filming. Which they all agreed was some righteous bullshit. None of them so much as batted an eyelash at Vaughn’s attempt to break into their conversation, so he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled, which in retrospect, might have been a mistake.
“Did you just whistle at us?”
“Do we look like a pack of golden retrievers to you?”
“I knew your uncle, Vaughn De Matteo. He was an asshole, but he sure as shit never whistled at nobody.”
“Where’s this kid? Are we here to watch a kid or what?”
Vaughn looked down for a moment, before he took a deep breath and tried again. “Look, I’m sorry about the whistling, all right? I’m nervous as hell.” He slicked anxious fingers through his hair. “This was my idea. And Marcy’s only been my daughter a few days. She’s…you know. Perfect. So could you ladies just take good care of her for me?”
There was a long silence—and then Vaughn was smothered by four sets of arms and bosoms, perfume snaking into his throat. Someone was patting his back with such force, he was pretty sure his shoulder blades were being relocated.
“He’s cute when he’s not demeaning us.”
“Not in town three days and he’s off the market. This is why. This is why we need to try that online dating.”
“I’m going to take that as a yes,” he croaked, just in time for the front door to open behind him. River’s laugh had the corners of his own mouth lifting. But it was Marcy’s shy hello that made the network of arms fall away from his body, to the tune of high-pitched squeals. He turned to watch as the four women shuffled Marcy into the living room, pulling toys and coloring books out of various storage spots, turning the space into a full-fledged kid paradise in under a minute. One of the women—whom Duke had introduced as Lisa—removed a makeup bag from her purse and started applying lip balm to a giggling Marcy’s mouth.
River stole his attention, though, when she glided into the kitchen to retrieve her purse. Dressed in some kind of wrap-around red dress, she was a stick of fucking dynamite. Christ, he wasn’t going to have peace until he’d peeled that clinging material off of her curves and spread her legs. Please, if you’re listening upstairs, let me end the night inside my woman.
Not an appropriate request for the Big Guy, but then again, he’d never been an appropriate man. Not on his best day.
When River returned from the kitchen, Vaughn wrapped an arm around her waist, losing the ability to breathe when she leaned into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. This is exactly where I’m supposed to be. Right here. “Hiya, doll,” he murmured. “Marcy will be okay, right?”
River nodded, her forehead nudging his jaw. “She’s in heaven.” She slipped her hand into his bigger one. “Take me somewhere, Vaughn.”
They didn’t make it down the porch steps before Vaughn pushed River up against the railing and gave her a slow, wicked kiss. “You trying to stop my heart in that red dress? It might just work.” He licked along the underside of her jaw. “You’ll have to help me get it ticking again.”
She gasped when his teeth snagged on the flesh behind her earlobe. “How am I supposed to do that?”
“Don’t make me talk about fucking you. Not out loud. Not yet,” he groaned into the crook of her neck. “I’m taking you to eat. We’re doing foreplay, you and I.”
“Foreplay. Right.” River nodded, but yanked him in for a kiss that damn near had steam coming out of his ears, then pulled away with a seductive smile before he could slip her the tongue. Damn. A lot had changed since yesterday, when he couldn’t read her. She’d lost that guarded expression, and he was damn grateful. Would it last if he managed to come clean? Vaughn didn’t know, but secrets were their enemy at this point. An enemy he’d never be able to defeat without the truth.
As much as he could give.
He beat River to the passenger side of his truck, opening the door and holding out an assisting hand to boost her up. “Goddamn,” he growled when she bent at the waist to duck into the cab, lifting the dress’s hem to display smooth, bare thighs. “No panty hose anymore, huh? I can definitely live with that change.”
“My mother isn’t here to force me into them now.” She crossed her legs slowly. “Either way, I don’t remember you complaining about them.”
“Complaining?” Vaughn rubbed a hand over his open mouth. “I was too busy ripping them off with my teeth.”
River’s cheeks darkened. “Maybe I should go back inside and put some on.”
Vaughn closed the passenger side door, his laugh echoing down the block. Hard as he could, Vaughn tried to hold on to the humor, to retain the lightness River shot into his bloodstream, but as always, the houses caught his attention as they drove. They were in a nicer section of town, residences lit up from within by soft lamplight, gardens blooming in the front yards. You can’t give her that.
Through sheer force of will, Vaughn shoved aside the plaguing thoughts and focused on now. River sat within his reach. They were actually out together, on a date, and if that wasn’t reason to be grateful, nothing was.
He was glad she didn’t ask him where they were headed, because her expression when they pulled up in front of Park Place, a small bistro just outside of Hook, was so beautiful, he had to look away. “You remember this place.”
“Of course I do,” she said after a moment.
“The one time I could afford to buy you a decent meal.” He tugged the keys out of the truck’s ignition. “Then I ruined the whole night. Your nineteenth birthday night. Told you I’d boosted a car in Manhattan to pay for dinner.”
Good plan, Vaughn. Start off the night reminding her what a degenerate you were.
“No. You tried to ruin the night. I wouldn’t let you.” River wet her lips. “If I remember correctly, we skipped dessert and went back to your place.”
“You’re not remembering correctly.” He stared out through the front windshield. “I drove us to a park one block over, and you rode me in the backseat.”
She uncrossed her legs, but kept them pressed together. “You’re not going to make talking easy, saying things like that.”
He gave her a look full of meaning. “There won’t be nothing easy about what needs saying tonight, doll.”
“Okay.” Her chest lifted and fell on a deep breath. “Say it anyway.”
…
Being out with a man, as a woman, while wearing a dress, was a first for River. Because while she treasured the memory of Vaughn taking her out for a birthday dinner at Park Place, she hadn’t been a woman anywhere but on paper. This was an entirely new world. A world she’d never entered for two reasons—the daughter she’d loved every moment of raising, despite the hardships, and the man across from her.
Sitting across from any man other than Vaughn would have felt like cheating, even if it were ten years from the day he’d left. Right or wrong, she’d never allowed him to loosen the hold on her. In a way, she’d even reveled in the leftover feelings—the memories, his ultra possessive manner, the euphoria she’d experienced seeing him for the first time. Some people probably went their whole lives without the sensation of flying. What would have been the point in trying to find that again when no one else caused even the mildest reaction?
Her reactions were different now. Tonight. Sitting in the glow of a crackling fire in her best red dress, she wasn’t a bright-eyed teenager anymore. There were stakes in place. No more putting on blinders to Vaughn’s issues, pretending everything would be okay. She’d done that once and she’d been blindsided and abandoned for her efforts. River didn’t know what would come of Vaughn’s return to Hook, but she knew it started with listening. With Vaughn finally talking. With putting aside her own pain and trying to understand.