by Emerson Rose
“Oh.”
“Oh? Oh, good I’m glad I won’t be alone when you go to work. Or, oh shit, I don’t want a stranger with a killer brother in my house?”
“Oh, I’m surprised and Oh, I’m not sure how I feel about all that.”
“I met her a couple days ago when she was outside helping the Major do yard work. He’s going blind. Did you know that? Well he is, it sucks. He got a service dog two weeks ago, it’s so cute. Maybe we should get a dog? He’s a great guy and she seemed really cool but lonely, ya know? I think she could use a friend.”
He’s nervous and rambling. I feel bad for making him this way but I’m honestly not sure how I feel about having company. Especially someone I don’t know but they are our neighbors so I should make some effort.
“Okay. I’ll hang out with her for a while. When is she supposed to be here?”
“Like, right now.”
“Are you leaving for work?”
“I’ll introduce you guys then I gotta go. Major Valentine is home, though, so she won’t stay too long if you want to nap before your mom gets here. What time is she coming again?”
“She’s bringing lunch so probably noon.”
“So you’re okay with this?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks, baby. This block is pretty cool, there are several military couples living here. We can watch out for each other.”
“I like that. Reminds me of ’it takes a village’ and all that stuff.”
“Yep, I think we’re the only ones with a kid, though, but Valentine’s marrying his girl Tiana and I bet they have a kid pretty soon. I have another surprise for you.”
“Two in one day?”
“Yep. More neighbors.”
“You sound excited about this one, should I be nervous?”
“Not unless living two houses away from your friends Mattie and Belle makes you nervous.”
“Shut up, now way! She’s out of the hospital? How is she? The last I heard she was having memory problems from her head injury.”
“It’s been a long recovery but she’s doing better.”
I grew up with Mattie here in North Carolina. We were part of a group of military brats who were lucky enough to go all the way through high school together without getting relocated. Violet, who now lives in Oceanside with her fiancé Major Steele was one of those friends. Her brother Taye was best friends with Matt, or Mattie as we always called him.
When Mattie and Belle were getting married they had a big weekend long party with activities and outings in Oceanside and that’s where I met Garcia. Garcia was best friends with Major Steele who swept Violet off of her feet and asked her to marry him not long after Garcia asked me.
Before Mattie and Belle could get married there was a terrible earthquake that injured both of them. Mattie had a badly broken leg and Belle was in a coma with a severe head injury for weeks. I had no idea they were being relocated out here, and what a coincidence they’re living on the same block in the same tiny town.
“That’s a lot of Marines living on the same block in a town that’s not known to be a military town, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, well I think the relator has it out for the old lady across the street. Drake says she had a hissy when he bought a house next door to Jayden who is Tiana’s brother. She doesn’t like military men, she thinks we’re dangerous.” He wiggles his fingers stretching out the word dangerous. “And that Jayden guy went and proved her right.”
“Well, maybe we can restore her faith in Marines by being awesome neighbors.”
He snorts, “Good luck. She’s already told me to keep off her property and that I don’t keep my grass short enough.”
“Give me some time, she’ll love us.”
A knock at the door signals the arrival of my new neighbor. Grayson stretches in his sleep flopping his arms up above his head and demanding more space on my lap.
Julián stands and I eye his glorious muscular ass in his khaki uniform pants as he strolls to the front door. For a couple of seconds, I wish the whole world would fall away so I could strip him down and bite his ass cheek.
My God, what have I become? I sound like a nymphomaniac. I never had thoughts like this about Caleb. He never made me feel like Julián does, though, nowhere close.
He swings open the door and standing there holding a giant Tupperware container is a drop-dead gorgeous, tanned, toned woman. She’s dressed in fluorescent pink jogging shorts and a tank top that accentuate her dark skin so much it’s glowing. She looks like a model for Nike sportswear.
“Hey, thanks for inviting me, I brought you guys some cookies. Drake made them, you wouldn’t want them if I had.”
Julián reaches for the box with a little too much enthusiasm. He is my true soulmate because he loves cookies as much as I do. “Don’t underestimate yourself, we love cookies, I bet we’d even eat yours.” He takes the box from her hands and steps aside so she can come in.
“Tiana, this is my fiancé Kimber and our son Grayson. Kim, this is Tiana.”
Her face instantly squishes up into that face people make when they see a new baby. She oohs and aahs while squatting down to get a better look. She shakes my hand congratulating me and then turns to do the same to Julián.
When she looks up at me I almost gasp at the sight of her unique eyes. One is as blue as the Caribbean on a still sunny day and the other is brown like the richest coffee beans.
“Babe, you okay?” Julián asks when I stare a little too long at Tiana.
“Oh gosh, I’m sorry it’s just, your eyes, they’re so…”
“Unique? Yeah, it’s okay. That’s the first thing everyone notices about me. My mother-in-law-to-be says I have two souls, one that belongs to each eye.”
“I think I’ve heard that before, too. You should model, I bet you’d make a killing.”
Shit. How could I be so stupid? You can always count on me to stick my foot into my mouth when talking to someone new. The three of us freeze and Julián’s eyes pop.
He’s pretty famous for saying stupid things but this time I’ve beat him to it.
Tiana stands clasping her hands together trying to ignore my faux pas. “A couple people in New York mentioned that to me but I was focused on singing at the time.”
I reach out and take her hand, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean…”
She squeezes my hand and I know right away we are going to be fast friends. She shakes her head, closes her eyes and furrows her brow. “I know, it’s fine, it happens all the tie, I’m learning not to be so sensitive about words like that.”
“Ladies, I’m really sorry but I have to get going.” He holds out his hands palms down, “Everything going to be all right here?” he asks with his eyes darting between Tiana and I looking for quick confirmation.
“Yes, of course silly, get to work before you get into trouble.”
He looks at Tiana. “Oh my gosh, yes, I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to apologize for, you’ll understand that better once you get to know me.” Juliàn grins ear to ear and I roll my eyes. Yep, he’s right. There’s no doubt she will learn that it’s usually him embarrassing himself with goofy comments and slip-ups and not me. “Bye, baby, I love you.” He places a soft kiss on my lips. “And bye, little man, I love you, too.” He bends to kiss Grayson on the forehead and I whisper ‘three weeks’ into his ear. He pauses before standing and smiles seemingly at Grayson but I know it’s for me.
I watch him grab his duffle bag and leave. It’s hard to watch him go after having him to myself for two weeks. Something pinches at my heart and I tell myself that it’s the hormones making me so needy.
Chapter 6
Garcia
When I’m outside I wave at Drake across the street in his yard with Tango. Then I remember he can’t see me anymore and I jog over to thank him for suggesting we introduce Tiana and Kimber.
“Major Valentine, sir?” He’s watering the flowers on the side of the house and looks up in my direct
ion. Tango sits at his feet poised and ready to help him with anyting he needs.
“Garcia, is that you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Call me Drake, we’re neighbors now.”
“Sure thing, Drake then. I just wanted to say thanks for sending Tiana over to visit with Kimber. This is the first day I’ve left her alone and her mother’s not going to be around until noon. I feel a little better knowing she’s not alone.”
“No problem, I should be thanking you. Tiana needs friends right now, she’s going through so much.” He turns his head in my direction but his eyes are unfocused and blank.
“Maybe we can all get together sometime and have dinner or something.” I think Tango must know the word dinner because his ears prick when I mention it.
“That’s a great idea, I’ll bet Tango thinks so, too, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, how’d you know? Guide dog intuition?”
“No, this pig eats anything and everything. He knows any and every word related to food or eating. He’s supposed to be keeping me safe but I think if there was a burrito or ice cream around he would let me walk in front of a bus.”
“Well, we will have to grill him up a burger then, won’t we, big guy?” Tango stands for a moment but sits back down trying valiantly to control his enthusiasm.
“He would love that, how about this weekend? Do you two have anything going on?” He sidesteps away from me a few feet moving the stream of water from the hose to the next section of the flower garden and Tango moves with him dutifully.
“Just changing diapers and burping a baby.”
“Good, come over around six Saturday night. I’ll make us a couple of strong drinks and we can all get to know each other better. I’ll invite your grandpa, too.”
“Sounds great, I’d better go.”
“See you Saturday.”
“Bye, and bye to you, too, Tango, keep this guy safe.”
Tango’s eyes sparkle as if he understands and I head back to my side of the street and open the door of my Range Rover. Before I can get inside, I catch a glimpse of a shiny black Bentley with a Texas license plate coming down the street.
What the hell are they doing here? I’m going to be fucking late for work.
The car pulls into my driveway blocking me from exiting and I blow out a long irritated breath and focus on not being a complete asshole.
I shield my face from the sun when I turn and watch them step out of the pristine car. They Bentley is showroom clean and garish just like them. Diego and Sebastian are my father’s favorite children. Dad says jump, they say how high. Too bad they couldn’t have put that kind of dedication into serving their country instead of serving him.
They’re here to give me more shit about being engaged to a woman who just had another man’s baby. They’ve been harassing me since they found out I was getting married. Text messages with dirty pictures of men having sex with pregnant women, Snapchats of wimpy looking men holding babies in the grocery store implying that I wasn’t man enough to have my own biological baby. Phone calls from prostitutes offering to let me impregnate them for free. Seb or Diego would then grab the phone from the woman and call me a pussy for turning her down. Anything they could do long distance to torture me, they did it.
Dad still has me watched to this day. I don’t know how it benefits him to know my every move but other than the time I spent in Afghanistan, I’ve known about his surveillance. The Corps doesn’t take kindly to having their people followed but they couldn’t stop him.
“Hey, there, baby brother,” Sebastian says pulling his suit jacket together to button and straighten it while he approaches.
“What are you two doing here?”
“Came to see your… oh wait, not your baby, some other dude’s baby,” Diego says with a cackle. He has this look on his face, the one he’s had since we were little that says I was born to make your life miserable.
“Well, you’re going to be disappointed then, Kimber is busy visiting with a friend and I’m on my way to work. I’m going to need you to move your car.”
Sebastian cocks his head, glances at Diego and pulls his sunglasses down on his nose when he swings his focus to me. “Not very hospitable today, are you, Baby G.” he says.
“I don’t have to be, you showed up unannounced and I’m going to work.”
“We would have come at a more convenient time if you would have invited us over to meet the new fam,” Diego says crossing his arms over his beefy chiseled chest. Diego and I look a lot alike and were often mixed up as kids. Sebastian and I never had that problem, he’s much shorter and he’s more pretty like our mother than rugged like dad.
Seb and Diego work out, party hard, and live a life of luxury most people don’t even know exists. I’m surprised they are even awake at this time of day. My father must have insisted they come at this time.
“I didn’t invite you because I don’t want you here.”
“Wow, I’m hurt.” Diego gasps like a girl and holds his hand over his heart.
“Listen, I don’t know why you’re really here, you two are the furthest thing from family men I’ve ever known so cut the shit. What does dad want?”
Seb rolls his eyes and Diego chuckles. “He wants you to come home and work for him like he always has. See… we are family men,” Diego says nodding his head.
“You can go back and tell him I’m not interested, I never was and I never will be. Now move and don’t come back here. If I see you anywhere near my family I’ll strangle you with my bare hands.”
“You mean that other jar head’s family, don’t you?”
That’s it, I’m tired of being toyed with and irritated to my wits end with these two morons. I rush Sebastian and snatch him up by his throat. He may be a badass drug dealer but I’m a trained Marine and I’ve killed more people than I ever want to think about.
Blind with rage I squeeze his neck tight. These two have always had a habit of pushing me until I’m on the verge of doing something incredibly stupid. But I’ve always bee able to hold back, until now.
They’ve never come between my family and me and I’m about to show them they better not do it again.
Diego underestimates my strength and grabs me from behind. I don’t even have to shake him off. I’m in the best physical condition I’ve ever been in my life and they can’t bully me like they did when we were kids anymore.
I squeeze Seb’s neck until he’s red and then purple. Veins in his temples bulge and sweat covers his forehead as he claws at my arm holding him hostage.
“Garcia, you having a problem here, Captain?” Drake says from nearby cutting through the cloud of fury surrounding my brother and me.
Fuck, my brothers would love to mess with a blind Marine. I need to get him back across the street to his house before they realize he is disabled.
I release Sebastian with a hard shove and look behind him at Drake. “No, just a little brotherly roughhousing, right guys?”
I’m glad Drake can’t see Seb, if he could he would know I wasn’t messing around. He’s gulping in air with his hands around his neck.
“Fuck, Julián, you’re such a fucking asshole. Come on, D, we’re done here. For now.”
He adds the for now part as a warning and my blood boils. I want to resume choking the life out of him but I have to get Drake and Tango back to their house where they will be safe.
I step around Sebastian and move to Drake’s side. “Come on.” My voice is strained and tight. I don’t offer my arm like I did in California when I was helping him around Camp Pendleton. I’m crossing my fingers that my brothers think he’s just a guy out walking his dog and don’t notice he’s blind.
When we reach his driveway, I watch my brothers swing out of my driveway like maniacs burning rubber when they take off. I’ll bet dad puts a whole new set of tires on that car the minute they get back home to Texas, which I hope is soon.
“You going to tell me what’s going on?”
“My brothers are dicks, that’s all.”
“Should we be doing something about these dick brothers?”
I look at him and wonder exactly what it is he’s suggesting. He may be blind now but he was one badass Marine for seventeen years. He could probably handle himself ten times better blind than an average man with his sight.
“I think I’ll call Max and ask him to come and keep an eye on things at your house today.”
I look at him quietly and try to read between the lines but it’s impossible to tell what he’s thinking since he lost his sight. More than ever I believe the saying, the eyes are the window to the soul. Drake’s windows are closed and his secrets are safe behind them.
“Do you mean you’re going to have grandpa Max come and watch the house alone or are you going to have him bring his friends?” By friends I mean the Special Forces group he is close to. The same Special Forces group that he called in to help save Drake and his family when his best friend and neighbor went off the deep end and kidnapped them all. Those men have no fear, they’re fierce and they don’t back down to anyone, not even my brothers.
“You have a fiancé and a brand new baby over there. Do you really want your seventy-year-old grandpa and a blind man watching the house alone?” he says making air quotes around the word watching with his fingers.
I glance at the house and envision my asshole brothers checking into a hotel nearby and coming back when I’m gone to hassle Kimber and Grayson. “No, no, I don’t. Thank you, Drake.”
“No problem. Now get to the base, you don’t want them to think you went AWOL on your first day back.”
“Right.” I hesitate. I feel like I should stay home.
He reads my mind, “They’ll be safe, go on.”
They better be, those two people are my entire world. If anything ever happened to them I would kill whoever was responsible, even my brothers.