by Heather Long
Jake and his dad had just started talking again. None of this was fair. Worse, we didn’t know how bad the accident was, other than his dad needed surgery and there had been some kind of crash.
Klara hadn’t been able to reveal details. Military protocol, I guessed. But I’d heard the worry in her voice, and so had Jake. His face had tightened and the look in his eyes—No.
Jake’s dad had to be all right. But I couldn’t bring myself to tell Jake he would be. I couldn’t tell him what I didn’t know. So I settled for whispering, “I’m here, every step of the way.”
He kissed the top of my head and sighed. “I know, Baby Girl.”
Then the train began to move and we were out of the station, picking up speed, leaving the rest of our family behind us.
The Eurostar had us back in Paris in a little over two hours. Jake hadn’t said much on the ride, though he had fished out my Kindle and we pulled up a book to read. We’d finished the Hannaford Prep books a while back, and he’d read most of MK with me. So we loaded up the new rec from Rachel.
“Those guys are dicks,” was his only comment about Dean and the other boys. But I was rather fond of Avalon, even if she was kind of a dick herself. But he read right along with me, and if nothing else, the book distracted him. He only checked his phone three times.
In Paris, Jake let me carry my own backpack while he handled the single suitcase and his backpack. We made our way to our next train, which didn’t depart for an hour. “Hungry?”
“No,” he said almost automatically, then glanced at me. “But you should eat.”
There was a little café beyond the platforms where we picked up some pastries. He ate because I kept pulling my croissants apart and feeding him. The coffee was shit but we drank it, and then we were back to board the next train on time. Archie had booked us first class cars all the way.
Luggage stowed and in our new seats, I glanced at Jake. “More book, or would you rather watch a movie?”
He curled a lock of my hair around his finger. “Book is fine, Baby Girl, unless you want to watch a movie.”
I rolled my eyes, and he tugged the hair gently. “I asked first.”
“True, but right now, it’s easier to not think because then I start wondering why we haven’t heard anything more. Has he really been in surgery all night? Is Klara just exhausted? It’s the middle of the night at home, but Mom is probably pacing, waiting to hear from me too.”
She hadn’t told Jake’s sisters, yet. She wanted more information before she broke the news to them. On the one hand, I understood it. On the other, I didn’t envy her that experience.
“Book then. We were just getting to the good part.”
He laughed softly. “Thank you for coming with me, Baby Girl.”
“Nowhere else I’d rather be.” Not while he was hurting. Not when he needed me. It was one thing when everything was fine. But it wasn’t fine. “And he’s going to be all right. That’s what we have to tell ourselves until we know different.”
He nodded. “I keep telling myself that, but so far, I think I’m full of shit. You tell me, and I’ll believe you.”
I locked gazes with him. “He’s going to be all right. From what your mom says and what I’ve seen, you and your dad are a lot alike. You’re too stubborn by half.”
A small grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Says the most stubborn girl I know.”
“And you out stubborned me, so what does that say?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again, a thoughtful look on his face “All right, you might have a point,” he conceded.
Smiling, I settled the Kindle between us, and when he tucked his arm around me, I leaned my head against his shoulder. The gentle rub of his cheek against my hair hopefully gave him as much comfort as he offered me.
We were almost to our destination when Avalon kicked the crap out of Dean after he was a real dick.
“That’s some real-life girl goals right there,” I murmured, and Jake’s whole body shook with laughter.
“Trust me, Baby Girl, anyone treats you like that and I’ll beat them to a pulp for you, but I promise to keep up your fight training. I like you being a little badass.”
Pleasure speared me. I loved that Jake loved me strong. More, I loved that he laughed.
“But don’t get any ideas about that dick piercing. I don’t care how many of these assholes you read about with them.”
“I love your dick just the way it is,” I promised him.
“And you’ve already got Coop half convinced,” he retorted, and I gave a little shrug.
“I promised I’d pierce my navel whether he did it or not.”
The heat in Jake’s eyes sent another shiver through me. “Did you now?” He ran his finger along the hem of my shirt. “Just any piercing?”
“Something green to match my eyes and steel gray, so the gray-green matches his.”
Jake nodded slowly. “I approve.”
“Go with us when I do it?”
“You don’t even have to ask, Baby Girl. I’m going to want you there for my dragon too.”
“Hell yes.” I tilted my head. “I can’t wait to see you all inked up and colorful.”
“Yeah?” He raised his brows. “All this clean, smooth flesh not doing it for you?”
I snorted. “You know you do it for me and then some.”
“I do,” he murmured. “Doesn’t mean I don’t mind hearing about it.”
“Fair.” Stroking my fingers along his cheek to his chin, I asked, “Have I mentioned how much I love your beard?”
“I think I heard a moan or two in that direction that last time I ate you out.”
Biting my lower lip, I tried to swallow my laughter. If I didn’t think we’d get booted off the train, I might climb on his lap right here. Still, we had a few too many in our audience, and my exhibitionist kink wasn’t linked to a going to jail kink. “It feels so soft against my thighs.”
“Particularly since you got that perfect pussy of yours all waxed and neatened?” He raised his brows and the stakes. “’Cause I love how silky you are on my tongue.”
Heat speared through me, along with the warmth Jake’s fingers elicited as he slid his hand between my thighs and gripped my leg. “So it’s still perfect, even if it’s not all wild curls?”
Were we really having this conversation?
“Baby Girl, everything about you is perfect. I’m just glad Rachel promised me she would make sure any waxing she talked you into would be handled by a woman. I didn’t specify hetero, but I can handle a woman doing it but not a guy.”
The corners of my lips twitched as I leaned in close to whisper against his ear. “I promise you, the only men who have ever seen my pussy are the four of you.”
He rumbled with a bit of a growl before turning his head to catch my lips in a slow kiss. I just leaned into the contact, the heat gentle and giving as much as it was asking for comfort. I kept stroking his beard, savoring the soft brush of it against my cheeks. I hadn’t been kidding about how much I enjoyed the tickle of it against my thighs and more delicate parts. It just added a whole other level of sensation.
One last thrust of his tongue had my toes curling in my boots before he let me have a breath of air. “You’re dangerous and perfect.”
No lie, I liked that compliment. I just grinned, then kissed the tip of his nose and glanced at the time before holding up the book we were still reading. “We have a few more minutes.”
“Yeah, that’s not reminding my dick to behave, but we can’t fit all our luggage in the bathroom so you’re safe…” He nipped my ear. “For now.”
I could point out that I didn’t want to be safe, but the distraction gave him a few precious minutes of peace. I would make it up to him later.
In Stuttgart, Jake’s humor faded, and I took his hand as we made our way through the station. Fortunately, a good number of the people spoke English as well as German. French, I could do. Jake actually knew a few phrases,
and he used them sparingly. I’d texted the guys that we’d arrived in the city and I’d be in touch as soon as we had news on Jake’s father.
Their responses were swift. Their flight departed in a couple of hours, so we had time to get to the hospital at the base. I knew what they were waiting for. If the news at the hospital was bad, Archie would be directing that flight to Germany. They would be here for Jake just like I was.
Jake led us out of the station. I wasn’t sure if we were going to get a taxi or hire a car. To be honest, I’d never been on a military base. Did we need to get permission to even go there? Or was there some other arrangement we could make? For now, I kept those questions to myself.
To my surprise, a familiar face waited for us as Jake and I crossed from the station entrance toward a parking lot. The dark-haired woman with the warm smile and a buttoned down, clean uniform strode toward us, and Jake released my hand and the suitcase to catch Klara in a hug.
She murmured something to him, and I held back to give them some space. Jake towered over the woman who had been as much a part of his childhood as his own mother. I remembered her, but I never equated her with family and a part of me felt bad about that. This wasn’t about me, at all. So I refused to dwell on that. I was here for Jake and for Klara.
“How is he?” Jake asked.
“He’s still in surgery,” she answered. “I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you with more details yet, I was hoping they’d finish by the time I’d done my report. Let’s get the two of you into the car. I need to check you in with base security, then you can stay with us…”
Hesitation flickered over her face, but Jake reached for the suitcase and nodded. “We’d like that.”
Relief flooded her eyes as she glanced at me. “Hello again, Frankie.”
“Hello, ma’am.”
“Klara,” she told me. “I might be an officer, but you definitely don’t report to me. Now, come on you two. You can catch me up in the car, and after we see your dad, Jake, we can call Alicia.”
The tension in Jake’s frame seemed to wax and wane, and he flexed his grip on my hand as we followed her.
“Can you tell me what happened? All Mom said was there was an accident.”
“I’ll tell you everything,” she said as she unlocked the Audi. “I promise.”
A training accident. Jake’s dad had been with a number of other soldiers, airmen, and marines aboard a helicopter when it experienced mechanical difficulties. The challenge hadn’t just been the crash though. They’d gone down somewhere in the Alps, and it had taken time for a crew to get to him.
My stomach cramped at the very idea. Jake sat up in the front next to Klara, while I road in the back.
“His leg is broken in three places,” Klara said. “That’s why the surgery is taking so long—they are having to put pins in and put the bones back together.”
I shuddered, and I was not alone in that one.
“It could have been so much worse, but they were feeling confident.”
Jake blew out a breath. “He goes down in a helicopter crash, and all he does is break a leg?” The dry humor couldn’t disguise the sudden and keen relaxation Klara’s news gave him.
“So far,” Klara said with a wry smile. “They wanted to check everything else. He might have a mild concussion, but considering the way he was cussing when they were wheeling him in, I doubt that will keep him down for long.”
I had to bite back a laugh, and Jake shot a glance at me over his shoulder. “That sounds like Dad.” His eyes warmed though, and I mouthed a kiss to him. He winked. “How long is the surgery?”
“They said twelve hours when they took him back. But they had to do some other exams before they put him fully under. I had already called your mom, but I had to wait for him to be out before I could call anyone again.”
Another reason she hadn’t gotten back to us.
“He didn’t want me to know?” Jake asked, his tone guarded. I didn’t think twice about it, I reached forward and rested my hand on his shoulder.
“Jakey,” Klara said, her voice soft but her tone firm. “Your father is a proud man, do not let this hurt your feelings. It would never occur to him that you would want to know to be here. He has always seen it as his place to protect you.”
“Well, he can’t really do that if he isn’t around, can he?” The harshness in his voice underscored his worry.
“Jakey.” That was it. Just the two syllables delivered in an affectionate if firm tone, and he sighed.
“Klara, I don’t know how to talk to him anymore.”
“Funnily enough, he says the same about you.”
A part of me wanted to gawk at the sights. This was yet another country I’d never been to before, but the rest of me remained focused on Jake. I kept my hand on his shoulder, and he covered my fingers with his own.
“And I’m going to tell you what I tell him,” Klara continued, and I felt more than saw her glance at me. “Love and respect him for who he is, but don’t expect him to change. You are so alike, both of you. So fierce in your devotion and dedication. You also firmly believe you know what is right for your family. You saw him letting Alicia go as a betrayal.”
Jake’s fingers flexed on mine.
“He saw it as his duty, because she was unhappy and he couldn’t make her stay where she didn’t want to be. Neither of us could, nor would we. And she needed you kids. If he’d fought to keep you here, it would have forced her to stay too.”
Jake shuddered under my hand.
“He won’t tell you this and I will deny it if you claim I did,” Klara continued, “but he has applied for two duty changes, he just didn’t receive them because they need him here. When his twenty comes up, he may request early retirement.”
“Fuck,” Jake swore.
“Language,” she corrected lightly, but then we were at the security gate to the base and she was showing her ID. We had to show our passports as well. Jake also had his dependent’s ID. In no time at all, we were through the gate.
“It hasn’t changed,” Jake said as she drove.
“No,” Klara said. “Not a bit. I think some of the kids that were here when you were are still around. Tamara still lives across the street.”
“Trying to get me in trouble?” Jake asked, a hint of a smile in his voice.
“Not at all,” Klara retorted. “First of all, I’d have to be blind to not see how you kids look at each other, and Tamara would be more interested in your girl than you.”
I couldn’t help it. I cracked up as Jake swore, but he glanced back at me with real laughter. “Keep it up and I will spank you,” he threatened, but I just grinned.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Yes you did. You’re adorable.”
“Ugh,” Klara grunted. “Enough. You’re going to give me cavities.”
But that earned a real laugh from Jake, and I grinned. The more I got to know Klara, the more I liked her. Which was good, because clearly, she was family.
We went straight to the hospital on the base. My eyes were wide at all the activity on the base. There were people from all the different areas of the service too, based on the different uniforms. They were a purple base, or so Jake tried to explain, because there were so many different areas of the service all stationed here. They did a little bit of everything from this base, and it also played host to everything from training to rest and relaxation. Either way, it was a busy place.
I fired off a text to the guys that we were at the hospital and gave them a quick thumbnail on Jake’s dad’s condition. Archie let me know they were on their way to the airport and that Rachel was going to stay on in London. KC had sent her best as well, and she asked that I text her or call when I was free. Email would work too.
Inside, I walked with Jake as we followed Klara to the waiting area. She checked in with a nurse at the desk, and they spoke for several minutes.
Leaning against Jake’s arm, I glanced up at him. “Feeling better?”
“Some. A broken leg sucks and that’s gonna put him out of commission for a while, but he can recover from that.”
And it wasn’t likely to kill him. Or at least, it was not considered a fatal injury of any kind.
“What about what Klara said about him applying for reassignment to the States?”
Jake sighed. “I don’t know what to do with that. Or what to do with the idea that he didn’t fight for us because he didn’t want to force Mom to stay here. Then at the same time, Klara’s… She’s amazing and she’s family. It’s not like he turned his back on us for some skank.”
“Thank you,” Klara said, and Jake stiffened.
“Sorry, Klara,” he apologized stiffly, and she laughed.
“Relax, Jakey. I do possess a sense of humor, and you just called me family, baby boy. It’s been a long time since you did that.” She gave us both a warm smile, then motioned to the chairs. “Let’s sit. Your father is in recovery, the surgery went well,” she began as soon as we were seated. “They had to put a pair of rods in to reconnect the bones, and he’s going to need physical therapy after he’s healed. Probably at least six to ten weeks of very light duty, followed by conditioning duty, then a reassessment.”
“He’s gonna hate that,” Jake muttered.
“Probably, but he’ll do the work. Now, after the surgeon comes out to speak to us, we can go back to our place and get you two settled. He won’t be awake for a few hours, and you’ve been running. You’re also probably hungry.”
My stomach growled, and Jake grinned.
“Hey,” I said. “I can always eat.”
“One of the things I love about you,” he said with a wink. “But yeah, if you think it’ll be a while before he wakes up… I want to talk to the surgeon, then call Mom.”
“We can do all of that.”
We did. The surgeon basically told us what Klara had, and he reassured Jake that it would be several hours before they lightened his sedation and let his dad wake up. The guys were on the plane when I texted them about the report, and Coop answered this time that they were going to head back and get to work on the new place and take care of the moving.