Double Tap

by Lani Lynn Vale

  He was in nothing but shorts and some tennis shoes.

  Sweat poured down his beautifully bronzed chest and disappeared into the black waistband of his underwear. The wide band that stated he wore ‘Hanes’ was clearly visible, and I had to fight the urge to lick my lips.

  “Little early for you, isn’t it?” I called back to Nico.

  It was only six thirty in the morning.

  I’d hoped that I’d wake him up, but this worked too.

  He grinned, showing me his perfectly straight white teeth. The ones his mother liked to complain put her in debt to buy for him.

  “I have to get up this early or I don’t get my workout in before shit needs doing,” he said.

  I shook my head, feeling my hair swish at the top of my head. What little of it there was sticking straight up in a ponytail. I could feel strands falling out of the ponytail, not long enough yet to stay up. But I loved the short hair and would deal with the mess if I had to.

  “What’s with the colored hair?” He asked all of a sudden.

  I glance at him and shrugged. “I wanted it. That’s the only reason.”

  “Did they allow that hair at your job?” He asked in curiosity.

  “When I have it down, you can’t really tell that it’s colored. My new job knows that it’s colored, though. They didn’t seem to mind overly much,” I puffed.

  His eyes moved from the road in front of us to me. “Where do you work? Is it not going to be on the farm?”

  I shook my head. “No. That’s the boys wish, not mine. I’ll help when I’m needed, but it won’t be mine anymore. It took me eight years, but I finally got my degree.”

  “You graduated?” He asked sharply.

  I nodded. “Yeah, last week.”

  His mouth dropped open. “And you didn’t tell any of us? We would’ve gone!”

  He sounded outraged that I didn’t tell him, and I frowned. “It was online. You wouldn’t have been going to a ceremony. I think they send me my degree in the mail.”

  He kept pace beside me as we continued the last mile to his house.

  I could tell he was holding back, probably able to nearly double his pace, but he stayed with me out of some sort of courtesy, as he’d done when we were younger.

  “What’s your mile time look like now?” I asked out of curiosity.

  When he was in high school, he was able to run the mile in a little more than five minutes. I’d never gotten better than seven.

  He winked before answering. “Six and a half or so. More muscle means less speed, unfortunately.”

  I snorted. He was still better than my all-time best, much to my annoyance.

  I made it about another hundred yards before I couldn’t do anymore.

  “You’ve ran the whole loop, haven’t you?” I asked in suspicion.

  He shrugged. “Would have, if you hadn’t stopped.”

  I back handed him in the bicep, causing him to laugh.

  “So, what’s my present?” I asked after the silence continued.

  “You’ll have to wait and see, now, won’t you?” He teased.

  I should’ve known he wouldn’t tell me. He was always like that. I’d get him a present every year for his birthday and Christmas, and I’d try to taunt him with it. He never fell for it, though. He liked getting his presents on the day of the special occasion.

  He was so weird.

  “I saw your trailer getting delivered as I was running by. You brother was outside talking to the man driving the truck,” Nico informed me.

  I nodded. I’d known they were coming early, but my brothers were there to handle it. I just hoped they didn’t run over the septic tank…that’d be a mess to clean up.

  My brothers, however, had said that they had it, and I took them at their word.

  “The cows are being delivered today, too. You’ll have your friends back,” I teased.

  Nico’s parent’s property had bordered ours. Now, I guess, it was Nico’s property since his parents had moved into the city, according to Nikki. They’d been tired of doing ranch work and wanted to be in town closer to their grandchildren.

  Something I couldn’t blame them for. Not one single bit.

  We arrived at his house, finally, and I sighed in relief. My legs were screaming now, and I could really use a drink of water.

  He walked me up the steps to his place, but instead of walking inside like he used to, he punched in a code next to the door, then walked in, disarming the alarm once he was in the entrance way.

  “What’s with all the security?” I asked in surprise.

  He grimaced. “I’ve seen too much shit as a SEAL, and a cop, not to be a little cynical about my property and life. I won’t ever not have it locked anymore. I value the peace of mind.”

  The house on the outside looked exactly like I’d last seen it. The inside, though, was totally redecorated.

  “Wow,” I said, taking in my surroundings.

  He grinned. “I’m not a big fan of the Susie Homemaker shit mamá had up.”

  I loved the way his voice lilted when he wasn’t trying to contain his accent.

  Although all the kids had been born in the US, both of their parents had instilled in them their history. Had taught them that, even though they were Americans, they had Spanish roots.

  Each child spoke fluent Spanish, as well as French, at their mother’s insistence. I suspected that Nico knew even more than that. He was always a fast learner, and was the one to help me with my Spanish course while he was home. He had the patience of a saint when it came to teaching, and I’d always felt he’d make a great teacher. But I’d heard that he made a great SEAL and an even better cop.

  The first room I came to was the living room; it didn’t even look the same. It was completely remodeled. The large cabinet TV that used to take up half the living room was gone, and in its place was a huge flat screen TV that dominated nearly the whole wall.

  There were huge, plush brown couches facing the TV, and the large fireplace was refinished with beautiful new stonework.

  “This place is looking great,” I said, eyes snagging on the wall of pictures on the side of the room.

  I walked to the pictures slowly, two catching my eye right off the bat.

  One picture was of me and Nico standing on a large branch that overhung the pond on their property. It was the year before I graduated; I was seventeen to Nico’s twenty two.

  In the picture, he’d had his hands around my waist as he prepared to shove me off, but I’d gotten a hold of his shirt.

  The picture captured us just before we went over the edge, and our happiness showed.

  The second picture was of me giving Nico a hug the day he deployed for the first time.

  I’d been a hot mess the entire time, and it’d taken everything I had not to cry.

  He’d known I was upset, too.

  The picture was of him hugging me close to his body, his nose skimming along my brow.

  He had his hand fisted in my hair, and our bodies were plastered close together.

  If anyone else were to have seen these pictures, they’d think we had been in love.

  And, to a point, we had been.

  It’d been the kind of love that one has for another person. It’d been innocent and fun, but it’d never progressed past kissing.

  Kisses I’d remembered and compared, for the past eight years, against everyone.

  It was also why I hadn’t had sex with anyone.

  My body knew what…and who, it wanted. And wouldn’t accept anyone else.

  Then, my eye was snagged on the other picture. The one I’d taken of him the day he’d left for deployment for the second time.

  The one that’d been a month and a half after my parents and two brothers had died.

  “I knew you were there,” he rumbled.

  My head hung.

  I hadn’t been ready to talk to him yet. Hell, I hadn’t said mor
e than a word in nearly a year after I’d witnessed the murder of my brothers and mother.

  “I know you did,” I replied weakly.

  “I loved the pictures. This one was my favorite,” he said, eyes scanning the picture from behind me.

  It’d been my favorite, too.

  I’d taken it as he was entering the military transport that was taking him to his boat leaving port in San Diego, California.

  His hand had been resting on the side of the plane as he walked inside, and he’d turned just before going in, scanning the crowd one last time.

  He’d been looking for me and had found me.

  The moment I’d captured his picture, memorializing it for all time, was the moment a slow smile had crept over his face.

  The men that’d been in the background I’d blurred out, so you only got the sense of the people surrounding him.

  He’d changed a lot in the year since that picture had been taken.

  I had another one nearly identical to the one I’d sent him of the day he’d returned home from his deployment.

  His eyes, those melty, chocolate brown orbs, had turned cold and hard.

  He’d been sporting a new scar on his jaw, and I’d captured him as he scanned the crowd once again.

  Not in a way that he was looking for someone in particular, but in a way that showed he was searching for danger.

  It’d been heartbreaking, and both photos had hung in my apartment, side by side, ever since.

  Now, though, they were packed away in moving boxes, but as soon as I had my new place livable, they’d go right back on the wall.

  “Let me go get some jeans and a t-shirt on, and we’ll head back outside. My present is in the barn,” he said as he walked away. “Make some coffee, por favor.”

  I laughed as he slipped in and out of Spanish. When he was relaxed, his words became intermingled, much the same as his mother’s did.

  I followed directions and went to the kitchen, happy with what he’d done in there, as well.

  Gone was the checkered patterned floor, and in its place was dark cherry hardwood floors.

  The red cabinets had been replaced by a nearly black wood, and the appliances had all been upgraded to stainless steel.

  There was a new bar instead of a kitchen table, and in the tables place was a bay window seat that overlooked the backyard.

  I made coffee, pouring two cups into travel mugs just as Nico walked in, pulling his shirt over his head.

  It was a definite tragedy to have him covering up that fine body, but it was probably for the best. I wasn’t able to talk coherently when it was on display. And it didn’t matter if he was trying to make it on display or not, he could be cleaning up puke shirtless and it’d still be on display.

  He took the cup from my hand as he passed, heading straight for the back door that had a path leading to the barn.

  The entire property was lined with barbed wire, the only exception being the front that was lined in steel fencing.

  A cattle guard at the base of the driveway kept the livestock in much the same as mine used to. Only I didn’t see any of the cows that used to be such a big part of the farm.

  “No cows?” I asked.

  “Two. Only milking ones, though. With none of the kids wanting to work the farm, the cows were sold out slowly but surely. That’s mainly the reason our parents moved out. They didn’t see a reason to be here if they weren’t raising cattle,” he explained.

  I nodded in understanding. The place was mighty big for an older couple with no reason to be there anymore. The upkeep alone was astronomical.

  He opened the door to the barn, and I looked around in surprise. “Wow, you’ve updated this, too.”

  He nodded and showed me what he’d fixed and remodeled. “There’s an apartment off this side of the barn. It’s not in use anymore, though. Natalie moved out about two years ago.”

  Natalie was two years younger than Nikki and I, which would put her at about twenty four. It was a surprise that she moved out, though. Nico would’ve let her live here as long as she wanted.

  Something large started to make a racket at the far stall, and I raised my eyebrows at Nico. “You have a new colt or something?”

  He shook his head, a private smile tipping up the corner of his lips. “No, I’m sure it’s your fault that she’s going crazy.”

  I followed behind the excited Nico, coming to a sudden stop when I saw what was inside.

  “Nautica,” I whispered.

  It’d been eight years since I’d seen my beloved horse. Eight long years that I’d thought she’d been sold along with the livestock we’d had on our land.

  I looked at Nico, my eyes leaking, and said, “You kept her?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, we’ve just been waiting for you to come home.”

  I burst out crying, walking to the edge of the door and placing my hands up against the stall door.

  Nautica pressed her velvet nose up against the bars and whickered.

  I giggled and reached down to work the lock open.

  The other horses hadn’t had the bars on their stalls like Nautica did, and I knew why. Nautica was an escape horse. If you built it, she could get out of it, no exceptions.

  Although, it looked like Nico had figured out exactly how to keep her in her stall when she wasn’t outside.

  Once the door edged open, Nautica pushed her nose through and clopped up next to me.

  I curved my arms up and over her silky black coat, laying my head down on her thick neck.

  “I’ve missed you,” I whispered fiercely.

  Houston wasn’t the best place for a horse. I’d lived in an apartment the entire time I’d been gone, working two jobs just to stay ahead of everything. I’d gone to school when I could.

  What little money I had saved would go to the boys for their college educations.

  I was proud to say that none of us had debt, but that had come at a price. One that meant I couldn’t have what I wanted. One of those being my horse. The one that’d been my pride and joy.

  Nico’s hand reached up and ran down Nautica’s nose, scratching her between the eyes with his blunt fingernails.

  She gave a snort, blowing a few hairs off my face, and I giggled.

  Nautica was still the spitfire she used to be.

  “Oh, Nico. You’ve just made me one very happy woman,” I said, turning into his arms.

  He hugged me back, and I felt Nautica’s large head butt me in the back, looking for attention.

  I let Nico go, so beyond happy that I couldn’t stand it.

  “You so deserve a cookie,” I said over my shoulder.

  He winked. “I’ll settle for dinner. To celebrate your graduation.”

  Something passed between us in that moment. A long time ago, he’d made that same offer, and something horrid had happened. This time, I’d make that dinner if it was the last thing I did.

  “Deal.”

  ***

  The first thing I did when I got home was tell my brothers about Nautica, and they were just as ecstatic as I was. They’d never had a horse of their own, unlike me. So, I’d shared Nautica with them.

  Everyone was thrilled, that is, except for my youngest brother, Darby, who was an ass no matter what happened.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Darby asked in disgust.

  Ace glared at him. “Don’t be an ass. He could’ve sold her with the cows like we’d told him to. We’re lucky he didn’t.”

  “He should’ve listened. That could’ve been an extra two thousand dollars that we could’ve used to buy clothes and food,” Darby snarled.

  Although their foster parents had been nice, they weren’t the wealthiest on the block.

  There’d always been more month at the end of their money, and they had lived nearly paycheck to paycheck.

  The boys had all had to get jobs once they were old enough, and I helped them where I could, too.

&
nbsp; It’d never been enough, unfortunately.

  Which had been a large factor in the deaths of their foster parents.

  They’d neglected themselves to feed their kids, and in the end, when their immune systems had become compromised, and they’d both died within a year of each other.

  Leaving everyone alone.

  Chapter 3

  You know you have the key to a man’s heart when you have the keys to his truck. ‘Cause there’s no fuckin way he’d give those up if he wasn’t planning on taking payment in orgasms later.

  -Life Lesson

  Nico

  “No, mamá, I will not bring her to your house for dinner. We have a date. One that doesn’t include my family,” I growled into the phone.

  It was a futile gesture. It’d be happening with or without my consent. I just had to be smarter than my mother.

  “Hijo, I don’t really care what you do with yourself, but she’ll be coming to my dinner table tonight. You just wait and see,” my mother declared.

  I sighed, long and loud.

  If I didn’t bring her, my mother would just go over my head and ask Georgia directly. Which meant I needed to act like I was, or keep the phone away from Georgia.

  “Yes, mamá,” I conceded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  She hung up moments later, and I hung the phone up as Bennett walked into the office. “Did you hear about the shooting at the Starbucks in Longview?”

  I looked up in surprise. “No. Any casualties?”

  Bennett shook his head and took a seat across the desk from me.

  I leaned back in my chair and looked him over.

  “You look tired,” I observed.

  He grimaced. “Reagan had the stomach bug last night. I can deal with almost anything, but puke and phlegm just really gross me out.”

  I grinned.

  Reagan was his daughter. She was a quiet and overall nice little girl, which didn’t seem like it fit Bennett at all since he was so outgoing.

  I’d met Bennett when we’d both been in the Navy, finding out only when we went into basic training that we were from the same area of Texas.

  When I’d first come to know Bennett, he’d been going through a rough spot with his ex, trying to get custody of their child. A child that the mother had tried to abort, but Bennett had convinced her not to. She hadn’t, and then went on to gain full custody of the child that his ex never wanted.