“You got that right.” Mitchell laughed. “After she finished doling out enough hard labor as punishment to make the Gulag look like a nursery school, she told us we should be ashamed.” His voice grew wistful. “Cameron was ashamed for disappointing her.”
“And you?” Lorenda’s finger trekked in the opposite direction and followed another bramble.
“Not in the least. I figured they’d grow back, so I brushed it off and found some new trouble to get into.”
This time she chuckled.
“Cameron and I met up for a weekend during his last tour. We tied one on and ended up at a tattoo parlor with an artist smoking opium from a hookah and a trained monkey who spit peanuts out of its butt.”
She pushed Mitchell’s arm playfully. “It so did not.”
He grabbed her hand. “I swear it really did.” Laughter threaded through his words, and he drew her hand to his lips and kissed it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
A shiver ricocheted through her.
His kiss must’ve been a knee-jerk reaction because, just as fast, he tried to push her hand away. She wouldn’t let him.
He fell silent for a beat.
“When Cameron saw this design he wanted it. He brought up that incident when we were kids and said the crown of thorns was symbolic for outcasts like us who give up so much to save others and suffer rejection and shame for it. It’s the reason we have a hard time coming home to normal life again.”
And Lorenda knew they weren’t just talking about normal life anymore. Cameron had been talking about life with her and the kids. A life he couldn’t comprehend anymore.
For the first time, she realized Cameron might not have been rejecting her and the kids. Maybe he felt like the one being rejected because Lorenda couldn’t relate to what he’d been through.
“I was too young to understand that war changes a person. I expected him to slide right back into his old role.” She could see it now that she had more experience in life. “How should I have helped him?”
Mitchell exhaled again. “I don’t know, Sparky. We all handle it differently. Cam was a people pleaser. He cared a lot about what people thought of him. I don’t think he expected to feel like a monster for doing a job that earned him medals.”
Cameron had been the golden child, set high on a pedestal by his parents, Lorenda, and most of Red River. Lorenda couldn’t imagine how Cam had felt, coming home where everyone might see that he’d fallen off that pedestal and had hit the ground hard.
“And you?” Her fingertips brushed over the tattoo again. “Does rejection and what people think of you really bother you so little? Especially when their low opinions are based on incorrect information.” Lorenda doubted he brushed it off as easily as he pretended.
“I was already used to being the screwup, so the things I had to do as a soldier didn’t affect me as much as Cam.”
She pressed her hand to his chest and flattened it over his heart. The rhythmic beat pulsed into her palm. Her mind said to back away, but her body ignored the command and leaned into him until their lips were just a breath apart. “I’m sorry for both you and Cam.”
His fingertips found her cheek. Caressed along her jawline, and his thumb smoothed over her bottom lip. A prickle of anticipation raced through her. “I’m sorry for Cam too. He missed out on the best thing of his life.” His words whispered over her, and her skin pebbled.
But instead of dipping his head to kiss her, he tugged her hand from his chest and dropped a soft kiss at her fingertips.
“Get some sleep, Sparky.” His voice had gone flat like he’d flipped the emotion switch to off. “We’ve got a couple days of camping ahead of us, and roughing it in the woods doesn’t seem like your style. Rest will do you good.”
He rolled away. Her heart beat in a sickly rhythm. Because Mitchell wasn’t the first Lawson man to climb into bed with her as though she were a stranger and leave her staring at his back.
Chapter Sixteen
Mitchell spotted for Trevor and then Jaycee as they dove into Middle Fork Lake the next day. Jaycee’s head broke the surface and the three of them treaded water.
“Do Mom! Do Mom!” Jaycee shouted.
Mitchell sputtered out lake water.
He totally wanted to do Lorenda. So badly that he had to hold on to the dock for a second to stop from inhaling a lungful of water when Trevor joined his brother for another shout of “do Mom!”
“Your mom is still changing into her swimsuit.” Mitchell tried to change the subject to stop thinking about doing Lorenda, but then his stupid male brain started fantasizing about her taking off her clothes in the tent. Right that very moment.
Spending the entire night in bed with Lorenda without being able to touch her had been agonizing. Not exactly how he’d pictured spending his wedding night. After all the camping he’d done in the military, he hadn’t pictured spending his honeymoon in a tent either.
Then again, Lorenda obviously didn’t want the “real deal.” Trying to provide her own wedding ring even after she’d bought one for him was proof of that.
At least it was a beautiful little lake surrounded by giant pines and willowy aspens, and just small enough that a strong swimmer could swim across. Mitchell’s only request was no phones and no electronics. He wanted the boys to enjoy the experience the way he and Cam had growing up.
“Boys, see that buoy?” He pointed to the center of the lake. “Your dad and I used to race to it when we were your age.”
Trevor and Jaycee stared at it in awe.
At that moment, the joy of Mitchell’s carefree youth and the special bond he’d had with his brother came rushing at him. The good memories of what a great person Cam had been in spite of his mistakes.
Mitchell had made so many of his own, he couldn’t throw stones. Especially not at Cam. Maybe Mitchell could pay Lorenda’s help forward by giving the boys a little part of their father. By helping them get to know who Cam really had been before war had morphed him.
Jaycee kept staring at the buoy like he was trying to imagine his father. “Can we race to it now, Uncle Mitch?”
“Let’s wait for your mom,” Mitchell said.
“What’s taking her so long?” Trevor was getting impatient.
“Ladies need a little more time than us guys do, and we’ve got her seriously outnumbered, so give her a break.” Mitchell splashed the kids to keep them occupied, and they shrieked.
Trevor obviously couldn’t wrap his little mind around why women were so different from men, so he yelled, “Mom! Come on. Uncle Mitch wants to do you!”
Lorenda darted out of the tent wearing a black bikini that gave Mitchell a boner right there in a mountain glacier lake. He forced himself to wave casually, and her stance relaxed. She turned around to grab a collapsible camping chair and a book, dropped the book, and then bent over to pick it up.
And sweet Jesus, he redefined the phrase pitching a tent.
Malarkey barked at the edge of the lake, unable to work up the courage to jump in, and Lorenda walked to the end of the pier to get comfortable, the dainty bows at each side of her swimsuit bottom moving with the sway of her hips.
“Mom!” Trevor yelled. “Watch! Uncle Mitch taught us to dive.” He scrambled up the ladder that attached to one side of the pier and dove off headfirst. Mitchell spotted for him, and after a few seconds his little head popped out of the water.
A crinkle appeared over her brows. “Is it deep enough to dive?”
“It’s way over my head,” Mitchell assured her.
“Mom!” Jaycee hollered. “Let Uncle Mitch do you!”
Her face went up in flames along with the patch of skin between her breasts, which was revealed by the plunging neckline of the swim top that tied behind her slender neck.
Mitchell couldn’t hold back a grin. He’d definitely love to do Lorenda. Turning away from her in bed to hide his obvious attraction had been the only way to keep his hands from pulling the thin silky straps of
f her shoulders, kissing every inch of her creamy skin, and making love to her until she moaned his name during one of the many orgasms he’d wanted to give her.
Because, hell yes, he’d laid awake most of the night fantasizing about each one.
“This is a family camping trip, Sparky, so come get in the water.”
The boys cheered, and Malarkey loped down the pier to be closer to them.
Lorenda ignored them all with a smile, slid a sexy pair of glamorous sunglasses off her head and onto her nose, and opened her book.
“Okay, boys, swim over to the bank and rest for five minutes, then swim back,” Mitchell said.
They splashed off, and Malarkey doubled back along the pier to follow them.
“Hey, you,” Mitchell said to Lorenda.
She lifted her nose in the air and pretended not to listen.
So he splashed her with water, at which point she pulled her sunglasses down a notch to glare over the top like a movie star.
He laughed. “Yeah, you, with the small bikini and the big attitude.”
One of her silky golden brows lifted.
“Come get in the water.”
“Do I know you?” she asked.
Treading water with one arm, he scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I’m pretty sure you’re the one that gave me this last night.” He held up his left hand and thumbed the smoky gray band until it circled his finger.
She ignored him.
Since she was being so difficult, he decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. He lowered his voice so the boys couldn’t hear. “Plus, I’ve seen you naked, so, yeah, I think we’ve met.”
Her eyes widened. “That was an accident! I slipped and dropped my towel.”
Yes, Lorenda dropping her towel in his bathroom had been an accident, but every contour and curve of her lush body was burned into his memory for all eternity. He shrugged. “Still saw you in the buff.”
She pushed her glasses back up. “I’d rather read.” She crossed one long leg over the other, and Mitchell’s mouth turned to cotton. “And I’m not one of your subordinates that you can order around.” Her foot started to kick like she was nervous, but her lips twitched like she was holding back a smile.
“Really? Because I distinctly remember you promising to honor and obey me just yesterday. And I was smart enough to bring along witnesses, so jump in. I’ll catch you.”
“I don’t want to get my hair wet.” She twirled a blonde lock around one finger. “There’s no plug for my hair dryer.” Her foot kicked faster. “I’ll just read and soak up some sun while you boys swim. I could even read out loud so you can enjoy the story too.”
She held up her book to block him from view. “The brutish knight, hardened from years on the battlefield, thought himself a near god and expected everyone should jump to do his bidding with a mere snap of his calloused fingers.” She read like one of his teachers from high school.
“Your book’s upside down,” he said.
“Is not,” she said around the side of the book. But slowly turned the book right side up and continued her invented story with a clear of her throat. “But the intelligent princess refused to bend to the brute’s will.”
“Get. In. The water.”
“Aren’t you tired yet? You’ve been treading water for a long time.” Her voice lost that teacher’s edge. “Maybe you should take a break.”
“Sweetheart, I had to tread water for a lot longer than this to become a SEAL. In BUD/S training they tied our hands and feet together and threw us in water over our heads.”
Obviously Cameron had never shared the details with her because her lips rounded into a shocked O.
“Isn’t the water cold?”
“As ice,” he said. “It’ll get your blood pumping and give you lots of energy.” Too bad all of his blood was pumping to the same spot.
“So you enjoy torturing innocent women, then?”
She was joking, but that one still stung. “The media would have you believe so, but no, I actually don’t get off on torturing innocent women and children.” He braced both arms on the pier’s edge and hauled himself out. Her lips parted as her gaze took in his every movement.
He had to admit that he liked it. Liked her attention on him. Liked that she obviously liked what she saw, because the tip of her tongue slipped out to wet her bottom lip and her cheeks pinked even more.
“I do, however, enjoy torturing my new wife.” He took his time walking toward her so she could get an eyeful. “Especially when she’s too prissy to get her hair wet.”
“No!” She closed the book and pointed a finger at him. “You stay away from me.”
He shook his head and gave her a cocky smile. “No can do, sweetheart. If you wanted to be left alone, you should’ve married one of those Air Force lackeys.”
She shrieked when he gathered her into his arms and lifted her out of the chair like she was a feather. Her book clattered onto the wood planks, and she pulled off the glasses and tossed them onto the chair.
And holding her against him in that skimpy bikini that showed off legs that stretched from here to heaven and a body just as divine—even after two kids—didn’t help the stiffening going on beneath his trunks.
“Cover your nose, darlin’.” He walked to the end of the pier.
She shrieked again but clamped a fist over her nose.
Jaycee and Trevor splashed back into the lake screaming, “Uncle Mitch is doing Mom!”
Mitchell jumped in with Lorenda still in his arms, and those long, sexy legs and arms went in every direction. When he came up, she’d managed to keep the top of her head dry, but water starred her lashes and she gasped for air while wrapping herself around him.
Nice.
Her silky skin smoothed against his and made the water seem much warmer than it had a few minutes ago.
“Happy now?” Her tone was huffy.
Thoughtfully, he studied the dry top of her head. “No.” He dunked her under the water just enough to douse all of her hair this time, and she came up sputtering.
“Now I’m happy.”
She splashed him, and he laughed. Held up his hand to block the spray of water.
“You’re not a frogman, you’re a toad.” She ran a hand over her face to shunt off the wetness. Her tone was irritated, but she wrapped both arms around his neck again and hung on so he could keep both of them afloat.
Super nice.
Jaycee and Trevor reached them and splashed around, trying to get Malarkey to jump in.
“They’re good swimmers,” Mitchell said.
She nodded. “I took them to lessons every summer. They swim like fish.” She locked gazes with him, the blue of her eyes even deeper in the bright afternoon sun. Her starred lashes shimmered.
“Or like frogmen,” Mitchell said.
Her expression went serious. “I hope not. I’m a mother. I don’t want that life for them.”
“I hope not too, Sparky.” His voice sobered as much as hers.
His gaze raked over her face, and he wanted to kiss that sweet mouth.
“Okay, frogman, I’m in the water. Take me for a swim.”
He turned so she could latch onto him from behind. “Let’s go, boys. Last one to the buoy is a rotten airman.”
And damned if it didn’t make his chest expand that they really did act like his family, welcoming him in like he finally belonged. His only regret was that it wasn’t for real.
Lorenda pulled on a warm change of clothes and left the tent to see if Mitchell and the kids wanted to eat the picnic she’d packed. Mitchell wasn’t kidding when he said the icy water in the high mountain lake was rejuvenating. Of course, it hadn’t felt all that cold while she was rubbing up against him. That felt pretty hot. But as soon as she’d climbed up onto the pier, her teeth had nearly chattered right out of her mouth.
When she stepped out of the large tent that could hold all four of them, Mitchell and the kids had changed into fresh clothes too. They stood at t
he edge of the lake, the kids and dog flanking Mitchell as he stared through a pair of binoculars.
“What’s up?” She walked up behind them.
He moved so that she could wedge in next to him, kept staring across the lake with narrowed eyes, and handed her the binoculars. “The Wilderness Scouts. I thought they were camping along the river above Bobcat Pass.”
She took the binoculars and brought the bustling campsite across the lake into focus. “That’s what the flyer the boys brought home said. Must’ve changed the location.”
She lowered the binoculars. Trevor was close to tears, and Jaycee, a little older and more mature, just looked disappointed. She couldn’t blame them. They’d wanted to camp with their friends. It hadn’t seemed like such a blow when she told them Uncle Mitch was taking them on a family campout. But with the troop right under their noses, in full view, the boys were probably feeling left out.
“Only one person could make that decision.” Mitchell hooked both thumbs in the pockets of his jeans and kept staring, his expression darkening.
Right. The troop leader. But Bart wouldn’t have done something so callous on purpose. It wasn’t his style.
“Funny he moved the location here. Where probably everybody in Red River knew we’d be camping,” Mitchell said. “Gossip moves too fast in this town for him not to have known.”
Trevor’s pout deepened, and Lorenda gave his shoulder a squeeze. She lifted the binoculars again and zeroed in on Bart. She slung the binoculars over one shoulder. “I’m sure it wasn’t intentional. He’s not that much of a foxtrotter.”
Mitchell’s brow crinkled, but a corner of his mouth lifted.
“It’s code cussing,” she whispered.
His handsome face cracked wide open with a full-on smile. He shook his head. “You’re one hell of a woman, Sparky.”
She widened her eyes at him. “That’s one hotel of a woman in front of the kids.”
He nodded, but his smile didn’t dim. “Has anyone seen my dog tags? I left them in my duffle bag when we went swimming. I can’t find them.”
She shook her head. So did Jaycee.
“Can I wear them? Please?” Trevor begged.
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