Friday morning, she rose early and fixed a quick breakfast. Then she showered and got dressed for the day. There was a pet adoption event down at the dog park that she discovered earlier in the week and happily volunteered to help. Luckily, Annabeth didn't have any appointments this morning and both Olivia and Jessyka had the day off from their jobs. Miley felt only mildly remorseful at roping her new friends into helping as well. It gave her something to do, and she would be able to use her skills.
The morning went by quickly. Miley and Annabeth worked in the veterinarian tent giving shots and checking the animals over for their new forever homes while the others helped with the choosing pen outside. It was tedious work but rewarding. To see the cats and dogs loved by their new owners mended something in her soul. Between this and Alcide, she felt her faith in humanity restored.
Olivia stuck her head in the tent. "I'm going to get a soda. You ladies want anything?"
"Water," Annabeth called out as she held a wiggling mixed-breed puppy for Miley.
"Something with caffeine," Miley said as she carefully injected the animal with the vaccine.
"You got it," Olivia said as she withdrew.
"Up late?" Annabeth smirked.
"You can say that," Miley grinned.
"Yeah, those SEALs can be so intense at times." Annabeth exhaled dreamily. "I love it when Hick gets all possessive."
"Alcide isn't possessive." Miley checked the puppy over then signed the adoption health record. "Which I'm glad. I don't do possessive well."
"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Annabeth's face fell. "Geez, I'm an idiot."
"You didn't. It's fine. You know, different strokes and all that."
"Hick told me what you went through. It was insensitive of me to say that. I really am sorry."
Miley smiled. "It's okay, Annabeth. Yeah, I'm still a little sensitive about things and I'm working through them, but you don't have to walk on eggshells around me. I know some people enjoy that whole control thing and it's all right for them. It's just not something I care for is all."
"I'll try to keep my opinions to myself," Annabeth answered with chagrin.
"Why start now?" Miley joked as she bumped her friend playfully, letting her know all was forgiven.
Their exchange was interrupted by an incoming call on Annabeth's telephone. "It's Hick," she told Miley with a broad smile as she stepped away to answer it.
"Miley?"
She looked up to see Olivia standing just inside the tent. Her face was tight, and she bit her bottom lip. The drinks were forgotten in her hands.
"What's wrong?" Trepidation churned in Miley's stomach.
"Do you have your phone off? Cowboy's trying to call you."
"I have it muted. Why?" She pulled it out and checked the screen. There were two missed calls and a couple of messages from Alcide saying the same thing - Call me.
Something cold gripped her stomach. Walking to the edge of the tent, she called him. It only rang once before Alcide answered.
"Hey," his voice was even, and that helped to calm her some.
"Hey. You were looking for me?"
"Yeah." Alcide hesitated a moment then continued. "There's no easy way to say this. We've been called up."
Miley knew what that meant; they were being called away on a mission. Alcide had talked to her about the possibility and what it meant. They would be gone from days to even months. She wouldn't know where they were or when they would get back. According to Annabeth, it was the worst part of being with a SEAL. At that moment, with dread coursing through her body, she had to agree. Fortunately, the other women had talked to her about this as well. It was important for him to know she was going to be all right with him gone. He wouldn't be able to concentrate on what he was doing if he was worried about her worrying about him.
"We knew it was probably coming. When do you leave?"
"Soon. Miley, I don't want you worrying about me."
"I'll worry. I would worry even if we weren't dating. But I have faith in the guys. I know you will keep an eye on each other. I'll be fine."
"I know." He let out a held breath. "I don't want you staying alone while I'm gone. Loran is still out there somewhere, and he might try to use this time to get to you. I know I didn't get a chance to talk to you about this, but I called in a favor. You remember Wolf from the other team? He and his wife Caroline have an apartment at their house in the basement. They want you to come stay with them while our team is gone."
Miley could hear the silent plea in his voice. Although she didn't want to be a burden to Caroline, she knew Alcide needed to know she was safely being watched over. "Okay." She swallowed and clenched the phone tighter in her hand. "You'll take care of yourself, okay?"
"Of course I will. You stay safe, Miley. I'll see you when I get home. I'll call you the minute I can, all right?"
Her throat threatened to close, so she cleared it. "Yeah, okay," she replied a lot more brightly than she felt. She heard Bruiser's voice in the background.
"I have to go, honey."
"Be safe, Lancelot. Come home in one piece."
"I will," he promised. Then he was gone.
She felt an arm go around her shoulder and turned to see Olivia and Annabeth standing there with concern on their faces. She could tell they were as emotional as she was. Throwing her arms around them both, the three hugged while Jessyka stood to the side, giving them a little time together. At that moment, the three of them were sisters on a level Miley had never felt before.
Presently, they disentangled their arms, and she wiped her eyes. "Well, looks like I'm going to be staying with Caroline for a while," she told them.
Jess smiled. "We'll do a girls-night-in tonight. It's what we do when our men are gone. We lean on each other, drink too much, watch sappy movies, so we have a reason to cry and miss our guys." She motioned for them, "Come on. The adoption is winding down. They can do without you for the last hour. I'll call Kason to meet us at your house to get some stuff."
"Okay," Miley whispered.
Annabeth grabbed her hand and squeezed. "Sounds like fun. We'll drunk call Joselyn and pick on River. We'll have our own little team mission."
"Yeah, all right," Miley told her as she got her things together. Standing there with her cell in her hand and her new friends surrounding her, Miley's awareness suddenly flared. She wasn't just infatuated with him; she was in love. He said she had snuck in under his radar, worming her way under his skin. However, he had been the real thief - creeping into her life and stealing her heart. She looked down at the cell and considered calling him back, to tell him how she felt. Setting that thought aside, she tucked it into her pocket. That was something that had to wait for when he came home.
Olivia looped her arm in Miley's and gently guided her out of the tent to the parking lot. As they walked, her thoughts returned to Alcide. He was going to be gone for who knows how long and she wouldn't know if he was all right until he returned. Her stomach clenched again, but she put forth a smile. She didn't want the others to see her upset. On the outside, she remained calm, but inside, she was terrified for him. She knew he would come back if he could... but that was the problem. What if he couldn't come home?
Miley threw that thought away. He deserved more. He deserved knowing she was waiting for him to come home. He deserved knowing she was as strong as he believed, able to take care of herself no matter what. The funny thing was, no matter how strong she said she could be, in truth she was weak, but only when it came to Alcide Montgomery.
Chapter 21
The night Alcide's team left, Wolf's team and their women descended en masse for a night of what could only be described as drunken mayhem. While the men had a poker night upstairs, Summer taught them the fine art of doing body shots without using their hands. It was cramped in the tiny apartment, but Miley loved every minute of it, especially when a tipsy Cheyenne began to recount, in detail, her bedroom antics the previous evening. Miley was, by no means a prude,
but she admitted to being shocked at some of the descriptions.
"You think that's something," Annabeth said between drinks. "Hick took me to this sex shop down near the beach. He found this contraption called a swing. They had one out on display, and he tried to get me to climb up in it," she continued as she took another drink. "Like I'm going to get my ass up in that thing and have it collapse. I mean, what if I'm too heavy for it? Which I'm not, by the way, but that's not the point. He got some cinnamon flavored oil, brown sugar and some homemade icing. I'm telling you, there's more than one way to cook. That's not even the best part ...."
"Nope. Stop right there," Olivia said with a look of horror on her face. "I don't want to hear what kinky things he did. I have to look that man in the face. He's still on KP duty with Bruiser, and I don't want that image in my mind while trying to eat something he fixed."
"Speaking of eating," Annabeth retorted with a smirk as she waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Pancakes can be a religious experience if you get my drift."
"Ewww, too much. Just, no!" Miley shuddered as she thrust her hands over her ears. "La, la, la. I can't hear you."
All of them laughed as Miley dropped her hands and grabbed another shot, downing the liquid quickly. The root beer flavored liquor topped with whip cream burned down her throat and warmed her stomach. Since Jessyka worked at Aces bar, she knew the names of many unusual drinks. Their current concoction had a particularly naughty name which made Miley gasp in shock. It didn't help that they chanted, "BJ, BJ, BJ" every time someone took a shot.
The conversation turned to milder things. Finally, sometime around one in the morning, there was a knock on the door and the men came down to collect their ladies who were well toasted by then. Saying their goodnights, the women promised to return the next day after lunch. Considering how hungover everyone would most likely be, it was a good call. Miley laughed as the women all but attacked their men. Wolf, Mozart, Cookie, Benny, Abe, and Dude couldn't have been more pleased.
As the days turned into weeks, Miley threw herself into staying busy. One of the local veterinarians who sponsored the adoption day fair approached her with a request for help. It took only a moment to agree. On days she worked, Wolf or one of his team would escort her to the clinic in downtown San Diego. That evening, one of them would bring her back to the apartment in Caroline's basement. Several times a week, she and some of the ladies would meet for lunch, shopping or some other activity. Annabeth, Olivia and Miley bonded closer, becoming more like sisters than friends. Between work and hanging out with them, she tried not to get homesick. She missed her family and friends in Wyoming, but most of all, she missed Alcide.
Miley talked to Pop-pop at least once every few days, checking on things there and how the cleanup was going. She repeatedly apologized for abandoning him when he was supposed to be retired. "Don't worry about it, sweetie. I was getting a little tired of fishing. It's good to get into the office some. Besides, someone has to keep an eye on Jessie," he told her after she apologized again.
She chuckled at that, but a part of her continued to feel guilty. That feeling was compounded when she realized while she missed the people, she didn't miss the practice -- except for small animal Tuesdays. The bigger animals? Yeah, she didn't miss them at all.
On the nineteenth day of Alcide's absence, Miley received a call from Rissa. Unable to talk at the time, she told her best friend she would contact her later. When her shift was over, she walked through the clinic to the back, climbed up to the deck overlooking the exercise yard. "Hey, Rissa. How are you?"
"I'm doing all right. It's been a rough few weeks."
"Oh, God, I'm so sorry." Miley felt her face drain of color. "I forgot about Drake's funeral."
"It's okay, Miles. You've been going through a lot, lately. His mom got the flowers you and Alcide sent. They were beautiful."
Miley felt like the bottom of a shoe. It was obvious Alcide had sent the flowers in her name as it never crossed her mind. Not only that, but her best friend was still mourning the loss of her on again, off again fiancé as well as trying to keep the family ranch going and take care of her father. Even though she had been preoccupied, it didn't mean Miley should abandon her friend.
"No, it's not okay. I feel horrible. I wish I could have been there for you. Is there anything I can do?"
Rissa's voice was tight. "No, honey. We're doing good. Dad's much stronger and got his new prosthesis last week. He's a little shaky but gets around pretty well. You know you can't keep a Montgomery down."
"I'm glad to hear that."
They talked several more minutes until Rissa asked about her brother. "I haven't heard anything, sorry." Miley bit back her own sadness. "He's been gone almost three weeks now. According to Caroline, it's not unusual."
"Who's Caroline?"
"Oh, that's right, you don't know her. She's the wife of another SEAL. I've been staying at their place with Alcide gone. She's been a Godsend of sorts. Caroline's been doing this a long time. I don't know what Olivia, Annabeth and I would do without her. She's kept our sanity."
"Oh?" Rissa's voice took on a conspiratorial tone. "Getting cozy with Alcide's team member's ladies? Is there something you aren't telling me?"
"No," Miley hastened to answer. She felt her face flush. She didn't want to lie to her friend, but she felt she should tell Alcide how she felt first. With a cough, she continued, "I mean, not really. We've started dating. Well, we were dating for a couple of days before he left." She sighed. "I don't know," she finished lamely.
"Yes!" Rissa shouted in Miley's ear. "I knew it."
"Knew what?"
"You and Alcide. I knew it was coming. I could tell a little something was happening between you. Maybe we'll finally become sisters."
"Rissa," Miley hissed.
"Oh, hush. I think it's great. As for him being gone, don't worry. He knows what he's doing. He'll be home as soon as he can. When he first joined, we worried to death over him. Now, we still worry but not so much. You'll see."
"Yeah, I'm sure you're right."
"Miley? Your ride is here." The voice of one of the techs called out from the back door.
"Coming," she answered then returned to the call. "I need to go, Rissa. I'll call you later, okay?"
"Sure."
Miley hung up then trekked back to the front to find Alabama waiting. Miley was surprised to see her as she was expecting one of the men. Miley frowned as she tried to remember which of Wolf's team was her husband. Abe? Yeah that was it. With a wave, she joined her.
"Hey. You ready to go?" Alabama's voice was soft.
"Sure, I thought it was Cookie's turn to pick me up."
"It was. The team got called for a mission and left about an hour ago. Christopher asked me to come pick you up."
"Christopher?"
"Sorry, Abe. My husband. Sometimes with all the nicknames, it feels like there are twice as many men."
Despite the attempt at humor, Miley could see a tightness around Alabama's eyes, and her hands fidgeted with her keys. She was on edge, and that was a feeling she could commiserate with. It was difficult saying goodbye to their SEALs.
Wrapping her arm around the other woman's shoulder, Miley hugged her gently. "Well, I guess that means we get to have another girls-night-in tonight. What do you say we get Cheyenne and Annabeth plastered and see which one can make the rest of us blush first?"
She nodded. "I think we should videotape them both. It could be useful for blackmail later."
"Good idea, if not a bit disturbing coming from you," Miley smiled as they walked out the front door. "It's always the quiet ones you have to look out for."
Chapter 22
When it rains, it pours. Literally.
Miley woke up the next morning to rain splattering the window over the bed and a massive hangover throbbing behind her eyes.
She groaned and stared at her cell phone, wishing she hadn't answered it. She always would because one of those calls could be Alcide and sh
e didn't want to miss it. Since the call came from the clinic and she was nursing a headache, it meant she was manipulated into taking one of the other part-time vet's place. He had a car wreck this morning on the way in thanks to slippery roads. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt badly, but the clinic needed her to come help out.
The tiny apartment had a coffee maker, and the scent of the roast greeted Miley as she came out of the bathroom. She grinned as Olivia silently handed her a cup before sipping her own. "Some night," Livy muttered. "I don't think I can keep up with Caroline and the gang."
"Me either, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. I can see how this helps out. Supporting each other makes it a little easier." Miley dropped into a chair. "Maybe a little less alcohol, though."
On the floor, in a sleeping bag, Annabeth groaned and rolled over. "Stop yelling, you two," she muttered then covered her head.
Miley and Livy laughed at their friend. "She's going to be feeling this one for a while," Livy whispered. "I'm surprised she's able to function."
"Me too. Must be a Southern thing," Miley agreed.
Livy motioned toward Miley wearing scrubs with the clinic logo on the pocket. "I thought you were off today."
"I was. Bernie had a wreck this morning. I'm filling in for him."
"I hope he's okay. Let me get cleaned up and I'll take you in." She gulped her brew and placed the cup on the table. "It'll be just a minute."
"I probably should get Alcide's car and use it." She murmured. "Anyway, I'll be upstairs. Thanks."
Miley climbed the stairs and stopped in the doorway of the living-room. She couldn't help but giggle at Fiona, Alabama, Cheyenne, and Jessyka sprawled out on the floor and couches. Shaking her head, she went into the kitchen to find Caroline eating a piece of toast as she read messages on her cell.
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