The railing bordering the stairwell leading downstairs was made with pieces of ocean-worn branches and lumber, cut together in a hap-hazard design and then varithaned to a high polish.
Andy cinched up his pajama bottoms and skipped downstairs bare-chested and barefoot, greeting four catering staff unloading their supplies, catching a couple of the ladies off guard. One even curtsied, as if he were some prince from a foreign land.
“We’ve got coffee for you, Mr. Carr,” said one of them.
“Thank God.” He squinted and saw her nametag. “Gwen. You’re a lifesaver.”
She blushed and handed him a mug, but without his half and half. Before he could object, someone else brought the half gallon container over and poured easily a quarter cup into his coffee.
“Better. All’s right with the world now.”
“You nervous?” asked one of the cooks, beginning to arrange plastic containers filled with appetizers. A pair of men were carrying out the folded tent for the ceremony, along with some white chairs. The florist delivered three large sprays of loose colorful flowers to be used for displays.
Andy took stock of how he felt. “Not really. I think I know what I’m getting into. We’ve been living together as much as we can over the past year. I’ll be stationed in Little Creek now, so it will be better. Closer.”
Those who looked up, gave an appreciative smile, but no one stopped to really pay any attention to him. He brought his mug outside and walked toward the water to intercept Aimee and her girlfriends.
He found them approaching from the left. He remembered the day he first saw her running on the beach in her green Nikes, how he’d been so unsure if she’d allow him to be close, and how relieved he’d been when he discovered she was softening her hard stance against him. She got closer and he studied her fresh face, her shapely form as he let her vision warm him all the way down to his toes. He was such a lucky man. He’d almost lost her, and now she would be his forever.
She was grinning at him as she attempted to run right past him, her friends in tow. He grabbed her and planted a morning kiss first on her neck, and then squarely on her lips, spilling his coffee on her in the process. Aimee jumped back to avoid additional spillage but leaned into him and gave him another quick kiss.
“You’re dangerous this morning, Mr. Carr.”
“I’m a lethal warrior, a force for good. Just come closer and I’ll show you, Mrs. Carr.”
“Not quite. Soon, but not quite.”
He quickly set his mug down in the sand and ran after her as she attempted to escape. He lifted her in his arms and ran into the surf, dropping her. At the last moment, she pulled on his drawstring, bringing him crashing down into the water, his waistband slipping to expose one of his butt cheeks. The ladies howled. Andy didn’t care. Wet or dry, or half-naked, he wasn’t going to stop kissing her until he was good and ready to.
They made use of the long shower afterwards, in preparation for their wedding clothes, where they could be intimate in private. Her silky skin and lavender eyes begged him to be ardent, yet gentle on this special day. Her cheeks were bright pink as she came for him, as her succulent lips coaxed him on and moaned her pleasure. It was the perfect way to begin the festivities.
The day was perfect and at sunset, they took their vows. As he kissed his new bride, his fingers slid into her hair, which had been done up with pins, flowers and miniature combs. He messed with the intricate strands and decorations, sending a couple long ringlets down her back. He got a cross look, but the audience loved it.
We winked, “You should know better by now, sweetheart. I like your hair long and sexy,” he whispered.
“Thank goodness we had all the pictures taken before the ceremony,” she replied, taking his hand and leading him out to the audience, who gave them a standing ovation.
He went along with the obligatory smearing of frosting on her nose and upper lip, he lovingly kissed off. He made her cry with his toast to the lovely lavender beauty who would share his life forever. Even Cory’s presence couldn’t dampen his day. He still didn’t let him dance with Aimee, however.
His new LPO, David Peterson, came down for the occasion with two other SEALs from Team 4, a gesture Andy appreciated. He’d only had a brief workup with them and was still learning everyone’s names. His former LPO, Kyle Lansdowne, had helped Andy get the job when Team 4 lost their most senior medic and was short for their next deployment.
S.O. Peterson was a much younger LPO than Kyle and had been promoted fast. Andy’d been told the heavy turnover on the team had resulted from some recent injuries and two difficult deployments in Afghanistan and Sudan, but their main arena was usually South America. It felt like the Navy was trying to find a place to stick Team 4, which was pure folly, of course. Kyle told him not to worry, that the Team was well-trained and would sync quickly around him. Andy had learned to trust Kyle’s judgment on his placement, and not to ask too many questions, but it was something he thought about as the days grew closer to their deployment.
“I’m looking for great things from you, Andy,” Peterson began. “Heard you’re prone to heroic acts, and that’s saying a bit since Team 3 is legendary for doing some pretty crazy shit,” he continued as he clasped Andy’s hand enough to cause a little pain.
“Most of that happened before I came on board, but we had our share. I’ve certainly heard the stories, sir.”
“I’m counting on you to give us Africa intel. Even humanitarian security can be deadly.”
Andy’s personal opinion was that the African arena was more deadly than the Middle East, and certainly South America, with more groups, warring factions and less control by the governments who had been left penniless by strings of dictators who basically extracted all the country’s wealth and foreign aid given to help stabilize the region. All it seemed to do was enable them to buy arms and hire mercenaries who were schooled in combating European and Africacorp troops.
Andy shook his other two teammates’ hands as he answered his LPO carefully. “That’s the thing. Learning who you can trust. Get that wrong, and it’s all over.”
Then Peterson gave Andy a quick stare, laced with a dash or two of panic. Andy felt his stomach rumble, and then pushed it out of his consciousness, searching the sunset and hoping he’d have thousands more of them to come. Aimee was speaking animatedly over the laughter and happy conversation, oblivious to all this. That’s exactly where he wanted her to stay.
“Got an older brother who served with a couple of your old guys, Andy. He sends his regards,” said S.O. Dallas Grant, who was their explosives expert and had only eight fingers to prove it.
“You bet. He still in?”
Grant examined his toes. “There aren’t too many one-armed sharpshooters on the Teams, Carr. But when I get home, he can still hunt and shoot better than I can with two arms.”
The four men laughed nervously. Peterson nodded in Cory’s direction. “You had your hands full there, Andy. Thanks for helping him get straight.”
Andy shrugged. “We try not to leave anyone behind. We’ll see. But I’d give him some space, if I were you, sir.”
Peterson nodded, and then they all turned, blending into the wedding crowd. As Andy watched them disappear, he realized these guys were mere babies. He’d noticed even their senior guys, who didn’t come today, were young as well. He hoped that didn’t pose a problem.
Aimee’s friend Shelley was all over him to dance, so he obliged her. With her silky blonde hair and good looks, this happy schoolteacher, a native of Florida, had once been his blind date when Cory was with Aimee. If Andy’s bride had wanted a wedding party, Shelley would have made a stunning Maid of Honor. He knew she was still working on hooking up with a SEAL but didn’t like how many times she asked for his help. He smiled anyway and gave her a thumb’s up which brought on an honest blush that was kind of cute.
Thankfully, the music ended quickly, and she was called to the side. Andy went in search of his wife. He snuck up behi
nd her, pulling her into his chest and placing a series of delicate kisses on her bare shoulder, as she cooed and dropped her conversation with a couple of her friends.
Her lavender eyes took stock of his smiling face, telling him she loved the sight of him. It was something every man needed to see, especially an elite warrior. More than words or thank yous, they needed to loom large in their lady’s life. He hoped he never stopped making her pulse drive up, making her blush with his words and deeds, that she always felt safe in his arms and at his side, even when he wasn’t around to reassure her. He hoped he never stopped seeing that affect he had on her. He hoped he never stopped feeling her melt as he took her for his own, whether in the middle of a crowd or in their bedroom at night. He wanted all of her, forever.
“I never want this to end, Andy,” she gushed.
“It will never end, sweetheart.”
“I want to keep celebrating forever.” She moved her arms up, resting on his shoulders as his hands gripped her waist.
“Just being with you is a celebration, Aimee. I’m the luckiest man alive. Truly. The luckiest. You make everything beautiful.”
“It’s so nice we could share the magic of this place with everyone—all our friends.”
“Magic.” He whispered as he kissed her. “Forever.”
“The magic will bring you home to me,” she answered with a sigh. “It will pull you back here, to the Gulf.”
“No, you pull me back here. Because this is where you are.”
“And I’ll always be on the beach waiting for you, or running, or eating pancakes, until you come home again.”
He pressed his forehead against hers and hoped he wasn’t showing his apprehension for the new deployment and the new team. That warm glow where Aimee lived in his heart expanded inside his chest and eclipsed his worries.
Nothing would interfere with his perfect day.
Chapter 3
Christmas Day
Aimee fingered the ribbons on several of the packages that remained unopened from the reception last night at sunset. The barefoot beach wedding had been perfect. It was ordered that no one wore shoes so dancing in the sand in her long wedding gown was a challenge, and her calves and thighs were paying the price for her fun. But long after the orange glow of the dying sun had disappeared, the glow in her heart remained.
All of a sudden, her eyes teared up, impeding her from being able to read the card from one of the gifts. Wiping her eyes, she decided some coffee might help. Her belly gurgled—the lack of sleep their lovemaking had caused was just another happy consequence of being so madly, hopelessly in love. She floated to the kitchen, turned water on the stove, scooped coffee into the French press and waited for her pot to boil.
She heard Andy’s footsteps on the stairs.
His sinfully god-like body was bare-chested. He wore his brand-new Christmas boxers she’d given him last night. She hoped she looked half as good as he did this morning.
“Morning, Mrs. Carr,” he said, pinning her against the refrigerator and planting a long languid kiss on her caffeine-starved lips.
“Good morning yourself, Mr. Carr. I didn’t expect you to be up and awake before noon, knowing how you like your beauty rest.”
“The bed was empty and cold. Can’t sleep when it’s that way. You slipped out rather stealth, my dear. What is your secret mission?”
“Coffee.” She poured the boiling water into the carafe while she foraged for half and half in the packed refrigerator. “I’m hoping someone comes over today. There’s so much food here, we could feed everyone on the beach all day long.”
“Not a bad idea,” Andy said as he accepted the cream she poured into his favorite Navy SEAL mug. He poured coffee for both of them and followed her to the living room couch with a view of the sugary white sand beach and the new day beyond.
Aimee would go for a run later, but right now, it just felt good to be lazy on the couch with the fresh coffee and her handsome new husband. She wrapped herself tighter in her robe, tucked her legs under her and sipped, watching Andy’s Adam’s apple move deliciously up and down as he swallowed his coffee.
He pointed to the table still covered with gifts. “Should I bring some of these over so we can finish opening them?”
Aimee yawned before she could say a thing, which caused her to start laughing when Andy noticed the lack of sleep was affecting her. She took another sip, and then sighed. “I like just sitting here next to you right now. I’m beginning to wonder if this coffee is going to do its thing. What did we get, two, maybe three hours of sleep last night?”
Andy wiggled his eyebrows. “Less than that, I think. But who’s counting.” He slipped his hand inside her robe and gently caressed her right breast. His coffee was precariously held in his other hand.
“Careful, Andy. You’re deadly with the coffee spills…”
“I just get distracted.” He shifted his weight closer to her and adjusted his crotch.
She took his mug, holding them both up in the air while Andy licked and fondled both her breasts, which were spread open for him. The familiar ache for him brought fine beads of perspiration to her upper lip while she watched his head reach lower as his tongue traveled to her belly button. When he came up for air, his eyes were deep navy blue, his lips begged to be kissed. He quickly removed the coffee impediment, slipped down his boxers, revealing how ready he was, and pressed her gently back onto the leather couch.
“Oh, Mrs. Carr, I could get used to this,” he whispered in her ear as he slipped inside her. The leather couch groaned as he maneuvered his hips back and forth, his hand gently pressing on her rear, pushing her up into him deeper.
But Aimee couldn’t think of anything to say, except, “Yessss.”
After breakfast, she started to go over the gifts again. She brought three over to the couch as Andy joined her. He took the card, opened it, and read, “From Jasper Kornblum, Esq.” Andy said, holding up his card. “Hope you have a century of happiness here together.”
“That’s Carmen’s attorney. I didn’t see him at the reception, but he must have come.”
She tore open the light silver wrapping paper covering a large white box.
“I talked to him a few minutes. He’s a nice old guy. I usually don’t like attorneys.”
“Me neither. Necessary evil,” she answered, pulling a crystal bowl out from tissue and bubble wrap inside the box. “This is gorgeous. Perfect fruit bowl. Waterford. Expensive.” She held the cut crystal up to the light. Tiny chards of rainbows radiated all over the walls of the living room and above.
“Very nice. I didn’t know you invited him,” said Andy, taking the bowl from her fingers and placing it on the gift table.
“I sent one to Carmen Hernandez, his client. I didn’t expect her to come or to send him. I just wanted her to know we were getting married here. This house meant so much to her, or so we were told.”
“But this is from him, not her, right?” asked Andy.
“Well, I’d say she already gave us a gift. She agreed to sell us this house. Maybe we could visit her sometime.”
Andy gathered up the wrapping paper and packing, and then took a seat next to Aimee. “From the sounds of it, she’s not doing too well. You’d better go while I’m overseas because he said she didn’t have long.”
“That’s too bad. Of course. I’ll do that. What else did he say?”
“He said he’d be calling on us soon, that he had some papers he wanted to discuss, when the time came. Kind of a cryptic answer, if you ask me.”
“Oh Geez, I hope nothing is wrong with the title.”
“You got insurance, though, right?”
“I did.”
“Well, we should be okay then. He didn’t look like it was a problem, just wanted to pay his respects and to tell us he’d be in touch. I kind of like the guy.”
Andy found it easy to like almost anybody, Aimee noted to herself. But he also was a good judge of character, and if there was some malicious int
ent, Andy would have picked up on it right away.
They continued opening up packages. Aimee was careful to add these to her list for thank you notes.
A brief knock on the door startled them both. Andy ran over and waved at the departing delivery truck driver who had just dropped a box on their doorstep.
“On Christmas Day?” Aimee was shocked. “Who is it from?”
Andy squinted at the label. “Della Fortunati. It’s from Nashville.” He held the box up and shrugged.
“Oh, she was my agent when I sold my parent’s home there. How lovely. And for the record, I didn’t invite her.”
“Well, it’s still nice. Here.” He handed the preprinted delivery box to her, and then retrieved a pair of scissors from the kitchen so she could get past all the plastic tape covering nearly every square inch of the box.
Aimee sliced through the seams and opened the flaps. Inside was a note.
Aimee,
The Andersons found these upstairs in the attic of your mother’s home. Somehow, when you and I were cleaning everything out, we missed this. Sorry. But I took a brief look at it and knew these things you’d want to have.
—Della
Beneath the note were several stacks of old pictures of their family. Aimee was fascinated to examine the ones when she and Logan were grade school age. Her parents looked so young then. There were a couple of her report cards, a Father’s Day drawing she’d made, a Christmas ornament Logan had made, and some folded papers, including Aimee’s birth certificate.
“This is really cool, Andy. I’ve never seen some of these.”
“How nice they forwarded them on. Now I know you won’t be bored when I’m gone. These will take you two days to go through, if I know you well enough.”
Aimee was overjoyed and didn’t know where to start looking through everything. She was tickled that part of her family history, which had scattered after the death of her parents and the disappearance of her brother Logan, was chronicled here. Intact. Preserved just for her. Examining one photo of Logan in a basketball jersey, a tall, skinny kid with a big smile, he didn’t resemble the troubled young man who was now living on the streets, battling his addiction demons. She was grateful for the hand-up. This gave her more impetus to go looking for him again.
The House At Sunset: SEALed At Sunset - The Beach Renovation (Sunset SEALs Book 5) Page 3