The Baby and the Cowboy SEAL (Cowboy SEALs 2)

by Laura Marie Altom

  “Where do you two want me to set up your champagne and strawberries?” the guide asked. The tall kid looked to be in his early twenties. He had short blond hair and too many teeth.

  “I’m not hungry,” Wiley said. “Let’s save it for the lake.”

  “Aw, but it’s so pretty here.” Macy had her hands on her hips. “What’s your hurry?”

  “It’s too loud,” he complained. Without sounding like a freak, how did he adequately convey just how uncomfortable the water’s continuous roar made him? “Tomorrow, we’ll be with a crowd, but today, I want to be with you.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t make sense. There’s not another soul for miles. As soon as Jory heads back to the Jeep, we’ll be totally alone.”

  “Mace...” I need to go. Now.

  “Okay.” She might have agreed, but didn’t look happy about it. “But let me take a few more pics.”

  * * *

  MACY DIDN’T UNDERSTAND Wiley’s rush to escape the scenic view it had taken an hour’s hike to find, but since she was now nice and comfy in the cockpit of the luxurious sailboat he’d rented for the rest of the day, she wasn’t complaining.

  Between the sun’s heat and the water lapping against the hull, she’d have taken a relaxing snooze. But who could sleep when it was much more fun to watch Wiley? He’d changed from cowboy boots to deck shoes, but his Wranglers and white T-shirt with a Navy insignia stayed the same, as had his old straw cowboy hat.

  “Is that the same hat you wore during your brief, but glorious bull-riding career?”

  “So what if it is?” He tugged it lower on his forehead.

  “I can’t believe you’ve kept it all this time. I’m surprised it hasn’t rotted.”

  “In a few paces it has.” He poked his finger through a hole in the side of the brim.

  “Want a new one for a wedding gift?”

  “Nope. I like this one just fine. Reckon I’ve had it just about as long as you.”

  “You’re awful!” She lunged across the cockpit for him, but he escaped to wield that sexy grin from in front of the cabin door. “Although, I guess since it was only this morning that I technically had you, maybe the hat’s been with me longest?”

  “Is it too late for an annulment?”

  “Yes.” He was beside her, pushing her braids over her shoulders to nuzzle her neck.

  At first, she laughed because his whiskers tickled, but then he turned his attentions to lower parts of her body and she no longer felt like laughing. After a brief pause in the action for Wiley to lower the sail, they launched further explorations below deck.

  * * *

  TWO DELICIOUS HOURS PASSED, and aside from the birth of her son, Macy couldn’t remember ever having been happier. If it wasn’t for her excitement to have Henry back in her arms, she could have stayed on this boat forever.

  Alas, they were due back at the rental dock by six, so while she tidied the cabin, Wiley got them back underway.

  When she hopped from the cabin back to the cockpit, she noticed him in the bow, favoring his leg. Was he hurting? Guilt gripped her stomach. Had she been a more thoughtful wife, she would have skipped the hike. No wonder he’d wanted to leave the falls. He’d probably been in pain. His medicine seemed to work so well that she forgot he’d even been injured.

  The lake twisted for thirty miles through mountain passes, and her husband looked equally at home at the helm of this boat as he did on land. “Did you learn to sail in the Navy?”

  He laughed. “Not so much. The boats we used were a little more high-tech. My friend Raleigh came from a la-di-da Charleston family and used to sail every weekend we weren’t deployed. He liked racing, and sometimes used me for crew.” After leaning in for a quick kiss, he winked. “Yacht clubs are great places to pick up chicks. They fall for the cowboy hat every time.”

  “Ha ha. Too bad for you, you’re taken.”

  He took her hand for a gentle squeeze. “Did we really get hitched this morning?”

  “Yes, we did. I’m still pinching myself.”

  “How mad are your mom and dad going to be?”

  “On a scale of one to ten, I’d say we’re sitting between a thirty or forty.” She wrinkled her nose. “But that’s assuming we arrive fashionably late, and Dad’s temper has been mellowed by my mom’s potato salad, brownies and plenty of beer.”

  * * *

  “SURE YOU WANT to do this?” The next afternoon, Wiley squeezed Macy’s hand. They stood on the street outside her parents’ house. Even from half a block down, it was clear the backyard party was already in full swing. Country music played and muted conversations were punctuated with laughter. He’d already taken a couple pain pills while Macy chatted with Wendy, and looked forward to chasing them with a couple beers. “Our honeymoon suite might be booked, but I’m sure we could find someplace else to stay.”

  “Let’s be real. It’s the Fourth of July. There’s not a lodge, campground or tent available in all of Montana.” She swung Henry from his safety seat and into her arms.

  “Still. Wouldn’t you rather grab a couple steaks and have a quiet celebration at home?”

  “Yes.” She kissed the baby, then him. “But this has to be done, and it’s far better we do it in a group setting than when my folks are alone.”

  He winced. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

  “Come on, Mr. James. You’ll be fine.”

  Wiley wished he could be so sure.

  Wendy had been putting on makeup in her car, but she’d now caught up with Macy. Wiley hung back while the ladies chatted their way into the house.

  Before his injury, he’d felt most at home in a crowd. The more the merrier. But now, he preferred being alone—Macy didn’t count. Well, of course, she did, but in a different way. She allowed him to be himself.

  Inside, he was surprised to find the house hadn’t changed much since he’d last been there with his grandfather for a Sunday supper. There was a new recliner in the living room’s far corner, and the brown shag carpet had been swapped for short beige. The place smelled of home cooking with a hint of fresh paint.

  He spied a keg on the kitchen counter, along with a stack of red Solo cups, and helped himself, downing the whole thing before Macy and her friend finished inspecting Henry’s new duds of denim overalls and a red plaid shirt. He even had new mini-cowboy boots. The little guy sure was a cutie.

  Since the girls were still talking, he had another beer—strictly to settle his nerves.

  “Wiley! You came!” Macy’s mom abandoned her empty platter on the kitchen island to wrap him in a hug. “I swear you got even more handsome since the last time I saw you.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.” He removed his straw hat. “You’re mighty easy on the eyes, yourself.”

  “Still a flirt, I see.” She blushed. “Where in the world is that daughter of mine with my grandson?”

  “Oh—she and Wendy are in the living room. Macy and I—we, well, we rode together.”

  “Really? Are you two an item?”

  He cleared his throat. “Ah, you might say that.”

  “Mom, hi.” Macy rounded the corner.

  Adrianne Shelton only had eyes for her grandson. “There’s my sweet ray of sunshine. Come here and give your glamma a big hug.”

  Henry nearly jumped from Macy’s arms to reach his grandma and make a beeline for her shiny rhinestone flag earrings.

  “Glamma?” Wiley asked Macy under his breath.

  She shrugged. “It’s her thing. She heard it on a reality show and it stuck.”

  Nodding, he asked, “How do you want to play this?”

  “Cool. Very cool. Let me do the talking. We’ll first break it to Mom, then—”

  “Macy Jane Shelton, what is that on your—” Macy’s m
om gasped, covering her mouth with her free hand. “Did you two?” Tears shone in her eyes.

  Macy nodded. “Please, don’t be mad. We wanted to tell you, but with Daddy being—”

  “Mad? I’m not angry, just confused. Last I heard, you two weren’t speaking. Isn’t this a bit sudden?” She pulled both of them into an awkward group hug. “How did this even happen? And why weren’t we invited to the wedding?”

  “Who’s married?” Steve entered through the patio’s sliding glass door, but stopped when he saw new guests had arrived. “Wendy and—Wiley. I didn’t know you were coming.”

  “Nice to see you again, sir.” Wiley took off his hat again to shake Steve’s hand. Thank the good Lord above that the meds were finally kicking in. “And it’s the darnedest thing, but...” He slipped his arm around Macy’s waist. His pulse hadn’t beat this fast since the last time he’d faced enemy fire. “Your daughter and I got hitched yesterday morning up at a nice lodge near Lake Levasseur.”

  “No.” Steve dumped the keg he’d been carrying on the counter. From the thud, Wiley guessed it was empty. He selfishly hoped Macy’s dad had drunk more than his fill. “Do not tell me you just married my daughter without so much as running it by her mother and me? Please, tell me that’s not the case, or by God, I’ll—”

  “Daddy, stop!” Macy left Wiley’s side to go to her father. “I’m happy. Yes—this was sudden, but right. Why can’t you be happy?”

  “I can’t be happy, because my beautiful daughter is clearly in way over her head. Wiley, I mean no disrespect, son, but as a fellow serviceman, I understand you’ve faced nothing but an uphill battle since you’ve been home. I’m sorry about your injuries. Really, I am, but the boys down at the VFW say you’re—”

  “Look.” Wiley searched for just the right words to diffuse this awkward situation. “When I first got back to town, I’ll be the first to admit I was a bastard. Ladies, pardon my language, but plain and simple, I was a mean son of a bitch, and didn’t give a damn who knew it. When your VFW friends kept stopping by the cabin to ask me to join their group, I told them point-blank to get the hell off my land, and never come back. But that wasn’t me, sir. Your daughter—your beautiful, kind, sweet daughter and grandson changed me...” His voice cracked, and the gratitude he felt for Macy and her son overwhelmed him to the point that he feared he might not be able to speak. But he had to. He had to make Macy’s folks, Wendy, hell—the whole damn town—see that Macy had made everything better by convincing him to start taking the meds his doctor had prescribed. “Macy and Henry, they’re too good for me, but I’m gonna try to do better. Macy and I are thinking of starting a trail riding operation, and once I take over caring for all the animals, she should have more time for the baby and those sweaters she makes.”

  “Man to man?” Steve’s eyes also welled with tears. He swiped at them, then cleared his throat. “I can’t deny this news makes me sad...” He patted his chest. “Try seeing this from my point of view. I don’t know the extent of your injuries, but from what I hear, your leg was messed up pretty bad. Are you on permanent disability? Would you be able to raise my grandson in the capacity of a real father?”

  The question struck Wiley as an insult. “Forgive me, sir, if this comes out wrong, but I have friends who came back from Afghanistan with no legs, and they do just fine by their sons and daughters. So yeah, considering all I have is an occasionally cranky knee, don’t you worry. Macy and Henry will be A-okay under my watch.”

  “What about love?” Macy’s mother asked. “I haven’t heard that kind-of-important word leave either of your mouths.”

  “Mom...” Macy scowled. “Please, can’t you and Dad stop with all the questions and be happy for me? For us?”

  Adrianne blew her nose on a red, white and blue napkin.

  Her husband extended his hand for Wiley to shake. “I’m far from thrilled about the way this marriage came about, but what’s done is done, so for my grandson’s sake, let’s all try making the best of it.”

  “Agreed.” Wiley didn’t realize how badly he’d missed his father until connecting with Macy’s dad. He wasn’t sure why he’d even agreed to this whole marriage idea—maybe just because he got a kick out of making Macy smile. But now that he was in, he really would try harder—at everything. He’d get off the drugs and get their trail-riding business up and running.

  In short, he’d do everything in his power to make his dad proud. Or wait—Steve was Macy’s dad. His meds had gotten all mixed up with the beer, and damned if for an instant, he hadn’t felt as if he was back in his own father’s hold.

  Tears and hugs abounded, and then Steve led the procession outdoors where he clanged a wooden spoon against the side of a full keg. When that didn’t get everyone’s attention, he whistled. “Hey! All of y’all pipe down! I have an announcement!”

  The crowd of about fifty stopped their conversations to stare. Wiley felt their eyes on him, questioning his very sanity, but Steve put his arm around his shoulder, as if claiming him as his son. Raising his chin, Wiley pressed his lips tight to keep from shedding more tears.

  Steve pulled his daughter in on his opposite side, then said to the crowd, “If you don’t have a cup, you’d best get one, because I have a toast.”

  A murmur swept through the crowd.

  Adrianne handed her husband a fresh beer, then poured one for herself.

  Wendy gave one to Wiley and Macy.

  “To my daughter and her brand-spanking-new husband, Wiley James. Now, a lot of you probably remember I had a beef with the boy a ways back when he tried kissing my little girl.”

  All present chuckled.

  “But as long as he keeps making my Macy happy, then I’ll agree to let bygones be bygones. That said—” he looked directly into Wiley’s eyes “—if I get so much as a hint of my precious girl being unhappy, you’re gonna have hell to pay. We clear?”

  “Yessir.”

  “All right, then. Welcome to the family.” He raised his glass. “To Mr. and Mrs. Wiley James!”

  From there, the afternoon passed in a blur.

  Wiley felt reborn.

  Surrounded by the folks who had known his parents and grandparents, carrying Henry as the boy tugged his hair, the world once again became Wiley’s playground, and he owed it all to Macy for pushing him to take his meds. Granted, at the moment he probably had taken a few too many, but she was a good woman for getting him back in the game.

  His eyes sought her out amongst the crowd, and found her dancing to a silly country song with Doc Carthage, who’d brought Blinkie. The dog looked as if he was smiling to be back in Macy’s arms, and really, who could blame him?

  Wiley excused himself from a few of his old school friends and their parents to be with his bride. “Doc, it’s good to see you. I would thank you for watching my brood, but since they’re all yours anyway...” He raised his eyebrows and smiled.

  “Oh, no,” Doc said with a good-natured chuckle. “That motley crew is all yours. And if the goats and Lulu and Charlie and his angels got into your garden while you were gone, I had nothing to do with it.” After a quick wink, he poked grinning Henry’s belly before heading back to the buffet.

  “Speaking of gardens—” Macy wiped a chocolate frosting smudge from her son’s chubby cheek. “We haven’t discussed living arrangements. With Henry’s nursery set up at my place, I kind of assumed we’d land there, but if you’d rather—”

  “Your place is fine.” Wiley pulled her to him when a slow song played. He was so high on life, swaying with his bride, that he could almost ignore the pain creeping up his leg like a dark vine. It squeezed him, and his raw nerves occasionally twitched as if pricked by thorns.

  At the end of the dance he excused himself to head to the john, but what he really needed to do was take more medicine. He now needed upwards of ten to twelve pills a day to ma
intain status quo, when his prescribed dosage was six. His supply was perilously low, so first thing in the morning, he’d need to make a pharmacy run.

  Upon returning to the party, he found Macy waiting for him, but Henry was gone. The booze mixed with his medicine had made him foggy on the day’s finer details, and he couldn’t remember if he might have accidentally left the baby somewhere.

  “Where’s Henry?” he asked. “Is he okay?”

  “He’s fine.” She eyed him funny before unscrewing the cap on the bottle of Coke she carried, then took a long drink. “Right up there with my mom and dad.” She pointed to where her parents and seemingly everyone else crossed the backyard to get to the street.

  Steve steered a wheelbarrow loaded with blankets and giggling Henry.

  “Where’s everyone going?” Wiley asked. “Is that safe?”

  “Of course, it’s safe.” She took his hand, leading him in the same direction. “Don’t you remember there’s a shortcut to the high school football stadium at the end of our street? We’re all headed to see the fireworks.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  Wiley took a deep breath, needing those pills to kick in—fast.

  “Wiley?” She paused beneath a streetlight. The yellow glare accentuated shadows under her eyes, making her gaunt. The observation caused him worry. Wiley promised her dad that he would take care of her and her son, and he was a man of his word. Work, pills. Work. “Is your leg hurting? If so, Mom’s got her phone. I can text her that we’re going to hang back at the house.”

  “No, no. I’m good.”

  He felt her searching his face, no doubt looking for signs of weakness. But he wasn’t weak. He was a warrior. If he’d made it through actual battle, how bad could a few fireworks be?

  “Promise?” She was leading him into the darkness beyond the light, and he wasn’t just talking about leaving the streetlight’s glow. The farther they got from her parents’ house, the more his stomach fisted.