“Mom?” Sloane called out before she entered the kitchen.
They stepped onto the slate tiled floor and she smelled chili simmering on the stove. Her mom and aunts Nina, Lumin, Marg and Mattie, with cups cradled in their hands, talked while sitting at the dining room trestle table. Some people bought distressed furniture as a fad. Their table had a few stories to tell and the war wounds and scratches from years of use were au natural.
“Hi, honey. How was work?” her mom asked.
“No papercuts today,” Sloane teased. “Any coffee left for us?” Sloane pulled two mugs from the cabinet since they’d both finished their blended goodness from the drive-thru.
“Just made a new pot,” Aunt Nina said, and held out her mug for a refill. “Need another cup to deal with shopping.”
Sloane’s mom raised a brow at her best friend. “You love shopping.”
With the characteristic snap of her head and a narrowed green eye, Aunt Nina said, “I hate shopping, and you know it.”
“We have three weddings this month,” Aunt Lumin voiced. “Every weekend next month. It’s starting to get expensive. I wish more people eloped.”
Kels cleared her throat and Sloane slowly placed the coffee carafe back on the counter after filling three mugs and offering one to Aunt Nina. “Well, I hear there might be one more,” she said, hoping to offer segue to the huge fucking bomb about to explode in the kitchen.
Kels darted a look at Sloane.
“What? It’s a natural lead-in.”
“Who else is getting married?” Sloane’s mom asked.
Kels looked like she needed a shot of bourbon, not caffeine. Sloane had watched her in action when she was in the courtroom. She took no prisoners. Aunt Lumin had been responsible for getting Kels her first position after graduating law school. Lumin’s firm took a chance, and they weren’t sorry. With an IQ that topped out on the genius scale, Kels made partner with the San Diego law firm within five years.
Kelsey opened her mouth as their moms waited expectantly at the table.
Bang!
The back patio door cracked open against the wall and her mom’s eyes sparked with irritation. “Adam, take it easy on the hardware!”
“Sorry, Mom.” Adam strutted in with two of his east coast swim buddies in close pursuit. Bare chested and wearing board shorts. His gaze didn’t linger on his sister, but pounced on Kelsey. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Busy,” she said, staring at the sink and crossing her arms.
Adam had followed in Dad’s footsteps. Easy to do since he looked the spitting image of him and had the same attitude. When he passed his qualification training for the SEALs, they’d posted him to Virginia in Little Creek, which Mom hated. She wanted him to transfer to the west coast.
“Still hanging out with that head-banger?” Adam asked, yarding open the freezer door then digging out two bags of ice and handing them to his pals.
Kels rolled her eyes. “He’s not a head-banger, Adam. He has a degree in classical music.”
“Useless,” Adam murmured with his head now stuck in the fridge.
Kels snorted and dug her hand in one of the bags of ice his fellow SEAL buddy was holding and shoved it down the back of Adam’s shorts.
“Holy shit!” He jumped around, shaking out his trunks till the ice cubes plopped on the floor and skidded away.
Kels gave him a caustic smile. “Thought SEALs could withstand cold temperatures.”
Adam shook his head. Tropical blue eyes, the same color as their father’s, simmered while he thought of a comeback. Instead, he plucked out a brick of cheese from the fridge and grabbed the crackers from the cupboard. “Just don’t marry the douchebag.”
Sloane puckered her lips. “Where’s Dad, Adam?”
“Where d’ya think?” he answered, still in a staring contest with Kels.
SEAL Cave, Sloane figured. Dad had built it years ago. Didn’t matter whether it was one of his old team or some new SEAL who needed a few words of advice from the man they still called Ghost. The SEAL Cave was just another name for Man Cave. Drink beer. Talk. Or just hang-out. The admiral’s door was always open.
“You bringing that asshole to the party?” Adam asked, stopping in front of Kels, who leaned against the counter.
“Yes, he’s coming. His name is Morgan, not asshole. And don’t be your usual jerk self, either.”
Adam gave her a cocky wink and vacated the kitchen.
“You sure he’s going to feel comfortable here, Kelsey?” Aunt Marg asked. Sitting at the kitchen table across from Nina, she eyed her daughter. “Not that he’s not a nice man, but this crowd can be a little hard on outsiders.”
“Mom, Morgan is not an outsider. He’s with me.”
“I’m going to see Dad for a second. I’ll be back,” Sloane said, stepping toward the patio doors. She doubted Kels would release the big news now, after Adam’s little rant.
She didn’t understand her brother. When they were kids, they hung out all the time with Kels, but as they reached their teens, Adam started bugging Kels any chance he got. A couple times, he’d taken it too far and hurt her feelings.
“It’s nice Adam made it back for the annual BBQ,” Aunt Mattie said.
Her mom beamed with a smile. “Honey, will you tell your father we need two more BBQ’s?”
“Sure, Mom.”
Sloane couldn’t remember when it had become a thing but the entire SEAL community descended on their place one day during the summer to eat, drink, and be stupid. Tomorrow, their swimming pool would end up half-empty because of the crazy-ass shenanigans.
Sloane walked across the tiled patio and skirted the swimming pool. Adam’s two buddies watched her from their deck chairs, but didn’t launch any verbal torpedoes her way. They wouldn’t dare. A brother could insult his sister, but heaven forbid a fellow SEAL brother make an off-colored comment.
Although a pain in the ass, Adam had always been there for her if some guy at school had given her a hard time. They were close, and when he was on his downtime back east, they’d Skype and keep in touch.
A few feet from the SEAL Cave, the door swung open and one of dad’s old Alpha Team mates appeared. “Hi, Uncle Caleb.”
Caleb Stone was a doctor at NAB Coronado. After serving for fifteen years in active combat, he gave up his camouflage for scrubs. With short, red hair, freckled cheeks and a pair of specs perched on the end of his nose, he grinned at her. “Hey, Sloane, how are you?”
“Pretty good. I was looking for Dad, is he in there?”
“What’ya need, sweetheart?” The man most men in the Navy revered as a legend stuck his head out the doorway.
“You! Mom wants two more BBQ’s for the party. Don’t know where you’re going to get them, but we need them.”
Her dad thrust a look at Caleb. “I’ve got Pat’s truck if you’ve got the BBQ?”
“Sure, Ghost.” Caleb grinned at her. “Heard you met my nephew.”
She was worried he’d bring that up. For the last week, she’d tried her best to forget about Damon Stone. “Yeah, but it wasn’t under very nice circumstances. I’m sorry you lost your sister.”
“Me, too. She was a beautiful lady.”
Regardless if Damon was a no-good womanizing ass like the rest of the guys, he’d still lost his mom. “How are Damon and his sisters doing?”
Caleb shrugged. “Grief has its own clock. They’re getting used to not having her around. It’s Jordan, Damon’s dad, I’m worried about. He’s not doing so great without my sis to keep him in line.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
Uncle Caleb eyed her. “This is the first year my nephew is in town for the annual BBQ. I saw him yesterday. Said he was looking forward to coming.”
“Huh. Well that’s nice.” She pasted on a smile.
“Ya know, I’ve got a huge family. Probably forty percent joined the Navy or the Marines. Only Damon made it through SEAL training. He’s one helluva man. I’m proud of him.”
Sl
oane slid a look her father’s way, and he didn’t jump in to save her. Then again, she hadn’t shared the details of what happened on the beach with him either. Dad just knew she wasn’t pleased that he’d personally invited Damon to the BBQ.
A familiar screech from Kels saved her from inventing a polite response. They all swung around to see Adam carrying Kels in his arms. She wiggled and kicked, but didn’t get far in her tight pencil skirt. One high-heel shoe flew through the air and plopped into the middle of the pool. It wasn’t Olympic sized, but darn near. Not surprising since her dad still swam daily.
“Don’t you dare!” Kels yelled.
Unfortunately, when it came to Kels, Adam’s listening skills were non-existent. A loud bark of laughter followed the splash when he dumped her in the deep end. She came up sputtering, while Adam squatted next to the edge.
“You’re an asshole,” she screamed up at him. “Now I have to go home and change.”
Sloane’s brother shrugged one muscled shoulder. “Maybe you can get rid of those tight-ass clothes and put on something more you.”
“Fuck you!”
Whoops! When Kels went there, she knew her pseudo sister had reached the end of her temper, and Adam always managed to push her to the limit. Sloane quickly grabbed a pool towel from the woven basket on the patio and met Kels as she stomped up the stairs, out of the pool, her perfect hair flattened and dripping down her face. Silver eyes snapped with anger, and she wasn’t finished with the tongue lashing. Although Adam was taller, Kelsey had her mother’s height, but she still didn’t reach Adam’s six-feet-four frame.
“You’re a goddamn idiot. I’m surprised the SEALs allowed your underdeveloped IQ into the program. Even more surprised you haven’t shot your own foot off.”
Adam wore a smug smile and stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and an eight-pack of muscle rolling across his abs.
Kels never learned. He did this to get a rise out of her because after becoming a lawyer, she acted too much like one, falling into the stiff-necked business tone, even when she was around family.
Sloane was sure Adam still saw the little girl with dark curls and soft skin who’d cried after falling off her bike and skinning her knees bloody. Even though he was five years younger than Kels, he had a protective streak and he’d hugged her until her tears stopped.
Kels wasn’t a little girl anymore. Adam had become a Special Warfare operator and a confident man. Women fell at his feet, and she knew he flipped through fairer sex like a strong westerly across the pages of an open book.
Caught in another staring contest, Adam and Kels were at war. After a moment, the cocky smile slipped from Adam’s face and the emotional depth she knew her brother had but rarely showed, reflected a fleeting look of sadness before he lowered his gaze.
“Just teasing, Kels. Sorry,” he muttered, and turned away from her.
Kels accepted the towel Sloane held out to her, but wouldn’t meet her gaze, then marched straight toward the patio door without another word.
Sloane looked up when her father wrapped an arm around her waist. “Gonna help me pick up the BBQ’s?”
“What was that?” she asked, mystified at her brother’s reaction.
Her father smiled down at her, and then shot a look toward Adam sitting with his buddies beside the pool. “He’ll figure it out.”
“Figure what out?” Her dad headed for the walkway that skirted the left side of the house. “Hey, figure what out?” she asked again, having to put it into a trot to catch up to him. He held the wooden gate open for her to pass through. “Am I missing something?”
Her father chuckled. “In the truck, Seaman Austen.”
Chapter Six
Sloane turned the night light off beside her bed. Thankful for the feather pillow, she nestled her head into the softness and stared up at the painted ceiling as moonlight crept across the walls of her childhood bedroom.
Because the house had four thousand square feet, her bedroom was the size of many peoples’ master bedroom. She’d removed the teenage heart-throb posters and painted the walls a calm hue of mossy green when she graduated high school. The second-hand shop adopted her teddy bears. All but one—Murf sat in the corner lounger where she read her favorite stories. E-readers were okay, but the smell of a new book and the soft flap of the pages brought the story to life under her fingers. Movement from her ivory silk drapes rippling in the evening breeze, caught her attention and freshened the air.
After hours of shopping, truckloads of groceries and accessories for the annual BBQ, everyone pitched in to do the initial setup. They’d done it so often, the operation rolled out like a military field plan. Within five hours, the backyard transformed into a space for hundreds of military men, women and their families. Tomorrow, they’d filter in all day and into the night.
The men erected three tents with white tarp covers to protect the food from the sun’s hot rays. Folding chairs sat neatly stacked near the entrance for easy access when guests arrived. Picnic tables littered the large backyard of the Austen residence. Some pushed together for larger groups, others sitting solo.
The women had a successful start on hundreds of appetizers and party platters. Against the wall of the house in the shade from the upper balcony, two freezers and several multi-colored coolers filled with ice, waited for their guest’s refreshments.
By midnight, everyone looked exhausted, and Sloane didn’t see a good reason to drive home, since her bedroom remained the same since she’d left for college.
She stretched her arm and plucked her phone from the night table her father had made with his own hands. He’d sanded the rough teak wood to a beautiful finish. She set her alarm for zero six hundred hours, when she’d report for duty. They’d have coffee and finish rolling out the final party plans. She sighed and placed the phone back on the tabletop.
Although she only had five hours if she zonked out now, her mind wouldn’t allow the respite of sleep. Turning on her side, she stared at the picture inside the seashell-embedded frame on her night table. She barely remembered Hawaii. Scattered, fuzzy images of when they lived there crossed her mind. Adam was a year and half older than her, so he remembered their base house in Honolulu. By the time she turned four-years-old, they’d moved back to San Diego.
She touched the frame with the tip of her finger. She remembered that day. Her dad and mom built a sand castle and she and Adam dug a mote. So many years had passed. Her parents were getting older. She saw the creases around their eyes deepening, her father’s skin not as tight as it was when he was younger. But she couldn’t imagine losing either of them. And once again, Damon popped into her head. SEAL or not, he must miss his mom.
Sloane rolled onto her back, then tossed and turned. Finally, she sat up in frustration. She couldn’t sleep. Pushing her feet into fuzzy slippers, she grabbed her robe and walked down the glossy walnut boards of the hallway and turned the corner into the kitchen. The bulb above the sink sprayed a small circle of light revealing a few dirty glasses, otherwise the kitchen was spotless and ready for tomorrow.
“What are you doing up?”
Adam sat at the trestle table, a half empty beer sitting in front of him. She poured herself a glass of water and joined him. “Could ask you the same question. You put down a dozen beers earlier.”
He nodded. “Mostly sober.” He sighed and sat back in his chair.
“Where’s your team buddies?”
“Snoring. Loudly.” He chuckled. “Mom put them in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs.”
“So why aren’t you snoring?”
He shrugged and turned the brown-necked bottle in his fingers. “Dad said he was waking us up at oh-five-hundred-hours for a ten mile run. Even straight and clean, I can barely keep up with the old man.”
“It’ll be a sad day when you can,” she said, dwelling on her thoughts from earlier. “Do you know Damon Stone?”
Adam nodded. “Good guy. Think he’s an instructor at the base now. Why?�
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“He lost his mom a couple weeks ago. Uncle Caleb’s sister. She had cancer.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah, it does.”
Adam stopped spinning the bottle in his hands, then began to pick at the label. “Have you run into Damon at N.A.B?”
“Yup. I had to deliver the message that his mom passed away. Now that I think about it, I handled it badly. I walked across the Grinder, and while he was working with a BUD/s class, I dropped the bomb on him.”
Adam’s brows rose. “Guess he’s not one of your fans.”
She shrugged. “What happened this afternoon between you and Kels?” Adam instantly stopped toying with his bottle. “Why do you give her such a bad time about Morgan? He’s a nice guy.”
“Suppose I should apologize for that. I was half cut. No excuse but…”
“But what?” She gazed at her brother, who kept his stare locked on the table. “You can’t keep treating Kels like she’s thirteen. She’s a grown woman.”
“Yeah.” He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. “I can see that.”
“We all change and move on with our lives. Kels has too.” She paused. “She hasn’t told the family yet, but Morgan asked her to marry him.”
“What?” Adam’s polar eyes sharpened with anger. “Why the hell would she want to marry him?” He thrust himself out of the chair and crossed the kitchen to the recycle bin, hammering the beer bottle into the plastic container. The crack of glass breaking probably startled the whole house.
Sloane watched her brother’s reaction and waited for her father’s heavy footsteps to pound down the hallway to make sure everything was all right. He must be tired because all was silent.
Adam threaded his fingers through his blond hair. His body taut with emotion. “Has she ever considered this fucking guy wants her because of her trust fund?”
She blinked. “I don’t know. I thought about it, but didn’t ask. Kels is gorgeous. Maybe if she was homely and innocent, I might, but I’m pretty sure Morgan likes the whole package.”
“I bet.” He shook his head. “I’m going to bed.”
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