by Melody Anne
“I’ve seen the way you eat. I think you’ll finish this and then ask for more,” Tom insisted.
Steve laughed. “You might be right,” he said. He took his plates and set them on the counter, then reached into the fridge and grabbed catsup and ranch.
“I just don’t get how you keep that flat stomach,” Tom told him with a belly laugh as he patted his own bulging belly.
“I run . . . a lot,” Steve said. “If I don’t burn energy, I get cranky.”
“I knew I’d have to do something I hated if I wanted a nice body. I’ll just keep the teddy bear stuffing,” Tom told him.
Steve moved back to his seat. He picked up a fry and dipped it in his shake then stuffed it in his mouth, sighing after he was done.
Erin decided to give it a try, thinking the fries looked pretty amazing. She dipped and took a bite. It was ridiculously good — like pure heaven good. She turned and called out to Tom. “We’re going to need more fries,” she said. Tom laughed from the back.
She grabbed an onion ring and dipped it in the ice cream and Steve looked at her with horror before he gripped his burger and took a bite, a sigh of satisfaction overtaking his disgust at her dipping her onion ring.
“You told me to dip things,” she said, loving the onion ring dipped as much as the fry.
“Just fries,” he said.
“Don’t knock it till you try it,” she insisted.
“I’ll pass,” he said before chomping off half of his burger.
The two of them sat and chatted as they polished off his plate of goodies. Just as one plate was empty, Tom set a second heaping plate between them, this one loaded with fries, onion rings, cheese sticks, and jalapeno poppers.
“You’re my favorite person ever,” she told the cook.
“A lot of people say that to me,” he said. “Everyone loves the cook.”
Shockingly, they finished the second plate. Finally Erin started to feel full and really good for the first time in a while. Steve leaned back in his chair and rubbed his flat belly. “I feel good,” he said. “I could probably eat a little more, but I’ll wait a few minutes and have a big slice of pie and some more ice cream.”
“I seriously don’t know where you put it all. You must run a hundred miles a day,” she said.
“Nah, but I run a minimum of ten a day,” he said as if that wasn’t impressive.
Steve suddenly got serious as he looked at her. He pushed the black velvet box he’d brought with him toward her. She’d been so focused on the food she’d forgotten about the box.
“What is it?” she asked as she took it.
He laughed. “If you open it, you’ll find out,” Steve said.
She opened the lid and gasped at the beauty of the pink coral necklace that rested inside. “What’s this for?” she asked. She ran her finger over the necklace, wanting to put it on. She had to fight tears as she continued to rub the smooth coral. She couldn’t actually remember the last time she’d received a gift. It had been years. A tear fell and she wiped it away, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, reaching out and taking her hand. That made another tear fall.
“This is foolish,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“Tell me what’s wrong. I rarely buy a gift. Did I screw it up?” he asked. She looked up at him in horror.
“Oh no, it’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s just that . . . well, I haven’t . . .” Ugh, she felt so foolish. “I haven’t gotten a gift since, well since I lost my grandma,” she finished. Another tear fell.
“I’m sorry, Erin. You should receive them every single day.”
She held up a hand, afraid he’d now give her one daily. “No, definitely not,” she said. “If a person got a gift every day, they wouldn’t appreciate it when they get something this special.”
He smiled, wiping her cheek with his thumb before rubbing it across her lip. Then he took a breath. “I really care about you, Erin,” he finally said. Dang it. The tears were coming back again.
“I care about you too,” she admitted. He took a deep breath.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in love before, real love,” he said. “But I think I am now.”
Erin’s tears stopped as she looked across the counter at him. He was shifting in his seat, looking nervous, looking a bit . . . scared. Was he as frightened of rejection as she was? That was an odd way to tell someone you loved them, but she loved it, because it was filled with honesty.
But she also had something to tell him. She was the one scared now. But before she could say something, he kept on talking.
“Because I love you, I don’t want to keep secrets between us,” he said. He looked her in the eyes. “I’m working on a security issue right now — and one of the people I’m investigating is your uncle Jorge. I want to tell you that, not because I think you’re involved with him, but because I don’t want you to somehow find out later, and think I kept it from you.”
She looked at him, seriously confused.
“My uncle Jorge?” she questioned. Then a light turned on. “You’re looking into drugs, right?”
“Yes,” he said. “But investigating him has nothing to do with my relationship with you.”
She thought about it for a few seconds. She had zero feelings for her uncle. He was an evil man and if he spent the rest of his life in prison the world would be a better place. She had no doubt about that.
“Is that why you came to this diner in the first place?” she asked. “To find out if I was at all involved?”
Steve went quiet. She waited, feeling her heart beating hard against her chest. Then he sighed. “Full disclosure, I did know who you were when I came in here. But that’s not, and I want to emphasize this, not the reason I asked you on a date. I was intrigued by you from the first words you spoke to me. And then the more I saw you the more I needed to see you. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you, much less keep my hands away. I should’ve told you sooner, but we’ve already had a few ups and downs, and it seriously scares the hell out of me to think of losing you. That’s why I’m telling you now. I don’t want any secrets between us.”
He sat back and waited after giving his speech. She looked at him, and she looked inside herself, trying to figure out what she was feeling, or even how she was feeling. She wasn’t sure.
When she next spoke, she was shocked at her words. “I’m pregnant.” She closed her lips and stared at him as his eyes widened. Relief filled her at spitting the words out. She was more shocked when he smiled, small at first, and then his lips turned up so high she thought his face might split.
“Really?” he questioned, his tone hushed.
“I didn’t lie to you,” she quickly assured him. “I do have birth control.” She pulled up the sleeve of her shirt and showed him the small slit at the top. “I don’t know why it failed, but it did. And I’m pregnant. I really want you to know I didn’t in any way, shape, or form, do it on purpose.”
He reached out and grabbed her hand. “It’s a baby, Erin. This isn’t something you need to explain. We had sex together, and it’s a baby . . . it’s our baby.” He seemed to be in awe.
“But I didn’t want a baby,” she said, her heart thundering.
“Didn’t?” Her certainly picked up on the tense of the word.
“Well, I’m pregnant, so I can’t say I don’t want the baby, because she’s coming, and there’s not a lot I can do to stop it. I could try to squeeze my legs together but it’s a bit late for that.” She was again shocked that she was making a joke.
“I wasn’t looking to get you pregnant, but I’m not unhappy about this,” he said.
“It sounds like the two of you need to celebrate,” Tom said as he snuck up behind them, making Erin jump. He set down a huge slice of pie with a candle in it and an enormous scoop of ice cream on the side. “Congrats.”
He left them and walked back to the kitchen. Steve leaned over and blew out the candle, picked up a spoon, scooped u
p a big piece of pie and ice cream, and took a bite.
“We shouldn’t hang out here too much. I might get really fat,” he said after his second bite.
“I’m so confused right now, Steve,” she said. She picked up her spoon and took a delicate bite of the pie, but she’d lost her appetite.
They sat across from each other, both of them having a lot to think about. Steve ate most of the pie. She had a feeling he could be in the middle of a tornado and still manage to eat. It was crazy.
Finally, she looked at him, this time she reached across the counter and took his hand. He pushed the plate away and looked her in the eyes.
“Steve, can you give me some time to think about all of this? I’m confused. I need to process the baby and my uncle. I appreciate so much that you’ve been honest with me, that you didn’t try to hide you were here because of him. That goes a long way to show your character. But I’m still confused. Will you give me a few days of not seeing each other, not texting, and not calling?”
He shook his head as if he wanted to deny her the request, but she kept looking at him, her eyes pleading with him. She’d said her piece, and now it was up to him if he cared enough to respect her. His shoulders finally sagged. He looked so sad as he spoke.
“I don’t want to, but I love you, Erin. I truly do. And if you need a few days, I’ll give them to you even if it will be hell for me.” He paused, squeezing her fingers. “But I’ll have my phone on me twenty-four/seven. All you have to do is ask, and I’ll be at your side. I’m willing to do anything you want. We can be together. We can be a family,” he said.
“Thank you, Steve,” she said. “We need to start now. I’m not feeling so good again.”
She was filled with both relief and sadness as he nodded. He stood, leaned across the counter, kissed her cheek, and then turned and walked away. She went to the backroom and sat, then broke down in tears just as her back door opened and her replacement came in.
Erin thanked her, gathered her items, and practically ran from the restaurant. She needed a few days to figure it all out. Maybe she’d head to the coast and find a place on the beach where she could sit on a balcony with the ocean in front of her and the wind carrying away all of her worries.
She wasn’t sure of any answers right now. But the fact that Steve had been so kind, so understanding, and so honest gave her more to think about. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but for the first time in too many years to count, she wanted to figure out where she was going and what was going to be best for her and her child. She had a future to think about, and that’s exactly what she was going to do.
Chapter Twenty-One
Subj: Anderson family picnic, BBQ, paintball war. Participation mandatory —required. Bring full field kits, excluding field weapons. All paintball gear to be provided. Guests are encouraged.
Time: 1500
Date: Today
Place: Anderson Ranch, Coordinates to follow
Operation: Paint Cover
The following invitation was placed on each special ops team member’s seat. They’d seen Chad drive in while they were finishing up their workout, but he’d left unseen before they’d gotten back inside.
“What in the hell is this?” Green asked.
“Looks like we’re going to war, boys,” Sleep said.
“All of us have to go?” Brackish asked. He wasn’t in the mood for games.
“Looks like all of us,” Eyes said.
Brackish jumped on his computer and began looking up each property the Andersons owned, and selected the three that were big enough to host a party like this without any buildings being in the line of fire. There were a few on the cusp, so with the original three he printed each property layout.
Chad should’ve known better than to give the men an operation and think they wouldn’t come fully prepared — even to a paintball war. There was no way they were accepting the equipment provided. They’d take their own supplies — and they were already researching for the best. Even the chance of having inferior weapons in paintball was unacceptable. Brackish pulled up a couple sites where they could purchase what they needed. Then they’d head to town.
“Bring full field kits . . .” Smoke read out loud. “Does he remember what those look like? We’re going to scare the entire neighborhood — hell, maybe the entire county. Eyes, we’ll drive in civilian clothes, then change there, right?”
“Yeah, we aren’t rolling down the road geared up,” Eyes replied
“Ohh, look at these!” Brackish said with glee, making everyone look at his oversized monitor. It was a specialized paintball company. “They have paintball grenades, claymores, ohh . . . and mortar rounds!”
“Listen you guys, this is a game. We’re not going to be setting up claymores on the Anderson family — filled with paint or not. This is our boss,” Eyes reminded them. They might take their games a bit too seriously Eyes decided.
Brackish put his hands in the air to show he was done searching for painful paintball weapons. Eyes might have a point there. They got an invitation to a friendly event and were already planning for war.
“Well, then again . . .” Eyes paused, his face changing into a smirk that told the team he might be a little on board with getting all of the bells and whistles for a fake war. “Chad did say to dress in full gear . . .”
The room erupted with devil dog vigor while shouted words followed.
“Yes!”
“Do it!”
“Give us the green light, Eyes.”
“Let’s show them a good time.”
Eyes shrugged as if he’d been outnumbered. Then he got into leader mode. “Sleep. Brackish. Smoke. Green,” he began, looking at each of them, stopping between each name. He gave a dramatic pause then continued.
“We’re invited guests and we’re going into battle with friends, family, and most likely women and children. We don’t have to go full metal jacket.” There was another pause in Eye’s speech, making the men lean forward, waiting to hear what he was going to say next.
“Then again, we’ve been asked to bring full field kits. No one would ever ask us to bring all of our gear without wanting our best effort,” Eyes said while standing as if he was speaking to five-hundred-thousand people, instead of four.
Putting his hands flat on the table, his head high and his chest out, he stared at the ceiling as if it were the heavens. He then spoke with the most authoritative voice he could muster, all for show, and most definitely a joke they understood.
“If it’s a battle they seek at their front door, we’ll come to them with all of the firepower possible. No man shall forget the strength of our might, no woman shall forget our face, no nation shall forget the challenge they put on us. It’s the time for us to rise, it’s the time for the world to feel our might, it’s the time for paint to be splattered upon those who have challenged us! On this day the world will be ours!” Eyes finished by slamming his fists into the table for extra dramatic effect.
The men replied with whoops and hollers to prove their readiness to follow their leader into the fierce battle of paintball with regular, everyday people. They were having far too much fun with this, but fun was what they needed. When they saw as much evil as they did on a daily basis, it was good to have some laughs.
“Just to make sure, I can order whatever I want, right? “Brackish asked when Eyes was done play-acting. He looked at his screen. “I can order it all right here and we can pick it up in an hour.”
“Order away,” Eyes said. “Whatever you want that won’t do actual harm.” This made them all laugh. They might be acting as if it was a real war, but they did know right from wrong.
“Better come over and put items in the cart,” Brackish said after a few more minutes. “I have all of my stuff loaded.”
The men crowded around the computer, sitting, and placing items in one at a time. The total was quickly rising, but they didn’t care. By the time they were finished they had fifteen grand worth of toy
s in the cart. They might’ve squirm at that, but Chad had challenged their manhood. They had to show him who the real special ops team was — and they’d have a hell of a great time doing it.
The single most expensive piece of equipment was for Green. A sniper rifle that cost as much as a real off the rack sniper rifle from a box store. Though the rifle that Green had used during his time in the military couldn’t be replicated for paintballs and could never be bought in the public sector, the one for this event was the best of the best.
“Ordered,” Brackish said. “It will all be together in about an hour. We placed a large order so I’m guessing more like two hours. Let’s get our gear together.”