by Lea Hart
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Caid leaned heavily on his cane as he walked up to the house and knew he’d pushed too hard in PT. Something he did at least twice a week, despite the fact that he knew better.
Patience had never been something he mastered, and the slow-ass recovery he was forced to endure hadn’t changed the fact in the least.
Hearing music float out from the open windows, he let out a groan and hoped Courtney was at the end of her dance playlist and not the beginning. Because listening to Prince sing about birds flying wasn’t what he was in the mood for.
Not that he’d say anything to his beloved.
And it wasn’t because he wanted to avoid the great music debate for the thirty-seventh time, but because over the last month, he’d learned which fights to dig in for and which to walk away from.
Hearing Milton’s high-pitched grunt, he looked up and gave the rodent a salute. “Did Kellan chase you up there or did you just decide it was easier to stay out of his way?” The squirrel turned around and swished his tail, and he figured that the dog had once again gotten the best of him. “Sometimes, it’s best to accept defeat.”
“Are you talking to yourself?” Lisa asked as she came around the side of the triplex.
“I was talking to the squirrel.”
“Should that worry me?”
“Not necessarily since I do it most every day.”
“Fair enough.” She hitched her bag on her shoulder and crossed her arms. “Have you heard anything?”
“No, and you know I wouldn’t be able to tell you if I did.”
“Then what’s the point of you living with my best friend if I can’t squeeze you for intel on how Ace’s deployment is going?”
“No news is good news, and nothing is flaring in the region that should be cause for concern.”
“Except Turkey is putting pressure on the president to cut a deal and pull out of Syria and that means that troops in the region could get caught in the crossfire. Especially if some of the ISIS splinter groups want to demonstrate they still have legitimacy.”
“Why do you ask me for intel if you already know what’s happening?”
“Because knowing what’s happening in the news cycle is not the same as knowing what’s happening with the Teams.”
“Did Ace miss a call?”
Nodding, Lisa wrapped her arms around her middle. “Yes, he was supposed to call last night and didn’t.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Are you sure?”
“If they were in contact and shit went sideways, then I would’ve heard about it on base this morning.”
Lisa let out a breath and pushed her shoe across the grass. “Okay, that seems like a good sign.”
Caid put his hand on her arm and waited for her to look up. “You’ve seen Ace in action, so you know he’s more than capable of handling himself and the platoon.”
“I know that intellectually, but my heart likes to freak out every couple of days.”
“Stay strong, and before you know it, he’s going to be back here making you crazy.”
“Thanks for the pep-talk.”
“Anytime.”
“I’m going to head in and get started on grading my papers and stare at my phone until it rings.”
“Solid strategy.” Hearing the door fly open, he turned around and let out a whistle. “You look hot, babe!” He hustled up the sidewalk as quickly as he could and grabbed her hand. “You wearing that fancy dress for me?”
“I’m trying on options for the gala.”
“I don’t remember seeing a fancy shindig on the calendar.”
“It wasn’t on there until today.”
Caid watched Kellan amble out and give a short bark in the direction of the tree. “Don’t worry, buddy. Milton knows his place.”
“You’re doing an excellent job about reminding him too.”
“Are you going to tell me about the event that requires my woman to show up and be a smoke show?”
“The annual library fundraiser is coming up, and I was given a set of tickets by the director of the event.” Swishing her hips back and forth, she bit her bottom lip. “What do you think of the dress?”
“I love it, but,” he ran his finger down the deep V of the dress and bit the inside of his cheek, “you’re not wearing this unless I escort you.”
Stepping back, she waited for him to walk into the house. “You don’t want to go to a fundraiser, do you?”
“I do if you plan on wearing that dress.”
Kellan wandered back in, looked between them, and then walked over to his bed. “My dog thinks that’s silly.”
“It’s our dog since I’m the one who scoops his poop and he’s on my side because boys always stick together.”
“Whatever.” Putting her hands in the pockets, she twirled around and let out a little laugh. “Are you sure you want to go to some stuffy, boring event?”
Collapsing on the bench in the entryway, he stretched out his leg and took a minute to appreciate how fucking beautiful his woman was. Soft curves, long legs, warm whiskey eyes, and a smile that promised every good thing in the world. “I want to go wherever you go, and it’s my duty as your boyfriend to make sure no man’s eyes drop below your chin.”
“Is that chivalry or possessiveness?”
“It’s whatever you want to call it.”
“Will you wear your dress whites?”
“No, the only time I’m going to wear those is when we get married.”
Pressing her hands against her chest, she let out a laugh. “That’s crazy talk.”
“No, it’s not.”
Taking small steps, she moved toward him slowly. “Are you saying that you’ve gotten addicted to my wicked ways and want to keep hanging out together?”
He leaned forward and grabbed her hand, pulling her onto his lap. “I might have.”
She wiggled around and then looped her arms around his neck. “I don’t want to hurt your knee.”
“Babe, it’s not my knee pokin’ you in the ass.” Her warm breath feathered over his cheek and he tightened his hold when she deposited several kisses on his face.
“Didn’t you use up all your energy in PT today?”
“Saved a little bit for you.”
“That’s very…”
“Good news?”
“Yes,” she replied as she pushed herself off his lap.
“Go get out of that pretty dress before I ruin it.”
“Beast,” she said with a laugh before skipping down the hall.
“Just what you’ve always wanted,” he called out as he pushed himself off the bench. Grabbing his cane, he grinned and moved as quickly as could in the direction of his heart.
***
Courtney collapsed against Caid’s chest and heard the fast beat of his heart against her ear. “When we go to Texas for Christmas, I want to get a proper cowboy hat.”
“Seems like a good idea since you’ve been riding me like a champ for the last month.”
Sliding her hand along his side, she gave him a hard pinch. “Caid, that’s so…”
“Honest and one hundred percent accurate.”
“Maybe, but it makes me sound like a…”
“Woman who craves her man’s touch.”
She lifted her head and pushed her hair out of her face. “No question about that.”
“Just know it’s only half of the way I crave you.”
“Are you sure about that?’
“We can go another round and find out for sure.”
“Let a woman recover before offering her another trip to the stars.”
“How the hell did I get so fucking lucky to have someone like you in my life?”
“Clean living, is my guess.”
“Hardly.”
“Then perhaps a deal with the Devil?”
“Seems more likely.”
Dropping her head again to his sweaty chest, she let out a sigh. “I didn’t t
hink this is where we’d end up.”
“You mean me being buried balls deep in your body or living together and being the kind of couple that makes other people jealous?”
“Either!”
“Did you think we’d end up in a fiery ball of recrimination, regrets, and unholy devastation?”
“Yes, I mean no, definitely no.”
“I think you’re sugar-coating your answer.”
“Caid, our romantic road has certainly been rocky, and truth be told, I don’t know from one day to the next if we’re going to be loving on each other or fighting like a bunch of junkyard dogs.”
“We’re not nearly as squabbly with each other as we used to be, and I think our rhythm is coming together.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. My years on the Teams have taught me that it takes time, practice, and patience to learn how to work together. You think all that magic shit we pull off on ops happens automatically? I’ll answer that: hell no. It takes hundreds of hours of drills, practices, and missions together to make us work as cohesively as we do. Eight men working seamlessly together doesn’t happen without a lot of blood, sweat, and mistakes. We learn from each drill, each mission and when things don’t go according to plan, we usually learn the most.”
“I’m more conflict-averse than you are because I didn’t like living through my parents’ fights day in and day out. Maybe I’m emotionally stuck in my childhood, and it’s time I learn how to look at conflict differently.”
“Maybe we can do it together because I don’t ever want you to get so mad that living without me seems like a good option.”
“I doubt that’s possible since I already tried to swallow the lie that I could forget about you and found it impossible.”
“Music to my ears, babe.”
“Caid, do you think we would’ve gotten to this place if you weren’t injured?”
“I’d like to believe that we would’ve ended up here no matter what.”
“Even though I’m not all that docile and sweet?”
“I like you just the way you are, but I just ask that you don’t do hinky shit without me because I can’t handle you being in danger.”
“But I’m supposed to handle you being in danger?”
“Everyone knows women are stronger, so yeah, I do want you to handle your fear when I’m downrange doing my thing.”
Wiping the tears that fell down her cheek, she buried her nose in his neck.
“You okay, babe?”
Lifting her head, she shook it. “No, Caid. Do you know what it was like to get the call and hear that you were clinging to life?”
“Bet you didn’t like it much.”
She hit his arm and rolled away. “Way to make an understatement.”
He took her hand and linked their fingers. “I made it, Court.”
“I know, but I had a couple of days when I didn’t know you would, and while I appreciate the perspective it gave me, it’s nothing I ever need to experience again.” Leaning up on her elbow, she gave him a once-over. “But I know that’s not likely since you being on the Teams almost guarantees that you’ll have another close call.”
“I know being with a SEAL isn’t easy, and a hell of an ask, and all I can offer you is my whole fucking heart, undying devotion, and the pledge that I will make every day we have together as good as I can.”
“If you add donut delivery to that offer, then I’ll likely be more than happy to accept.”
“Consider it done, woman.”
Glancing over, she gave him a smile, knowing to be careful with the moment in case there were never any more.
Caid’s close call had taught her that, and she knew the only way to survive loving a warrior was to soak in the good moments when they happened. And this was a damn fine one.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Caid walked on the sand and was damn grateful he’d been given the clear to get rid of his cane. He was two months into his rehab and shit was healing better than expected, and he had a strong feeling that he’d be back to active duty by spring.
“It was a good day, honey.”
“It sure as shit was. I couldn’t have asked for a better progress report and am looking forward to being fully operational.”
“Being at home and working on base not exciting enough for you?”
“I like seeing your face first thing in the morning and last thing at night, for sure. But I’m not done with the Teams yet and feel like I still have a little bit more to give.”
“I suspect you’ll always feel that way.”
“Maybe, but the two months we’ve been living together have shown me that there’s life on the other side of deployment and it’s pretty damn good.”
She swung their clasped hands back and forth and let out a little swoon. “My man is making me giddy with all his sweet proclamations.”
“You makin’ fun of my romantic words?”
Stopping, she slapped her hands to her chest. “Oh, I’m sorry…were your words about wanting to deploy at the first possible minute meant to be romantic?”
“Way to crush a man, Court.”
“Puleeze, that’s not even possible.” Dropping the bag she had on her shoulder, she pulled out a blanket and snapped it before letting it float to the ground. “One night of star watching awaits.”
Sweeping his hand up, he bowed. “After you, my queen.”
“Why, thank you.”
He waited until she sat down before doing his weird collapse-fall and landing on the blanket next to her. “Can’t wait until I can bend my damn knee.”
“Soon, Caid.”
“I know, and I’m doing my best to be patient.”
“I’m actually really proud of you and secretly impressed that you’ve followed your doctors’ orders as well as you have.”
“I’m a Navy man, babe. I’ve been following orders since I was eighteen and enlisted.”
“How come you don’t follow many of mine then?”
“I don’t take a breath or a step without thinking about you first, so don’t be telling tall tales.”
Falling back on the blanket, she let out a sigh. “I suppose that’s true.”
“What do you mean, suppose?”
“I mean that you mostly go along with the program.”
Caid leaned back and took her hand. “I one hundred percent go along with the program.”
“Now that you’re mobile and can drive, are you going to move back into your condo?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Do you want to?”
“Not really, but I don’t want you to think that I’m okay with shacking up.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I’ll be wanting to make a formal and legal arrangement before too long.” When she didn’t respond right away, he glanced over and saw she was blinking rapidly. “Babe, you okay?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Did I freak you out?”
“I don’t know because I’m not sure what you’re saying and…”
“Court, I’m going to slide a ring on your finger pretty soon and wife you up, so we can go after every dream together.”
“Oh.”
“Is that a good oh or a bad one?”
“It’s a very shocked…good one.”
“Did you know the sky looks almost the same no matter where you are in the world?”
“No, as a matter of fact, I didn’t.”
“If you’re far enough away from city lights, the sky in Texas looks the same as it does in Fallujah.”
“I always think it looks like a planetarium. I loved going when I was a kid and have always been fascinated by astronomy.”
“Which makes your list of shows on Netflix a lot more understandable.”
“You really want to tie yourself to me for the rest of your life?”
“I do, Court. You are my North Star and have been from the moment I set eyes on you. You are the brightest light in t
he sky, and I can’t imagine wanting to navigate my life by anything else.”
“Well, you are my sun and make my world inhabitable.”
“I love you, Court, with my dinged up, less than perfect heart. I promise to do my best by you every single day.”
Courtney turned on her side and swiped the tears falling down her cheek. “I love you, Caid Adams, and hope it is your face I see when I leave this Earth.”
“Not interested in a world you’re not in, so we’ll be taking that final journey together.”
“Are we romantic or what?”
Laughing, he pulled her closer and knew there wasn’t going to be a day the woman didn’t fascinate him.
She was his, and he was hers.
And that’s how it would always be.
EPILOGUE
Courtney wondered if the children in her Thursday morning reading group had eaten all their Valentine candy before they’d arrived. They were fidgeting and hardly paying attention to Groundhug Day, and she didn’t have much hope they would be any more interested in Hugs & Kisses for The Grouchy Ladybug.
“Children, should we stretch again and see if we can get rid of our wigglies?”
“If you want,” Caspian said with a moan. “But I doubt it’s going to help.”
Raising an eyebrow, she studied her young friend. “And why is that?”
“Because something exciting is going…”
“Don’t say anything,” Elena shouted. “We promised.”
Courtney looked at the group and gave each one her very best disapproving librarian stare. When not one of them let a peep out, she closed her book. “One of you is going to tell me what’s going on.”
“Not me,” Lilly shouted. “I promised the…”
Miguel put his hand over Lilly’s mouth. “We were sworn to secrecy, and since we’re all special operators in training, we can’t say anything, or we’ll have to walk the plank.”
“SEALs don’t have planks,” Caspian said as he clapped his hand against his head.
“This is a lot of pressure,” Lilly wailed. “I’m about to burst.”