Life Should Be Beautiful (Summer Lake Silver #12)

Chapter Twenty

When they arrived at The Boathouse on Saturday evening, Davin slung his arm around Alexis’s shoulders as they approached the bar, and she turned to smile up at him.

“We don’t have to stay for long if you don’t want to,” he told her.

“Thanks, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m not completely antisocial. I just prefer to come out when it’s my choice – I don’t like to feel that I’m complying with an expectation, you know?”

“I do. I get it. I don’t come out with them all the time. Sometimes I can’t because I’m working, but even when I’m not, I’m not much of a joiner.”

They reached the bar, and Kenzie came straight to them. “Finally!” she exclaimed.

Alexis laughed. “Finally what?”

“You said that you were going to let me know how things went with him.” She jerked her chin toward Davin. “You were going to let me know if you started dating, and I haven’t heard a peep from you since.” She grinned. “But the grapevine says that you already moved in together.”

“Well, if you need the official word from the horse’s mouth, then yes, we’re dating, yes, we’ve moved in together, and yes, things are going very well thank you,” Alexis told her with a smile. “I haven’t been avoiding you – I intended to tell you as soon as I saw you. It’s just that I haven’t been in here since.”

“Then, you need to start getting out more. I don’t see either of you as being the type to settle into a quiet little life where you spend your evenings at home in front of the TV.”

“We’re not, but we’re not the type to spend all our evenings in a bar either.”

Davin grinned. “But when we do get out, we’ll come and see you; does that work, Kenz?”

Kenzie gave them a begrudging smile. “I guess it’ll have to, won’t it? If you were anyone else, I’d be talking you into coming in more often, but I already know that you …” she looked at Alexis “… aren’t the kind of woman who’s up for being talked into anything you don’t want to do.”

Alexis nodded happily. “And it’s only because you already understand me that I don’t mind updating you when I do see you.”

“Fair enough. What can I get you? And while I fix your drinks, what’s going on with you guys?”

Davin exchanged a smile with Alexis as he said, “Not much.”

Alexis laughed when Kenzie scowled at him and said, “Not good enough! I need the deets. I’ve heard about Booker, from Shayna. He sounds like an awesome kid!”

“He is,” said Davin.

“And you?” She looked at Alexis. “What are you doing with yourself? Are you going to just retire and become a lady of leisure?”

Davin’s heart sank when he saw the expression on Alexis’s face. There was no mistaking that she was less than thrilled by the prospect of doing nothing.

She didn’t get the chance to say anything. Cal appeared behind her; he moved stealthily for such a big guy. He winked, and Davin thought that he was about to surprise her, but just as he raised his hand to touch her shoulder, she spun around to face him with a smile.

“Greetings, Callahan. You didn’t really think that you’d be able to sneak up on me, did you?”

He laughed. “I had to try.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’ll have to keep trying. The day that you can catch me off guard, I’ll consider myself officially retired.”

Cal cocked an eyebrow at her. “Are you getting restless already?”

Davin’s heart started to pound in his chest. He’d totally understand it if life here turned out to be too tame for her. Sure, they were talking about buying a house together, but it was all happening so fast. She might decide at any moment that it wasn’t what she wanted.

A rush of warmth filled his chest when she slipped her arm around his waist and said, “I’m not. I will admit that I’m feeling a little lost without my work, but …” She smiled at Davin. “I’m discovering that there’s a whole lot more to life.”

Cal grinned at them. “I’m glad to hear it. I feel the same way. Although, I like still being able to keep my hand in.” He held Alexis’s gaze. “Any chance you might want to help us out part-time?”

Davin knew her answer before she spoke – it was written all over her face.

“What kind of help do you need?”

“You already know the answer to that. There are some situations where we just can’t send one of the guys in – we need a woman. It’s been an issue for a while, and when Dan heard that you were here, he asked if I thought you might be interested.” Cal shrugged. “I told him I’d ask. Beyond that, I’m going to keep my nose out. I’ll put you in contact with him, if you like the idea, and the two of you can see what you want to set up.”

To Davin’s surprise, Alexis turned to him. “What do you think?”

He grinned. “I think it might be perfect.”

She grinned back at him. “I do, too. Thanks, Cal.”

“My pleasure. It’ll make my life easier having you on the team.” He chuckled. “Just go easy on me, will you? I don’t need everyone to see just how easily you can kick my ass.”

At that moment, Teresa appeared at his side. “Hey, you must be Alexis! I’m so happy to finally see you out.” She leaned in and gave Alexis a hug before standing back.

Davin got the impression that Alexis was less sure of herself all of a sudden, and that made him stand a little closer and curl his arm around her waist as she greeted Terry.

“It’s lovely to finally meet you face to face, too. I know it’s taken me a while …”

Terry waved a hand at her. “It’s all good. I knew you’d do it in your own time.” She dug Cal in the ribs. “And if you’re going to be kicking this guy’s ass, can I get ringside tickets?”

Alexis laughed, and Cal groaned.

“I was speaking metaphorically, not literally,” he explained.

Kenzie leaned across the bar. “But you can literally kick ass, right?” she asked Alexis.

“I can. I’m not as young or as strong as I used to be, but I believe that I can still hold my own.”

Kenzie looked down the bar to where Shayna was serving customers. “How would you feel about teaching a women’s self-defense class?”

Davin frowned. “Has Shayna had a problem again?”

“No, but I still have a bad feeling. I follow her home whenever she works the bar with me, but …” Kenzie shrugged. “It’s probably just me, but I … like I said, I get a bad feeling. And besides, it wouldn’t hurt any of us to know how to defend ourselves if we need to, would it?”

Davin nodded slowly as he watched Alexis.

She didn’t even hesitate. “Of course. I often feel that I don’t have much to contribute back in the real world, but that’s a transferable skill that I’d be happy to share. I can talk to Russ at the gym and see if we can’t rent the space.”

Cal grinned at Davin. “I hope you’re prepared to be thrown around and have your ass handed to you; she’s going to need someone to demonstrate on.”

Davin had to laugh when Alexis waved her finger at Cal. “Oh, no. I think I’d rather use you as my volunteer assailant. I think that seeing me throw around someone your size – and kick your ass – will go a long way to helping women see what’s possible for them.”

Terry and Kenzie laughed out loud, and Cal made a face at Davin. “I should have kept my mouth shut, huh?”

Davin laughed. “Probably, but I don’t mind telling you that I’m relieved you landed yourself in it.”

~ ~ ~

Alexis looked around the group who were all seated around a couple of large tables that they’d pulled together. She’d almost told Davin that she was ready to leave when he’d checked in with her a little while ago.

She’d been fine joking with Cal and Terry at the bar. She’d done okay when Ryan and Leanne, and Manny and Nina had joined them, but as more and more couples kept arriving and joining the group she’d started to wonder if it wasn’t time to leave.

Now, she was glad that she hadn’t chickened out. These were good people; she was enjoying herself. Adam and Evie had arrived a little while ago and she was loving seeing Davin joke around with his buddy. There were so many new names and new faces to remember, but she knew that she’d be able to do it. She wasn’t so sure that she’d be able to remember what felt like a whole spider’s web of connections between them all.

Russ, who owned the gym, was with Ria, whose son was Xander, whom they’d met at Violets. Dalton and Lucky were former SEALS, they were easy enough. Dalton’s woman, Taryn, was someone Alexis was looking forward to getting to know better, and apparently, she owned the restaurant in the lodge over at Four Mile Creek. Lucky’s lady, Dee, seemed like a lot of fun, too, and when Davin told her that she was an author – who went the by the name of D.D. Patterson, Alexis was keen to talk to her – she’d read a couple of her thrillers a few years back, and by the writing had been convinced that the author was a man.

Audrey and Izzy ran an advertising agency, and they were with Ted Rawlins and Diego águila, whom Alexis knew by reputation, if not personally. Damon, who was one of the trainers at the gym, was with a lovely woman named Jo, who had invited Alexis to lunch. She’d also declared that while she would love to come and watch the women’s self-defense class – which seemed to have taken on a life of its own – she, as the largest of the ladies present, wouldn’t be participating. Alexis had already set herself the challenge of helping Jo to take part, and have fun, and hopefully, come to understand just how powerful she could be.

Davin rested his arm along the back of her chair and winked at her. “You had enough?”

“No! I was just thinking what a great bunch they are – your friends.”

He smiled and leaned in to press a peck to her lips. “Our friends.”

A rush of warmth filled her chest. “Our friends. I like the sound of that. I …” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to sound pathetic, but friends haven’t been part of my life.”

“It doesn’t sound pathetic.”

“You’re too nice to me. You can admit the truth, you know.”

He chuckled. “I am, I’m telling you the truth.”

“Go on, then. If it’s not pathetic that I don’t have friends, what is it?”

He curled his hand around the back of her neck and brushed his thumb over her nape as he looked into her eyes. “The way I see it, it’s a price that you paid. I know how hard it was to maintain friendships outside of the unit. I was lucky that I had Adam and the other guys. Now that we’re retired, I still have them. It’s the same for Cal, Manny, and Ryan, even Russ and Damon. We all served together; we formed bonds. It was different for you. You operated alone. There was no room for friendships in your working life, right?”

She nodded. “Not really. I mean I have a few friends – like Cal, but I wouldn’t see them from one year to the next. If we were working an op, we might be together twenty-four seven for the duration, but afterward …” She shrugged. “There was no need.”

Davin nodded. “And I don’t know, but I imagine, that it would have been hard to form real friendships outside of work.”

She gave a short laugh. “Not being able to talk about who you are and what you do isn’t conducive to forming real friendships, no.”

A shiver ran down her spine as he continued to brush his thumb over the nape of her neck. “It’s not pathetic that you don’t have friends. It’s the price you paid – the sacrifice you made to do your job. For Adam and me, and the other military guys, people at least have an idea. They’ll thank us for our service. I bet no one ever thanked you.”

She shrugged. “That’s not what I did it for.”

“I know, but thank you.”

They both looked up when someone knocked into the back of Davin’s chair as they walked by.

“Finally!” Lucky said with a laugh. “I didn’t want to intrude on the moment, but Dee and I are about to leave, and I wanted to catch you guys first.”

“What’s up?” asked Davin.

“Nothing. Do you still want to take Echo for a couple of hours?”

“Yes!” Alexis nodded eagerly.

Davin frowned. “I do, but I don’t think we need her to confirm for us that Booker’s a good kid – that we can trust him.”

“Neither do I,” said Alexis. “But I’d still love for her to come over and hang out.”

Lucky grinned. “Okay. Dee and I are going for a drive up to Stanton Falls tomorrow. We could drop Echo off with you guys if you like. It’ll only be a few hours. She wants to pick up some Christmas decorations so that she can have some promo photos ready for a book she has coming out at Christmas.”

“Whatever the reason, however long she can stay for, we’d love to have Echo.”

Alexis had to wonder what Lucky meant when he asked Davin, “Have you told her?”

Davin chuckled. “No. But I will.”

“Told me what?”

Lucky laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll call when we’re on the way; it’ll be about ten-thirty.”

“Great. We’ll see you then,” Davin told him.

“What do you need to tell me?” she asked once Lucky had gone.

“About Echo. She’s gotten herself a reputation as something of a matchmaker. She first came to the lake to stay with Dalton while Lucky was away on a job. Dalton and Taryn had been antagonizing each other for months by then. Echo brokered a peace treaty and was instrumental in getting them together. Then when Lucky moved here, Echo picked Dee out for him and kept running off down the beach to Dee’s place until she managed to get the two of them together. She even helped Damon and Jo out – she scared off Jo’s daughter to give Damon an in, and then she scared off Damon’s ex when she tried to cause trouble for them.”

Alexis grinned. “I knew I liked her the moment I met her.”

“Me too. And I liked her even more that first night you came into the gym.”

It took her a moment, but Alexis remembered the way Echo had taken her finger between her teeth and led her to Davin. Then she’d kind of herded them closer and closer together until she’d been standing right in front of him, looking up into his gorgeous blue eyes.

A big smile spread across her face. “She helped us out, too.”

“She sure did,” Davin said with a smile that echoed hers.

“Now, I’m looking forward to seeing her even more.” She smiled happily and looked around the table; it surprised her, but she loved feeling like a part of this group. Jo smiled back at her from across the table, and Alexis made a mental note to give her a call in the next few days. It was funny how things worked – Jo was probably more different from Alexis than any of the other women, and yet she felt a connection with her. She hoped that they would become friends.

She looked around the crowded bar. A few of the couples were up dancing – it didn’t surprise her to see Manny on the dance floor; he’d always loved to dance. She stopped and frowned when she saw Damon talking to a woman over by the pillars on the other side of the dance floor. She turned to check on Jo and then looked back at Damon. He was flirting! The woman he was talking to leaned in eagerly, and they laughed together. Alexis glanced over at Jo again. The poor thing had no idea; she was chatting happily with Audrey.

“Cool it.”

She scowled at Davin. “I can’t! You don’t know …”

He gave her a knowing smirk that irritated her a little. If he knew …

“I do know. I’ve been watching you.”

“I don’t believe you can know what I’m thinking.” She glared at him. “Or if you do, and you’re okay with it – if you think it’s funny …”

His laughter made her bristle, but he leaned in and pecked her lips. “I know exactly what you’re thinking. Just give me a second to explain?”

“Go on.”

“You think Damon is over there flirting with that blonde, don’t you?”

“Are you trying to tell me that he’s not? Because …”

“Turn around.”

She glared at him, but his smile didn’t falter.

“Do you trust me?”

She swallowed. How could she, when …? Then it hit her that she did trust him – no matter what. She smiled. “I do.”

The way he smiled made her heart feel like it melted in her chest. “Thank you. Now, turn around.” He jerked his chin toward where Jo was sitting.

Alexis followed his gaze and was shocked to see Damon sitting beside her. He was a big guy – bigger than Cal even, but he looked like a big, happy puppy as he stared adoringly at Jo. He had to have moved fast to get back to the table so quickly.

She looked back to where he’d been standing with the other woman and froze when she saw that he was still with her. Her head swung between the Damon at the table with Jo and the Damon on the other side of the dance floor.

Davin rested his hand on her thigh. “That’s his twin brother, Dominic.”

“Oh!” She laughed. “Now it makes sense. My brain was in danger of short-circuiting for a minute there. I’m sorry. I ...”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” He held her gaze. “You trusted me, and that means the world.”

She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. “It means the world to me, too. Trust doesn’t come all that easily to me. I would have said that I’m not great at it, but that little exercise proved it to me as much as it did to you. You can say that you trust someone …”

Davin nodded, “But you can’t know till it comes down to it.” He got to his feet. “Want to dance?”

She took hold of the hand that he offered her. “I’d love to. I was concerned that you might be one of the guys who preferred to sit it out.”

He grinned. “I’ve sat out every dance since I came to the lake. Now, with you, that changes.”

When they reached the dance floor, he closed his arms around her and moved her to the music. She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

“You good?” he asked.

She lifted her head so that she could look up into his eyes. “Better than I’ve been in years. Maybe ever.”

He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Me too. I love you.”

She tightened her arms around him. “I love you.”