CHAPTER THREE
A few hours later, Ace stood by the front door, his go-bag resting on the floor beside him. He turned to Alex, who stood a few feet away, arms crossed over her belly. He could see the emotions swirling in her emerald green eyes, and it put him on edge a little.
“You okay, sweetheart?” he asked, stepping closer when he noticed the glimmer of tears in her eyes.
Alex mustered up a faint smile as she swiped at her cheeks, but a single tear managed to escape. “Yeah,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “I’m fine. It’s just…” She paused, letting out a shaky laugh. “I think it’s these pregnancy hormones. I didn’t mean to start crying. You know how much I hate to cry.”
Ace’s heart squeezed at the sight of her, his strong, resilient Alex showing a rare crack in her armor. Gently, he cupped her face, his thumbs brushing away her tears. “Sweetheart,” he murmured, his voice low and full of affection. “You’ve never cried before when I’ve left. Are you sure it’s just the hormones?”
She nodded, her lips quirking into a faint smile. “Yeah, I promise. It’s just that everything feels bigger this time, you know? You being gone, and the baby is due in a couple of weeks. Plus, Christmas is in a few days. I think it’s all hitting me at once.”
Ace pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. He loved her more at that moment than he had thought possible. She was tough as nails, but here she was, trusting him with her vulnerability.
“We’ll get back as soon as we can,” he promised, his voice steady. “No delays, no detours. Just a quick mission and then back home to you and the little one.”
Alex leaned into his chest, her laughter muffled against his shirt. “You better, or I might have to come hunting you down. Don’t think I won’t.”
Ace chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “I don’t doubt it for a second.”
“I mean it,” she said, pulling back just enough to look up at him. Her eyes were sparkling with mischief now. “I’ll interrogate my dad. You know I’ll get answers.”
He laughed again, the sound rich and genuine. “I do not doubt that you would. You’re the strongest woman I know. And you know what?”
“What?”
“You’re all mine,” he told her as he flashed her a smile.
Before Alex could reply, a soft whimper came from the corner of the room. They both turned to see Zuma sitting with his head tilted, his big brown eyes locked on Ace. His tail wagged slowly, and he let out another small whine.
Ace grinned. “You’re gonna miss me too, huh, buddy?”
Alex laughed, wiping the last of her tears as Zuma padded over, nuzzling Ace’s leg. Ace crouched down, rubbing the dog’s head and scratching behind his ears. “Take care of her while I’m gone, okay?” he said, his voice playful but with an undertone of sincerity. Zuma licked his hand in response, his tail thumping against the floor.
Standing, Ace turned back to Alex. He cupped her face one more time, leaning down to press a tender, lingering kiss to her lips. “I love you,” he said, his voice soft but full of conviction.
“I love you too,” she whispered, her hands resting on his chest as if reluctant to let him go.
A knock at the door made him pull away to open it. He wasn’t surprised to see Potter and Tenley standing there.
“Hey, man,” Ace said to Potter before giving Tenley a quick hug.
“How is momma doing?” Potter asked Alex as he hugged her. Even though Alex was close to all the guys on the team, she shared a special bond with Potter. It was him during their mission in Afghanistan that got her to open up.
Alex smiled. “I’m doing okay, minus the pregnancy hormones,” she joked and wiped her eyes again.
“Oh, girl. Pregnancy hormones are the worst,” Tenley commented as she gave Alex a hug.
Potter looked at Ace. “I take it Irish hasn’t arrived yet?”
“He called and said that he would meet us there. He didn’t go into detail, but apparently, something came up that he needed to take care of,” Ace replied with a slight shrug.
“God knows what that means,” Potter said, amusement dancing in his eyes.
Ace chuckled. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Alright then, I guess we should head out,” Potter stated, and Ace nodded.
Ace picked up his bag, then took Alex’s hand, and they walked out to his truck.
After throwing his bag inside the truck, he gently pulled Alex into a hug. He closed his eyes as she snuggled into his chest. This, by far, has been the hardest goodbye.
When Alex pulled away, she looked up at him, and her glistening green eyes nearly did him in.
“I love you, sweetheart,” he said to her, his voice rough with emotion.
“I love you, too.”
He leaned down and kissed her, his lips lingering longer than he intended.
As he pulled away, she met his gaze. “Be safe.”
“Always,” he said with a grin and kissed her forehead before hopping into the truck.
As he backed out of the driveway, he gave Alex one last wave.
◆◆◆
Alex stood next to Tenley, and they waved to Ace and Potter as they drove off.
Alex felt the tears brimming, but she held them back, her heart full of pride for the man she loved. And as she watched the taillights of the truck disappear in the night, she sent up a silent prayer to her dad in heaven, asking him to keep Ace safe and to bring him back home to her and their little one.
“How are you doing?” Tenley asked Alex.
Alex’s eyes started to water again, which annoyed her.
“I’d be doing a lot better if I could stop crying,” she said as a laugh bubbled up from her chest.
Tenley gave her a small smile. “Pregnancy hormones will do that to ya. I swear the tiniest little thing could make me cry when I was pregnant with the twins.”
Alex laughed as she wiped her eyes. “I remember.”
“Well, maybe this will help cheer you up,” Tenley said with a smile as she handed Alex a bag.
“What is this?” Alex asked, looking surprised.
“Take a look.”
Alex opened the bag, and she couldn’t stop the smile from growing.
“Where on earth did you find Little Debbie Christmas Cake ice cream?” Alex asked, or more so squealed. Her mouth watered just looking at the pint container.
Tenley laughed. “I thought you would enjoy that. I stumbled upon it at the little corner store near the hospital. And don’t worry, I bought ten of them for you. They are in the freezer in the garage.”
Alex couldn’t hold back and tackled Tenley in a hug. Her belly bumped into Tenley, which made Tenley laugh.
“Whoa there, Chica. You need a warning label on that belly of yours.”
Alex laughed and playfully slapped Tenley’s shoulder, making Tenley laugh harder.
Once they both calmed down, Alex looked at her bestie and smiled.
“Thanks, friend. I needed that laugh.”
Tenley quirked one of her eyebrows. “Oh, you know that I have a lot more of where that came from.”
Alex chuckled. “Oh, I wouldn’t doubt that.”
“Alright. Well, I better get back to the house. Alejandra is sitting in the twin’s room watching them sleep.”
Alex smiled. “She’s a good big sister.”
Tenley grinned. “That she is.”
Alex hugged Tenley and thanked her again for the ice cream.
“You are still coming over tomorrow and making cookies and desserts with Bailey and me, right?”
“Yep. Alejandra is excited that she gets to help this year.”
“Bailey said Sienna was excited as well.”
“It’ll be fun.”
“Okay. Well, I will see you around noon tomorrow.”
“Later, friend,” Tenley said as she walked next door to her house.
Alex felt a wet nose touch her hand, and when she looked down, Zuma was sitting there looking up at her, his tail thumping against the ground.
“Well, boy. It is just you and me holding down the fort.”
He let out a small bark, making her laugh.
“Come on, let’s get you a treat, and then we can both have our snacks while we chill and watch TV.”
She walked into the house with Zuma following her. She went to the pantry and got Zuma a few of his treats, and the two of them walked down the hall to the TV room where they settled on the couch and ate their snack while watching another Christmas movie.