Chapter 23
Linc grabbed his rucksack the moment the plane stopped taxiing after landing at Fort Liberty.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as eager to get off the plane as today,” Chief Lundgren said with his usual dry humor.
“This time is different.” The two other times he had someone waiting to welcome him home from a deployment, he’d known it wouldn’t be permanent. Tonight, Bri would be here with Jalen. More importantly, Kendra would be here.
His team all knew about their developing relationship. And so did Bri, who’d been surprised but happy and totally on board. Kendra’s family also knew about them now.
Not surprisingly, Grandma Ruby had reiterated her opposition to military men. After Clara voiced her support, Ruby agreed to a video chat to meet. He survived Ruby’s interrogation and was granted temporary approval, though he wouldn’t get final judgment until they met in person. Between talking with Kendra almost daily and the weekly counseling sessions over the last two months, he had different plans for his future. A future he now realized he deserved and could see with Kendra.
The honor of deboarding first defaulted to Mack Hanlon, who was eager to see his wife, daughters, and young son. The idea that one day he might be the first off for that reason was a new possibility—one that Linc liked.
As he made his way down the boarding stairs, he picked out the trio, madly waving to him. His heart filled with a sense of coming home like he’d never experienced. He didn’t get a chance to read the colorful sign that Jalen held up before he bolted away from Bri, the sign flapping at his side.
“Uncle Linc! Uncle Linc!” Jalen’s smile was contagious as he launched himself into the air. His little arms wrapped around Linc’s neck and squeezed tight. He leaned back and placed a hand on each of Linc’s cheeks. “I miss you, Uncle Linc.”
“I missed you too, J-man.” He gave him a light head butt. His gaze locked on the two women approaching, and he shifted Jalen to his left hip, and placed his arm around Bri’s shoulders. He held her to his side and pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Welcome home, big brother.” She wrapped her arms around the pair for a family hug.
“Good to see you.” Two months ago, he feared he might never see Bri again. Instead, their relationship was as close now as when they were kids.
He deposited Jalen back into Bri’s arms. Kendra moved closer, and he slipped an arm around her waist. “Hey, you.”
“Hi.”
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it. I’ve been waiting weeks for this.” She tilted her face up.
He inhaled a scent like honeysuckle, pulling her warm, soft body to his hard one. The first kisses were sweet, but it only took her slight murmur of pleasure to make him forget about everything but her.
“They’re kissing a lot,” Jalen said.
“I see that.” Bri laughed.
Kendra broke the kiss and looked around bashfully as Dev approached the group.
“Hey there, J-man.” Dev patted his arm, then addressed Bri. “I’m glad you’re back home safely.”
“Me too.” She leaned her head to touch Jalen’s. “Who’s that?”
“That’s the new guy,” Dev answered.
Linc looked to follow Bri’s gaze locked on Chief Lundgren and his wife talking with the newest—and single—Bad Karma team member. “Dev, this is Kendra.” He made the introduction before Bri could get more information and start crushing on the newbie like she had with Dev. That had been a non-starter.
Kendra shook Dev’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you in person. I’ve heard a lot about you. Thank you for letting us crash at your house.”
“No worries. I owed him for the renovation work he’s been helping me with. Besides, we have to protect our future team member, the J-man. Show me that muscle,” he teased and squeezed Jalen’s bicep when he posed with his arm up. “We’ll have to do dinner sometime.”
“That sounds great,” Kendra agreed.
“See you soon.” Dev tapped fists with Linc, then Jalen, who added his standard explosion effect. Dev laughed and nodded to Bri and Kendra before moving off.
“Speaking of dinner, Bri and Jalen are joining us tonight for dinner at my place,” Kendra said.
“If you eat all your mac and cheese, you get dessert,” Jalen stated wearing a big smile.
Linc couldn’t help but laugh. “Mac and cheese? That’s my welcome home dinner? Hot dogs too?” He’d eat bologna with them if it was what Jalen wanted—provided Kendra was dessert.
“It’s lobster mac and cheese for the adults, and filet mignon. No hot dogs tonight,” Kendra promised.
“That sounds wonderful. Just Bri and Jalen? Not your whole family?”
“We’ll wait at least a few days for that.”
“I do want to meet them. Just not tonight.” He liked the way Kendra’s arm tightened around him possessively.
“There’s time for that later. You earned bonus points with Grandma Ruby. She loved the shawl you sent for her birthday. She wore it to lunch with her friends and got several compliments.”
“I’m not above bribery to win her over. I’ve been waiting to tell you something in person, not over the phone.”
“Okay.” She tilted her head to the side and gave him a hesitant smile.
He motioned to Bri to give him a minute and led Kendra a few steps away. “I want you to know that I am falling in love with you.”
She gave him that smile he liked to think she reserved just for him. A smile that reached her eyes and into his heart. “Good. I’ve been working really hard to make that happen.”
He laughed at her adoring expression. “It’s definitely working.”
“That’s only fair since I’m falling, or may have already fallen, in love with you too.”
“Is that so?” A woman saying that in the past had been the beginning of the end. Hearing it from Kendra was entirely different. Healing. Freeing. Validating. “Then my plan is working too.”
“It is. I tried not to be swayed by the fact that you’re incredibly attractive.” She placed her palm on his chest. “But you made me let my guard down, seeing how great you are with kids.” She slid her hand to cover his heart. “And then there was the whole being understanding and giving up control to me thing that I couldn’t resist. I can’t explain how much I looked forward to hearing from you these past two months. Even if it was only a text or a few minutes, or we couldn’t talk about what happened that day.”
“It was the highlight of my day too. Though there could be stretches on future deployments when I can’t communicate regularly,” he warned.
“We’ll figure that out when the time comes. I thought you could stay with me tonight—since there’s no food at your place.” She wrinkled her nose playfully.
“Perfect.” He liked her plan to give him time with Bri and Jalen. Then they could be alone. His gaze roved over her. “You look even more beautiful in person than on camera.”
“Thank you.” She batted her long lashes, drawing his attention from her glossy lips to her stunning eyes before dropping to the hint of cleavage, making him want to see more.
She’d clearly wanted to have this effect on him. “Food is not why I want to stay at your place.”
“Good, because I have tomorrow off.”
He liked the sound of that. He kissed her again, savoring the sweetness she had brought into his life. “I want to introduce you to the rest of my team.”
Kendra gave him the courage to accept his value and worth despite his past. She filled that missing piece in his life, and he was looking forward to the future he now believed he deserved. There’d been many times in his life that he’d been left behind or felt like a cast-off. Not anymore. Maybe one day, they would tell their friends and kids they had drug smugglers to thank for bringing them together.
The End