Chapter 7 #2
Their lives were changing faster than Lucky would’ve imagined, but everyone seemed more than content.
When their friends on another Delta team stationed on the base had all gotten married and started having children, Lucky’d had a hard time understanding how they’d manage to juggle their personal lives with the demands of their job.
But he got it now. It wasn’t an either/or kind of thing.
They could be fathers and husbands, and be kick-ass Delta Force soldiers.
Loving someone didn’t make them weaker; in a lot of ways, it made them better at their job.
He’d seen it firsthand with his own team.
Trigger and the others were more cautious now, perhaps, but that wasn’t a bad thing.
They worked harder at digging up as much information as they could get before they left on a mission, and their actions while deployed were more purposeful.
They didn’t rush into situations and were very careful with both their own lives, and the lives of everyone else on the team.
Wanted to come home to Devyn after a mission.
Wanted to build a life with her. Wanted to watch her blossom, and possibly even have kids with her.
It was a strange thought for a man who’d never considered having children before.
He’d previously felt young at thirty-one, but all of a sudden it seemed as if his life was passing him by.
Lucky saw daily how happy Oz was with his niece and nephew, and how excited he and Brain were to have babies on the way…
He found himself thinking about what his and Devyn’s kids would look like. They’d be tall, and he hoped they’d inherit her blonde locks rather than his dark hair.
Those thoughts were insane…yet, they felt right.
But deep down, Lucky had a feeling things with Devyn wouldn’t be as easy as he was hoping.
It seemed as if all his friends had had to go through a trial by fire.
He wasn’t conceited enough to think his relationship with Devyn would be any different.
But, on the flip side, the shit his friends had been through had only made their relationships stronger.
Lucky absolutely didn’t want anything to happen to him or to Devyn.
Nothing like what his friends had gone through.
As far as he knew, she had no ex-boyfriends who could suddenly appear and want to do her harm.
She hadn’t been in a hijacked plane with a bunch of terrorists, and hadn’t worked for an unknown serial killer.
But he knew as well as anyone that sometimes evil appeared out of nowhere.
His first step would be to find out what was pressing on her mind. Once they dealt with that, he’d make sure she knew how much he loved her…and that he’d do whatever it took to keep her happy and protected.
Devyn woke up about an hour after Lucky had left. She had a slight headache but otherwise felt surprisingly good. She’d made a decision last night to talk to Lucky, and with that choice, it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
She’d been ridiculous the last few days, including when Lucky had shown up at her door.
Acting like a teenager. All this angst wasn’t her.
She was a “tell it like it is” kind of person.
Had learned to be so after all her time in hospitals.
Even as a kid, she’d much preferred the doctors and nurses who hadn’t been wishy-washy with bad news.
The ones who told her what was happening and then how to deal with it.
But in the year-plus since arriving in Killeen, keeping the secret about Spencer’s addiction had completely messed with her head.
She might not be ready to tell the rest of her family about Spence, but she knew without a doubt she could trust Lucky.
And the fact that he’d said he’d keep whatever she told him from Fred meant the world to her.
She wasn’t an idiot; she knew how close Lucky was with his teammates.
He had to be. They had each other’s backs and kept each other alive on missions.
Forcing Lucky to keep her secret could hurt that closeness, but before that happened, she had to hope that Spencer would finally pull his head out of his ass and get the help he needed.
But thinking about the latest chat she’d had with him, she wasn’t so sure.
It was hard to believe he owed some loan shark fifty thousand dollars.
And the fact that he thought he could get five grand from her and turn it into fifty was completely ridiculous.
Devyn hated the thought of her brother being hurt by someone if he didn’t pay back the money he’d borrowed…
but a small part of her couldn’t help but think that maybe this situation would be the push Spencer needed to finally get serious about his addiction.
Stretching, Devyn climbed out of Lucky’s very comfortable bed and went into his bathroom.
She brushed her teeth and hair, then wandered out of the room and down the stairs.
She hadn’t bothered to get dressed, feeling comfortable in her sweats and tank top.
She’d never had to worry about not wearing a bra, as she was only a B cup on a good day, and with a quality push-up bra.
She’d always lamented her lack of any kind of boobs, but remembering how Lucky’s eyes had practically devoured her when she’d come out of the bathroom dressed for bed made her feel a lot better about her attributes.
Angel and Whiskers were sleeping on one of the dog beds Lucky had bought in the last week.
He’d decided that the one bed she’d picked up that first night wasn’t enough, and he’d made sure there was a soft place for his new pets to sleep in every room.
Angel and Whiskers were going to be the most spoiled dog and cat in the history of the world, but she didn’t think Lucky, or the animals, were worried about it.
Angel lifted her head when Devyn came into sight, and then promptly put it right back down.
Devyn was thrilled. In the first few days after the adoption, Angel—and of course Whiskers—would leave the room when she entered, unless Lucky was with her.
So she was chalking it up as a huge win when they didn’t bolt.
“Good morning, girls,” Devyn said in a cheerful tone.
“Did Daddy take you out already? He said he would. And I’m sure you’ve eaten.
You might be scared of people, but you know better than to turn up your nose at food, don’t you?
Smart. I think you’re the most smartest pets in the world.
” She knew she was talking nonsense, but she wanted the pair to get used to her voice.
Devyn padded into the kitchen to make some coffee, only to realize that Lucky had already done so. She poured herself a cup and stilled with the mug halfway to her lips when she saw the note on the counter.
She reached for it, putting down her coffee and smiling at seeing Lucky’s messy, masculine handwriting.
Coffee’s ready to go. The kids have been out and fed. I bought brown sugar yesterday because I know you like your oatmeal sweet. If you’re good and eat something healthy, I’ll stop and get some doughnuts on my way home.
~Lucky
PS. I liked having you in my bed last night…and this morning. I think we need to make this a habit.
Devyn read the note three times before closing her eyes and sighing in contentment. It was such a Lucky kind of note. Short and to the point.
Who knew Lucky could be so sweet? If someone had told her when she first came to town that she’d be here right now, standing in Lucky’s kitchen in her pajamas, reading a note from him about their “kids” and how he liked having her in his bed…she wouldn’t’ve believed it.
But it felt so right.
Shit…
She loved the man.
Which was why she was here, admittedly. Lucky didn’t need her help with Angel and Whiskers.
From what she’d seen, he had everything under control as far as helping them assimilate and be socialized.
He was patient and kind and never got upset, as evidenced by his barely blinking when he’d seen his bathroom covered in shit.
And she’d felt perfectly safe falling asleep in his bed. Devyn had had no fears that he’d take advantage of her. And she’d been right. Not only that, but he’d made her coffee and was going to get her doughnuts. Could the man be any more perfect?
She couldn’t wait for him to get home. So she could talk to him.
It would feel good to have a sounding board about Spencer.
She loved her brother, which was part of the reason she’d been so messed up in the head about his actions.
She wanted to help him, but she also knew he needed to want to help himself before anything would change.
Devyn picked up the note and headed for the stairs. She needed to put it somewhere safe. It was her first note from Lucky, and she wanted to cherish it forever.
Now she was acting like a silly teenager again…but Devyn didn’t care. She hoped Lucky wrote her a thousand more notes, but as this was the first, it was special.
Then she went back downstairs, picked up her coffee, settled on the couch, and waited for Lucky to get home so they could have their talk.