Chapter 21 Reed
REED
Mav and Tarron leaped to their feet, pistols in hand before I had a chance to take a breath.
I leaped between them, my back to them and facing the man in the open door.
Snow swirled around his feet and the harsh wind tore through the room.
“Is that any way for an old man to greet his only son?” I set my hands on my hips and smirked. “That’s a good way to get yourself shot.”
“Yeah, well.” Dad’s laugh boomed.
He lowered the shotgun barrel so it pointed at the floor and yanked the thick wool layer away from his mouth and nose. “Couldn’t be sure it was you. Never can be too careful. Saw the lights on and thought maybe a bear had decided to hibernate in my cabin like in the Goldilocks story. ”
“It’s me.” My pulse returned to normal when Mav and Tarron lowered their weapons. As for the Goldilocks bit…Payton kind of qualified for that position, only with more integrity.
Mav and Tarron watched the display with matching expressions of shock and concern.
I couldn’t see Payton from here, but I had no doubt she followed the conversation with keen interest.
Dad’s wicked grin took in the whole room.
“Looks like you set yourselves up pretty good. Smells nice too.” He kicked the door closed and stomped his boots on the thick rug. “Thought you were on a mission? You wouldn’t be pulling a fast one on your old man, would you?”
He crossed the room and wrapped me up in a solid embrace that sent pain lancing across my shoulder.
I hid the pain and slapped his back.
“Oh, trust me, we’re on a mission. Got into a little trouble.” I considered my next words.
Dad knew the dangers I faced.
He didn’t like them, but he was the kind of man who took the hits and kept on going.
Most people thought I was the spitting image of Dad when he was younger.
While it was true we shared the same wicked smile and sense of humor, Dad was the more honorable of the two of us. And I definitely had not taken my anger issues from him.
“Shoulda warned me you were planning on throwing a New Year’s party at the cabin. Mission or not.” Dad’s mouth pinched to one side as he removed his thick coat and hung it on a peg by the door.
Snow released from the material and splattered into the absorbent mat Dad kept on the floor year-round.
Once he’d skimmed down to his usual pants and thick thermal shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, he slammed me with another bear hug.
This one lifted me off my feet. “Damn, but it’s good to see you, son.”
I struggled even as I laughed. “Damn it, Dad. Remember what we talked about?”
“What?” Dad set me on my feet. “I’ll hug the stuffing out of your friends too once you introduce us.”
I rubbed my shoulder when he turned far enough away that he wouldn’t see me. “These are my partners, Tarron and Maverick. And Payton is our current mission.”
She stood and extended a hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cameron.”
Dad’s lips puckered. “Pshaw. None of that ‘mister’ business. Just Tucker will do.” He clasped Payton's hand between both of his. “Meant what I said. Mind a hug?”
She stepped into his arms with a laugh, and he lifted her off the ground, spinning her around until her laughter took away the last of the anxiety that had followed his barging entrance.
Mav shot me a look, his brow arched.
He’d noted my lack of details and wanted to know how much we could trust Dad with the depth of our problems.
I flashed my fingers in a quick and silent answer. I trusted Dad implicitly.
My issue was with letting him know the danger because he’d feel obligated to step in and help us.
Putting myself in the path of danger was one thing. Risking Dad was out of the question.
Maverick nodded, and then Dad was pouncing on him, shaking his hand and slapping his back.
“You don’t look like the hugging type.” He hugged Mav anyway.
“Give me a couple days and I’ll change your mind.
” Dad’s hazel eyes–something I’d inherited from him–sparkled with that delighted mischief I’d grown up with and taken for my own.
Payton crossed the room to stand beside me. “I like him.”
“Everybody likes Dad. He’s one of a kind.” I ran a hand through my hair and down the back of my neck.
“You look like him.” Payton rested one arm across her stomach and darted looks at Dad, then at me. “He just has more lines in his face.”
“Dad believes in love, laughter, and sunshine. Lots and lots of sunshine. Without sunscreen.” His leathery skin gave that away, and he couldn’t care less. He said it gave him character.
“So.” Dad rubbed his hands together and squinted at us after giving Tarron a hug that caused the man to turn wide-eyed. “What’s going on?”
“Well, it’s not a New Year’s party.” Maverick headed to the chair and lowered himself slowly into the seat.
“What brought you here?” I jumped into the conversation before Dad could question him further.
Dad shook his head and dragged one of the oversized chairs in the corner toward the coffee table.
He parked it in the center of the room where he could see all of us and leaned into the thick cushion. “Needed some time away. Thought a week of solitude in the cabin might do me good.”
“Why?” I questioned him with narrow-eyed suspicion. “What happened to you and Debra going to the city for the holiday?”
“Eh.” Dad’s cheeks pinked.
He scratched the back of his neck and crossed his ankle over his knee.
The clear signs of discomfort brought a pulse of concern, but he waved me off when I started to speak. “Debra and I are good friends. We thought it might be more, but that’s not going to happen. We parted on good terms.”
Payton leaned forward and patted his knee. “I’m sorry.”
Dad covered her hand with his. “Thank you, darlin’. Now, tell me the truth about this mission.” He angled a look at me. “And don’t even think about holding back.”
Damn. Dad knew me too well.
“Mav, you start us off.” He had a better memory and told better stories.
Maverick sat forward and rested his elbows on his bent knees. “Payton was kidnapped by a group of mercenaries. Her father hired us to retrieve her.”
Tarron slid an arm behind Payton when she relaxed into the couch with her now-cold cocoa. “The plan was to get in and out without notice.”
“I ruined that. I didn’t know who they were, and I panicked.” She blushed when I winked at her.
“She knocked me and Tarron on our asses, is what she did.” They drew me into the storytelling, and I couldn’t help adding my perspective. “We deserved it.”
The memory of that moment would be seared in my mind forever.
I ran my thumb across my lip.
Even healed, I felt the reminder of her sharp defense.
We continued the story, talking Dad through every moment, even my getting shot, with careful detail.
He listened without interruption, his expressions shifting as the story progressed. “This Jack Wilson.” Anger charged his expression. “He’s the reason for your discharge?”
“Yes.” I nodded once, not trusting my voice to say more.
“Then I hope he’s attacked by a bear and eaten alive.” Dad grunted and stood. “And that’s better than he deserves.”
“Probably hurt the bear to eat something so horrible.” Payton settled deeper into the couch.
Dad’s laughter reminded me of all the years we’d spent hunting and fishing together.
“True. Shouldn’t wish that on a poor, innocent creature.” Dad took his time looking around the room. The grin he gave me was different from any I’d seen before. It said he saw and understood what was happening with us.
It didn’t help that the three of us hung onto Payton’s every word, or that we moved in sync with her.
“You’re lucky your father knew the right men to call. You’re in good hands with my Reed, and now that I’ve met Maverick and Tarron, I trust them too.” Dad meant every word.
He wasn’t the type to blow smoke to make people like him.
He spoke the truth, even when it made people dislike him.
That was Dad.
Honesty and integrity were so deep in his DNA that he couldn’t lie his way out of a paper bag.
Dad made his way to the kitchen, talking to us over his shoulder. “You’ll be home as soon as the snow clears.”
A flash of something darted over Payton’s expression.
It almost looked like regret, and the weight that had been winding around my heart eased.
I almost brought it up. Mav and Tarron might be ready to let Payton go, but not me.
Based on how they’d acted this week, they wanted to keep her around, too.
Now that I’d had a taste of her, I struggled with the idea that our time was drawing to a close.
Tarron and Payton engaged in a whispered conversation, their blonde heads bent together.
I massaged the back of my neck.
The pinch of healing muscles pulled at my arm, and I shifted out of the uncomfortable chair, joining Dad in the kitchen.
“I’m glad you’re here.” I handed him a cup when he reached for the coffee pot. “Sorry I haven’t been home to visit in a while.”
“Son, you do honorable work. I miss you, but I’m not the type to sit and wring my hands.
It’s enough for me that you’re happy.” He blew out a sigh that caused steam to rise from the coffee held close to his mouth.
“You’re part of something you love, and you’re helping people.
” His grin did that thing where it made his eyes crinkle at the edges.
Years of laughter had put those lines there, and years of grief and squinting into the sun deepened them into canyons.
“Wouldn’t mind another hunting trip or two in the future. Since you brought it up.”
“Oh, trying to guilt trip me?” I crossed my arms and pretended to consider him with my head tipped to the side.
“I might be able to break away for a while this summer. Two, maybe three days. That’s enough, right?” It wasn’t, and we both knew it.
He slurped coffee and examined me over the rim of the cup. “Sure. Three days, and I’ll be sick of your company. We barely tolerate each other.”
I rolled my eyes. “Right.”
We kept the line going far longer than usual, proving we’d missed each other more than we’d ever admit.
Dad’s hugs were one thing.
Expressing words of love was another. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d said “I love you” but he showed it in countless ways.
I eyed Maverick over Dad’s shoulder when an argument over the rules of a board game Payton and Tarron had found in the hall closet grew heated.
Maverick watched them argue with a grin teasing his lips.
He’d never agree to drawing out a mission, especially not for something selfish like the three of us spending more time with Payton.
She deserved to be home with her father.
That was the mission we’d promised to fulfil.
Maverick had feelings for Payton, too.
It showed in his face every time he looked at her, but it wouldn’t stop him from marching all of them out the front door as soon as the storm lifted.
Only Payton could stop him, and even that was questionable. Did she know the power she held over us?
No. Payton was too good, too pure, to understand what we’d be willing to do for her.
She made her desires in the bedroom known, and I loved that she trusted us enough to speak her mind.
But aborting a mission after making a promise was so off character for us that it fell in the realm of impossible things.
We’d do it for her…if she asked.