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Travis
Fucking with Clint was fun, but coming home wasn’t for my benefit. I did it for Wrenly, and it wasn’t easy. It was the missing Tony part that was hard. Looking at his house made me miss him more than ever.
No, it wasn’t for my benefit, but it was for Wrenly and Clint. My decision to come home with Wrenly was because I was going to dedicate the rest of my life to her, and coming home was a small price to pay for our happiness. We obviously couldn’t move forward with our relationship until I let certain people back into my life. That was obviously Clint and Grandma Patty. I also needed to meet her step mom and brother. I didn’t come on the trip to see anyone in my family. I had an aunt that was alright, but she never took as much of an interest in me as Tony. Hell, she probably forgot about me by now.
I meant it when I offered to go to the courthouse today, although it wasn’t ideal. I’d marry Wrenly in a heartbeat, but I understood we still needed time.
The objective of the mission was to reconnect with her dad, so that someday he would be on board with Wrenly and I getting married. I knew diving in with Wrenly meant I had to come home someday, and the sooner the better, so I decided to face my past for her benefit. Nothing that’s worth it in life comes easily, and there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Wrenly.
After unpacking, we went downstairs where Clint was waiting with two beers and two chairs on the back porch. The house had changed a lot, but not Wrenly’s bedroom so much. She had some new awards on the wall I never saw, pictures of her and her friends hanging off the mirror, but it was the same furniture, and the bedroom was still painted in that same light purple color we watched Clint and Tony paint it when we were little.
The house had been updated. The walls were different colors, there was new furniture, and the kitchen cabinets were even updated. Clint’s wife was a hot little number, but after learning she was the Heather Tony once told me about I wasn’t surprised. I also remembered meeting her at the funeral. She was very upset and since Tony warned me about girls like the infamous Heather, I remembered her.
Tony once told me that regrets weren’t always instant. That he loved Heather, but he wasn’t interested in settling down. He wanted to have fun, experience the world, and he never cared if he ever settled down. Later, he regretted hurting her, and advised I didn’t get serious with a girl until I was sure she was the one. He said a woman like Heather would fuck with your head the rest of your life if you ever walked away from her. No truer words were ever spoken, but they came a few years too late. I loved Wrenly almost my entire life. There was no way that would ever change.
Clint and I took a seat on his back porch. It was a nice day, not nearly as cold as Indiana, but not hot either.
“Tell me about your life? You were missed around here, just so you know.” Clint took a swig of his beer.
“You know I went into the Army, then joined Delta Force. I went in thinking I’d be a career soldier, but one really fucked up mission made me think otherwise. I didn’t reup when the time came, but I took Tony’s money and life insurance and invested it. Been in Indiana ever since. My business partners are my closest buddies. I built a good life there.”
He nodded. “Tony would be proud, and so would your father.”
I wasn’t even going to go there since I had no desire to make my parents a part of the trip.
“Your wife seems nice.” I complimented her. “She’s beautiful.”
He nodded again. “Besides my kids she’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” He paused for a moment. “You’ve truly been happy? I’ve worried over the years.”
“I thought I was, then Wrenly came back into my life and my life has changed for the better. I swear I didn’t live one day where I didn’t think about her. Sometimes I think I lived in our memories more than I lived in the real world. The missions and building Creed’s Lake were just brief moments I escaped her memory. When our founder came across her file, he had no idea who she was to me. The day he brought her up in a board meeting I felt like I was stabbed through the heart then punched in the gut for good measure. Fucking special ops? What the fuck? It about killed me to know she had been over there.” I took a swig of my ice cold Guinness.
“Wrenly had a rough year, and when she told me she enlisted I lost my shit. I was scared shitless, and dropping her off was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Then I learned about the Raiders, and it was like the life inside me was ripped out. She served for four years, and I don’t think I got one night of restful sleep that entire time. Then it was the fucking FBI. I blamed myself, she was raised by a cop. It’s what she knew and damn it was hard. My buddies had daughters. All of them either went to college and got safe jobs or they married and started families. Not my kid. She always had to challenge herself. I’m damn lucky I haven’t had a stroke or a heart attack yet. I hope like hell Jacob takes a safer route than myself and Wrenly in life. Maybe he will take after his mother. Can you tell me one thing?” He asked.
“Sure.”
He looked at me. “Is she safe?”
I sighed. “You know her job.” I reminded him.
“The fucking SWAT team, Travis?” He snarled.
“I don’t think you’ll have much to worry about there, Clint. I don’t see her being an operator, more like a tactical team leader. She’s that good at her job, Clint. I foresee her in the mobile command unit, not busting in doors. That’s where she will be most valuable. I was not just impressed but proud as hell when she jumped in at training and had tactical resolutions planned faster than our commander. I stay out of it when it comes to her career choices, but I’ll admit I wasn’t real happy when the offer was made. I had no plans to be anywhere near her unit when she was deciding which division she wanted, and I already accepted the offer. Then she chose the domestic violence division, and of course you can understand my fears there because of Tony, but the idea grew on me. I think she will be safer there than on the missions I take. Plus, it keeps her on American soil. She also lives in a community that’s far safer than most. It's heavily guarded and she likes it. She has friends and she’s building a very fulfilling life. She’s very capable, and damn Clint, you should see her in action. She’s not afraid to speak up and I really was proud during all our mock trainings, but especially proud on the first one.”
“You’re truly in love with her.” He stated out of the blue. “So, what’s your intentions?”
I chuckled. “Damn Clint, you’re going straight for it.” I thought he would at least give me a few days.
“The two of you share a very weird history. It broke my heart that she could fall and get hurt, but run right by me with her tears and go straight to you, and you were just a kid yourself. Never in the history of childhoods that I’m aware of, would two little six year olds curl up and sleep the way the two of you did. It seemed like all you thought about was Wrenly and keeping her safe. Yeah, you liked normal kid stuff like sports, and you were Tony’s shadow, but Wrenly was always number one. She was obsessed with you, and the connection the two of you had could be very dangerous for her. She already had her heart broke once, I’m not sure she will survive it a second time.”
I glanced at him, took a swig of my beer, then looked out toward the woods Wrenly and I would play in as kids. “Let’s just say there will be a day that may come sooner than later where I’ll come to you and ask a very important question. That’s why I’m home, it has nothing to do with me but everything to do with Wrenly. You’re her dad and she is a daddy’s girl, so it’s important that I face my past and reconnect with her family.”
“Did she talk to you about the years she lived here without you?” He asked.
“Yeah.” It wasn’t a subject I enjoyed.
“So, you know about Matthew?” He asked again.
“And Tyler.” I took another swig of my beer, the reminder of Wrenly’s pain made it taste sour.
Clint was quiet for a moment before he spoke in a very sad tone. “That kind of loss changes a person. We got to hold Tyler, and it was the most heart wrenching thing I ever experienced. My baby girl was dying on the inside and I knew she would never be the same.” He paused for a moment. “She grieved in a similar way she did when you left. Her grades dropped, she wouldn’t get out of bed, she dropped out of most the activities she always enjoyed, and it was Matt that helped motivate her eventually. He’s a good man and he was in just as bad of shape as Wrenly when they lost Tyler. He wanted justice, but of course that died down with the help of his family and pastor. Matt was raised by a religious family, and truly grasped on to his faith. We were never religious, so the match between them seemed odd, but somehow they made it work for a few years. Matt is still in love with Wrenly, and that will probably never change, but he has moved on the best he can with a good woman. Unfortunately, I don’t think Wrenly was capable of loving him the way he did her. She really broke him, and I think he would leave his wife today if he had another chance at Wrenly.”
“Why are you telling me this, Clint?” The last thing I wanted to hear about was how much another man loved Wrenly.
“Don’t leave her again, Travis. The last time you did it was catastrophic, and Mathew was a casualty of the aftermath. I’d hate to imagine what would happen if you did it a second time.” He warned me.
I took the last swig of my beer. “Like I said, a day is coming when I’ll ask you a very important question.” The last thing I needed was to add another name to the people I wronged and felt guilt over. For me, guilt leads to self pity, and self pity leads to self destruction