Chapter 33 #2
She holds onto the front of her life jacket, then points at the raft in the middle of the lake.
Sasha says something to her in Russian. She frowns and walks over to me.
“I come?”
“We’re not taking the boat, Mac. And it’s pretty far to swim.”
Her body stiffens with stubbornness. “I come.”
I glance at War. “I don’t know if she can make it that far. You might have to stop and bring her back.”
War says a few words to Makayla in Russian. She glares at him and nods.
“All right. Show me,” he says.
Makayla turns and whistles. Hers isn’t as strong and clear as her dad’s, but it does the job of getting the attention of everyone on the deck. She pokes War’s leg and gives him a look .
He nods at Sasha. “We’ll take her with us.”
Sasha nods, and I bend down to check the buckles on her life jacket, confirming they’re secure. The boys make noises about coming, too, until Scott cuts them off with a hard no.
Sasha makes his way down the deck stairs, drink still in hand, as we get in the water.
“Oh, my God,” I hiss. “Was the water this cold yesterday?”
“Yeah,” War says, walking farther out until he’s chest-deep.
“Didn’t feel like it.”
“You had some liquid heat in you.”
I roll my eyes, though I know he’s right. Nothing like a belly full of booze to make hypothermia seem farther off than it is.
Ignoring us, Makayla takes off toward the raft, swimming like there’s a shark she needs to outrun. War waits for me.
“Want a ride, blondie?”
“I might,” I say, shivering. “But not yet.”
We swim until we catch up with Makayla, which takes longer than I expect. She doesn’t make eye contact with either of us. Her eyes are locked on the raft, and her limbs churn the water hard until we’re about two-thirds of the way there. Then she starts to slow.
“Keep going,” War says to me, stopping to tread water. “We’ll meet you there.”
“Don’t give her a hard time,” I whisper. “If she needs help, just help her.”
“We’re good.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, if she needs a rest, she can take one. And I’ll help her if she asks.”
I stop, so I’m treading water, too. Makayla keeps going at a crawl. “She’ll never ask. Especially you.”
“Then we may get there around midnight.”
I give him a dark look and swim over to Makayla. “Want a little help, honey?”
She shakes her head .
“You can hold onto my shoulders for a little bit.”
“Be serious,” War says with a roll of his eyes. “Last night, I carried you home.”
“Quiet,” I say. “Last-night Ash was a little the worse for wine. And cocktails. Belly-full-of-bacon Ash has plenty of stamina.”
War chuckles. “You’re welcome for that bacon.”
I swim next to Makayla. The wind has kicked up, and she’s losing ground against the waves. She keeps going, albeit slowly, even when the water splashes in our faces.
“Ugh,” I say conspiratorially. “This is not as fun when the sun goes behind the clouds, is it, Mac?”
With her little jaw clenched, she shakes her head. But her limbs keep churning.
“I’ve got towels on the raft. We can wrap up in them. Want your uncle to give you a hand, so we can get there quicker?”
She shakes her head.
“There’s nothing wrong with getting his help, you know? He seems mean, but you know he’s not, right?”
Makayla shrugs, as though she’s never actually given this any thought.
“Would you do it for me? Because I’m cold. And I want us all to get to those warm towels?”
“Go,” she says. “You can.”
“You mean leave you?”
She nods.
“No,” I say softly. “That is never gonna happen.”
She stops and looks at me, crossing her arms over the front of her life jacket. “You can.”
“No.” Licking my lips, I incline my head at her for emphasis. “We stay together, remember? If there might be trouble, we stick together like glue. Plus, I wouldn’t feel safe going by myself. What if I got a cramp and needed to hold onto your life jacket? To keep from sinking?”
War swims over. “What’s up? ”
“Take her,” Makayla says to War, pointing her finger at me. “You take her.”
That causes both War and I to laugh. I give Makayla a hug. “I love you so much.” Exhaling, I make a show of bucking up. “All right, let’s all keep going. We’ve got this.”
The swim takes a lot longer than normal, but the sun is shining brightly by the time we reach the raft.
Makayla offers no resistance or objection when War grabs her life jacket and lifts her out of the water.
Pressing his palms on the raft, he shoots up and sits on the edge.
The raft tilts slightly from his heavy weight being on only one corner.
He reaches down and pulls me up, too, and then moves us over toward the center.
Makayla lies on her back and stares up at the sky, panting.
Still sitting on War’s lap, I smile at her. “You made it the whole way, Makayla. I’m proud of you.”
She crosses one foot over the other and closes her eyes, which makes me laugh.
“I agree,” I say. “A nap seems like a very good idea.”
The towels are toasty, and I put one over her as a blanket before wrapping the other around my own shoulders.
Whispering in War’s ear, I say, “You should tell her she did a good job. It’ll mean more coming from you.”
He says something to her in Russian, and she lifts her head to look at him. She asks something, and he nods. Then, with a small smile, she puts her head back down and closes her eyes again.
“What did you say?”
“I told her she swam as strong as I did when I was her age. Maybe stronger.”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I give him a kiss. “Hey, you know what?” I whisper.
“What?”
“I love you.”
He gives me another kiss. “Same.” Holding onto me, he lies back. “I’ve been thinking. If you want to be a school teacher, do that. I’ll make more than enough to cover us. You should do something you enjoy.”
I smirk. “You better be careful. I like designer clothes. And I want a Formula One race car engine for Billie. And maybe a big, fat diamond the size of my thumb. For right here.” I point to my left ring finger.
“Not a problem.”
My fingers slide his hair behind his ear. “We’ll think about it. We’re a team, right? So, I don’t want it to all be on you.”
“We finished our GU Crue op. Things went sideways, and I had to keep it on track. My bonus is gonna be fifty million.”
My brows shoot up. “Dollars?”
“Yeah.”
My surprise gives way to a smile. “I want a five-carat white diamond set in eighteen-karat rose gold.”
“Noted.”
“I think I’m gonna double major in finance and elementary education.”
“Probably a first.”
“And I think I will be a kindergarten teacher.”
“Who drives to school in a Formula One Camaro?”
“Definitely.”
The corners of his mouth curve into a smirk.
“Questions? Concerns?” I tease.
“No.”
I kiss his cheek. “Got any plans for the bonus money yourself?”
“Definitely.”
“Oh good. What are you gonna buy yourself?”
“The most beautiful girl in the world, so… a trophy wife.”
I laugh and slug him in the ribs. “Do not repeat that.” After a beat, I say, “Hey, thanks for being nice to the kids. I know this wasn’t your first choice of a vacation together.”
“As long as I have time alone with you at night, all good.” He brushes his lips over my temple. “Besides, you’ve got them all working on me, so I’m getting used to this. Can’t escape the fold. Might as well enjoy it.”
“You give me more credit for influence over the guys than I actually have. Sasha, especially, would not hang out with anyone he didn’t want to.”
War shrugs and closes his eyes.
Seeing War’s walls come down makes me so happy.
In the distance, I spot my cousin Jamie.
He enters the water with a racing dive from the Coyote lodge’s dock for a morning swim.
Apparently, the rest of our GU gang is up early, too.
That’s good since a couple of Killian’s brothers and his brother Liam’s family are arriving today for the weekend, and I want to make sure they meet everyone and feel really welcome. A ton of people are coming, actually.
A small smile curves my lips. Scott and I have planned a whole big bash. We’re even having fireworks and sparklers for the kids. It’s gonna be lit, literally.
I rest my hand on War’s six-pack, watching the steady rise and fall of my hand. Before summer’s over, I’m going to plan a vacation for just the two of us.
He’s been introducing me to some wild things.
Being all alone and somewhere remote would be conducive to experimenting.
Maybe I’ll give him permission to kidnap me and chain my arms to the wall during sex.
That would be a good fantasy role play for us now that I’m comfortable really putting myself in his hands.
I marvel at our connection all the time. I can’t imagine having it with anyone else on the planet. War lets me be myself. A hundred percent. Sometimes, he babies me and makes me French Toast. Others, he hands me a gun and trusts me to kill our enemies.
My phone chirps, causing Makayla to stir. Shit. I put the phone on silent after responding to a text from my brother. If I wanna get more sleep myself, I better do it before noise on the lake wakes my warriors .
I lie down next to War, pressing my back against his side and resting my head on his arm.
Then, I slip my hand under a strap on Makayla’s life jacket.
This way when either of them sits up, it’ll wake me, too.
Not saying they need me to keep an eye on them to make sure they’re both okay, but a part of me can’t help doing it.
Because now, the Stroviak family is mine, too.
Just as I always wanted them to be.