Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Macie nervously rubbed her hands on her jeans as she waited for Mary and the others to arrive.
She hadn’t seen her brother’s wife since their wedding day, and while she liked the other woman, she had a tendency to be extremely blunt.
In some ways it was refreshing. Macie never had to wonder what Mary was thinking.
But on the other hand, she was terrified of doing something that would irritate her sister-in-law and make her not like her anymore.
Colt had put off the visit for almost a week, which Macie was super grateful for. She’d seen Truck several times; he’d come over to his commander’s house to make sure she was doing all right. He’d also gone back over to her apartment to grab more clothes and other odds and ends for her.
She’d barely left Colt’s house in a week, but she was more than all right with that.
He went to work each morning, but came home for lunch to check on her, and was home by three-thirty every afternoon.
He’d explained that since the men under his command had just gotten back from an intense two-week mission, and he’d been monitoring their movements almost twenty-four seven, he had some flexibility on when he had to be in the office.
She didn’t like hearing about her brother’s mission. Not that Colt actually told her much, but just knowing he’d been overseas doing something dangerous was more than enough for her to worry.
The view from the table she was using at Colt’s house was just as nice as the one from her apartment.
She sat at the table in his dining room, which overlooked a small park in the neighborhood.
Macie had always wanted kids. Always. But before now, she’d stayed away from them because it was too painful.
At the moment, however, she found herself staring at the children on the playground for hours.
They looked so carefree. So happy. She couldn’t remember a time in her life when she was truly that relaxed.
Maybe before Ford had left for the Army.
Thinking about her brother leaving—and what had happened afterward—made her anxiety flare.
She had no idea how he could still care about her after she’d not returned his letters.
She didn’t know he’d sent them, but still.
It had already been a long time since she’d talked to her parents, but she made a mental vow to never see them again.
She’d never forgive them. And not just because they’d purposely kept Ford out of her life.
The doorbell rang, and Macie jumped. Looking at the clock, she saw it was three.
Forcing herself to her feet, she went to the front door.
She looked through the peephole, saw that it was Mary and the others, and took a deep breath.
Colt wasn’t here—he said he’d be home as soon as he could—so it was just her.
Macie’s heart raced and she crossed her arms and pinched her biceps, trying to keep her anxiety under control.
This was her sister-in-law. It was fine.
“Mace!” Mary said happily as soon as the door was open. “It’s about time!”
Macie opened the door wider to let Mary and the others in.
She recognized them, but Mary went ahead and introduced them anyway.
“I’m sure you remember, but this is my best friend, Rayne.
Behind her is Emily and her daughter, Annie, and Casey.
The others wanted to come too, but they were busy.
We’ll have to plan another get-together with them soon. ”
Macie smiled at the other women and closed the door behind them once they’d all entered.
She gestured to the living room and bit her lip as she followed.
She hadn’t made anything for them to eat.
She probably should’ve. Especially for Annie.
Children were always hungry, weren’t they?
She should’ve made cookies. That would’ve been easy.
And crap. Her stuff was strewn all over the dining room table. She was used to it just being her and Colt, and he’d told her to leave her computer set up at the table, and they’d been eating in the living room on the couch while they watched TV.
Macie was working her way to a full-blown anxiety attack when she felt a small hand slip into her own.
Looking down, she saw Annie staring at her with a big smile.
Her hair was messy around her head, but the little girl didn’t seem to notice or care.
She was wearing a pair of jeans that had dirt on the knees and a pink T-shirt with white sequins all over it.
Squinting, Macie saw that it said “I like glitter.”
Annie saw her looking at it and smiled. “Like my shirt?”
“It’s cute,” Macie told her.
Annie’s nose wrinkled, and she said, “Look what it can do!” And with that, she ran her free hand down her chest and the sequins changed directions and colors. Now they were brown and said, “But dirt is cool too.”
Macie smiled. “That’s funny.”
“I wish the dirt part was what showed all the time,” Annie pouted.
“Annie, what did we talk about?” Emily reprimanded gently.
The little girl looked at her mom. “That I should just say thank you when people give me a compliment. But Macie is my friend, I can tell her secrets.”
Macie glanced at Annie in surprise. “I’ve only met you once. At the wedding.”
Annie looked at her with big blue eyes and said, “But you’re Truck’s sister. And he’s my favorite uncle. And my brother is named after him. So that means you’re my aunt. And thus, we’re friends.”
Macie’s eyes teared up, and she had to look away from the little girl before she lost it completely. For the millionth time in her life, she regretted being so weak. For letting her parents coerce her into the worst decision of her life.
“Thus?” Mary questioned with a laugh.
“She’s been reading a lot,” Emily said. “It’s her new favorite word.”
“I’m glad we’re friends,” Macie told Annie.
“Me too,” Annie answered happily.
It had been a long time since Macie felt accepted so readily and without strings. Annie was able to make her feel comfortable in a way she rarely felt around others…children included.
“Where’s your brother?” she asked the little girl.
“Daddy and him are having a manly bonding moment and I wasn’t invited,” Annie pouted.
Macie looked at Emily.
The other woman laughed and explained, “I needed a break. Ethan doesn’t sleep much. So Fletch took him to the office for the afternoon.”
“I wanted to go to the office too,” Annie said dejectedly. “I wanted some manly bonding time too.” Then she perked up. “But I also wanted to come see you. So here I am!”
Macie squeezed Annie’s hand. “I’m glad.”
“I’ve never been in the commander’s house,” Casey mused.
“Me either,” Rayne said. “And I’ve known him the longest.”
“It’s nice,” Mary noted. “It feels comfortable.”
“Why do you sound surprised?” Emily asked.
Mary shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess because it’s the commander. He’s always seemed so stern. So cold.”
“He’s not cold,” Macie said, surprised that anyone could think Colt was stern. “He’s amazing. Patient and kind. He’d never hurt a fly.” She regretted her words when three pairs of eyes stared at her in surprise. “What? He’s not nice?” she asked quietly.
“Annie, do you want to go play?” Emily asked. “There’s a playground right across the street.”
“Yes!” the little girl shouted, then got serious. “But don’t talk about anything important. I don’t want to miss anything.”
Macie forced a smile and squeezed Annie’s hand once more. “We won’t.”
“Stay at the playground. I’ll be watching from here. If you wander off, I’ll take away your obstacle course privileges for a month,” Emily warned.
Annie snapped to attention and dropped Macie’s hand as she saluted her mom. “I won’t, Mommy. Promise. Bye!” And with that, she ran to the front door and disappeared. They all watched as, seconds later, she ran onto the playground and immediately started playing with a group of boys.
“She is way too addicted to that obstacle course,” Mary said wryly.
“I know, but it makes an affective punishment to take it away, so I’m not complaining,” Emily said with a smile.
“Obstacle course?” Macie asked.
“The guys have a course they use at work for PT sometimes. Fletch took Annie there one day and that was that. She didn’t want to do anything else. And she’s good at it too. Fast.”
Macie had met Fletch and the other men Ford worked with at the wedding.
She loved how protective and loving they were with their wives.
It was part of the reason she’d had such a major anxiety attack at the reception.
She wanted the same. And knew she was too broken to ever have a man like that.
A man who could put up with her insecurities and anxiety for the long haul.
“Let’s sit,” Rayne said, gesturing to the couches.
Macie knew she should be offering everyone something to drink, but she couldn’t remember what was in Colt’s fridge.
What if she offered colas or juice and he didn’t have any?
Should she offer to see if he had any beer or wine?
She was getting overwhelmed, so she kept quiet and followed the others to the living room to sit down.
No one said anything for a moment, and Macie’s anxiety spiked. She should say something. Get the conversation rolling…but what should she say? She wasn’t a part of these women’s lives, even if Ford was her brother.
“What do you know about Colt?” Mary asked, as blunt as ever.
Macie blinked. “Um…he’s my brother’s commander. He’s in charge of another group of soldiers too. He manages stuff from here while they go on missions.” Said out loud, it sounded ridiculous.
But no one seemed to think her explanation was weird or stupid.
“Right,” Mary said. “But do you know why he was chosen as their commander?”
Macie shook her head. “Because he was qualified?”