Chapter 4 #3
Macie shook her head. “No. I mean, yes, but that’s not…you don’t know me,” she blurted, stumbling over her words.
Emily smiled. “I know you’re very important to the commander.
I know that he requested our men ask us to come over today because he was worried you were here most days by yourself.
I know he told Fletch that he would be off this weekend because he was going to spend it with you.
I might not know you that well yet, but I want to.
Besides, going to Lampasas will get me out of the house and some peace and quiet for a while. I love my kids, but they exhaust me.”
“I’m happy to help too,” Casey added.
“Me too,” Mary said with a grin.
“I…thank you,” Macie said. “But I don’t need anything. Truck got me some stuff the other day, and Colt went over there the other night. He said he wanted to make sure my fridge was cleaned out, but I think he was hoping to find one of the men who broke into my apartment lurking around.”
“That sounds like something one of our men would do,” Casey said with a smile.
Just then, Annie came back into the house. She was out of breath and talking a mile a minute. “Mommy! I made a new friend. Her name is Sam. That’s short for Samantha. I taught her how to play soldier and I really like her!”
Emily smiled at her daughter and gave the other women a look as if to say “See? Exhausting.”
“That’s great, baby. Now, go wash your hands before you get dirt all over the commander’s house. I saw a bathroom next to the kitchen.”
Without a word, Annie spun and headed for the washroom to clean up.
The rest of the afternoon passed relatively smoothly.
Macie was surprised at how comfortable she felt with the three women, but it definitely helped to have Annie there.
Her presence kept anyone from bringing up anything that might be upsetting to the little girl.
They laughed, gossiped, and talked about what it was like to be an Army wife.
Before she knew it, it was quarter to four and the front door was opening and Colt was home.
Macie looked up and smiled at him. He saw her and came straight to her side. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek and straightened. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she replied.
“You look like you’re having a good time,” he observed.
Macie nodded.
“It doesn’t smell like you’ve started anything for dinner?” He raised a brow, making the statement a question.
Macie frowned. “No, I hadn’t thought about it yet. It’ll be easy enough to make something though. Grilled chicken? Hamburgers?”
He smiled and ran a hand over her hair. “I have a craving for Chinese. I can go and pick it up. I just didn’t want to bring anything home if you’d put in the effort to make us something already.”
“Chinese sounds great.”
Colt smiled at her. “Perfect. You stay and chat. I have some things I need to finish in my office upstairs. I’ll come back in a bit and you can tell me what you want. Okay?”
“Okay.”
And it wasn’t until then that he turned and nodded at the other women. “Good to see you,” he said politely.
Mary was staring at Colt as if she’d never seen him before. Casey and Emily smiled at him and returned his greeting.
“Hi,” Annie said boisterously.
“Hey, Annie. How are you? Have you been practicing the obstacle course for the upcoming kids’ contest?”
“Yes!” she shouted, and nodded her head so hard, Macie thought it would come right off her shoulders. “I can’t wait! I took five seconds off my time the last time I did it.”
Colt wandered over and put his hand on her shoulder. “I have no doubt you’re going to win that trophy,” he said seriously. “I think you can absolutely do whatever you want to.”
“I want to be a doctor,” she said. “And help soldiers when they get hurt on missions so they can come home to their families.”
Macie blinked in surprise. Most eight-year-olds she’d come across still wanted to be ballerinas or actresses. Annie’s goal was much more specific…and lofty.
“Anyone who’s in your unit will be very lucky,” Colt said solemnly. Then he turned, smiled at the others, winked at Macie, and headed upstairs to his office.
“Holy crap,” Casey whispered.
“I take everything back that I said,” Mary mused with a shake of her head.
“He only had eyes for you,” Emily told Macie with a smile. “We might not’ve existed for all the attention he paid to us.”
“He wasn’t trying to be rude,” Macie defended Colt. “He just wanted to make sure I was okay. I was nervous about today, and he knew it.”
Mary shook her head. “He looks at you like Truck looks at me. Like Beatle looks at Casey and Fletch looks at Emily.”
Macie wanted to protest. Wanted to deny Mary’s words, but she couldn’t.
She’d seen the way her brother looked at Mary.
She’d been at the wedding and seen how all the men on Colt’s team treated their women.
It was true. She’d gotten used to being the center of Colt’s attention, and she’d convinced herself he was simply being polite.
But deep down, she knew better. They had a connection. A deep one.
She didn’t respond, just simply smiled.
“How does Daddy look at you, Mommy?” Annie asked with a confused tilt of her head.
Emily tousled her daughter’s hair. “Like I’m his wife, of course.”
Annie frowned. “I don’t get it.”
“You will, baby. When you’re older.”
Annie rolled her eyes. “You always say that.”
“That’s because it’s true.”
“Uh oh, Mommy! Look! It’s Ethan time!” Annie said and pointed at Emily’s shirt.
There were two wet patches on the front of it.
“Oh crap. You’re right,” Emily said, then looked up at the group in embarrassment. “He usually eats around this time and even though I pumped”—she gestured at herself—“my body is on the same schedule he is.”
The others all laughed, but Macie could only look at Emily in horror.
Not because she’d leaked through her shirt, but because if that was her, she would be embarrassed beyond belief.
She wouldn’t ever be able to face the other women again.
She couldn’t understand how Emily wasn’t completely mortified.
“I should probably get going too,” Casey said. “I’ve got papers to grade for tomorrow.”
“And I just want to see my husband,” Mary said with a smirk.
Macie walked the women to the door and said goodbye to Casey and Mary. Annie ran ahead to the car so she could start it, apparently one of her favorite things to do.
It was just her and Emily standing in the doorway, and Macie struggled to find something to say and not stare at the wet splotches on her shirt.
“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you,” Emily said softly.
At that, Macie’s eyes whipped up to hers. “What?”
“I can tell you’re uncomfortable. And I’m sorry.”
“I just…if that had happened to me, I would die of mortification. Then I’d have to take one of my strong pills and hole up in a dark room with my headphones on for the rest of the night.”
Emily chuckled. “Having kids does wonders for my tolerance for embarrassment. Annie has a habit of saying the absolute worst thing at exactly the worst times. And Ethan is always hungry. If I don’t feed him on schedule, he screams bloody murder.
I’ve learned it’s easier to just find a corner and feed him rather than try to calm him down.
And let me tell you, people are not that comfortable with breast-feeding in public.
And it’s not like I just whip out my boob or anything.
” Emily shook her head. “Annie was so much easier than Ethan for some reason. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m okay, thank you,” Macie told her. And surprisingly, she was. The fact that Emily wasn’t upset over what happened with her body went a long way toward soothing Macie’s own apprehension about it. It was a natural thing. It happened. “Thank you for coming over today. I had a good time.”
“You sound surprised,” Emily observed.
Macie shrugged. “I’ve had a hard time making friends.”
“I don’t know why. You’re funny. You’re kind. And you aren’t afraid to stick up for your man…which in our circle goes a really long way.”
Annie chose that moment to honk the horn a few times.
Emily laughed. “That’s my cue. Thanks for having us.” Then she leaned over and gave Macie a quick hug, careful not to crush their chests together. “We need to do it again soon. I’ll be in touch. Bye!”
Macie didn’t have a chance to get a word in before Emily was halfway down the sidewalk and yelling at Annie to hush and to get in the backseat.
Two words stuck out from everything Emily had said. “Your man.”
Macie wanted to admit that Colt wasn’t her man. That she was only staying with him until he thought it was safe for her to go back to her apartment in Lampasas. That he was simply looking after one of his soldiers’ sisters.
She was afraid to think anything else. Especially since she’d left her number for him after the wedding and he hadn’t bothered to call.
She waved at Annie as Emily pulled away and went back into the house and shut the door behind her, making sure to lock it. She turned to go back into the other room and screeched in surprise when she almost ran into Colt.
“Everything good?” he asked.
Macie nodded.
“No, Macie,” he said as he put a hand on the side of her neck and leaned in. “Are you good?”
She couldn’t help the small smile that broke out. “I’m good,” she told him. “Really. I liked them. Annie is hysterical, and I loved getting to know Emily and Casey more.”
“And Mary? Did she behave?”
Macie must’ve hesitated a moment too long, because Colt sighed and pulled back. He reached for her hand and pulled her into the living room. He sat on the couch and tugged Macie down onto his lap. He put his arms around her waist and held her firmly.
Macie stared at him in shock. They’d slept curled up next to each other every night, and Colt never hesitated to touch her, to caress her cheek or run a hand over her hair.
But he’d never simply hauled her around before—at least, not since the night of the break-in—and she hadn’t sat on anyone’s lap since she was five years old.
Not sure where to put her hands, she rested them in her lap awkwardly.
“What’d she say?” Colt asked.
“Nothing.”
“Mace,” he said more gently. “I can tell she said something. I mean, it’s Mary, she can’t help herself, it’s part of her charm.” He smiled. “Now tell me, so I can reassure you about whatever it was, and then I’ll go get us some dinner. I’m hungry.”
It was the last bit that made Macie change her mind about telling him. She had a feeling he would sit there all night if she didn’t spill. He was that stubborn. But his stubbornness was one of the many reasons she was crazy about him.
Pushing those feelings to the back of her mind, refusing to think about them right now, she said, “I’m sure she was exaggerating, or that she simply doesn’t know the truth.”
“About what?”
Taking a deep breath, Macie said, “She was just trying to make sure I knew what this was. What was happening here. And she told me about you killing a bunch of people when your friend was captured.”
She felt Colt’s thigh muscles tense under her butt, and it seemed as if the air in the room thickened with emotion.
Oh shit. Why had she told him? She should’ve made something up. She was such an idiot! Now he was going to tell her she couldn’t stay at his house anymore, that he couldn’t help her. She should’ve kept her big mouth shut!