Chapter 9 #2
Chuckles reverberated around the kitchen. But I was so flustered, I wasn’t sure how to react when Ev nudged me from behind. “Ah, thank you. And this is for you.” I passed her the matching gift bag.
“Trying to butter me up, I see,” she said, shooting me a no-nonsense glare that almost had me quaking in my boots. Wow, this woman was something else. She’d have given our Commander Brock a run for his money.
I tried to dispel my nerves. I was a soldier for God’s sake. “No, ma’am, just showing my gratitude for the invitation into your home.”
“Right.” Her voice had an edge to it that sent goosebumps dancing over my skin. “Will you hurt Grace?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Are you prepared to take care of her, listen to her and respect her?”
“Of course,” I nodded.
“Good.” She paused again, her gaze boring into me. “You hurt her, and no one will find your body.”
“Yaya!” Kat gasped. “Leave the poor boy alone.” Kat hurried around the counter, turning Yaya away and back outside. “I’m so sorry, Malachi. Please ignore her,” she called over her shoulder.
Ev, Ollie, Maisie and Kath all burst out laughing, and Gracie looked stunned.
“I didn’t know they cared so much,” she said so quietly I was sure I wasn’t supposed to hear her.
“Oh, my God, she’s a riot!” Maisie exclaimed. “I can’t wait to see what she does when I bring someone home.”
Ev sobered quickly. “And that will not be for a few more years, right?”
“You never know,” Maisie teased her dad as she chuckled, before following Kat and Yaya out the back door.
“She likes to test me,” Ev grumbled, rubbing his forehead.
“She’ll be twenty-one soon. You can’t keep her locked away forever,” Ollie said.
“I know, but she’s still my little girl; that will never change. Just like with your Everly, you want her to stay sweet and little forever,” Ev added as the rest of them followed Maisie, leaving Gracie and me alone in the kitchen.
Gently caressing her cheek, I kissed her softly on the lips. “Hi.”
“Hey.” She beamed at me. “This was a pleasant surprise, but are you okay? I didn’t know they’d be so protective.”
“Of course they’d be protective; you’re part of their family now.” I moved to kiss her forehead, breathing in her sweet strawberry scent.
They’ve met you, so how could they not love you? I thought.
“So, you fold flowers, huh?” she asked as she quirked her brow at me.
Another laugh burst out of me. “Sort of. We all tried a bunch of things to help with dexterity when we returned. It was more of a sign of solidarity for Oak with his hands and burn scars, but I found I liked making origami. I find it soothing, mediative. It helps that Everly likes it too, so I make a lot of things for her.”
Gracie beamed at me. “You are so sweet.” She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed under my jaw. “Why use your letters? What if I wanted to read them?”
“You still can, I have so many, but I thought it would be a nice way to show you how much and how often I think about you.” I winked at her and relished the flush across her cheeks.
“Oh, Kai,” she gasped again as tears welled in her eyes as she blinked furiously.
“None of that now,” I said as I ran a thumb under her eye. “There’s one or two more people I need to meet. Are you going to introduce me to your brother-in-law and niece?”
“Hmm, you want to meet Indy?” she asked.
“Of course. He’s your family, and I want him to know you’re safe with me.” Taking her hand in mine, I led her out the door the others went, grabbing her jacket off the hook as we went.
People of varying ages packed the backyard, still in parkas or huddling around the various heaters while the kids raced around and played in the snow.
There were so many familiar faces and so many new ones.
A massive man with long, wild hair was trying to catch a mini version of Gracie.
When he caught her in two of his massive strides, he tickled her belly, and her innocent giggles warmed my soul.
I couldn’t help but imagine Gracie as a mother, chasing her kids around, making them laugh, teaching them all about life and taking care of them.
The longing that shot through me was like a living thing.
She deserved to be surrounded by love and family.
She’d make an amazing mother. Her heart was so big.
She was a natural caretaker. I still wondered how she and Cain didn’t have kids.
There were so many things I wanted to know about her, but there’d be time for all that later.
Gracie tugged on my hand, and I followed her down the steps and towards the large man.
“Hey, Seb. This is Kai. Kai, this is Sebastian Papadakis, Indy’s fiancée, and this is my niece, Hazel,” she said as she brushed her hand over Hazel’s mahogany curls.
“Auntie!” Hazel exclaimed and launched out of Seb’s arms and into Gracie’s, who caught her with an oomph.
“Hey, munchkin. How’s school? Have you been good for your Daddy and Papa?”
“School’s good. Did you know Miss Emily’s my teacher? She moved schools, too!” Hazel exclaimed. Her missing front teeth gave her a cute as hell gapped-toothed smile and a little lisp.
“You know Miss Emily, too?” I asked, gazing at Hazel.
“Who are you?” She shot me a look, her blue gaze assessing. “How do you know Miss Emily?” Holy fuck, Alexandra’s rebellious, no-nonsense nature seemed to have passed onto her daughter.
Chuckling, I stepped forward to stand next to Gracie. “I’m an old friend of Auntie Grace, and Miss Emily is a volunteer at the self-defense class I teach.”
“You don’t look old,” she said, turning to Gracie, “Is he really your friend?” Her little voice was cautious and serious as she gazed at Gracie.
“Yes, Kai was my best friend growing up. Just like your Mommy and Daddy were.”
“Did you know my mommy, too?” she asked.
“Not as well as I’d liked, but I know she was a wonderful person and loved you with everything she had.” Gracie’s eyes shone with tears as I rubbed her back.
Our whole town knew the story, and my father often used Alexandra’s death as proof of God’s power to strike down those who went against him.
It made me sick how they’d talked so blasé about a tragedy.
A young mother had lost her life and been taken away from her best friend, young child and Gracie, and all anyone in town could say was that she deserved it because she was living in sin.
They clearly didn’t read the Bible properly and only took the parts they wanted to, to justify their actions and fuel their hate.
My father sent me his written-out sermons on base so he could remind me of my place and his teachings. I normally didn’t open any mail addressed from home, but since I’d found Gracie’s marriage announcement, I’d been desperate for more news of her.
It broke my heart to hear of Alexandra’s death, and to know how much Gracie must have been hurting.
Visibly seeing my father’s vile preachings about the accident in print, and that Gracie had likely been forced to hear them at church, ignited the rage that had simmered beneath my skin ever since I found out Cain married her.
“Are you nice or mean?” Hazel asked me, startling me back to the present.
“Haze! What does that mean?” Gracie asked.
“I need to make sure he’s not going to hurt you like your mean brother or the bad man that hurt you before you came to stay with us.” Her little voice didn’t waver as the weight of her words rang out between us.
“Oh, Haze. No, Kai would never hurt me. No one will hurt me like that ever again,” Gracie said as she cuddled the little girl to her chest as a lone tear rolled down her cheek.
“I will never let that man come near her again. You have my word,” I promised Hazel. Seb nodded from his place over Hazel’s shoulder.
“It’s good to meet you. Emmy’s mentioned you, as has Kath, of course.
” Seb offered his large hand for me to shake.
It was rough and nearly dwarfed mine as he took the last few steps up the deck to tower over me.
I was six foot two, but this man had another head or more of height on me and probably outweighed me by a good fifty pounds of muscle.
He was as big as Rhett, and if he hadn’t radiated kindness, I might have been taken aback by his intimidating form.
“It’s nice to meet you, Seb. Congrats on your engagement. Gracie mentioned it only happened a couple of weeks ago.”
“Thanks, man.” His face lifted in a shy smile as he fiddled with the ring on his finger. “I never thought I’d get so lucky.”
Gracie’s eyes shone with love and respect. “Where is Indy? I’d love for him to meet Kai.”
“He’s around here somewhere. Probably hanging out by the food tables. For such a tiny thing, my man sure can eat,” he exclaimed with a chuckle.
And sure enough, as we made our way over to the large tables covered in enough food to feed my entire unit, and then some, we found Indy talking with Kaydence.
“Hey, guys,” Gracie interrupted. “I have someone I want you to meet. This is Malachi. Kai, this is Indy and Kaydence.”