Chapter 16
Sixteen
F ive Weeks Later…
Lily pressed her hand into her chest. The highway was bumpy and worn, a clear sign of the country life she was about to become intimately acquainted with. Sage had done so well on the plane ride that morning, probably because instead of taking a commercial flight with hundreds of other people and long waiting times, Gunner had surprised her with his boss’s private plane.
She’d been on a plane once when she was eighteen for a church trip her parents had organized. Flying private had been completely different from that experience and she wasn’t sure what Gunner had to pay for that perk, but she was so thankful that he had.
Sage slept like a champ practically the entire flight, and Lily nursed her as they landed, so she was a happy girl when meeting Gunner’s boss, Sebastian, and his fiancee, Emma.
Lily was shocked to see Emma in such good spirits after Gunner told her what she had been through. She was such a strong woman, and Lily really admired that resilience. It also surprised her how down to earth they both were. Sebastian Montgomery was not only a former SEAL like Gunner, but he was also a billionaire. The man had been named one of America’s most eligible bachelors, along with his brothers, who owned a distillery in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. All that money was how he could start up Montgomery Defense, where Gunner and the other members of his SEAL team worked.
A thick bump jostled the truck, and Sage stirred, letting out a whimper. She’d be getting hungry again soon, and Lily prayed her sweet temperament would shine as they met with Gunner’s team before settling into their apartment.
He’d been so quiet as they drove from Bell Ridge into Silver Springs, and she couldn’t get a read on his emotions. Maybe he was just worried about being able to catch up with the cases his team was working on. Or maybe he was regretting bringing her and Sage to Texas with him.
“What’s wrong?” Oops. Gunner clearly wasn’t as lost in thought as she believed. His eyes bounced between the road and her face.
“Nothing.”
“You’re staring a hole through the side of my head and rubbing your hand into your chest like you’re trying to start a fire.” His eyebrow raised as if waiting for a response, but she gave him nothing. “If you’re nervous about meeting everyone, don’t be. You’ll fit right in.”
She dropped her hand away from her chest, choosing to channel her nervous energy into twisting the new gold band on her ring finger. To be honest, she’d completely forgotten Gunner’s promise to get her a proper band when her swelling was down. The night before, as they were giving Sage her last bath in Connecticut, he’d pulled the silicone band off and slipped the gold one on. She loved it. The band was thin and feminine and fit on her finger perfectly.
“Your boss and his fiancee were so lovely. But I have Sage to keep me busy, so I don’t really need to fit in with your group of friends.”
Gunner grunted. Maybe he was happy she didn’t really have an interest in being around his friends. They were in a dangerous line of work, after all. It was probably best for her and Sage to stay away from them. A quiet life was all she really needed until the day Gunner moved on from their agreement. The ache in her chest grew tighter.
She settled back into looking out the window at the passing landscape. Lily didn’t know what to expect out of East Texas, but there was beauty in the hard-worked land. As they left Bell Ridge and made their way into Silver Springs, Lily couldn’t help but let her mind wander to what it would be like raising Sage in the small community. Granted, their hometown in Connecticut would never be classified as a metropolis, but Lily would wager that their city had a larger population than all of Clarence County.
Gunner pulled up to a stop sign and flipped on his blinker. She knew right away that they were turning onto Ford Avenue, or as the outdated website for Silver Springs had called it, “our very own charming main street.” From what Lily had gathered, the Ford family was the first to settle Silver Springs, and they still ran a ranch that was home to the famous natural spring.
She shook her head. Silver Springs apparently wasn’t just named after the valuable metal. In fact, it wasn’t named after that at all. When the town was settled, nearly everyone in the area was hoping to strike oil. But when the Ford family started their ranch and didn’t find any, they turned to cattle. One day, when the men were out moving the cattle, one strayed, and the youngest Ford son went after it. He never found the stray cattle, but stumbled upon a natural spring. When he rested by it and took a sip, he found the water to be ice cold and delicious.
That son had always suffered from headaches, but he regularly returned to the spring to drink its water, and apparently never suffered another headache in his lifetime.
Lily loved history, and the new town seemed to have buckets of it. That natural spring still brought people from all over the region to the Ford’s ranch. Lily had copied the directions from town to the spring and kept them in her notes, thinking that a trip out there might be fun to take with Gunner and Sage after they got settled in their new home.
Ford Avenue did not disappoint. Honestly, it looked like someone took it off the front of a greeting card and brought it to life. Lily watched as the brick front buildings moved by slowly. There was a flower shop, several shops with pretty clothes on display, and even a candy shop all within walking distance of their apartment. Gunner turned into a parking lot just before a large building that looked like it had been the town’s mercantile at one time. A small sign hung above the door, displaying “Montgomery Defense” out in front of the building.
The engine shut off, and her nerves exploded.
“You ready?”
“Yep. No turning back now.”
“It’s my friends, Lil. Not a firing squad.”
A minute later, Gunner held the door open to Montgomery Defense for Lily and she stepped inside. The air conditioning was strong, and she was thankful that the cool air seemed to help calm some of her nerves. Gunner’s teammates were so important to him. She didn’t want to be an embarrassment.
She still wasn’t sure why it had bothered her so deeply to see his boss surprised at the news of their marriage. Lily had just assumed he’d told everyone in his life about her and Sage, but apparently that wasn’t the case. Did she have any right to feel upset that he’d kept their marriage quiet? That he treated it like she was some dirty secret he didn’t want to share? Was he so repulsed by her he worried what his closest friends would think about their arrangement?
“You good?” he looked into her eyes, placing his hand at the small of her back. It was such a sweet gesture that for a moment, she could almost forget her insecurities and imagine he saw her as his wife, for real. Not just as someone he was helping. Blinking hard, she washed away that image from her mind.
“I’m fine. You don’t need to keep checking in. I’ll let you know if I’m not.”
“Gunner?” a female voice called out to him and the kindness in his eyes vanished in an instant.
“Mae.” Whoever this woman was, she was gorgeous. A little shorter than Lily, but her hair was pin straight, and it flowed over her shoulders like a river of melted chocolate. Her heels clicked across the tile floor as she walked behind what Lily assumed was the receptionist’s desk.
“Oh, that shithead brother of mine didn’t mention you’d be back today. I don’t have any of your clearance stuff ready, but if you give me a few minutes, I can get your ID card all situated.” Lily watched as the woman’s eyes finally drifted over to her. “Who’s your guest?”
“This is my wife, Lily, and our daughter, Sage.”
“Your wife, Reap? What the fuck?” A man who looked like he was straight out of the pages of a Navy SEAL recruitment flier walked towards them. Lily took a half step behind Gunner and placed her hands protectively around Sage.
She could quickly see that this was going to go exactly how meeting Gunner’s boss Sebastian had gone. The pain of knowing he’d kept her and Sage a secret from the people closest to him outside of his own family burned over her skin.
“Why did he call you Reap?” she asked.
“Team nickname,” he mumbled. “Is everyone here? I’d rather just share the news once and get on with things. Mae, Lily is going to need her own set of access cards.”
“Lily. It’s so nice to meet you. Your daughter is beautiful.” Mae’s smile filled her entire face, but Lily still couldn’t gather the courage to step from behind Gunner.
“Thank you,” she replied.
“Go get the guys, idiot,” Mae said to the man who still hadn’t introduced himself. Whoever they were to each other, it certainly felt contentious.
“I think that’s your job, Mae. Right?”
“Fine,” Mae turned to the reception’s desk and picked up the phone.
“Gunner’s here. Come out front,” was all she said before hanging up. “There, I’m sure they’ll all be on their way.”
Gunner’s hand moved from the small of her back to her waist, and she felt him pull her closer to his side.
“Hawk, are you going to just stand there staring at them, or are you going to introduce yourself to Gunner’s wife?”
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I was just so surprised by the announcement that I forgot my manners.”
“Not that you had any to begin with,” Mae grumbled under her breath.
“Hilarious, Sis. I’m Hawk Morgan, the most handsome and charming member of the team. Don’t listen to my sister,” he chucked his thumb in Mae’s direction. “She’s held a grudge against me ever since we were little and I cut all her doll’s hair off to look like G.I. Jane.”
Ah, they were brother and sister. A smile tickled at the corner of her mouth as she realized just how much Hawk and Mae reminded her of Gunner and his sister. It was actually really sweet. And, of course, Lily knew Hawk was the charmer of the group from Gunner’s stories. That he used his southern charm to make women swoon.
“It’s nice to meet you, Hawk.” Lily forced her voice to be steady.
Three other men walked from the hallway and all stopped as soon as they saw Lily and Sage.
“Gunner?” One man, with salt and pepper hair, questioned.
He looked at Lily and pointed slowly at each man. “Lil, this is Gage Walker, Stone Lawson, and Nash Caldwell. Guys, this is my wife, Lily, and our daughter, Sage.”
The only response from the men was silence.
“It’s so nice to put faces to the names I’m so familiar with. I always loved hearing about you all in Gunner’s letters home to his mom.” Still no response. God, could this go any worse?
Sage started fussing and Lily broke out in a sweat as every eye in the room remained trained on her. No, not here, baby . Not in front of Gunner’s friends. If she couldn’t calm Sage down, they would see what a terrible mom she was. They would see how she was already failing her baby girl. As if sensing her discomfort, Gunner scooped Sage out of her arms and began gently rocking her back and forth until she calmed again.
“You got married without us there?” Nash asked.
“You had a kid on the way and didn’t tell us?” That question came from Gage, and she could see the hurt in his eyes.
“Oh, it wasn’t for—” Lily quickly tried to explain so Gunner wouldn’t have to bear the hurt from his friends, or the shame of being truly attached to her. It was all fake, so why not explain it to them?
“Yes,” Gunner interrupted her. “We wanted to get married before my mom passed. We were at city hall getting our license in the morning and Gia married us in front of my mom that afternoon. She passed away the next day. After that, the days were just crazy, and Lil ended up having the baby the night after my mom’s celebration of life.”
“Well, damn. Guess we can’t hold a grudge about that. But not telling us for nearly two months that you have a wife and a kid? Not cool, man, not cool at all.”
“Oh my god, Hawk. Who cares what you think? Maybe they were just enjoying their honeymoon period while busy settling in as a family. Not everything is a personal slight! Now, give me a hug and hand over your precious baby,” Mae gushed at Gunner. “I have baby fever so badly and I want to get a sniff of her beautiful, fresh baby scent.” Mae laughed as she pulled Gunner into a warm embrace. “If it’s okay with you, Lily.”
“It’s fine,” Lily answered meekly.
“Yay!” Mae scooped the baby out of Gunner’s arms, gushing over how beautiful she was. “Come on, Lily. I’ll show you around the office and then we can sit and get to know each other. Leave the men to hit each other and get out whatever is making the room stink with tension.”
Lily looked at Gunner. “You don’t have to if you’re not comfortable,” he leaned down and whispered into her ear.
“I know what I said when we were driving here, but I think it would be nice to have a friend. Mae seems great. I’ll be fine, and if not, I’ll come find you.” Lily took two steps forward before Gunner’s hand wrapped around her arm. He pulled her back into his chest and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
The sweet gesture froze her in place. It was the first time he’d shown affection like that since she’d been in the hospital with her complications after having Sage. They’d been sleeping together in the same bed for weeks and he never so much as looked in her direction. Maybe it was all a show for his friends. Maybe it meant nothing at all to him. And if that was the case, she hated how much it meant to her .
“Oh, before I go with Mae, I brought something for you guys.”
“You did?” Gunner’s eyebrow quirked up.
“I know Gia told you I was behind the care packages. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t bring everyone’s favorite treats the first time I met them in person?”
Lily walked up to Gage, who had nothing but kindness shining back at her through his eyes. “Sour lemon candies for Gage,” she smiled, pulling the small container from her bag.
Next were Nash and Hawk. “Salt water taffy for the pilot who got his love of flying, and of taffy, from his grandfather and the summer trips they would take to the boardwalk. And of course, Hawk loves his caramels, just like his grandmother used to make around the holidays.”
“This is amazing. You’re definitely my new favorite person.” Hawk pulled Lily into a big hug and laughed as Gunner growled. Nash smiled and nodded his appreciation.
“And for Stone, habanero jerky. We have a local shop back home that makes some of the best. I thought maybe you’d like to try it.”
“Lily, this is such a sweet gesture. It’s really nice to meet you. Thank you for this.”
“What about me?” Gunner grumbled, a mischievous twinkle in his eye as she turned towards him.
“Oh, are Sage and I not a good enough treat for you? Should I pretend that you hiding us away was because we were the most special treat of all and you didn’t want to share us with your friends?”
“Lil.” Gunner pulled her into his side and she felt her stomach flutter as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Just don’t want the guys to be getting any ideas. You’re all mine, no matter how sweet you are to them.”
“Then I guess I can give you the peach rings I packed for you.” Lily slid her hand once more into her bag and produced the candy she knew Gunner had loved since he was a little boy. “Now go catch up with your friends while Mae and I chat.”