Chapter 11 #2
Smiling, Bria pulled Ember from the doorway into the house.
She let herself be led up the stairs to her room.
She spent ten minutes admiring Bria’s Barbie doll collection and being shown all of her favorite things.
The room was large and airy, and Ember guessed that was intentional, that Riley and Oz had made sure the little girl never felt hemmed in.
After everything Bria had been through, they’d done a wonderful job of making her room a safe space for the little girl.
Eventually, they left her room and Bria briefly showed her the other rooms upstairs. The house was huge, with six bedrooms. Craig had told Ember that Riley and Oz really wanted a big family, and he wouldn’t be surprised if Riley turned up pregnant again sooner rather than later.
Bria abandoned Ember after she got bored playing tour guide, so she made her way back down the stairs by herself. As soon as Craig saw her, he headed her way.
“You good?” he asked.
“Of course. Bria is adorable. And this house is huge.”
“Yup. Told you. Come on, everyone is here now and Gillian already has the margarita machine fired up.”
“A margarita machine?” Ember asked. “Isn’t that like, a blender?”
“Shhh,” Craig said with a smile. “Trigger is responsible for keeping the drinks flowing…she calls him the margarita machine.”
Ember couldn’t help but laugh at that.
Craig leaned forward and kissed her temple, then interlaced his fingers with hers and headed for the kitchen. The space was huge, with top-of-the-line appliances and granite countertops, but with all the people standing around, there wasn’t an inch of space to spare.
He led her to a woman about her height, with blonde hair and green eyes. “Gillian, this is Ember. Ember, Gillian.”
“Hi!” Gillian said happily. “I’m so glad to meet you. Do you want a drink?”
“Um…sure,” Ember said.
“Awesome. Walker?”
Trigger chuckled, handing over a glass with a straw in it.
Gillian took it from him, leaned up to kiss him on the lips, then handed the drink to Ember. “I hope you like ’em strong.”
Ember couldn’t help it, she looked at Craig and squeezed his biceps before taking the drink. “The stronger the better.”
Gillian threw her head back and laughed, then nudged Craig out of the way. “You and the rest of the guys need to head out. Your girl’s in good hands.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Craig muttered.
Then he leaned down and, to Ember’s surprise, kissed her on the lips.
And it wasn’t a quick, chaste kiss either.
He used tongue and put his hand behind her neck, holding her to him as he kissed her deeply.
When he pulled back, he stared down at her for a long moment before giving her a small grin. “Have fun.”
Ember licked her lips and watched as Craig and the rest of the guys headed into the other room.
She had no idea if they were going to go grill something, have a shooting contest out in the yard, or engage in a few arm wrestling contests.
With the testosterone she could practically feel vibrating in the room, she wouldn’t be surprised with anything that happened.
One of the women she hadn’t met yet fanned her cheeks with her hand. “Lord, that was hot.”
“Right? I told you,” Aspen said with a grin.
“Told them what?” Ember asked.
“That the two of you were combustible. Just being around you two yesterday was enough for me to see that, even without the kissing.”
Ember had a feeling she was blushing, and was glad they probably wouldn’t notice.
“I’m Kinley,” said a black-haired woman a few inches shorter than Ember, holding out her hand.
Ember shifted her drink and shook her hand. “It’s good to meet you.” In the pause that followed, she took a sip of the margarita …and nearly choked. It was more tequila than anything else.
“Told you it was strong,” Gillian said with a smile. “As far as I know, none of us are pregnant, and our men are gonna be heading out soon, so we need to let loose. Brain’s got Chance, Oz is in charge of Amalia…so there’s no excuse for us not to have a little fun.”
The women all agreed, and Ember found herself relaxing.
She wasn’t a big drinker. Her training schedule had never really given her time to go out to bars and trying to work out with a hangover wasn’t her idea of fun.
Besides, she’d never had a group of friends to go out with.
She’d been looking forward to today. To relaxing and having some fun.
But she made a mental note to take it easy on the margaritas.
She’d be passed out on the floor if she drank too many of the potent drinks too quickly.
An hour later, Ember was sitting on the huge back deck with the women.
There was a plate of snacks on the table in front of them and everyone had a drink in their hand.
Lucky and Grover were playing catch with Logan, and Trigger and Craig were watching Bria and her friend play on the swing set in the corner of the yard.
Lefty and Brain were at the grill, cooking up hamburgers, hotdogs for the kids, and shish kebabs.
“Do you guys know much about Sierra?” Devyn asked quietly.
“No,” Gillian said.
“I’ve just heard her name in passing,” Riley said.
The others all shook their heads.
“I talked to my brother about her the other day, and he’s really worried about her,” Devyn said.
“Your brother?” Ember asked.
“Yeah. Grover.”
“You and Grover are siblings?” Ember asked in surprise.
Devyn smiled. “Yeah. I moved to Killeen because he was here, and we’ve always been close. Blah blah blah…now I’m married to Lucky and couldn’t be happier.”
“Devyn!” Gillian exclaimed.
“What?”
“I thought that was a secret,” Gillian said.
“It was. It is. But Ember kind of figured it out. Actually, I guess it was the guys who tipped her off, because they kept saying ‘wives’ instead of ‘women’ or calling me a girlfriend.” Devyn shrugged. “Whatever. It’s fine.”
Gillian just rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“I think it’s great,” Ember said with a smile.
“Thanks. But anyway, back to Sierra,” Devyn said. “Fred told me that he assumed she’d just blown him off. He was upset about it. Apparently, something about her really struck a chord in him. You know how the guys are…once they find a woman who intrigues them, that’s it.”
Yeah, Ember knew that, and was more than thankful for it. She couldn’t help but look over at Craig. He was pushing Bria on a swing, and she loved how gentle and patient he was with her.
“Anyway, he was worried about her with all those disappearances going on over in Afghanistan—which look like kidnappings now—but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Then he got that letter from her. It really shook him.”
“I can’t believe it was lost in the mail for a year,” Kinley said with a shake of her head. “Talk about bad luck.”
“Yeah.”
“That reminds me,” Ember said, pulling out her phone. “I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to post her picture yet.”
“Post her picture?” Riley asked.
“Yeah, on my IG account. I have no idea if it’ll do any good, but maybe publicizing the fact that she’s missing can help in some way,” Ember said.
Aspen leaned forward. “I checked out your account.”
Ember did her best to stay relaxed. She was kind of getting used to people telling her that. And, besides, she would’ve done the same thing if she’d been in any of these women’s shoes. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I have to say…I think I like you better like this.” Aspen nodded to Ember’s outfit.
She’d decided to go casual, since today was a relaxed get-together with Craig’s friends.
She didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard, and she’d gotten comfortable in her more laid-back clothes.
It was too hot to deck herself out anyway.
She had on a pair of jean shorts, a tank top, and cute flip-flops with huge flowers on them.
She’d seen them in Walmart when she’d been shopping the other day and couldn’t resist. Her mom would die if she saw them.
She’d always harped on Ember about wearing designer clothes whenever she left the house in case someone took her picture.
“Me too,” she told Aspen honestly.
A few minutes passed as Ember typed out a post. The other women talked amongst themselves as she concentrated on her phone.
“What are you going to say?” Devyn asked after a while.
“How’s this sound?” Ember asked.
I hope you’re all having a great weekend.
I’m hanging out with some new friends, sweating in the heat, listening to children laughing, and about to eat some fattening but oh-so-good food.
But not everyone is as lucky as I am. They’re hungry.
Or scared. Or being abused. I wanted to take a moment today to highlight a friend of a friend, who may or may not be in trouble.
Her name is Sierra, and she was last seen working on an Army base in Afghanistan as a contract worker.
You might be wondering why I’m sharing this, when I’m here in Texas. And you might be in California. Or New York. Or Paris. Or South Africa. Nowhere near Afghanistan. The reason is because it’s been a long time since anyone has heard from Sierra. She could literally be anywhere.
Have you seen her? Have you heard anything about a red-haired, green-eyed petite woman being held against her will? Above is a picture of Sierra. If you know anything about her whereabouts, please post below or call your local investigators. Sierra’s life could be saved by just one phone call.
The women around her were all silent when Ember finished reading back what she’d typed. “Too much?”
“No!” Riley said emphatically.
“Not at all,” Devyn said with a sniff.
“I think you using your platform to help others is amazing,” Kinley told her.