Chapter Seventeen #2
“I figured maybe all of us do.” He took a slow breath, nerves unexpectedly punching him square in the chest. “I’d love it if you and Frank came along.
Ben could miss a few more days of school.
I thought maybe we could join you in the RV.
Find a state park. Fishing, hiking, Ben running wild for a few days. ”
Silence crackled through the line again.
Then softly, “Vander…”
He cleared his throat. “I know it’s probably last minute.”
“No.” Her voice thickened with emotion. “We’d absolutely love that.”
Relief unknotted something tight inside him.
“We’ve never really done a family vacation together,” she admitted quietly.
Family. The word settled hard in his chest once again.
“That’s what I was thinking.” His voice came out lower. “Feels like maybe we should.”
“You love her.”
The statement hit him square between the ribs because there wasn’t even a question attached to it.
“Yeah,” he said simply. “I do.”
“And Ben?”
His gaze drifted toward the mountains in the distance. “That kid’s got me wrapped around his little finger.”
Her laugh broke through thick emotion. “Well, he feels the same way about you.”
He swallowed hard before speaking again. “I want them to have good memories.”
“You already gave them something good,” she said softly. “You gave them someone who stays.”
The words lodged painfully in his throat.
After Baghdad, he’d convinced himself he was too damaged to build anything permanent. Now all he wanted was permanence.
“I was thinking…I’d call my parents and invite them too.” He’d avoided them for so long, always believing he was too damaged to bring them into his world.
“What a wonderful idea! We’d all love to meet them.”
Suddenly it felt possible to have a whole family instead of fragments.
After hanging up, he sat in silence for a moment with the phone still in his hand. Then he drew in a deep breath.
This suddenly felt more nerve-racking than firefights and tactical ops.
He pulled up his parents’ number and stared at it for a long second before hitting call. The line rang once. Twice.
Then his mother answered. “Vander?”
He closed his eyes briefly at the surprise in her voice.
“Hey, Mom.” He leaned his head back against the seat. “I was wondering if you and Dad wanted to take a trip with me.”
* * * * *
Summer spent the last hour of her shift glancing toward the door every time it opened.
It was ridiculous.
Half of the Black Heart Ranch had been in to see her—or check on her. Willow, Honor and Felicity had come in for a round of greasy fries and virgin margaritas. Denver and Colt sat at the bar, sipping beers and watching the game. Theo settled at one of the tables with a new guy.
When she approached them, Theo introduced her to Heath Hawk, one of the newcomers to the security team. He was tall and handsome…but he was no Vander.
Though her new friends checked to make sure she was okay, she hadn’t seen her lover all night.
She understood. He had texted earlier saying he had “a few things to handle,” which could mean anything from Black Heart business to helping somebody on the ranch mend fencing.
Still, every time the front door swung open, part of her expected to see him there, watching with that steady, quiet gaze that always found her no matter how crowded the Stockyard got.
The place felt different without him in it. Lonelier.
As she neared the end of her shift, she caught herself smiling after remembering the sight of him in her kitchen that morning making pancakes for her. Shirtless. Half asleep. Completely perfect.
Summer loved him so completely now that she wasn’t entirely sure where it started.
By the time she stepped outside after closing, exhaustion dragged at her shoulders. Her feet hurt and she smelled like fryer oil, beer and ranch dressing. Warm air brushed against her skin as the sounds of the Stockyard faded behind her.
The sight of Vander hit her hard enough to stop her in her tracks.
Dark jeans. Cowboy hat low over his eyes. Big body relaxed against the driver’s side door like he’d been waiting a while.
Like old times.
Only not really because the man waiting for her now wasn’t hanging around hoping she’d eventually trust him enough to let him close.
This was the man who crossed half the state to drag her out of a truck and bring her home alive.
As she walked toward him, a smile pulled at her mouth before she could stop it. “You know, most people text when they’re picking somebody up from work.”
His gaze moved slowly over her face like he still needed visual confirmation she was okay every time he saw her.
“Never bothered before. Besides, I wanted to surprise you.”
Warmth spread through her chest at the sound of his voice alone.
She stopped in front of him and tipped her head. “Are you here to seduce me?”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “Maybe better.”
That got her attention, but she narrowed her eyes. “That sounds exciting.”
“I hope you think so I have a few surprises for you.”
She blinked up at him, a smile warming her heart. “What kind of surprises?”
“This, for starters.” He lifted a bag that she hadn’t seen on the ground next to him and held it out for her.
She eyed him. She didn’t get presents often and she treasured each and every one she was given. “You didn’t have to do anything special, but I can’t wait to see what’s inside.”
She reached in and pulled out a cardboard box. Across the lid was the name of a pricey shoe company. Her hand froze over the letters, and she looked up at the love of her life.
“Tell me you didn’t buy me new slippers.”
His lips tilted at one corner in a smile that told her how pleased he was with himself—and made her want to get to the seduction part of this night faster. “Look inside.”
She whipped open the lid and stared down at the new pair of suede slippers that meant she could retire her old faux ones that had seen better times. He could have bought her sexy lingerie but he knew that would be for him. This...was just for her.
“Vander! This is too much. Thank you!” She pressed a kiss to his lips but before she could deepen it, he pushed away from the car and pointed toward the edge of the parking lot.
For one confused second she didn’t register what she was seeing. Then the headlights of an RV flicked on.
Summer blinked.
“Wait.” Her mouth fell open as she stared at her parents’ RV parked near the edge of the gravel lot.
“What…”
Vander looked entirely too pleased with himself now. “We’re taking a trip.”
She looked between him and the RV again, trying to process the sentence. “A trip?”
“I already cleared the time off with your boss.”
Her eyes popped wider.
“And Granny’s going to watch the house. She and her shotgun, of course.”
An emotional laugh burst out of her, part joy that he’d done all these things for her and partly because everyone in her life was so supportive.
“Ben’s already inside asleep.” Pride and amusement mixed together in his voice. “Kid fought sleep for an hour trying to stay up and see you.”
Her heart squeezed hard at the mention of Ben, and she pressed her fingers to her lips. “Oh, my sweet boy.”
She issued a laugh that sounded as flabbergasted as she felt. “What is happening right now?”
He stepped closer until he settled his hands at her waist. “I packed for you.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You packed my clothes?”
“I did an excellent job.”
“Is that so?” She laughed again, and the sound came easier now than it used to. Lighter.
He brushed his thumbs slowly against her sides. “We’re also going to meet my parents. I hope you don’t mind.”
She shook her head, too choked up to speak. Everything inside her seemed to pause for one suspended heartbeat because there was so much to take in.
When she looked past him toward the glowing RV windows, excitement rushed through her so fast it almost made her dizzy.
“I can’t believe you planned all this. For me. For us.”
His expression softened. “You said you never got the road trips.”
Tears flooded her eyes. All those years surviving instead of living, and now…now it looked like she could have it all.
She shook her head. “I can’t believe you packed for me.”
He looked completely unconcerned that nothing would match or he forgot to pack underwear. “You’re welcome.”
“What if your fashion sense sucks?”
His grin widened. “Too late now. We’ll buy you a souvenir T-shirt in every town.”
Happiness spread through her chest, warm and full, until she thought she might burst from it.
“When do we leave?”
His gaze held hers, shadowed in the brim of his hat. He edged closer until his lips hovered inches from hers. “Soon as you kiss me hello.”
She grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him right there in the middle of the parking lot with her parents not far away, watching it all through their windshield.
His hands tightened around her waist, pulling her flush against him. The kiss deepened fast, warm and possessive and full of everything they survived to get here. She slid her fingers into the back of his hair and held on tight, kissing him with all the love inside her.
Finally, she’d learned love wasn’t a dangerous thing—losing faith in it was.
When they broke apart, he rested his forehead briefly against hers. “You excited?”
She realized the future no longer felt frightening. Not with him. Somewhere between the danger and the healing and all the moments he kept showing up for her without being asked, Vander had become home.
“Yeah,” she whispered with a smile. “I really am.”