Chapter 23 #2
She stared at him for a beat, as if seeing the truth in his eyes, but she only nodded. “Okay. Grilled cheese sandwiches all right for lunch?”
“Only if you add pickles.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Seriously?”
“Yup. It’s good. Trust me.”
“I do,” she said with no hesitation. “But pickles?”
“And ranch.”
“Okay, that I can get behind,” she teased.
“Kylo-Pyro!” Bowie yelled before hurling herself at him.
Thankfully, Penny caught her and said, “Bowie! His leg!”
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” she said a little guiltily. “I forgot. I was just so excited to be home with you again!”
And that right there was just another reason why Pyro loved the little girl so much.
“Did you get me a present from the store?” he teased.
“Yes!” she exclaimed, running back into the kitchen and feeling around in the bags Obi-Wan hadn’t unpacked yet.
Bowie was back in a heartbeat, and she held out the present she’d gotten for him with a huge smile on her face. “It reminded me of the boat. And you said it was your favorite.”
“It” was a Twix bar. Admittingly, Pyro hadn’t been around kids much, but the fact that after everything Bowie had experienced since she and her mom had been rescued off that roof in Gabon, she could still remember the simple joy of sharing her candy bar with him, made his heart swell in his chest.
“The perfect gift, thank you, Bowie-Bear.”
“You’re welcome. Do you want to eat it now?”
“After lunch, Bowie,” Penny lightly scolded.
The little girl frowned but nodded. She climbed up onto the couch and leaned into Pyro’s good side as Penny went into the kitchen to make sandwiches for lunch.
Pyro closed his eyes and sighed. The last couple of months had been intense. He never would’ve thought a routine mission would end up with him falling in love and getting a ready-made family in the process. But he was extremely grateful it had.
* * *
That night, after Bowie was tucked into bed and sound asleep, and after Penny had helped Pyro to bed and made sure he was as comfortable as he could get—pillows under his leg, water on the table next to the bed, and over-the-counter pain pills in his belly—she snuggled up against him, her head on his chest and her arm over his stomach.
“Your visit with the guys went okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. You want to know what we talked about?”
To Pyro’s surprise, she shook her head. “No. I don’t want or need details. Tex said he was taking care of things and he’ll never come after us again. He wasn’t lying, right?”
“No.”
“Then I’m good. I’ve never felt as free as I do in this moment.
Ever since John died, I’ve been stressed.
About Bowie, about having enough food, a roof over our head, about paying the men who came to our door, about everything.
Then coming here was a whole new set of stressors.
A lot of good happened, but Bowie was starting school for the first time, I was moving in with a stranger…
Colvin was still hanging over my head. And now, all that is just gone.
I have a safe home, my baby has friends and she’s blossoming, I have a job I enjoy and no one is taking everything I earn.
And I have friends, true friends, for the first time in my life.
“And then there’s you. I wasn’t expecting you, Pyro.
I didn’t want another man in my life, especially considering how the last one turned out.
But now, I can’t imagine living without you.
As much as I appreciate and love you for being willing to protect Bowie with your life, I’m still not happy about that.
Because I couldn’t go on without either of you.
You’re as important to me as my daughter.
I don’t know how it happened so fast, but it did. ”
“Penny,” Pyro said softly, overwhelmed with everything she was saying.
“No, I mean it. Bowie loves me. Of course she does, I’m her mom, but I’ve never in my life felt loved the way I am by you.
And I haven’t loved anyone else the way I love you either.
As if the sun rises and sets with you. I’m in awe of everything you do.
So proud of all you’ve accomplished, because I know how difficult it was.
How much of a handicap you had because you were a foster kid, like me.
You rose above all that to become a true hero.
Not only to your country, and the men and women you help on your missions, but to me.
And to Bowie. I love you, Pyro. So much.
And it doesn’t scare me. Because I know you love me back the same way. ”
“Hell yeah, I do.” Pyro was overwhelmed. Didn’t have the words to express the depth of his feelings. But thankfully, Penny didn’t seem to expect them. She hugged him and sighed against his chest.
After a minute, she spoke again. “I can’t believe you took a knife that was sticking out of your thigh and used it to fight. My man is a complete badass!”
Pyro chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “I want to adopt Bowie. I mean, if that’s okay. And if that’s what she wants.”
Penny’s head whipped up and almost slammed into Pyro’s chin. “What?”
“She already feels like mine, even after such a short time. But I understand if you don’t want that, if you want to wait because—”
“Of course I want that!” Penny exclaimed.
“All I’ve ever wanted was a father who gave a crap about her.
You…Pyro, you’ve done more for her in the short time you’ve known her than her biological dad did in the four years he was in her life.
I don’t think he even changed one diaper.
He certainly never got up in the middle of the night to comfort her if she cried.
Never went to one doctor’s appointment about her eyes with me. ”
“He was an idiot.”
“He was. Pyro?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“You’ve made all the dreams I had as a kid come true. Of having someone love me. Of having a true family. Thank you.” She put her head back on his chest. “I’ll look into seeing what we need to do to change Bowie’s name, and the adoption thing.”
“I already have.”
Her head whipped up again.
“Easy, tiger. You’re gonna knock me out with your head if you aren’t careful,” Pyro joked.
“Seriously? You have? You just got out of the hospital like two-point-three seconds ago. When have you had time to research that kind of thing?”
“Um…I might’ve done it before all this shit happened,” Pyro admitted. He was worried Penny would be irritated with him, but she gave him a soft smile.
“Of course you did.” Her head went back to his chest. “I’m happy, Pyro. More than I ever expected I could be.”
“Me too. Although I’ll be happier when I can walk again.”
Penny chuckled. “You’re going to be a terrible patient, aren’t you?”
“Yup.”
“Well, it’s good that I’ve had practice at sullen and bored. And Bowie will be happy to entertain you as well.”
“I’m looking forward to it. To getting the chance to be with you all day, and Bowie when she’s not in school. Oh, you think she can have a sleepover with her friend Abigail? We could watch-slash-listen to movies and play board games and giggle all night.”
Penny laughed. “I’ll talk to her mom.”
Pyro sighed in contentment. He wasn’t happy that he wouldn’t be able to fly with his teammates for the foreseeable future, but he couldn’t deny he was thrilled with the extra time his injury would give him to spend with Penny and Bowie.
It wasn’t long before she fell asleep, her body going boneless against him.
Pyro didn’t sleep right away. He spent the next hour memorizing the feel of the woman who would be his wife, who’d made him a daddy, and thanking his lucky stars that he was piloting the chopper that day in Gabon.
It had literally changed his life, and he would forever be grateful.