Chapter 14
ACE
“Anyone else for seconds on pie?”
Bea glances around the living room, her gaze sweeping across the small crowd gathered here.
On one couch, Eden leans against Rafe, her legs draped over his.
At the other end of it, Tyler is scraping his dessert plate clean.
Webb and Noelle are snuggled together on the couch perpendicular, each with their own plate in hand.
Webb’s mom is sitting on the third couch, beside Eden and Indy’s mother, both of them looking utterly relaxed and close to falling asleep.
From the kitchen, Indy calls out loudly, “Looks like we’ve still got half a pumpkin, a third of an apple, and a couple slices of pecan.”
I look over at Yara, who’s squished beside me on one of the recliners that faces the fireplace. She still has a few bites of apple pie left on her plate and a small dollop of Cool Whip beside it. “Do you want more?” I ask.
Yara shakes her head. “I wish I could. But I’m stuffed.”
“I’m not,” Rafe announces. “I could definitely go for another piece of that apple pie.” He starts to move Eden’s legs off his lap. “But you don’t have to get it for me, Bea. I can do it myself.”
Bea makes a quick sit down gesture with her hand. “I’m already up,” she replies. “I don’t mind.” Turning her attention to Tyler, she adds, “Ty? Would you like another piece?”
He glances at his empty plate. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
Bea crosses the room and takes the plate from him. Then she ruffles his hair affectionately. “Of course not. I wouldn’t have asked if I did.” Smiling, she adds, “Anyway, if I leave Indy in there too long, he’ll probably eat the rest of the pie himself.”
“I heard that,” Indy replies as he appears in the doorway. “I would not eat all the pie. Just another slice or two.” He heads over to Bea and kisses her cheek. “And really, it’s your fault for baking such delicious pies.”
“I can’t believe you made them,” Yara says to Bea. She nods at the last bit of her pie. “This is amazing.”
“Bea’s a great cook, isn’t she?” Indy asks, casting a proud look in his wife’s direction.
“She is,” Webb’s mother agrees. “You did a fantastic job, Bea. Thanks so much for baking them.”
Bea’s cheeks flush pink. “I like baking. It’s relaxing.” After a beat, she adds, “Indy helped. So, really, it was a team effort.”
I snort. “How exactly did Indy help? Checking to see if the smoke detectors worked?”
Rafe laughs. “That sounds about right.”
“Hey,” Indy retorts defensively. “I can cook.”
“Like the pancakes you made at my place?” Yara teases.
I hug her closer to my side. “Good one,” I murmur.
Bea snickers. “Those pancakes were interesting, to say the least.”
Indy grabs Rafe’s plate, then punches his shoulder hard enough to make Rafe grimace. Rafe grumbles, “Why do you always have to punch me with your right hand?”
Indy flexes his prosthetic fingers. With a grin, he replies, “Because I know it hurts more when I use this one.”
Yara laughs. “Indy. I didn’t design it so you could beat up Rafe.”
Indy turns to her with a smile. “I know. It’s just an unexpected benefit.”
As Indy and Bea head back into the kitchen, I tell Yara quietly, “It’s a good thing that he feels so comfortable using his hand like that. That he thinks it’s a plus, rather than a negative.”
Eden overhears us, and adds in a tone low enough that Indy can’t hear her, “Thanks to all the cool mods you added, Yara, he’s finally realized he can do just as much with his prosthetic as he could with his old hand.”
Out of the corner of my eye, Tyler’s expression clouds.
As he shifts in his seat, his pants ride up, exposing the carbon fiber of his own prosthetic.
Though we’ve assured him plenty of times that the missing part of his leg isn’t a weakness, I know he doesn’t really believe us.
He still thinks that just because he lost the lower part of his leg in an explosion overseas, he’s somehow less than the rest of us.
It’s not true, of course. Tyler’s not only an expert marksman and a kick-ass martial artist, but his skills with computers are second to none. And the Shadow team wouldn’t be the same without him.
But Tyler’s been through a heck of a lot more than the average person, first losing his right leg below the knee, and only a few years later, losing his wife. So I guess it’s understandable that it would take him a long time to come to terms with everything.
Shit, I’m still hanging on to my old wounds, and they’re not nearly as bad as his.
“I’m glad,” Yara replies in that same low tone. “It’s nice knowing I could help in some small way.”
“Not a small way,” I tell her. “A huge way. Just like you’ve helped all those other people, too.”
“That reminds me,” Rafe interjects. “I talked to Callum the other day. He’s thinking about organizing a 5K slash half-marathon next fall. Either in Portland or Seattle, depending on availability.”
“What’s that you say?” Indy asks as he reenters the living room, two plates of pie in hand. “Another race?” He glances at Bea, who’s right behind him, holding two more dessert plates. “What do you think? Want to do another 5K?”
Bea giggles. “Another 5K?” She walks over to Tyler and hands him a plate, then heads over to Rafe to do the same. “I’m not sure…”
“You did great the last time,” he replies.
Setting his two plates on an end table, he drags it over to the empty recliner across from me and Yara.
Then he takes Bea’s hand, leads her over to the chair, and tugs her down onto his lap.
“You didn’t even come close to finishing with all the senior citizens. ”
Yara’s brows pinch in confusion. “Finishing with all the senior citizens?”
“The first time Bea ran a 5K—”
“Jogged,” Bea corrects. “I wouldn’t say I ran. That implies I was going a lot faster than I actually was.”
Indy makes a face of disagreement. “She was going plenty fast.” To Yara, he explains, “It was Bea’s first 5K. And she was worried she’d finish all the way in the back, with the little kids and senior citizens. Which would have been fine if she had. But she did great.”
“That sounds fun,” Yara comments. “If he does a half marathon, I might start training for it. Especially if it’s for a good cause.”
A mental image fills my mind—me and Yara running side by side, flashing each other quick smiles of encouragement as we go.
Then crossing the finish line together, celebrating our shared victory with a kiss.
After that, we’d go out to eat to replenish our energy, and once we got back home, maybe we’d decide to shower—
Rafe clears his throat, breaking into my very enjoyable fantasy of Yara in the shower.
Yara gives me a sly glance. Her lips twitch with amusement. “You okay?” she whispers.
Belatedly, I realize my body is responding in a very un-Thanksgiving with friends and family sort of way. My pants are uncomfortably tight, and my dick is throbbing with need. Shifting in the recliner, I try to hide my growing erection before anyone in the room sees it.
Taking a cue from Indy and Bea, I decide to move Yara onto my lap, being careful of her healing cuts and bruises as I do it.
It’s been a week and a half since her attack, so her cuts are scabbed over and her bruises have shifted to a fading yellowish-brown.
But I’m still conscious of the possibility of hurting her, so I’ve been trying to be extra cautious whenever I touch her.
Astute Yara immediately realizes what I’m doing and wriggles slightly once she’s on my lap. My recalcitrant dick jumps eagerly, prodding between her thighs.
Not yet, I silently remind him. Not until Yara’s healed. It doesn’t matter how badly I want her. How badly you want her. Yara’s wellbeing is far more important than our needs.
“So,” Rafe says, once everyone’s eyes are on him. “I know we’re all ready for a tryptophan-induced nap. But before that, I just wanted to say a few things.”
We all sit up a little straighter, despite all of us being off-duty. It’s just instinct, coming to attention whenever the team leader wants to make an announcement, just as we all used to when we served.
“What’s up?” Indy asks. “Nothing bad, I hope.”
Rafe shakes his head. “Not at all.” He exchanges a quick side glance with Eden before continuing, “First off, I know we all gave thanks before dinner. But I was thinking, maybe we should add a new tradition of having a moment of silence for the people we wish could be here.”
In the brief silence that follows, everyone’s expressions turn sober. Plates are set onto the closest available surfaces. A slight heaviness fills the room.
Webb is the first to respond. “That’s a good idea. There are definitely some people I wish could be here.”
Webb’s mother nods. “Absolutely.”
“Okay.” Rafe lifts his chin. “So we’ll just go around, say who we’re thinking of. Then we can share a moment of silence for them. I’ll start us off.” He pauses before adding, “I’m thinking of my mother. And Mandy.”
Eden goes next. “I’m thinking about my dad.”
“Same,” Eden and Indy’s mother says. She looks between Eden and Indy. “Elliot would be so proud to see what you’ve both accomplished.”
Over the next few minutes, everyone takes their turn sharing the names of the people they’ve loved and lost. Because we’ve all lost people we cared deeply about, and no matter how long it’s been, we’ve never forgotten them.
When it gets to be Yara’s turn, she reaches for my hand before speaking. “I’d like to have a moment of silence for my parents. And—” She swallows hard. “Wells and Malik. I know they’d love to be here, if they could.”