Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Shadow couldn’t help but smile as he looked over at Brinley.
They were standing in his kitchen doing dishes together.
It was such a “normal” thing for a couple to be doing, and he couldn’t be happier.
He supposed he was a typical guy when it came to dishes…
he left them in the sink until he couldn’t ignore them any longer, then he’d finally throw them into the dishwasher.
Where they’d sit, clean, until he needed to put another large load of dirty ones in.
He just grabbed what he needed out of the dishwasher as he needed it.
It was stupid, but he hated dealing with the dishes.
But with Brinley at his side, he had no issue whatsoever standing at the sink, rinsing them off, and handing them to her to place into the dishwasher. She’d watched him load it once and decided she was in charge of that chore from now on, because he “wasn’t doing it right.” Whatever that meant.
A week and a half had passed since he and Brinley had become intimate, and Shadow couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so at peace.
He thought about her constantly, sending her little texts to let her know she was on his mind, and anytime they met up after he was done with work, it was the highlight of his day.
His team teased him about being way more mellow than he used to be, and Shadow knew it was because of Brin. He was sleeping much better and didn’t feel nearly as stressed about things in general. The amazing sex didn’t hurt either.
He couldn’t help but wonder when the other shoe would fall.
It was inevitable that something would happen to burst their happy little bubble.
Life had a way of kicking you in the teeth when you least expected it.
He wasn’t a pessimist, he was just well aware that eventually he and Brinley would face some adversity.
He was also ninety-three percent sure that they’d be able to weather whatever life threw at them.
She was remarkably even-keeled, and that boded well for the day he did something boneheaded and needed her forgiveness.
He handed the last plate to her and watched as she notched it into the last available slot in the dishwasher. She opened the cabinet under the sink and grabbed a cleanser pod, then closed the machine and started it up.
Seeing her completely comfortable in his kitchen made Shadow realize anew how much he liked having her in his space.
“I’d like to introduce you to my mom,” he blurted.
Brinley looked at him with those big eyes of hers, and he could see immediately that she wasn’t thrilled about the idea.
He took her by the hand and led her out of the kitchen into the living area. He sat next to her on the couch and wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, his thumb caressing the sensitive skin next to her ear as he met her gaze steadily. “What are you nervous about?”
“I just…what if she doesn’t like me?”
“Not like you? Brinley, she’s going to love you. Hell, she already does. I’ve told her all about you, and she’s been on my case about keeping you all to myself.”
“You’ve told her about me?”
“Of course I have. I called her from Fiji to let her know I was safe, because I knew she’d hear on the news about what happened at the pageant and would worry about me, and I told her then about how awesome you were. Without going into details, I explained that you saved the day big time.”
Brinley blinked in surprise. Then asked something he didn’t expect. “You told her about the mission you were going on?”
He loved how this woman kept him on his toes. “Yes. Not every mission is super top secret. I didn’t give her details, but she knew I was going to the island with the Vice President and his family, and that Ayla Roling was competing in the pageant.”
“I don’t have any experience with this. Meeting a mom. I don’t know what to say.”
“Just be yourself. That’s all you have to do, sweetheart. And just sayin’…you didn’t have any experience with making love either, and you mastered that right out of the gate.”
“Because you took control of the situation.”
“Exactly. And I’m going to be right here too.
Seriously, Brin, you have nothing to worry about.
My mom is awesome. Laid-back and down to earth.
If you don’t want to do this tonight, I’ll drop it.
But I really want you to meet her soon. I want the two most important women in my life to get to know each other. ”
Brinley took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Are you saying that because you’re honestly all right with FaceTiming her tonight, or are you just humoring me?”
“Um…both?”
Shadow chuckled. Then he leaned forward and kissed Brinley. His lips lingered, and as always when he was around her, he felt the first stirrings of arousal deep in his soul. “You’re going to be fine. I promise. Afterward, I’ll even watch another episode of The Great British Bake Off with you.”
She smirked. “The show is growing on you, admit it. You were just as invested as me in finding out who was kicked off in the last episode.”
Shadow pantomimed zipping his lips closed.
The truth was, he hadn’t been all that excited to watch the show, but because Brinley loved it, he’d agreed—then got sucked in.
As she said, he was invested, even had his favorite bakers now…
but it was more fun to pretend to dislike the show and have Brinley offer all sorts of favors if he’d watch another episode.
“How about this? I’ll set a timer and we’ll keep the call to my mom at ten minutes. You can ease into getting to know her. I’ll come up with some excuse about why we need to go, so she won’t suspect anything.”
Brinley’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Okay.”
Shadow could tell she still had some misgivings about this, but it was important to him. He wanted his mom to meet Brinley. And he had no doubt whatsoever that they’d love each other.
He pulled out his cell, keeping a hand on Brinley’s thigh for support, and clicked on his mom’s name.
She answered almost immediately, and Shadow couldn’t help but chuckle when she fumbled with attempting to get the FaceTime set up.
Even after countless calls, she still struggled with technology sometimes.
“Dash! Hi! How are you? It’s so good to see your handsome face…although you’re getting a little scruffy.”
Shadow rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not, Mom. How are you?”
“Good, good. A little tired though.”
“You’re not sleeping well?”
“Nothing like that. Just feeling a little blah. I need to eat some more greens and I’m sure I’ll perk right up. I took the day off from walking with Jolene and took a nap instead. I feel much better now.”
Shadow was a little worried about his mom, especially because she lived alone, but she had great neighbors, and they all checked in on her on a regular basis. “Good. Take care of yourself, Mom. I worry about you.”
“And now you know how I feel about you and what you do,” she returned sassily. “Not that I don’t mind talking to you, but we just did the Faceing thing last night. Are you being deployed again?”
“No. I thought maybe you might want to meet Brinley.”
“She’s there? Yes! Oh, honey, put her on!”
Shadow smiled and pulled Brinley into his side, turning the phone slightly so she was visible on screen with him.
“Hi,” she said shyly.
“Hi! Oh, you’re so pretty! I love your hair…and those freckles! No wonder my son has been so happy lately. It’s so nice to finally meet you!”
“Mom, you act like we’ve been dating for years or something.”
“Yeah, well, when your son sounds so happy for the first time in years, you want to meet the person who’s made him that way. I want to know all about you, Brinley! Dash tells me you own your own business and you make outfits for pageants?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Shadow grinned at the face his mom made. “Oh, please, don’t call me ‘ma’am.’ It makes me feel old. It’s Pauline. Or Pauly.”
“You are old, Mom,” Shadow teased.
“Hush. You know as well as I do that I’m only twenty-nine.”
As he and his mom bantered back and forth, Shadow could feel Brinley relaxing against him. He silently breathed a sigh of relief. It was important that his mom and girlfriend got along. He was pretty sure they would, and he was pleased that things were going well so far.
“When Dash told me about what you do, I went online and looked at the girls who were wearing your gowns at the Miss Globe competition. Stunning! Truly. You’re so gifted, Brinley.”
“Thanks.”
“Wait, you went online, Mom? Does that mean you actually figured out how to Google?”
“You aren’t too old for me to take across my knee, young man.”
Brinley giggled. And the sound went straight to Shadow’s heart.
“I have so many questions for you, Brinley. But if I get too nosey, just tell me to hush. How did you end up in Alaska?”
Ever so slowly, Brinley began to come out of her shell.
She answered all his mom’s questions, and even asked a few of her own in return.
After the predetermined ten minutes, Shadow felt like a third wheel.
He wasn’t needed as a buffer anymore, as Brinley and his mom were chatting as if they’d known each other for years rather than just a few minutes.
He didn’t even mind when his mom started telling Brinley stories about when he was a kid—the embarrassing ones at that.
Seeing the grin on Brin’s face was priceless.
They’d been talking for around forty-five minutes, way longer than the short chat he’d promised.
But he had PT in the morning, and he could see that Brinley was losing steam fast. She got up early, just like him, and worked hard throughout the day.
Not only sewing, but marketing herself and her business, talking to clients, tracking down fabrics, answering emails, and all the other things that came with running a very successful business on her own.
“We’re gonna get going, Mom,” he said, in one of the few lulls in the conversation.
“Oh, poo. I’ve enjoyed talking to you guys so much! When can we do it again? Better yet, when are you going to bring Brinley down here to Phoenix so I can meet her in person?”
“Easy, Mom. I’m trying not to scare her away this soon in our relationship.”
“Whatever. I’m doing you a favor. I can tell her all the good things about you.
You know, not about the time you skipped school and put all those plastic forks in the principal’s yard and had to clean out the trash cans in the cafeteria for a month as a result.
But instead, things like how you stood up for that boy who was being bullied on the school bus when you were in the seventh grade, and when you rescued a kitten from two older boys who thought it was funny to tie a bunch of little bells to its tail and watch it freak out. ”
Shadow chuckled. “We’ll talk. Brin’s busy, and I’ll have to get with my boss and see when it might be a good time to take leave.”
“All right. I miss you, Dash. And I’m so proud of you. When your dad died, I thought for sure I’d screw things up in raising you by myself, but every day you make me more and more proud. I love you, son.”
“I love you too, Mom. You’re the best.”
“I am,” she said with a huge smile. “Brinley, I’m completely sure you’re probably too good for my son, but he’s a good boy.
He’ll do right by you. He’ll bend over backward to be the kind of man you want and need.
He’ll be your biggest fan and staunchest protector.
And I can already see that you’re absolutely perfect for him. ”
Brinley looked at Shadow, and he couldn’t read the emotion he saw in her eyes. “He’s awesome,” she said quietly, before turning to look back at his mom on the screen. “Except for the dishes thing. He doesn’t know how to load a dishwasher properly.”
His mom laughed long and hard. “I guess I failed him there. But I’m sure you’ll teach him in no time.”
“It was very nice meeting you, Pauly.”
“Same. Have Dash give you my number. Call whenever you feel like it. I wouldn’t mind talking with you more.”
“I will. Have a good night. I hope you feel better soon.”
“Oh, I’m sure I will. My nap today did me a world of good. Take care of her, son.”
“Plan on it, Mom.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too. Talk to you soon.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Shadow clicked the button to end the connection and put the phone down. He turned to Brinley. “Told you,” he couldn’t help saying.
She laughed. “You did. She’s great.”
“Yeah. My mom is the shit. She’s always been that way. Supportive and encouraging, without spoiling me.”
“You’re a mama’s boy.”
“Yup,” Shadow said without hesitation, not in the least ashamed of the moniker. “You still want to watch an episode of the baking show?”
She smiled. “If I said no?”
He did his best to keep the disappointment he felt from showing—and obviously failed.
She giggled. “Kidding! I know you want to know who gets kicked off next. Let’s do it.”
Shadow settled back on the couch and grabbed the remote.
Warmth filled him as Brinley snuggled against him.
Being in a relationship wasn’t all about sex and looking your best. It was times like this that were coming to mean the most to Shadow, relaxing and doing nothing on the couch.
Loading the dishwasher together, talking to his mom, teasing each other.
It was something he’d never had, and even though he’d only been with Brin for a short while, he already couldn’t imagine what his life would be without her.
They still had some hurdles to cross, the biggest being how she’d deal with him being deployed.
Most of the time he wouldn’t be able to tell her where he was going or when he’d be back.
Or in the winter, when he spent a week or more at a time in the field, training the units who rotated in and out on arctic survival methods.
But deep down, he was pretty sure she’d handle the separations with grace and patience.
Brinley wasn’t the kind of woman to be clingy.
She was happy about every bit of attention she got from him, but didn’t seem to need it.
Which was why Shadow enjoyed spoiling her as much as he could.
Because she appreciated every little gesture so much.
Her head came to rest on his shoulder, and Shadow put his arm around her in return. One of her hands rested on his chest and she curled her legs up against him. He sighed in contentment.
He was a lucky man, and he vowed to enjoy every second he got to spend with Brinley.
Life was short, he knew that better than most people, and he was just so damn happy to have found a woman who got along with his teammates, was as hard a worker as he was, who got along with his mom, and who was his match in the bedroom.
Honestly, Brinley was a unicorn, and he was going to do his best to keep her in his life for as long as he could. He envisioned them doing exactly what they were doing right now, snuggling on the couch, watching TV, when they were old and gray.
Except she’d have his ring on her finger, and maybe they’d have a few grandkids hanging out in the room with them.