Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
The day after the men left for parts unknown for an undisclosed period of time, Emily invited everyone over to her new house. She and Fletch had moved after construction was completed on their old place. Too much had happened there for either of them to be comfortable staying.
They’d purchased a ranch-style house. Fletch refused to live in anything above one story after hearing about how Annie and Sadie had to climb out his daughter’s second-floor window after the house had been hit with a rocket-propelled grenade.
It was surrounded by ten acres of land, which Fletch had outfitted with enough cameras and spy equipment to keep the President of the United States safe, if he felt the urge to visit.
It was large, almost five thousand square feet.
It had five bedrooms and a gourmet kitchen.
The backyard was big, and Fletch had plans to put in a swimming pool at some point.
Emily said it felt too big when she’d first moved in, but now she loved the extra space and couldn’t wait to fill it up with more kids.
Mary was sitting with her legs crossed on the floor with Annie on her lap.
Rayne was on the couch with Wendy and Sadie.
Emily was in one of the extremely comfortable armchairs, and Harley and Casey were squished together in a huge beanbag in the corner.
Everyone but Emily and Annie had a glass of wine, and they were all feeling mellow and relaxed.
“How’s Kassie and little Kate?” Casey asked no one in particular.
“I talked to her this morning,” Harley said. “They’re both doing great. They got home yesterday, and Kassie and Hollywood are adjusting to life with a baby.”
“That’s cool that Hollywood didn’t have to go on the mission,” Emily said a little wistfully.
“The guys are fine,” Sadie said gently. “You know there’s nothing that will keep Fletch from getting home to you and your little one.” She gestured at Emily’s belly with her head.
“I know. It’s just…I miss him when he’s gone.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. They all knew exactly how Emily felt.
Mary hugged Annie tighter in her arms. It was almost weird to be with the group during a time like this.
She’d been invited in the past when the men went on missions, but because of her health, and the fact she’d been concealing her sickness from them, she’d always declined when the girlfriends and wives got together for a pity party.
It was the one and only time they’d do it when the men headed off to their jobs.
Afterward, they’d put on their brave faces and get on with life without their men by their sides.
Now that Mary was better and the secret of her marriage to Truck was out, Rayne told her that if she didn’t join them, she’d come over and physically drag her to the gathering.
It wasn’t much of a hardship to agree. Mary liked these women.
A lot. She’d missed them terribly when they’d found out about her and Truck, and had stopped talking to her for a while.
Taking another sip of her wine, Mary propped her chin on Annie’s head and listened to the chit-chat going on around her.
During a lull in the conversation, Annie dropped a bombshell on them all.
“What happens if Daddy doesn’t come home?”
Emily turned to look at her daughter with big eyes. “What?”
“What happens if the bad guys kill him? Will we have to move back into an apartment? Will we be able to afford food? Will I have to sell my Army man?”
“Come here, baby,” Emily said, holding out her hand.
Mary helped Annie stand and tried to blame the tears in her eyes on the alcohol.
Annie padded over to her mom and climbed into the armchair with her. It was a tight fit since Emily’s belly took up so much room, but they managed. Annie placed her head on her mom’s shoulder and one of her hands on her belly. Her thumb brushed idly back and forth over where her new sibling rested.
“Your daddy is way smarter than the bad guys,” she told her daughter. “Not only that, he’s got all the others there to help keep him safe.”
“Sometimes bad things happen to good people,” Annie said sadly. “Amber’s daddy was killed when he was in AfneyStan and she has to move.”
Amber was a girl in Annie’s class at school. Mary wanted to smile at the mispronunciation of Afghanistan, but there was absolutely nothing amusing about the conversation. Not in the least.
Emily raised tortured eyes to the others. It was more than obvious she was at a loss for words and had no idea how to console her daughter without making promises she couldn’t possibly keep.
“Remember when Harley was missing, and we all made sure Coach was eating?” Rayne asked Annie.
The little girl nodded.
“And when Kassie and her sister disappeared, and your daddy and the others did whatever they could to find her?”
Annie nodded again.
“And when Casey was in trouble? What happened then?”
“I went to the safe room and daddy and Bug Man raced to save her.”
“Right,” Rayne agreed. “And when Chase was hurt when the bad guy came and blew up your old house?”
Mary winced. She wasn’t sure Rayne should remind Annie of that day, but the little girl didn’t get upset.
“Me and Mommy made a ton of food and brought it to his place so Sadie didn’t have to cook.”
“And when the bad guys took you and your mommy from your car and put you in that metal box? You remember that all of the guys came and got you out, right? They worked together, making sure everyone was safe, and everyone went home safe and sound.”
Annie nodded again, a little more vigorously.
“No matter what, you and your mommy aren’t alone anymore,” Rayne said, shifting so she was sitting at the edge of the couch.
“Your daddy and Ghost, and Coach, Beatle, Truck, and Blade and everyone else, are going to do everything in their power to come home to us. But if something happens and they can’t, you better believe Truck and Chase and Hollywood will still be here for you.
You and your mom will never be hungry. You’ll never be lonely.
And you’ll always have us as friends. Understand? ”
Annie nodded, but looked up at her mom. “I miss Daddy.”
“Oh, baby. So do I.”
“But he’s protecting the world from the bad guys.”
“He is,” Emily agreed.
“It’s important.”
“Yup.”
“Do you think…” Her voice trailed off.
“What, Annie?”
“Do you think he’ll be back before my brother is borned?”
“I think he’ll do everything in his power to make sure that happens,” Emily reassured her daughter. “But, Annie, you don’t know this is a brother,” she said gently. “It might be a sister.”
“It’s not,” Annie said stubbornly. “It’s a boy.”
Emily sighed and looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. Mary knew she’d had the same conversation with Annie more than once in the past. Annie was set on having a baby brother, and nothing anyone said could change her mind.
Mary thought they were crazy for keeping the gender of the baby a secret until he or she was born, but they’d decided as a family to wait, and Emily was determined to do just that.
“I heard your dad changed out the motor in your tank to a more powerful one. Want to show me?” Sadie asked Annie, changing the subject.
And as if she hadn’t just asked about her father dying and never coming home again, Annie nodded and quickly climbed out of the armchair. She ran over to Sadie and grabbed her hand, pulling her up from the couch. “Yeah! Come on!”
“Thanks,” Emily mouthed as the other woman was towed past her.
Sadie blew her a kiss and then they were gone, leaving the women alone to talk about subjects little Annie shouldn’t necessarily be privy to.
“How do you feel?” Casey asked Emily. “What did the doctor say after that thing at the bank?”
“I’m good,” Emily said. “He explained that the pain was probably stress related. He told me to go home and put my feet up and relax.”
Everyone chuckled. “As if,” Rayne said.
“Right?” Emily agreed. But her smile quickly died. “Anyone know where they went?”
Everyone knew who and what she was talking about.
“You know we don’t,” Harley said softly. “The guys are really careful about not giving us information that would make us freak out if we saw anything on the news.”
“I know. I just…it feels different this time for some reason.” Emily rested her hand on her belly.
Mary didn’t know how it had felt for the others in the past because she’d always dealt with Truck leaving on her own. But she had to agree with Emily. It did feel different this time. More ominous for some reason.
She shook her head. She was being silly. This was what their men did. They went out, kicked ass, then came back and were their usual protective alpha selves. This time would be no different.
Standing, she said, “Who needs another round?”
Everyone’s hands went into the air.
Mary went to grab two bottles of wine and she topped off everyone’s glasses.
When everyone’s glass was full once more, she raised hers in an impromptu toast. “To our Deltas. May they kick some terrorist ass and get home sooner rather than later.”
“In one piece,” Harley added.
“Healthy and whole,” Rayne piped up.
“Amen to that,” Wendy agreed.
Everyone took a sip of their wine and fell silent, thinking about the men they loved more than life itself.
Finally, Casey cleared her throat and said, “So…Beatle and I have been talking weddings.”
Everyone screeched in delight, and Casey held up a hand to shut everyone up. “Okay, okay, pipe down.” She chuckled and turned to Wendy. “I wanted to know if you and Blade might be interested in a double ceremony?”
The question came out tentatively, but Wendy didn’t hesitate to reassure her.
She bounced from the couch and leaped for her friend.
Harley was laughing and trying to get out of the way, but because she was in the enormous beanbag with Casey, it was impossible.
Wendy ended up in the beanbag with both Casey and Harley, and she hugged Casey hard.
“Yes, a thousand times yes. I’d love to!”
“Shouldn’t you ask Blade first?” Casey asked dryly.