CHAPTER FIVE
Snow pulled his truck along the curb and cut the engine, smiling faintly as he looked at the house he was parked in front of.
Nails and Riley’s new place was the kind of home that made you feel something.
Not because it was big or flashy, but because it had life.
From the colorful flowers lining the walkway to the pastel Easter wreath on the door, it was obvious this house was filled with love.
And that made Snow feel two things at once. Happy, and a little hollow.
He tossed his keys on the passenger seat and leaned back for a second, while his thoughts spun.
He was happy for Nails. Hell, the guy deserved it after everything he and Riley had been through.
But Snow couldn’t lie to himself and pretend there wasn’t a twinge of longing buried somewhere in his chest. He wanted this.
He wanted a home and a woman who would look at him the way Riley looked at Nails.
Someone who got him, like really got him, and still wanted to stick around.
But love and the life of a Navy SEAL didn’t always mix well. Most women couldn’t handle the long deployments, the silence, the constant threat of danger, and the loneliness.
Still, deep down, Snow believed she was out there—someone who was meant for him.
At least that’s what my mother keeps telling me, he thought with a sigh.
Lately, his mom had been on a matchmaking warpath, texting him pictures of her friends’ daughters, telling him how “lovely” and “available” they were. Last week, she even sent him a brunch menu from a country club event and said, “Wouldn’t this be a nice place to meet someone?”
Snow snorted at the memory.
Just as he leaned over to grab the bottle of wine and a few small Easter bags filled with treats from the passenger seat, his phone vibrated.
He grabbed the cell phone from the center console. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he swiped to answer.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Gabe, Happy Easter!” Her warm voice filled the cab, widening his smile.
“Happy Easter. How’s everyone back home?”
Before she could answer, a chorus of voices exploded in the background.
“Gabe!”
“Bro, you better FaceTime us next time!”
“When are you coming home to visit?”
“Okay, okay, one at a time!” Snow chuckled, adjusting the phone against his ear. His large family could get a little crazy.
“We’re good, but miss you,” his mom said when the chaos died down a little. “Your dad made his famous honey-baked ham, and your sister Rosa almost burned the house down trying to help in the kitchen, which is how we learned the smoke alarm still works.”
Snow laughed again, the sound soft and real. His chest ached a little. God, he missed his family.
“How’s work?” his mom asked, already knowing he wouldn’t give her real details but asking anyway.
“Busy,” he replied. “Same old, you know how it is.”
There was a pause at the other end. Then her voice softened. “You okay?”
Snow stared out the window at the house and at the decorations. The Easter eggs strung up along the porch railing, a giant inflatable bunny in the yard. “Yeah. I just got to Riley and Nails’ place.”
“Riley is the one that Nails just proposed to, right? You sent me a picture of them. She’s beautiful.”
“She is,” Snow agreed, voice dropping a notch. “They’re good together.”
There was another pause, and then his mom’s voice dipped into that tone he knew too well. “You know, Yvette stopped by the house the other day.”
Snow went completely still, his jaw tightening as something dark and cold slid into his expression.
Yvette Rodriguez had waltzed into his life the summer before junior year, all caramel skin, long curls, and sass for days.
Her family had moved to Rio Vista from Albuquerque, and by October, they were inseparable.
High school sweethearts turned serious. Serious enough that by graduation, Snow thought he had already found the girl he would build a life with.
Even when life pulled them in different directions.
After high school, she attended the University of New Mexico, while he attended trade school, chasing a future in the oil fields like his dad. They spoke on the phone every night and made visits when they could. They made it work. Or at least he thought they did.
One day, a buddy from high school, someone he trusted who went to the university, had texted him a picture of Yvette lip-locked with another guy, like Snow never existed. At first, he didn’t want to believe it. But he couldn’t unsee the photo.
The next weekend, he drove out to see her and confronted her face-to-face. She had denied it at first. She had looked him straight in the eye and lied until he showed her the photo. Only then did she spill the truth, which cut deeper with every word she spoke.
The guy was her ex-boyfriend who went to the university, and apparently, they decided to rekindle their relationship. She had been seeing the guy behind Snow’s back for several months.
He had ended it right there, but it didn’t stop the damage. It wrecked him in a way he hadn’t seen coming, hollowed something out in his chest that never quite filled back in.
Looking back, he could thank her for his decision to join the Navy.
And through it all, he never told his family the truth.
Not his mom, not anyone. As far as they knew, he and Yvette had just drifted apart.
It was easier that way. Because the truth still had teeth, and he had never quite figured out how to say it without letting it bite him all over again.
“What did she want?” he asked, trying to hide his displeasure.
“She was visiting her parents and stopped by to say hi. She asked about you.” She paused for a moment before she continued. “Did you know she got divorced?”
Snow closed his eyes and fisted the hand resting on the console.
His mom wasn’t just making conversation.
She was fishing, testing the waters the way she always had when it came to Yvette.
He could hear the hope tucked into her words, the quiet push to reopen a door he had slammed shut years ago, and the guilt twisted low in his gut because she had no idea what Yvette had really done or why he had walked away without ever looking back.
“Don’t get any ideas, Mom. That chapter is closed,” he said.
His mom sighed. “I’m just saying that she asked about you. You deserve someone good. Someone sweet like her,” she said.
Snow rolled his eyes. Sweet my ass. If his mom only knew. But he wasn’t interested in going down memory lane.
“Listen, Mom. I gotta go. Tell everyone I said Happy Easter, and I’ll try to call in a few days.”
“Oh! Okay. Love you, Gabe.”
“Love you too. Hug everyone for me.”
He ended the call and sat in silence for a minute. He couldn’t believe that Yvette had the nerve to show up at his house after all these years, asking about him. Hopefully, his mom and sisters would mind their own business.
He was twenty-nine, and he was the middle of seven kids. He was the quiet one. And the only one who still hadn’t found his person.
But today wasn’t about what he didn’t have. It was about being grateful for what he did have. And he had an amazing extended family, consisting of his brothers-in-arms and their families.
He grabbed the bottle of wine and the bags and stepped out of the truck. As he climbed the porch steps, the front door flew open with the force of a small hurricane.
“Uncle Snow!”
Amira, Bear’s little girl, barreled toward him wearing her signature sparkly sneakers, a pink tutu over her leggings, and a pair of bunny ears that were cocked sideways on her head.
She launched herself at him, and he caught her effortlessly, hoisting her into a hug, being careful not to drop the wine.
“You’re late,” she said, accusingly, scrunching her nose. “And wait until you hear about the story of someone stealing my Peeps.”
“Your Peeps?” Snow asked, biting back a grin.
“Yep. Someone took them out of my basket!” she said, waving her arms. “But I’m a detective, and I figured it out. It was my dad!”
“Oh no,” Snow gasped dramatically.
“Yeah. But Uncle Nails said he’s friends with the Easter Bunny’s Internal Affairs Unit and was gonna file a formal complaint.”
Snow nearly choked on a laugh. “Is that right?”
“Yup. But then Dad bribed me with chocolate coins and a few hugs to drop the charges.”
Bear appeared in the doorway, shaking his head and laughing. “She’s been like this all day.”
“I don’t know if you’re raising a future operator or a lawyer,” Snow said, handing him the wine.
“God help me,” Bear muttered, then ruffled his daughter’s hair. “Go find Max before he eats your other candy.”
As Amira scampered off, yelling “Uncle Snow is here!” at the top of her lungs, Snow stepped inside and was instantly hit with the scent of delicious food.
“Look who finally decided to show up!” Duke called from the kitchen as Baby Isadora lay sleeping on his chest, wrapped in a soft blanket.
“Fashionably late,” Snow replied.
“Snow!” Hannah called, waving at him while trying to plate deviled eggs.
“Uncle Snow!” Christian, Ava’s fifteen-year-old son, grinned and bumped fists with him as he passed by with Max trailing behind him.
Playboy strolled over next with Gabby, his fiancée, hanging off his arm. “Dude, you missed the egg toss. Amira nailed Max in the face.”
Snow laughed, then hugged Gabby. “You look like you’re glowing.”
“That’s just sweat from standing near the oven,” she deadpanned.
Clover and Joker were cozy on the couch, her head resting on his shoulder, both waving.
Clover was Bear’s sister and just as witty as he was, not to mention just as lethal.
That woman had badass written on her resume.
Aussie and Ava were tucked in the corner, Ava laughing at Amira, who was hopping around the living room pretending to be the Easter Bunny, nearly taking out a lamp in the process.
And then there were Nails and Riley. Nails was grinning with his arm draped protectively around Riley’s waist. She looked radiant in a pale-yellow sundress, her hand resting lightly over the small bump where their baby grew.
“Hey, brother,” Nails said, pulling Snow into a hug. “Glad you made it.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Snow looked at Riley. “You look good.”
“She feels like she swallowed a bowling ball,” Nails quipped, earning him an elbow to the ribs.
“I never said that,” Riley said, laughing.
They all laughed, and Snow felt that squeeze again in his chest.
The feeling of being surrounded by everything you wanted but didn’t yet have.
He stepped back and took it all in as the kids giggled in the hallway, the women chatted in the kitchen, and the men swapped stories and stole bites of ham.
This was what he wanted. He wanted a woman who would meet him at the door with a smile, kids who would tackle him after a deployment, and a house filled with laughter, chaos, and love. Just like the one he grew up in.
Twenty-nine wasn’t old, but it wasn’t young either. Most of his teammates were settling down. He and Jay Bird were the only bachelors left on the team.
Still, he pushed the ache aside and leaned into the joy of the moment. His time would come. For now, he had this family.
“Food’s ready!” Jocelyn, Bear’s wife, shouted.
Snow walked into the kitchen, where the ladies had set up a buffet along the counters and the island. He grabbed a plate and filled it with ham, macaroni and cheese, and some vegetables.
He took a seat next to Clover and fell into an easy conversation about her job.
Snow had just reached for his drink when the sharp, synchronized rings of phones sliced through the air, bringing all conversations at the table to a halt. It was like a silent shift in the atmosphere.
Snow didn’t even need to check his phone to know who it was, because that distinct ringtone only meant one thing.
Across the table, Bear swiped his screen, his expression going from neutral to focused in the blink of an eye. “It’s Derek,” he said, his voice steady but carrying just enough weight to confirm what they all felt. “We need to report at eight tomorrow morning.”
A collective breath seemed to release around the room, tension easing just a notch, but it didn’t disappear. Snow leaned back in his chair. His gaze dropped to his phone again. Tomorrow morning meant whatever was going on wasn’t urgent enough to scramble the team immediately.
“Well then,” Clover chimed in, her tone deliberately bright as she glanced around the table, clearly trying to stitch the moment back together, “let’s just enjoy the day. No point ruining Easter early.”
“That was sooo cool,” Amira said, bouncing in her seat as she shoveled another forkful of macaroni and cheese into her mouth.
“What was cool?” Max, her brother, asked.
“The way everyone’s phone rang and Daddy was telling everyone they had to report in. It was like the puppies from Paw Patrol getting called in for a mission.”
Leave it to Amira to turn a tense moment into a comedy, making everyone laugh, though she wasn’t far from the truth. Most likely, their meeting tomorrow would turn into a mission. But instead of puppies, SEALs would be saving the world.
Snow knew that Bear and Aussie, both with kids old enough to feel their absence, had taken the time to explain a little about their jobs, helping them understand why their dads sometimes had to leave at a moment’s notice.
After Amira’s comment, the tension in the air thinned, and conversation slowly tried to pick back up. But Snow barely heard any of it. His focus stayed locked somewhere deeper. Because no matter how normal everyone tried to make it feel, he knew better. Something was already in motion.