Chapter 9 #2
She was right. He didn’t sound one tiny bit excited about the baby.
Was that because he was already married to Ashlin?
Had he only promised to do the right thing by taking care of her baby because of Ashlin?
And if that was his baby, what did that make her to the baby?
Would she be the stepmother and have to share custody with that woman?
If she and Clint ever had children, that baby in the woman’s womb would be in the exact same position her half-siblings had while she was growing up.
Ashlin wasn’t sure she wanted to be the reason that Clint couldn’t marry his baby momma. He’d said loud and clear that he would take care of the baby and its mother. Perhaps Ashlin was in the way. That thought almost broke her heart.
She wouldn’t say she was in love with Clint, but she believed she was close.
It would hurt like hell to give him up forever.
Ashlin wasn’t sure she could ever go back to being simply his friend.
She was sure, though, that she’d give him up so he could be happy with his baby and its mother.
That baby deserved better than Clint just taking care of them both.
“So, what are you going to do?” Kayla asked. “We’re going to land in Eden in about thirty minutes.”
Ashlin rolled her lips in and bit down. Saying the words was much harder than she thought it’d be. Her eyes burned, so she closed them and took a deep breath. When she opened them, she tried to sound full of conviction. “I’m going to ask him for a divorce.”
Kayla stared at her for a long moment. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
“From the first two minutes of his conversation,” Kira interjected, “I’d say the man was in love with you.”
“Or just sex-deprived,” Ashlin countered. “He’s already said that he’s going to take care of the mother and the baby. That’s an eighteen-year commitment to them. I’m not sure I want to make that kind of obligation to that mother and baby as well, but as his wife, I’d have to.”
Kayla nodded, then added, “This is your first big bump in the road. Long-distance relationships are hard enough, and I truly believe that, deep down, you’re not willing to give up on this one.
I think you need to talk it out with him.
You just overheard a conversation and are guessing at his feelings.
He may have a whole different take on the situation. ”
“We’ve been over Ethiopia for the last forty-five minutes,” Piper announced. “We’re fast coming up on Eden.”
“I’ll call Xena.” Kayla picked up her satellite phone and punched in a long sequence of numbers. She put it on speaker so everyone could hear.
Before anyone could say hello, Xena asked, “Hey, where are you? The radar is empty.”
The entire Black Swan Team 2 laughed. That was the point of their top-secret helicopter.
“We’re coming in now. Light up the LZ,” Kayla ordered.
“I don’t hear a helicopter.” A man’s voice could be heard over the line.
“Me neither.” A different man’s voice broke.
The women on board the unique helicopter giggled. It was a typical reaction to anyone’s first encounter with this kind of chopper.
Kayla laughed and instructed Xena and her welcoming crew, “Look up.”
Ashlin could see Clint in the bright lights of the runway.
She couldn’t stop the smile on her face if she wanted to.
Just seeing him, the real him, excited her all the way to her toes.
She wanted to run to him and throw her arms and legs around him and hold him tight until they had to leave.
But she first had to settle a few things.
The anger she felt a few minutes ago flared.
Her resolution to ask him for a divorce followed.
Within a minute, Piper had gently set their still unnamed helicopter on the ground. As soon as the word “clear” came, Ashlin opened the door on the far side, away from all the people. The rest of her team exited on the other side.
Seconds later, Clint came running around the front of their helicopter. He practically slammed into her, hugging her as he picked her up and twirled her around. When his lips met hers, the word yes raced through her mind. Her body tingled everywhere. It felt so right to be in his arms.
“I’ve missed you so much.” Clint kissed the side of her neck.
“I’ve missed you, too,” she confessed. Then she remembered her commitment seconds before she jumped out of their chopper. “Please let me down. We need to talk.”
“No, I want to hold you right up until the minute you have to leave.”
She wiggled back and looked down into his eyes. “I’m serious, Clint. We need to talk.” She sucked in a ragged breath, steeling her resolve. She pushed back further, but he still hung on to her around her waist. “I want a divorce.”
Clint dropped her slowly to the tarmac, his eyes never leaving hers. “What do you mean you want a divorce? No!”
Ashlin stepped back. “Were you so drunk in Las Vegas that you forgot about your girlfriend back in Ethiopia?”
“What girlfriend?” He truly looked confused.
She punched her fists onto her hips. “The one that’s now very pregnant.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I don’t have a girlfriend and certainly not one that’s pregnant.”
Ashlin felt her entire face fall at the same time her heart plummeted to sit somewhere below her belly button. “She’s your wife?”
Clint’s eyebrows squeezed together as though he was trying to puzzle out a complicated mathematics problem. “Ashlin, you’re my wife. The only wife I’ve ever had.”
He instantly smiled and reached his long arms for her. Before she could step back, he grabbed her waist and pulled her to him once again. “And the only one I intend to have. Are you pregnant?” He stared down at her, hope in his eyes.
Ashlin clarified, “No, I’m not pregnant.
” She pushed out of his arms once more. “But the woman who was in your bedroom when we talked earlier this evening and threw her arms around you at the end of our conversation was most definitely pregnant. She also gave you an ultrasound picture and said it was ‘our baby’.” Ashlin made air quotes around the last two words. “Who the fuck is she?”
Clint stared as though he was trying to remember, then smiled at her. “You’re jealous.”
He was possibly correct, but she wasn’t about to admit it before he explained that woman. “Answer my question. Who was the pregnant bitch in your bedroom?”
His smile softened. “That was Theodora Castillo.” He stepped toward her and put his hands on her hips.
“Remember the last conversation we had before you left Washington about my friend who—” She watched as Clint visibly fought back emotions.
He swallowed hard. “Who was killed while on a mission with me?”
Ashlin nodded slowly, remembering his tears from that night. She could feel Clint’s pain, still raw. She knew he was recalling every detail of his friend’s death.
“She’s the widow.” He glanced away and clenched his teeth.
Ashlin could tell he was fighting to maintain control.
Finally looked back at her. “As he took his dying breath, I promised Javier that I would take care of her and his baby. Yes, I went with her to the obstetrician yesterday. I had to go into the capital to pick up a special order, anyway. She said she wasn’t comfortable with the doctor and asked me to go in with her.
They did the ultrasound.” He gave her a small smile.
“That was really cool to be able to see the baby inside her.” He pulled her into him and touched her belly.
“I can’t wait to see our baby growing inside you, someday. ”
She shivered at the thought. The vision of a baby boy with his beautiful blue eyes running around the Riggs compound, causing havoc, made her smile. “Someday,” she repeated, and up on her toes, she pulled his head down to her and kissed him.
When they parted, she couldn’t help but ask, “That woman means nothing to you?”
“My little tiger, she is nothing more than a pain-in-the-ass responsibility to me. Just as soon as we have a plane headed back to the United States, she’s gone.
” He cupped her face with both hands the way Ashlin loved.
“I wouldn’t have married you if I didn’t have feelings for you before we met in Nevada.
After we spent those two days” he grinned, “and nights in Las Vegas, I knew I wanted more of you in my life. When you agreed to marry me, it was the happiest moment ever. I sure as hell refuse to divorce you. We’ve just started to get to know each other.
Having a beer or drink over a video call isn’t the same thing as dating.
I promise you, I’m coming back to the United States as soon as I can.
You and I are going out on a date. Just the two of us.
None of my friends and none of yours. We’ll do things that couples do when first dating. ”
She gave him a quick kiss, then leaned back. “I heard you say that you always keep your promises.” She gave him another quick kiss. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
A shrill whistle cut the air.
Ashlin’s shoulders fell, and she dropped her hands. “I’ve got to go.” In sign language, she begged for just another minute. What she got back was a reminder that she was expected to do the preflight check.
“I really have to go.”
He pulled her to him gently and held the back of her head as he kissed her slowly and thoroughly. He held her close and whispered, “I do love you.”
The doors on the helicopter opened as her team crawled in.
“I’m so, so sorry that I have to go.” She hauled him in for one last quick kiss.
“I’m looking forward to our first date.” She trotted over to the door closest to him and climbed into the pilot’s seat.
She kissed her fingers and placed them on the glass.
He repeated the gesture.” Just before she pulled the stick back to make the helicopter rise, she glanced out her side window.
Clint still stood there. She mouthed the words, I love you, too.