Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Ty pulled up to the checkpoint at Arlington National Cemetery, handing over his family pass and FBI badge.
The man looked at both, then handed them back. “Go ahead.”
“Thanks,” he said, driving past the guards, glancing Lydia’s way as she tossed him a confused look from eyes that were still red-rimmed after she’d cried in the bathroom.
Overall, Lydia had done a hell of a job during their visit with her grandma.
She’d certainly been a little nervous, but nerves had worked for their situation—bringing the boyfriend home to meet the family.
She’d said all the right things and played her part well.
Then Marietta had brought up Lydia’s father.
He’d held his breath from that point forward, knowing how much that had upset her, praying that Lydia would keep it together. And she had until she hurried down the hall to the ladies’ room.
He’d stood outside the door until he couldn’t take it anymore, understanding that Lydia hadn’t stepped away to pee. When he walked in and found her sobbing, he’d ached for her, wanting nothing more than to make everything better again. “How are you doing?”
She nodded. “I’m okay.”
“Good.”
“Ty. What— Why are we here?”
He turned right onto McClellan Drive and eased closer to the grass not far from the familiar spot that he hadn’t been to in a while, shutting off the Jeep’s engine. “I want to show you something.” And the fact that he did shocked the hell out of him.
Her brow furrowed slightly as she nodded again. “All right.”
“Come on,” he said as he got out, meeting her on her side as she shut her door. Taking her hand, he walked four rows down and fifteen plots into the center, stopping in front of a gravestone.
Kenneth Christopher Corddry
Lydia looked at the stone before her gaze flew to his.
“My dad,” he told her. “We’re a Gold Star family.”
“Ty,” she said, pressing her free hand to her heart as compassion filled her eyes.
“He was Special Forces—a Green Beret. A serious patriot. He was easily my best friend in the world, and he’s why I do what I do. I promised my mom that I would never enlist, so the FBI is how I honor my dad.”
She nodded, still staring at him with those big, gorgeous eyes.
“He was almost finished,” he said next, wanting to tell her some of his story. “He had less than three years left on his contract. He was going to retire.”
“Knowing that must make his loss worse.”
He shrugged because everything about losing his dad had been bad. “My parents met when my dad was already enlisted. I was born on a military base in Texas—before he became Special Forces. We lived in Colorado Springs for a long time. We’d been there since I was five.”
She nodded again, giving him her undivided attention.
“Before his death… He was in and out a lot, deploying pretty often with the war going on. He would disappear for a month or two at a time and never mention where he’d been or what he’d been doing, but we always knew that it was dangerous.”
He shook his head, thinking back to those long-ago days.
“I was fifteen at that point and found myself getting into some trouble—minor stupid shit, really. The last time he called, my mom had just picked me up from the principal’s office for shoving some asshole who’d been pissing me off in the hallway.
Dad gave me a bit of a talking-to and reminded me that when he was gone, he depended on me to help my mom and my sister.
Then he said I needed to do what I knew was right.
I would carry myself differently if I did.
He told me that if I was proud of myself, then I could be damn sure that he would be proud of me, too. They knocked on our door the next day.”
She closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around him, holding on tight. “I’m so sorry, Ty.”
He returned her embrace, closing his eyes as he rested his cheek against her hair, finding a sliver of peace as he breathed her in. “You and I are members of a very unfortunate club.”
She nodded against his chest, keeping him close. “We are.”
He sighed, wrapping her up tighter. “Family love and loyalty… Trust… This undercover operation… I’m asking a lot of you, Lyd.”
She eased back enough to hold his gaze but not break their connection.
“I know it’s not easy.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not.”
“I need you to know that I know that. That I understand how precious it all is. You and I know that in a way that most people can’t.”
She nodded before she pulled him close again.
He exhaled another long breath, letting his hand wander up and down the soft skin of her back where her pretty summer dress didn’t cover. “Do you want to get out of here?”
“Only if you’re ready.”
He nodded, keeping his arm hooked around her waist as he looked at his dad’s grave. “I’ll see you next time, Dad.”
Lydia pressed her fingers to the stone. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Corddry. I’m sure you already know this, but you have a lot to be proud of when it comes to your son.”
He swallowed as he met her gaze, touched by her words. “Let’s head back to the city.”
She nodded. “Sure.”
He captured her hand as they walked through the grass, wanting to put the past away. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”
“I could definitely eat.”
“I know where I want to take you to dinner, but the traffic’s going to be a nightmare, so it’s going to be a while.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Unfortunately, the grapes are still in the truck, so we don’t have anything to snack on in the meantime.”
He shrugged. “You weren’t letting me eat them anyway.”
She looked at him as she laughed. “If you’ll recall, I gave you two when I repented.”
He chuckled as they made it back to the Jeep, still finding himself amazed that he was getting paid to spend his days with an incredibly awesome woman. “I imagine you think you were absolved with your offer, but I’m not over it.”
She huffed out another laugh. “Oh, please.”
He struggled not to grin as he met her gaze as they both opened their doors. “It’s definitely the copilot’s job to make sure that the driver is properly fed. What if I’d gotten low blood sugar or something?”
“Oh my goodness,” she said as she sat in her seat and rolled her eyes. “We need to call you a whambulance.”
He got in and threw his head back with his laugh, enjoying the hell out of her. “A whambulance?”
She laughed, too. “Yes. You’re ridiculous.”
He chuckled as he pressed on the ignition, then buckled his belt. “I don’t know about you, Lyd.”
She buckled up, grinning at him. “Take me to dinner, Special Agent Corddry. It sounds like you’ll have plenty of time to complain on the drive over.”
He laughed again, driving off, heading toward one of his favorite places.
Two hours later, Lydia bit into a massive taco shell overflowing with shredded beef, cheese, vegetables, and sauce, frowning when a huge portion of the contents fell back to her plate with a soggy plop.
Ty grinned at her from across the table as music blasted from speakers in the dive of a place, but every seat was full in the decent-sized restaurant. “That stuff’s supposed to go in your mouth.”
She grinned as a chunk of grilled white fish and cabbage fell from his taco onto his plate. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
He chuckled, then bit in, groaning as he rolled his eyes and chewed. “So good.”
She nodded, biting into her dinner again, noting that both of their hands were filthy with grease and sauce. “It’s so messy.”
He shrugged. “It’s delicious.”
“Yes,” she said, sampling again, laughing when more of her food fell on the table. “There’s no grace with this meal.”
“Definitely not, but it’s fun.” He looked down as chunks of chorizo, green pepper, and onion from the second taco that he picked up landed back on their variety tray.
“I’ve never understood why dates have to be all prim and proper.
I’d rather laugh and have a good time instead of worrying about whether I’m impressing the person I’m out with. ” More of his meal fell with a splat.
She raised her brow. “That’s certainly not a problem here.”
He grinned as she did. “Do you like the food, Lyd?”
She set the taco down, wiping her hands with another napkin. “Very much. You picked a good spot.”
“What do you want to do after this? Walk around for a while or head back to my place?”
She picked up a shrimp taco next, eager for a taste. “I’m having a ton of fun, so I’m game for walking around.” She darted her tongue out, trying the spicy sauce, finding that she loved it, then took a decent-sized bite. “Mmm.”
“Do you have any place in particular that you want to go?”
She shrugged as she chewed, then swallowed. “I imagine we can’t go to your office.”
He paused with his taco at his lips. “To Headquarters?”
She nodded.
He shook his head. “If the brass knew that I brought you in, they’d shit a brick.”
She frowned. “I’m certainly not dangerous.”
“No, but our situation is complicated. You’re not just my girlfriend coming to see where I work.”
“Actually, that’s exactly who I am, but I also understand that your bosses won’t see it that way.”
He shook his head again. “If I didn’t think that they would hand me my ass, I’d bring you there in a heartbeat.”
She nodded, unable to deny that she was slightly disappointed. She liked seeing the different facets of Ty’s life. His work was a huge part of that. “You’ll just have to take me somewhere else.”
“That I can do.” He narrowed his eyes. “I already know where.”
She waggled her brow. “Do tell.”
He shook his head. “It’s a surprise. But I know you’re going to like it.”
She smiled. “I can’t wait.”
“Let’s eat up, and we’ll get going.” He took another bite, and they both chuckled as more food fell on his plate.
At midnight, Ty brushed his teeth as he stood in front of his bathroom sink, catching an occasional glimpse of Lydia walking around in his bedroom.