Striding past, he checked his pace and walked out of the unfinished room.
Freya’s voice was laced with an edge he hadn’t heard, cutting through the hollow building. “Why did you come?”
Uppity as fuck, his mother huffed, “To seeourson. To meet the wife that we’d never even heard of.”
“Right. Of course. Because you’d hate for him to make the wrong choice. To decide what he wants for himself.”
“That’s not–” His father tried to interrupt.
Freya was a hurricane that wouldn’t be stopped. “No. Thatiswhat’s happened. How many times was he out on a mission, and you didn’t even know your son was risking his life? For his country? For innocents that couldn’t defend themselves? For his friends? Because it was the right thing to do. Because he wanted to challenge himself. Because that was his dream.”
Zane leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed as he watched his furious wife. She was a sight to be seen, livid on fire on his behalf. Did she really think all that? Aching, filling with a hope he hadn’t known, he let the corners of his mouth quirk up as she said all the words he’d swallowed for too damn long.
“And where wereyouwhen he lost his best friend? When he decided to leave the Navy because he had lost himself? And when he’s finally found something he enjoys and wants to make a career out of it, found a hometown he wants to settle in… and a wife that thinks his dreams are beautiful?” She crossed her arms over her chest, smoke billowing from the top of her head.
His parents fell silent, but not for long enough. His mom found her voice, hissing, “Who do you think you are–”
“Iam his wife. In the short time I’ve known him, Iknowthat he’s so much more than you give him credit for. If you paid attention for half a damn minute, you’d see the promise of this place. The beauty of something new.”
Blood beyond boiling, reaching volcanic levels as Freya defended him, his parents clearly not getting the point, Zane’s fists clenched at his sides, molars ground to nothing, he opened his mouth to speak. To stand up for his wife that stood up for him.
His mother gulped a bubble of air, “Well, I… I think I need some fresh air.” She turned and nearly ran into Zane.
He let out the breath he’d been holding. “Freya’s right. This is whatIwant. I…”Just get it over with. He couldn’t unclench his teeth, his raw cheek wedged between his molars the only thing warding off a broken jaw. “I’m sorry I’ve always been such a disappointment for you. Blaire didn’t get it any more than either of you. I won’t bother describing the last twelve years of my life to you. But I’ve known so much loss, yet lived to the limits. And now? I’ve got this incredible wife that will fight for my dreams, and I hope to hell she’ll let me fight for hers.”
Craig let out a heavy exhale. “I’ve got to say, it was tough, watching you push yourself, saying you wanted to be a damn Navy SEAL. What were we supposed to do? Let you risk your life on a dream that probably wouldn’t come true? When you agreed to give the architecture program a try, then married a woman whose ideals aligned so perfectly with those we’d taught you?”
Shaking her head, Susan crossed to Craig and leaned into him. “It’s hard to watch your son risk everything when you don’t understand why. It was easier to be patient and hope you’d come back one day.”
Continuing where she left off, Craig nodded. “And now you’ve married some artist you never mentioned, suddenly want to start some brewery, and live in this remote town? I guess we don’t know how to respond.”
Zane backed out of the doorway, catching Freya’s eye. “Let’s go.”
20
Walk in the Park
Dinner was… well, awkward would be putting it lightly. Freya had worked at Zane’s side in the kitchen, tossing together the salad base while he shredded and heated the chicken, garlic, and almonds. Nothing fancy, as he was too crabby to bake the salmon he’d planned. Craig had complimented the beer over dinner, the food, and he and Susan were both pleasantly surprised by the understated gourmet meal.
After watching a generic movie in a darkened living room until it was late enough to call it a night without looking rude, Freya dragged Zane to bed. He hadn’t said much. Nobody had said much. Nothing like the verbose Marks family meals.
Sliding into the cool sheets, the crisp moon illuminating the room, Freya reached across and smoothed the thick line between Zane’s eyebrows.
Taking her wrist, he kissed the base of her palm. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything.”
“I understand why you don’t talk about your family much. That must have been hard to grow up with, not feeling supported.”
“Know what?” his voice was laced with gravel like he was suffering from back-to-back red-eye jetlag. “I don’t really want to talk about them right now either.”
His arm laced around her middle and pulled her closer. Pasting her body against his, entwining their legs, she didn’t argue.
Warm and pliant, his lips contrasted the hardness of his body, still tense from the day. Savoring, he tasted and explored. Like their first kiss, zings of thrill fired through her veins. Slow and easy, he trailed his thumb over her jaw and cradled her against him.
A soft sigh passed her lips. Heat licked through her, her breasts aching for him to touch her, kiss her again. Needing more, she pressed her hips against his and rocked against him.
