Elan shook his head. “You won’t come home just because your brothers are giving you a hard time.”
Her head whipped up. “What?”
“I want more than anything for you to come back here and live close but you have built a life for yourself out there. A life that I never thought I would see any of my children living. You are successful and you never missed us before now. The grass is greener where you water it, baby girl.”
Halona got up and walked around the table. She took her daughter’s hands into her own. “Your dad is right. We don’t want to see you leave that behind or the love of your life for the people that haven’t seen you in years. You have the money to visit and so do we. What is stopping us from seeing other more often from now on?”
Chapter Fifty
Aiyanna
Leaveit to my parents to lay it on thick and make me regret everything I had done in the last twenty-four hours. My parents got up from the table and went outside to their back patio. I could barely see them through the window. Dad had Momma’s hand in his before he pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
Derek grabbed my hand in his and my heart stopped. “If you want to stay here, I won’t be upset. If that is what you need, I will go back home and we can have a long-distance relationship. I want you to get all of your healing and closure, for as long as you need. Plus, there are going to be many months that I’ll be gone on deployment. You could always spend them here.”
He rubbed his thumb over my palm and I could hardly think straight. This is why I had been distant. I knew with him so close getting in a coherent thought would be impossible. “I didn’t think you would want a long-distance relationship.”
His lips turned up in a smile and I was smitten all over again. “You realize being a military spouse is sometimes a long-distance relationship, right?”
I sighed. “I guess you’re right. But that doesn’t mean I’m marrying you.”
“Not yet,” he said confidently.
I rolled my eyes and he yanked me closer to him. His lips captured mine and I was done for. I was lost and I didn’t want to be found. His hand tangled in the back of my braid and my body thrummed with desire. I hated that I had put him aside so I could talk myself out of the best thing I ever had. The man that had taken it slow with me and didn’t push himself onto me. The man that had cared for me even though I thought I was too broken for love. The man that adored me and obviously loved me. He broke the kiss and pulled away. I kept my eyes closed for a second longer.
He planted a kiss on my temple and squeezed my hands in his. “I have loved you for a little while. I think it was that day that you brought me food and then ran scared.”
I felt a laugh working its way up my throat. “My momma always told me the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach.”
He kissed my lips quickly. “Yes, she was right.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t when I brought your sorry ass back to my apartment when you were drunk?”
He let out a chuckle and shook his head. “Definitely not. Everything about you annoyed me that morning.”
“Always such a grouch.” I booped his nose.
He leaned forward and growled against my neck. “Your grouch.”
Epilogue
Aiyanna
One year later
It waseasy to love Derek Mule. Everything about him was incredible. He was hardworking, loving, and cared about me more than anyone else. In the last year, we had visited his parent’s and Emily’s, his lost fiancé, graves. We had traveled to visit my parents, together and apart while he was on deployment. Though his days off were few and far between, we made the most of them when we got the chance. Every time he left it was difficult. I stayed rooted to my phone and laptop waiting for that Skype call. There were many of them.
Derek told me he loved me every chance he got and I didn’t say it as often but he knew I meant it with everything I did for him. Love wasn’t a word for me, it was an action. So I poured my love into everything I could do for him. I served him in the best ways I knew how.
We still weren’t married or engaged even though Derek talked about it a lot. I wanted to marry him, but I didn’t know how I was going to go about finally telling him so.
Elise and I had become close friends. When the men were gone, I spent most of my waking hours with her and her kids. Darren’s wife and their toddler came over often but I didn’t connect with her on the level I did with Jace’s wife. Eric’s significant other was antisocial, which was fine but I hardly knew her or their kids. I imagined it would happen eventually but wasn’t holding my breath on the matter.
The bar was still a hit in the little town we lived in and the boys frequented it more than anyone else. Vince was going to be a dad and Mikey had quit, which hadn’t been a surprise. He was moving with his lover to Canada. I had been waiting for that one. My new bartenders were the best though and brought in a new crowd.
Kota and Islah were getting married in three months and I hoped that Derek would be back in time for it. But I didn’t talk about it or pressure him. Being a SEAL was finicky work and I had learned that he would come home when they let him and not a moment sooner, unless someone died and even then, they were still assholes about it.
My phone rang across the room at Kota’s house and I leapt over the couch to get to it. I answered the call and a grainy picture of my love filled the screen. Kota took that moment to yell, “Is that the asshole calling you again?”
