“Open up,” she murmurs.
I frown down at her. “Not eatin’ ice cream.”
She frowns back. “You gotta indulge once in a while. It’s good for the soul.” She nudges my lips again, and I feel the cold, my tongue automatically licking away the little bit staining my lips. “Plus, it’s Rocky Road. Youcan’tsay no to Rocky Road.”
She’s so fucking cute. Makes my head explode, sometimes.
I sigh. “Haven’t eaten ice cream since I joined the Marines.”
Her eyebrows shoot up toward her hairline. “Youwhat?”
“Food is fuel,” I tell her. “Job was to be elite. The best. The biggest, fastest, strongest, hardest, toughest motherfucker on the planet. Ice cream don’t fit into that profile, babe.” I shrug. “Became habit.”
She shakes her head. “Well, that’s not your job anymore. And I think you can still scare people shitless with a look and beat them up in that awful, barbaric cage of yours even if you eat a few spoonfuls of ice cream with your girlfriend.”
My lungs catch. “Girlfriend?” I manage, my voice scraping past my throat.
She takes the bite herself, acting casual even though I know she caught the tight tone. “Yes.” She scrapes more Rocky Road onto the spoon and offers it to me. “Come on, now. Open up for me, baby. Let me rock your world.” A giggle. “Or,Rocky Roadyour world, as the case may be.”
I guffaw. “That was terrible.” I sigh. “Fine.” I open my mouth, and the cold spoon and colder ice cream enter my mouth. I close my lips around it and she pulls the spoon out, watching me almost anxiously.
Like something is riding on whether I like the stupid ice cream or not.
I work the bite, swallow it. “Fuck,” I laugh, groaning. “Thatshit is delicious.”
She giggles again—the merry, sprightly, adorable, sexy little sound shoots right into my heart and into my cock at the same time. “Told you.”
She takes a bite for herself and then gives me more. “Happiness is in the little things, Rev,” she says, around a mouthful of ice cream, and lifts the pint. “Ice cream with someone you care about, on a beautiful night, on a porch swing, after a good day with family.”
I let out a breath. “You’re not wrong.”
She angles her head to look at me. “So, how do you feel about today, sweetheart?”
“It was a lot.” I know she wants more, though, so I consider, and give her the deep I know she wants. “It was hard, sometimes.”
“How so?”
More ice cream, and goddamn, but I had no idea what I was missing. Fuckin’amazing.
“Family.” I swallow hard, tasting the chocolate, still. “Never had it. Never had…” I wave at the house. “All’a that. Folks laughin’, kids everywhere. Shit, I’ve never seen so many happy people in my whole fuckin’ life. Wasn’t one single argument. I mean, kiddos squabblin’, but…nobody got smacked. Yelled at.”
“Because that’s not how it’s supposed to be, darling,” she whispers. “Not even close. Children should be loved. Hugged. Kissed. Played with. Not...hit. Never hit.”
I feel my chest burning, my gut going tight. “Never fuckin’ knew that existed.” I wave at the house again. “It hurts, babe. Seein’ it. Puts into perspective what I had.”
“I…” She sets the spoon down across the top of the container, looks at me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t consider it would make you feel that way.” Her voice is so soft it’s a verbal caress, and sorrowful.
“No—no. I’m glad.” I hear the rough in my own voice. “I’m just gladyouhave that.”
She just looks at me. “Well, now you have it, too.”
I look back, shaken to my roots at the look in her eyes—fierce, determined, deep, soft, open…loving. Can’t ignore the reality of what I see, can’t deny I see it. “I do?”
“Yes, Rev. You do.”
“I came with you cause I thought you…I dunno. Needed me. That it’d be all-hands-on- deck, an emergency. Get here, and it’s your whole family gathered and geared for what almost feels like a reunion or a party.”
“We gather for everything. We gather because we’re family. Dad got hurt, bad, and so everyone gathers here. No one put out a call, or an invite. No one discussed anything. They all just came. It’s for Mom, really.” She’s thoughtful, now. “She’s worried sick. I know she doesn’t seem it, but she is. They’ve been married for forty-six years. She’s known him since they were twelve. We’re all here to be with Mom. Fill her house with people, with laughter, with fun, to remind her that it’s going to be okay, and that no matter what happens, we’re here.”
