“Tell her that?”
“Sorta. It’s come up, in a manner of speaking. I think she knows, even if I ain’t said it in so many words.”
“Fuck, dude. Never thought it would be you. But I’m damn glad it is. And man, that woman is somethin’ special.”
“I know it, brother. Trust me, I know it.”
“You’d better. All of us would give our left nuts to have what you’ve got for a split fuckin’ second. So don’t waste it.”
“If it can happen for me, it can happen for you.”
“Don’t mind sayin’ I hope you’re right.” He grunts, like he’s heaving his bulk out of a chair. “See you tonight, brother.”
“Yeah, see ya.”
I pocket the phone and find Myka—she’s engrossed in conversation with her dad and Uncle Julian, out on the back deck. I join her, and she gets up from her seat in a deep wicker chair, pushes me down, and sits on my lap, all without missing a beat of conversation. She sits sideways on my lap, an arm around my neck, a glass of iced tea in her other hand. Neither her dad nor her uncle so much as blink at this. Her dad even grins, as if he finds it endearing.
After a while, someone grabs Julian’s attention, and her dad is pulled away in a different direction, awkwardly wheeling himself one-handed, a can of Coke in the other.
I take the opportunity to murmur in her ear. “Chance called.”
“We need to go back?” she guesses.
“Yeah.” I glance at her. “Sorry.”
She smiles. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m glad I got to see everyone. Dad’s okay, relatively speaking. He’s home, and he’ll heal. Just as importantly, they all got to see thatI’mokay. They got to meet you. It’s good. We can say our goodbyes and head out soon, okay?”
* * *
Goodbyes end uptaking the better part of an hour, and I find myself hugged at least a dozen times—by each of her siblings and their whoevers, her mom, Penny (a cousin, maybe? I’m not quite sure), and I get another bone-jarring handshake from her dad. They all act like I’ve been a part of the family for years.
I’m not quite sure what to do with it, how to respond, but I know I like it.
The drive back to the airport and then the flight back to Vegas are both quiet, and I can tell she’s lost in thought. For that matter, so am I.
I’ve never been so welcomed. So drawn in. I mean, my unit in Iraq, our bond was forged in Basic and then in battle. My unit in the Recons was forged simply by virtue of making it through Recon training, and then it was further forged in blood.
Those relationships were earned.
All I did was show up, choke out her fuckhead ex, and just be me, and they all welcomed and accepted me.
But then, I pushed Myka away as hard as I could, and she still picked me. I don’t know what I did, but she decided she liked me, wanted me, and wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
Not complaining.
At fucking all.
* * *
Myka requestsI take her to her place so she can shower and change. I head back to the club, because I know Inez is going to have words for me. It’s a jarring transition, going from the warm boisterous family to the quiet of the brotherhood’s quarters
And indeed, I’ve barely set my go-bag on the bed when she’s in the doorway, eyeing me with those cold eyes of hers. “All is well in North Carolina?”
I just nod.
“There’s talk.”
“So Chance said.”
