“Ham, what in the fucking hell did you think we would do?” asked Cam. Ham just shrugged, staring at the other men. “Ham, we’re family here. Do you know how many times one of us has needed a break to help another family member? Brother, it comes with the territory, and I suspect you’re not just helping Sadie.”
Ham stared at the four men, then pulled out a chair and took a seat. He folded those big hands in front of him, nibbling on his lower lip, chewing the hair of his beard just below his lip. The others stared at him. He looked as though he were in pain.
“Ham?” asked Eric.
“I don’t deserve someone like her,” he whispered. “I’ve done shit that will damn my soul to hell, all because I was given an order. That beautiful, kind, intelligent woman deserves a doctor or lawyer. Someone who hasn’t been involved in the carnage and hell I’ve been involved in.”
“Ham, brother, you need to look around you,” said Luke. “We were SEALs, Rangers, enlisted, Delta, Green Berets, Air Force, Coast Guard. We have all seen shit and done shit that keeps us awake at night. But we all did it because of the orders and because we thought we were doing the right thing.”
Ham said nothing, just shaking his head back and forth.
“Ham?” called Eric.
“I’m in love with her,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did, and now, I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do.”
“You’re going to love my daughter,” said Wes, standing in the doorway with Marc, Angel, and Jazz. Ham stood as if at attention, staring at the four men. All had been prolific SEALs.
“Sirs, I’m not good enough for her.”
“Bullshit,” said Jazz. “Listen, Ham, I was arrogant enough to believe that Gabe wasn’t good enough for my sister. Gabe fucking Robicheaux.” They all chuckled, shaking their heads.
“The truth is, Ham, none of us are good enough for the women who have chosen to strap their beautiful asses to us,” said Hex. “We’re all these hard-assed, tough-as-nails warriors, and somehow we’ve been lucky enough to marry designers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, and so many other amazing things.”
“What’s really going on here, Ham?” asked Wes.
“When I was taking care of her out at the mansion before Mama Irene broke the spell, I was sleeping outside her bedroom because of the nightmares. It wasn’t really sleep. I was always listening, worried that she would need me.”
“We know that, son,” said Angel, touching his shoulder.
“But now that the nightmares are gone, I’m worried mine will come back,” he frowned.
“Ham, let me ask you something,” said Luke. “Since you’ve been at the mansion, have you had any nightmares at all?”
“No. But, like I said, I was worried about Sadie.”
“And when you’re with Sadie, she doesn’t have nightmares, and neither do you,” said Marc. Ham nodded. “It’s been the same for all of us.”
“What if, what if I hurt her?” he asked with a pain-filled expression.
“Brother, if I thought for one moment you might hurt my daughter, I’d remove you from the mansion. I don’t see it, Ham. I just don’t think it’s possible. If you really love her, if you really want to make a life with her, then be brave enough to stay.”
“I promised her I wouldn’t leave. I won’t back down from that now. But I do want to find that little shit security bastard.” Wes nodded, looking at the other men.
“I’m not even sure what we’d say to him, Ham. Yea, he was an asshole and screwed around on his wife and lied to Sadie, but other than that, I don’t know that I’m sure of what we can blame him for.”
“Lying to her is enough,” said Ham. “She deserves the truth, always.”
“Like you telling her that you love her?” smirked Eric. Ham opened his mouth to say something, then shook his head. Angel took a seat beside the young man, gripping his arm.
“Listen to me, Hamish. When I met my beautiful Mary, she fought me every step of the way because I was younger than her, and she thought I was too pretty.” The others chuckled, shaking their heads. Angel flipped them off, then focused back on Ham. “It didn’t matter. She looked younger than me, she was beautiful, brilliant, and she was the woman I wanted. But I almost waited too long to tell her. I kept trying, and we kept getting interrupted.”
“I’m not following, sir,” said Ham.
“Don’t wait, Ham. If you love my granddaughter, tell her. Tell her now. Things change quickly around here in our world, and you never know when your chance to tell her will come again.”
“She’s not ready for me,” said Ham. “She’s still getting over Davis Myer.” He practically spat the name across the table.
“We’re going to find Davis Myer and figure out what his game is,” said Hex. “In the meantime, you might want to let that girl know how you feel. She might not be able to admit what she’s feeling right now, but I’m going to bet it’s love as well.”
