Embattled SEAL (20 page)

She was glad she had made them go now.

When Harper walked into the room in his black BDUs and army green T-shirt stretched taut over heavy muscles he drew every kid’s gaze. Dillon’s eyes went round and her mouth dropped open, but she jumped up with a squeal and ran into his open arms. Harper made a show of swinging her around in his arms before dropping her to her feet and pressing a kiss to her hair.

He looked over her head at all of the kids staring at them, making sure to connect with every gaze. “Get your stuff, honey. It’s time to get out of here.”

That sixty-second display put him firmly at the top of the most hero-worshipped list.

Harper stayed for
three days, a long weekend. But he had more surprises in store for them.

On Saturday her parents arrived. “Hope this is okay, honey. Harper told us to pack a bag and get up here. You haven’t dismantled the guest room yet, have you?”

Cat shook her head, a little dazed. “No, not yet.”

Her mother hustled down the hallway. Her father leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek. “He sounds like his old self, doesn’t he?”

She nodded her head at her father.

That weekend Harper did everything he could to assure them that he would be a man Cat could depend upon again. But it didn’t even take half that long. By afternoon it was as if he had never left their lives.

Sunday, apparently, he had arranged a barbeque with the guys from his old team.

Katey arrived at noon, looking frazzled but beautiful in a gauzy dress. At six months along she had the natural inner beauty that came with pregnancy, but also the energy. She brought bags of food and supplies. Lucas, her husband, arrived an hour later, loaded down with enough beer to float a house.

Cat tried not to freak out. Her house was mostly packed. She and the kids had kept essentials out for themselves but not much more than that. There were still some chairs in the backyard but not as many as she thought they would need. Luckily, everyone that arrived appeared to have brought their own chairs, as well as a casserole.

Katey ran the party like a drill sergeant directing troops. Or Navy SEALs, as it were.

Harper greeted everyone as they arrived. As soon as he saw Lucas walking up the drive he drew him into a tight man-hug. They had worked together for years. When Harper had been injured in Afghanistan it had been Lucas hauling him out.

Cat had always had an appreciation for the stocky blond because he’d had the fortitude to make sure Harper survived. For that she would always be grateful to him. When she told him that one day he had shaken his head. His eyes had darkened and his carefree attitude had faltered. She could see the ghosts of memory in his eyes. “That man saved me and my men more times than we can ever count. We all owed him everything we could do to get him out.”

She’d had to turn away then, too choked up to speak.

As she watched him with most of his team now he began to lose his stiffness. SEAL Team 8 consisted of mostly younger guys and whether he recognized it or not, they looked up to Harper. She didn’t know if it was for his age or skill or experience, maybe all three, but there was definitely a deference there. For some reason though she didn’t think it was because he’d been injured. Harper had told her he’d withdrawn from the team because they couldn’t deal with his injuries but maybe it was because
he
was no longer comfortable being around them with his injuries.

They joked around now like they’d never parted. As the kids played in the back yard and friends surrounded them she had to breathe in the moment. They stood on the edge of a precipice, about to launch into a new life. But they were getting the closure they needed with the old life. And she had to credit Harper with all of it.

That night as she and Harper lay in bed talking about the night she told him how much she admired his courage in coming back. He cranked his head around and looked down at her, a heavy scowl on his face. “Whatever,” he paused. “Okay, maybe I did have some things weighing on me that spurred me to come down this weekend. I couldn’t let kids at school call my daughter a liar. That chafed like crazy. And I needed to tell the guys how much I appreciated them. I don’t think I did that at all after I got hit. That was several years overdue.”

Skimming his hand down her arm he laced his big fingers with hers. “And I needed to clear the air with your parents. I left you in a serious lurch when I took off and I wanted to make sure they knew I would never do that again.”

She chuckled and poked him in the ribs. “Well, you better tell me too.”

He blinked at her and she realized she’d shocked him. Immediately he sat up on the bed. “Fuck, Cat, I didn’t think I needed to tell you. I’m so invested in you, in us being together again I can’t think straight. Why do you think I came down here? Yes, I had loose ends but I also just plain wanted to see you again. When you walked in that hospital room door you started an irreversible chain of events. I would have come back eventually, somehow, but getting shot made you come to me sooner. I’m actually appreciative that I got wounded because I don’t know when I would have taken the initiative to do anything about our situation. You forced me to see that we’re better off together. I love you, damn it. How can I not be with you now?”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. Lifting her up in his arms he spread her thighs over his lap, cradling her to him. Then he looked down into her eyes. “You are the most amazing woman. You’ve put up with so much of my crap and I pray that you’ll put up with a little more. I’m trying to do the best I can but it’s a process, you know?”

She snorted and sniffed, nodding. Wrapping her arms around his neck she buried her face against him. “I love you, Harper. I would have waited for you, but it was getting so hard.”

Fresh tears dripped from her jaw but he wiped them away and cupped her face to look at him.

“I know, babe, but you don’t have to do it alone now. I promise you I will be here when you need me, any time. And I will never shut off communication like that again. Just write off that year and a half to me being a stupid, stubborn, idiotic man, okay?”

Sputtering, she rocked her head against him. “I will,” she whispered.

“I love you, Cat. So very much.”

“I love you too, you stubborn man.”

They laughed and cried and fell into each other’s arms.

H
arper had found
them a house outside of Denver. Isolated and loaded with mature pines, the log cabin and the property around it made her eyes water with its beauty. “This is ours?”

Harper nodded, stretching his arms above his head. They had just driven for two days straight. Harper drove the U-Haul and she drove her SUV. They were beyond ready to be done. The kids took off to claim rooms. Hooch, the mutt they’d adopted years ago, wandered off to find something to pee on.

“Yes. I assumed you’d like it. It has everything you wanted. Good schools for the kids, shopping within driving distance, an office space for you to disappear to and a kitchen large enough to feed an army. Or a SEAL,” he told her with a grin.

He motioned with his hand to a building on the left. “It has a detached garage for me and a small shop where I can do gun work. Plus, there’s a valley about half a mile away where I can train my weak eye.”

She looked around, seeing what he envisioned. It all sounded perfect.

After his impromptu visit to Virginia he’d had to return to work for a few weeks. But as soon as he’d closed on the new house he’d returned to help her finish packing up their Virginia house. It was already listed with a realtor and would sell in no time because of its proximity to the schools and Norfolk.

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and raised her face to the sky. She’d just travelled sixteen hundred miles in two days, but suddenly she felt more energized than she had in a long time. She slipped her arm through Harper’s. “Show me my new house, babe.”

The End