“Can you get that. It’s in my jean pocket.”
The man pulled it from his pants, and when the screensaver came on, he was surprised.
On it, there was a very old picture. It was of Michael and Graham in fatigues, carrying M-Fours, and sitting on the top of a Humvee.
He looked up.
Michael saw what he was staring at.
“I kept it and it’s been with me since we broke up,” he admitted. “I always kept it in a file on my phones over the years as a way to see him when I needed to.”
Finn was impressed.
It was clear that the man never stopped loving him.
“I only went to delete it once. It was when Riley, my ex, found out about Graham. We were in bed talking one night, andI had a few too many glasses of wine. I slipped and told him about him.”
Finn listened.
“He wanted to see him, and now I know it was to compare himself to him. He demanded I delete it.”
Finn didn’t like the man already. Gabby knew about his ex, and never once did she want him to erase her.
Instead, she just terrorized her when she crossed paths with the woman.
“And did you?”
He nodded.
“I just hid it on the phone so Riley couldn’t get it. Ironically, he broke into my phone to get the housing specs on the Blackhawk’s new home, but not that.”
Yeah, Finn didn’t like this Riley guy. It was a good thing he was in a different country on a completely different continent.
“Needless to say, last night I pulled it up, as I was sitting there watching Graham sleep. It was after I read the notes he wrote me.”
Finn was curious.
“What notes?” he asked.
“The ones he wrote every year on the day we broke up. There were seven of them. They are why I jumped back in. He really did miss me.”
Finn could attest to that.
“I can’t tell you how many times we’ve talked about you, Laddie. He thought about you a lot. Trust me when I say that. I’ve watched him sink lower and lower over what happened. You came just in time.”
“I thought of him, too. A lot.”
And that was the truth.
They stopped talking, and when they did, Aiden finished getting him together.
It didn’t take too long.
When Michael looked in the mirror, he admired himself. The kilt showed off his narrow waist, and the kilt jacket made his chest and shoulders broad. The fly plaid laid across his one shoulder.
“You need a brooch to hold the scarf in place,” Aiden offered.
Finn had an idea.
