“They don’t know yet. I wanted to wait until after we told you, which I wanted to do in person, when we both could be here.”
“And what does your father do for a living?”
“He’s a retired lieutenant colonel,” I say. “Army. I have six brothers, all currently serving or retired, two of them killed in action while I was still in high school. I’m the youngest.”
That softens Michelle a little. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. I spent nearly eight years in,” I add. “I always wanted to be an attorney. I’m not going to apologize for falling in love with Susa. We’re lucky, and we know it.”
Owen’s spent this entire time silently standing there and feeling extremely uncomfortable, from the way his hands are shoved deep in the pockets of his slacks. I know this is a two-pronged issue for him, both the tenor and tone of the conversation, as well as the subject matter.
He has to pretend he’s just Susa’s friend, just my friend, not that he’s in love with her and belongs to me and Susa.
Unfortunately, that’s when Benchley finally focuses on Owen. “Well? Doyouhave anything to say?”
I tamp down my rage, but before I can move to defend him, Susa steps in front of Owen, her arms behind her to hold Owen in place. Back to the Hellhound growl. “Don’t youdareattack him, Daddy. He’s our friend, and he’s our family.”
“Family?”
“We’ve…adopted him,” I say. “His mother’s abusive, and I don’t want him to jeopardize his scholarship by having to get a job. I can afford to pay his share of the bills, and yes, Susa can show you bank statements where I pay in to the household account. We asked Owen to move in with us because we love him. I’m loyal to the people I love, sir. Owen really helped take care of me this semester when I had trouble because of my pain.”
“What are you, a junkie?” Benchley asks.
Susa launches another verbal fusillade, but I simply unbutton the top two buttons of my shirt and pull it and my undershirt off over my head in one movement before I turn.
Benchley falls silent mid-sentence, and Michelle loudly gasps.
When I turn back, I’m staring the man in his eyes before I pull my undershirt and shirt back on. “Had three guys shot in an ambush. Insurgents rolled a car bomb at us, and I threw myself on top of my guys to protect them.”
That’s not the full story, but it’s as much as they or anyone else will ever get from me. “No, I’m not a junkie. I can’t tolerate opioids, actually. So I live with my pain.” I tuck my shirttails in. “I believe Susa asked you a question, sir.”
They’re still both trying to process what I know they just saw on my back. I hate going shirtless around people I don’t know. I only tolerate shorts because while the backs of my legs are scarred, it doesn’t look as dramatic as when seeing the wide swath of scars on my back.
Owen was the first person who got to see my back, other than medical personnel, since leaving the rehab center. Last year, I never took my shirt off around my roommate, at least not when he could see my back.
Susa sometimes lies in bed behind me, her fingers slowly tracing my scars, her lips following the contours. I won’t deny that it is one of the things that melts me about her. The first time she saw my back, she didn’t act horrified, or pretend it wasn’t there. She treated me matter-of-factly.
As my lover and wife, she’s shown me that my physical scars don’t scare or repel her.
If only I could show her all of my emotional scars and be certain she would feel the same way.
Michelle’s hugging herself again. “I’ll go check the roast,” she quietly says. “It should almost be done.” She heads off to the kitchen.
Susa focuses on Benchley. “Truce, Daddy? I promise I’m getting my law degree. I’m going to make you proud of me, I swear.”
I don’t understand what nerve that strikes with him, but I see him flinch. “I’vealwaysbeen proud of you, SusieJo.”
“Then please be proud of me now. Give Carter a chance.” She smirks. “Hey, I ran a credit and background check on him, if that means anything.”
He finally laughs. “Goddammit, honey.” He finally opens his arms to her for a hug, but as he holds her, he’s glaring at me.
He’s not done with me yet, I’m sure.
That’s fair, because the bastard extraordinaire is going to spend every opportunity I can get to find something I can use against him to get him to back the fuck off. Just because he’s her father doesn’t mean I won’t ruin him if he pushes me too far.
Or if he tries to go after Owen.
Chapter Ten
