“It’s okay. I don’t want to rush you. We’re not even sure…”
“I’m sure. I want to give this a go.”
“Okay then. I’ll keep my ear to the ground and ask Walker to do the same. He’s got connections at Pendleton.”
“Was he a Marine?”
“Yes, he was.”
Declan’s arms squeezed me to him when the officers and staff NCOs began yelling for people to load up. He looked up at me, and I cupped his face with one hand while holding him against me with the other.
“I wanna give this a try, too. It’s stupid of us both because what you like grates on my fucking last nerve, but I can’t help how you make me feel. Which is also ridiculous because we met a fucking week ago, but I’m smart enough to know whatever this is, it’s too rare to let it go without first trying to make it work.”
I dropped my forehead to his and said, “All that and more, vato.”
“Now, kiss me, Papi, and get your ass on the plane.”
Our lips met, and emotion hit me like a tsunami, crashing over me and sweeping me away. I raised to my feet from the car without breaking the kiss.
“Let’s go, Marin. Uncle Sam waits for no one.”
Declan pulled away. When I opened my eyes, he stared back at me.
“Come back to me, Papi.”
“I’ll do my damnedest, carinõ,” I said, rushing to the plane like some clueless chucklenut straight out of boot camp.
22
DECLAN
Watching him rush onto that plane was the weirdest experience. I thought it would be the same as watching my family members deploy, but yeah, that was a big fat negatory.
It was nowhere near the same.
Not watching him leave and definitely not waiting to hear from him. I didn’t even have an address to send him a letter.
With the lack of incoming communication, which I knew was a thing, I added news alerts to my phone for anything Marine Corps-related. My phone popped off regularly, but it was never about Hayden or his unit.
One would think I’d be less of a worrywart. There were multiple Navy SEALs in the family, plus a Navy pilot, and Walker had been a Marine Raider. I should be used to this life. But there was something the non-military folks didn’t realize. At least, I didn’t think they realized it. I had worked in the private military sector for way too long not to know that no news didn’t always mean good news. It could mean good news, of course it could, but it could also very well mean really fucking bad news.
I tried not to hound Walker. I really did, but he was my only point of contact. Most of my military contacts were Army-related due to being on the bases in Iraq and Afghanistan so often at the end of the War on Terror. I did have a few SOCOM buddies, thanks to Adam, Brock, Foster, and Uncle Matthew being on the teams. But I couldn’t call on them unless I wanted to divulge I’d hitched myself to a Recon Marine in a drugged and drunken wedding—Vegas-style.
Yeah, that was a no-go.
So, I waited and worried, sitting in my favorite spot on the patio overlooking the pool and the Pacific beyond the strip of manicured lawn. This chair, the chaos of my mind, and the view beyond was where I wallowed. I’d even turned down assignments because no one needed a distracted bodyguard.
“You’re a fucking mess, kid.”
A scowl painted my face when I turned to look at the interloper. Walker leaned against one of the glass panels in the large opening between the house and the patio. I’d been home alone when I came out here, so I’d pushed the doors all the way open so I could hear the music playing in the house.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Well, you’re probably right. I’ve never been on this side of things, but Lillian, Julie, and Mama have. And if you want the gay contingent to turn to, then call Adam and Brock. They’ve both been where you’re at. Brock got forced stateside after Adam was captured, and after he was rescued, Adam sat at home several times while Brock got sent outside the wire.”
I gazed back out over the pool to the beach beyond. I didn’t understand why someone would pay for a pool when the beach was literally your backyard. Especially when the pool was a saltwater pool. It was wasteful, if you asked me.
“Why the hell do we have a pool?” I asked.
