I glanced around the backyard, my gaze wandering to the house and beach. “I have a hard time believing that.”
“Believe it. I promise you, no one here gives a shit or judges. And if you are, you let me know, and I’ll wipe the floor with their ass.”
I smiled at him. “You gonna protect me, vato.”
“Always, Papi. Always.”
“And…”
“Declan, darlin’, how are you?”
He spun toward the woman and man who’d sneaked up on us. I glanced around for the gunny, sure I was going to get shit for it. Luckily, he was on the other side of the yard.
He leaned down and kissed his mother’s cheek as he said, “Mama, I’m doing well. I’ve gotta say this is a surprise.”
“I finally put my foot down and told your Daddy if he didn’t take a vacation, I was going to have the hands move his stuff to the bunkhouse.”
His father looked at me for a long moment, then said to Declan, “She ain’t joking.”
“It’s good to see you, Daddy.”
Declan held out his hand, but his father used it to pull Declan into his arms for a moment, then pushed him back, holding him at arm’s length.
“You look good, son.”
“Thanks, sir. You do as well. Let me introduce you. Hayden, these are my parents, Ellen and Marcus. Mama, Daddy, this is Hayden Marin.”
I looked at him, thankful he’d waited to tell them we were married. I felt like enough of a sideshow as it was. Fingers crossed, we could wait to say anything when it was just the four of us, but with a crowd this size, I wasn’t all that hopeful.
Before I could greet them, his mother grabbed my shoulders, pulled me into a hug, and kissed my cheek, and his father had my hand in his the minute she let me go.
“Sergeant, I hear you’re in a recon unit.”
He shocked me by knowing my rank since Declan said he didn’t leave the ranch much. “Yes, sir. I am. My MEU just came home today.”
“I loved my time in the corps.”
“Yes, sir. It’s all I know. All I ever wanted to do.”
“I knew many guys like that. I wasn’t active duty for long. I broke my leg during a training op. Landed wrong after a jump, and that was that, back home to the ranch. Which was fine with me, but still, you never like being taken out before you’re ready to be taken out.”
I winced. I’d seen some nasty injuries during my time, but I’d been lucky enough to avoid them myself. When you jumped out of planes regularly, injuries were a given.
“Those can be some nasty injuries, sir.”
“Oh, his was awful. The man was a bear to deal with until he got back on his feet.”
“I’ve been injured once and I wasn’t a fan either.”
“Mama, Daddy, we were just sitting down to eat. Would you like to join us?”
“With Walker, Adam, and Brock cooking, I don’t mind if I do.”
His parents moved off as I picked up our plates. “Find us a table, vato.”
28
DECLAN
