“How long have she and your brother been together?”
“Four years.”
“Four?How much of that has been engaged?”
“Three.”
“What is he waiting for?”
June chuckled.It wasn’t the first time someone had asked her that, but it wasn’t easy.“His schedule is hard to predict, and neither are really in a rush.Well, let me rephrase.To him, there is no rush.”
“He should just pony up and take some time off and do it.Or better yet, come here and do it Vegas style.”
June chuckled at his suggestion.“Believe me, I’ve suggested it, but she wants the whole church wedding and family and friends there.They’ll get around to it eventually.”
It was hard to plan for a wedding when you didn’t know if you could get called away at a moment’s notice.No one wanted to drop a fortune for a wedding a year out, then the groom gets called on a mission the day before or worse, the day of.
Liam usually got a heads-up notice before his missions, but there were times when he had no notice and so always had a bag at the ready.
As much as she and Cora would love to see Liam retire and settle down, they knew it wasn’t in the cards.At least not for several more years unless something major happened to Liam.The man lived and breathed Delta.He wasn’t leaving it until he was kicked out or died.Hopefully, it was the former.
Cora wanted the wedding to be legally bound together.It was the only way the military would keep her in the loop if, god forbid, anything happened to him.But since she only planned to marry once, she wanted to do it right.Cora refused to cheapen what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life.
“You never said where you grew up,” she stated instead of dwelling on Cora’s wedding that may or may not ever happen.That was for Cora and Liam to figure out.
“I grew up with my grandparents on a ranch in Texas.”
“Your grandparents?”
Rob looked uncomfortable for a moment as he scratched the back of his head.“Yeah, my uh…parents were killed in a car accident when I was a baby.My sister was four.”
“Oh my god, Rob, I’m so sorry.”She didn’t reach out to comfort him because she knew what it was like when people tried to comfort her when she told them how she’d lost her legs.It felt like a pity embrace.
Rob shrugged.“It was a long time ago.I don’t remember them; I was a baby.My sister Catherine barely does either.”
“Did you get along with your grandparents?”June was thankful she had been older when her parents died, so she didn’t end up in foster care since they didn’t have any other family to live with.Not that the death of their parents had bonded them; Liam had moved her into her own house and simply came to visit.
“Yeah, they were great.I helped out around the farm.Used all the big equipment and rode horses.”
“A cowboy.”She had a hard time picturing him in a cowboy hat and boots.
His eyes widened as if he hadn’t thought about that.“Yeah, I guess I was.Or at least a ranch hand.”
“If you liked it so much, why did you leave to join the army?”
“I wanted more.I wanted to serve my country.Live the life of adventure.”
“You got drawn in by one of those recruitment posters.”She laughed, remembering Liam had been drawn in by them too.He wanted to blow stuff up and take the fight to the enemy instead of fighting on US soil.She had been terrified and proud at the same time.
“I was,” he agreed, nodding his head.A look came into her eye, and she wondered if he was relieving a memory before he blinked and came out of it.“So did you grow up in California or somewhere before that?”
June blinked at the sudden change of subject.“No, I’m originally from North Carolina.I moved to California then here.”It had been a few years after her accident.Her mom had gotten sick, with cancer.Dad took care of her.It became too much for Dad to care for both her and Mom.They’d hired Rosa to help alleviate that burden on him.
Her mom died a few months later.Dad a few months after that.Losing Mom had destroyed him.Liam moved her out to California after the funeral and took over her care, making sure Rosa came with her.
“Obviously, you and your brother enjoyed it there if he’s still there and you just moved here a few years ago.”
“It was a great area.”Liam had wanted to keep her close in case she needed anything, and he didn’t have to fly to see her or help, especially when her seizures were more frequent.A change in medications had greatly reduced those.
