Page 3 of No Fear

“You got that right.”

“Daddy. Can I get the cookies now?” Megan came bounding up to them.

“Ooh, cookies.” Donnie grinned. “Did you make them?”

“Yes. Mommy and me made them this morning. Chocolate chip or peanut butter. Oh, and oatmeal, because Mommy said we had to make some healthy ones.” She scrunched her nose in disgust, making Donnie laugh.

“Come on then, pumpkin. Let’s go and get them together,” Steve said.

Donnie watched father and daughter walk hand in hand into the house.

Steve thought he had been off? Steve knew him better than anyone. Donnie had been struggling to get out of the funk he got into at the anniversary of Nate’s death a few weeks back. It still hit him hard every year, thinking about his best friend from high school. This one had been extra tough, perhaps because it was ten years. It seemed impossible it had been so long ago. Nate’s death had changed Donnie’s path in life. He didn't regret his decision to join the Navy, but he did sometimes wonder what his life would have been like if Nate hadn't died. Would he still be in Albany? With Charlie?

“Here you go, Uncle Donnie.” Megan held out a chocolate chip cookie on a napkin. “I brought you the biggest one,” she whispered with a big wink.

Donnie crouched down and whispered, “Thank you Megan. You’re the best.” He held up his fist, and she fist-bumped him, grinning widely. She had taken to wanting to fist-bump everyone, after seeing her dad do it with Dex. The team were always happy to oblige.

Seeing the rest of Raven and some of Nyx sitting on the deck, he walked over, needing to get his mind off Nate. And Charlie. The women had taken over the Adirondack chairs on the beach, no doubt already planning Kelly’s wedding.

As he stepped onto the deck, he heard Tyler ask, “So, who’s planning the bachelor party?”

“Oh, I'm already on it,” Ryan said.

Dex groaned. “Not sure I want to know.”

“Probably not. You can trust us to make it memorable.” Ryan waggled his eyebrows.

“Looking forward to it already,” Donnie said. A boy's night was always a blast with these guys, but a bachelor party was going to be epic. Donnie glanced at his watch.

“Guys, I’m gonna head out. I got a few things to do, and I have an early flight tomorrow.”

“You do?” Dex said.

“Yeah, visiting the folks.”

“Enjoy your vacation, while some of us are here picking up the slack,” Liam Jackson, Nyx’s team leader, said with a grin.

“I’ll think of you. Not.”

He heard the boys laughing as he stepped off the deck to say goodbye to everyone else before finally getting in his Ford Bronco.

The team had busted his balls when he bought the Bronco, but he didn't give a shit. He didn't need a truck, but he wasn’t really a car guy. The cyber orange convertible Bronco suited him just fine. Cheaper to run than a truck and plenty big enough to transport anything he might need. As he pulled away from the curb, he turned on the radio. He was looking forward to surprising his mom and seeing his folks. Steve was right. Maybe this break would do him good.

***

“JESUS, YOU REALLY UPSET Mom.”

Wrapped in a bathrobe, Charlotte Weston sighed at the words, knowing better than to answer her fiancé when he was in this mood.

Simon stepped forward and grabbed her upper arms. She winced.

“Simon, you’re hurting me.”

Ignoring her, he said. “My family are paying for this wedding. If my mom wants you to wear her dress, wear the fucking dress. What difference does it make?”

Apparently, he’d just spoken to his mother. It made all the difference, because she had not had any say in this wedding whatsoever. Mistakenly, Charlotte thought just maybe she might be able to choose her own dress.

“It makes a difference to me. I wanted to choose my dress. I am the bride. Not your mom,” she snapped.