Page 24 of Healing Home
BB appreciated the kindness in Mary’s expression, but she could also see tiredness there. “I was a little surprised when Link told me Black was home.”
Mary’s expression turned exasperated. “Once Justin makes up his mind there is no changing it. The wound had been treated in Afghanistan and there were no serious complications. The medical personnel on the FOBs are excellent with dealing with traumas like gunshot wounds. Lord knows they see enough of them. Once he was seen here there was no keeping him from heading home, and the kids. He heals best here.”
She turned to look out over the pool. Even from this far away BB could see Justin, his leg propped up in a recliner out under the pavilion. He wore a ball cap over his graying hair, but she could see him laughing through his thick beard.
“Two of the kids carried his favorite chair out,” Mary laughed.
And Black was holding court from his throne. BB watched the men milling around him, conscious not to bump into the chair or anything. It looked like Black was nursing a big glass of iced tea, though most of the others were drinking bottles of beer. Link leaned over a cooler, digging down into the ice. He pulled out a brown bottle and twisted the cap off, tossing it into the oversized trash can in the corner. The group made room for him as he dragged a chair in, and he sank down into it with a grin. Obviously he was being teased for being late.
BB glanced away, back to Mary. “I bet your husband is excited to retire.”
Mary appeared to be several years older than BB, but there was a strength to her that BB didn’t think came just from age. The woman had been through a lot and as she pondered BB’s question, she got an odd look on her attractive face. “I don’t know. In a way he is, but he feels like he’s letting the team down. I can see it in his eyes. He’s got arthritis in his knees and back from parachute jumps, and he’s been shot half a dozen times. He’s been on eighteen deployments since I’ve been with him and he’s one of the most intelligent men I’ve ever met, but he broods over these men worse than their own wives. He may retire, but I don’t think he’ll ever lose contact with any one of them. He’s godfather to several of the kids, and I’m godmother, so I know we’ll have contact with everyone later, but I think he’s feeling… like he’s going to be left behind.”
Yeah, she could understand that. There would also be a danger aspect he was leaving behind, though.
“Whether he knows it or not, Link will probably be promoted to take Black’s place.”
She glanced at Mary. “Really?”
“Yes. The men all look up to him, and he’s one of the older team members. He would be the perfect replacement.”
It made BB happy that the men looked up to him like that. She could tell he was a good guy, but it meant even more that he was appreciated by his peers like that. Being a Navy SEAL had to be an incredibly hard job.
“Are you excited to have him home?”
Mary’s pretty blue eyes turned luminous. “Very much so. The kids are getting older and if he doesn’t get some time with them now I think he’ll regret it. Don’t get me wrong, he loves the kids and dotes on them, but by necessity his job has taken him away a large part of their childhoods.”
BB nodded, adjusting her stance as Frankie leaned against her leg. “I’m sure. And your marriage, as well.”
She smiled a little sadly. “Yes. It’s going to be an adjustment having him home though.”
“You’ll just have to lay down the law and tell him how things operate. Tell him it’s boot camp all over again.”
Mary laughed and nodded. “Gonna have to give him jobs just to keep him from being underfoot. Come on. I’ll introduce you to the girls.”
A group of kids ran through the food area, circling the group of women once, then disappearing around the pool.
“Don’t fall in,” one of the mothers called.
Mary introduced her to the women sitting in a circle around a glass table. BB had seen most of them yesterday, but there hadn’t really been time to connect or talk. Mary introduced them all and connected wives to husbands and kids. There was no way BB would remember them all, but she would try. Most of the women seemed welcoming but there were a few that were more reserved. That was fine. She was an unknown quantity mingling with their families. They had a right to be.
Mary handed her a glass of chilled wine and nudged a veggie tray toward her. She took a carrot, munching absently. She shook her head slightly, loving the scene. It was all so normal, just like her family. But the difference was, there was an underlying… awareness that it could all change in a second. These men were warriors. She could see it in their ever-roving eyes and the way they shifted their bodies. They were on the lookout for danger, even here at a friend’s home.
For some reason her eyes connected with Link’s. Neither of them moved for a long second, then he slowly smiled.
BB’s body was already over sensitized, but literally, every time he gave her that seductive, half-grinning look, her body drenched itself for him. She’d never reacted to any man the way she did with Link. There was a… she hated to say comfort because it seemed to diminish the situation, but that was how she felt with him. Comfortable. She’d walked around naked, something she rarely did, and felt free to talk to him about anything. They steered clear of the specifics of his job, but that was okay. She knew there were things he couldn’t talk to her about.
She loved that even in the midst of the chaos around them, he could catch her eyes and they had a connection.
“Hello,” Mary signsonged, laughing softly.
BB dragged her gaze away from Link and back to the woman talking to her. “Sorry.”
Mary was staring at her thoughtfully. “You know, can you help me with something inside?”
“Of course,” BB said, following her into the house, Frankie at her heels.
It wasn’t nearly as loud inside. Mary led her through the wood-floored family room and into the massive kitchen. “Your home is beautiful.”