Page 63 of Complicated Past
The honor of deboarding first defaulted to Mack Hanlon, who was eager to see his wife, daughters, and young son. The idea that one day he might be the first off for that reason was a new possibility—one that Linc liked.
As he made his way down the boarding stairs, he picked out the trio, madly waving to him. His heart filled with a sense of coming home like he’d never experienced. He didn’t get a chance to read the colorful sign that Jalen held up before he bolted away from Bri, the sign flapping at his side.
“Uncle Linc! Uncle Linc!” Jalen’s smile was contagious as he launched himself into the air. His little arms wrapped around Linc’s neck and squeezed tight. He leaned back and placed a hand on each of Linc’s cheeks. “I miss you, Uncle Linc.”
“I missed you too, J-man.” He gave him a light head butt. His gaze locked on the two women approaching, and he shifted Jalen to his left hip, and placed his arm around Bri’s shoulders. He held her to his side and pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Welcome home, big brother.” She wrapped her arms around the pair for a family hug.
“Good to see you.” Two months ago, he feared he might never see Bri again. Instead, their relationship was as close now as when they were kids.
He deposited Jalen back into Bri’s arms. Kendra moved closer, and he slipped an arm around her waist. “Hey, you.”
“Hi.”
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it. I’ve been waiting weeks for this.” She tilted her face up.
He inhaled a scent like honeysuckle, pulling her warm, soft body to his hard one. The first kisses were sweet, but it only took her slight murmur of pleasure to make him forget about everything but her.
“They’re kissing a lot,” Jalen said.
“I see that.” Bri laughed.
Kendra broke the kiss and looked around bashfully as Dev approached the group.
“Hey there, J-man.” Dev patted his arm, then addressed Bri. “I’m glad you’re back home safely.”
“Me too.” She leaned her head to touch Jalen’s. “Who’s that?”
“That’s the new guy,” Dev answered.
Linc looked to follow Bri’s gaze locked on Chief Lundgren and his wife talking with the newest—and single—Bad Karma team member. “Dev, this is Kendra.” He made the introduction before Bri could get more information and start crushing on the newbie like she had with Dev. That had been a non-starter.
Kendra shook Dev’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you in person. I’ve heard a lot about you. Thank you for letting us crash at your house.”
“No worries. I owed him for the renovation work he’s been helping me with. Besides, we have to protect our future team member, the J-man. Show me that muscle,” he teased and squeezed Jalen’s bicep when he posed with his arm up. “We’ll have to do dinner sometime.”
“That sounds great,” Kendra agreed.
“See you soon.” Dev tapped fists with Linc, then Jalen, who added his standard explosion effect. Dev laughed and nodded to Bri and Kendra before moving off.
“Speaking of dinner, Bri and Jalen are joining us tonight for dinner at my place,” Kendra said.
“If you eat all your mac and cheese, you get dessert,” Jalen stated wearing a big smile.
Linc couldn’t help but laugh. “Mac and cheese? That’s my welcome home dinner? Hot dogs too?” He’d eat bologna with them if it was what Jalen wanted—provided Kendra was dessert.
“It’s lobster mac and cheese for the adults, and filet mignon. No hot dogs tonight,” Kendra promised.
“That sounds wonderful. Just Bri and Jalen? Not your whole family?”
“We’ll wait at least a few days for that.”
“I do want to meet them. Just not tonight.” He liked the way Kendra’s arm tightened around him possessively.
“There’s time for that later. You earned bonus points with Grandma Ruby. She loved the shawl you sent for her birthday. She wore it to lunch with her friends and got several compliments.”