Page 61 of Boomer (SEAL Team Tier 1, #7)

He blinked, still catching up. “You, too, darlin’.”

“Come sit. I’ll get us some lemonade.”

As she disappeared into the house, her husband stepped onto the porch.

“Carter.”

Boomer stood. “Ryan.”

They shook hands, firm, respectful.

“Congratulations on the baby,” Boomer said, glancing toward the kitchen.

Ryan followed his gaze. “Thanks.”

Then he helpfully disappeared, leaving them the porch and the past. Lila returned with two glasses, passed him one, then settled into the rocking chair beside his. She waited.

She always was good at waiting.

“I owe you something,” Boomer began, voice low. “I came to apologize. For vanishing. For shutting you out. For hurting you.”

Lila’s eyes softened, but she didn’t speak.

“I lost myself after Mike. I was drowning in it, and we—” He exhaled. “—we became a casualty of war.”

She nodded, slow. “I won’t lie. It hurt. I wanted so badly to love you through it. To be enough. But…”

“I made it impossible.”

She nodded again, tears brimming.

“But look at you now.” His smile was real, unburdened. “You got the life you dreamed of. A family. Love. That makes me happy for you.”

Her hand found his, warm and familiar. “And you?”

“I’m in love.” He said it without hesitation.

“Taylor Hoffman and her nephew, Ansel are waiting for me in Lisbon. I don’t know where we’ll go from there, but we’ll get there together.

” He swallowed, and everything just seemed lighter.

“I let Mike go today, and I needed to come here, to scrub out the last bit of shame I carried for hurting you, so I can give her everything. She deserves that.”

Lila leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I’m so damn happy for you, Carter. Thank you for coming. It means more than you know.”

“I’ll always love you,” he whispered.

“Me too.”

They hugged again, long and gentle. Then he stood, heart light. “Let me know when the baby’s born.”

“I will.”

He walked back down the path, the gate clicking shut behind him. The sun was warm. The breeze was kind, and for the first time in a long damn time…Carter “Boomer” Finley was free.

He drove toward the airport, toward Taylor, toward Ansel.

It was a good goddamned day.

The moment had stretched as far as it could go, as taut as a bowstring.

Taylor stood frozen, her fingers clenched into a fist, watching the man she thought she would never find cradle her nephew like he was something sacred.

He’d called her from the airport, had poured his heart out to her about everything…

Mike…Lila and the journey he’d been on, and she wanted nothing more than to hold him.

Ansel had run to him like his little soul had been waiting, like the space between them had never existed. Boomer had caught him, strong arms folding tight around the boy's narrow shoulders. He hadn't said much. He hadn't needed to.

Her mother stood beside her, rigid, arms crossed in that fortress stance she always assumed when emotion threatened to get too close. Her father lingered at the edge of the doorway, quiet, hands clasped behind his back like a man waiting for orders that would never come.

Then Gretchen Hoffman, voice sharper than the late-autumn wind, called out, "Ansel, go and get your things packed."

Ansel hesitated, glancing at Taylor, then at Boomer. Boomer gave the boy a small nod, and Ansel obeyed, slipping his hand from Boomer's fingers like it cost him something. He disappeared into the house.

Taylor turned, fully expecting another round of reasons and resistance from her mother. But what she saw instead unraveled her.

A look of defeat. Not anger. Not even disappointment. Just the quiet devastation of a woman who'd already lost one child and was now standing on the edge of losing her second.

Her father reached out and took Gretchen's hand, brought it to his mouth in a soft, reverent kiss.

"Gretchen," he said gently. "Let the girl go. Let her be happy. Let her take him. Let us honor our son...our daughter...and our grandson with our love. We’re not losing her."

Her mother's face crumpled just slightly. A hairline fracture.

"You sentimental old fool," she whispered. But she let herself be pulled into his arms.

That was all. No declarations. No permissions. Just that.

Taylor stepped forward. The courtyard suddenly felt so quiet, like the world was holding its breath. Boomer looked up at her, eyes rimmed red, jaw tight, as if bracing for impact.

She didn’t stop walking until she was right in front of him.

She set her hand gently on his chest, just above his heart.

She had done her soul searching, and she knew that Ansel belonged with her, regardless of what happened with Boomer.

Her parents had sensed it, knew it, too, so what had just happened had been nothing more than silent understanding between them.

She was his to raise per her brother’s wishes.

Emil forgave her for her own human failing, and in that realization, her guilt dissipated, replaced with determination.

She would fulfill that for Emil and give Ansel not only every scrap of memory about his father, but shepherd him toward what made him whole.

I love you, Emil. Thank you for trusting me with him.

She spoke, telling him how she felt. “I know what you’re willing to give up for me, and I am so moved by that, but I’ve turned everything down, not for just you or Ansel, but for me.

” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I want you, Carter. All of you. The failings. The grief. The guilt. The pain. But you know what else? I want you . Your love. Your heart. You. I will never settle for anything less. The stuff you think you can’t tell me?

That’s the exact shit I want you to unload.

I will never let you down. You have my heart. You have all of me.

“I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to finally let you be there for me.

When you went back to Virginia Beach, I was devastated.

I thought maybe I hadn’t made myself clear enough about how I feel.

About how much you mean to me. I would die for you.

I would give up everything for you. You think you’re not worthy of my love?

Well, I’ve spent every day thinking I wasn’t worthy of yours.

So you see…we’re both wrong. We’re not perfect.

But we try. We live. We love. That’s all there is for me.

So please…tell me you love me. I’m strong enough to hear it, and you already know I’m strong enough to return it. ”

Boomer looked at her. Crushed. Wrecked. Devastated. Tears rolling down his cheeks.

Her heart soared because that meant she’d gotten through to him.

He was shaking. His eyes were shining, tears clinging to his lashes. That beautiful jaw was clenched so hard it looked carved from granite, and she wanted to kiss him. Fuck him. Take him over and over again because that was the only way she’d survive the next few seconds.

Her voice came low and wild. “Lila… I feel sorry for her. She lost you, not because she wasn’t strong enough, but because you’ve always been mine.

She lost you the moment you lost yourself.

But me ? Holding you will never be a burden.

You goddamn better understand this right now.

I. Will. Always. Love. You. No. Matter. What. ”

She grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt and shook him, hard. “So, give me your soul, Carter.

Lay it in my hands, and I swear to you I will cherish it for the rest of my life.”

He fell to his knees.

His chest heaved with the force of it, shoulders caving, face contorted like something had just shattered inside him.

“ Taylor… ” he whispered. “Take my soul. Take all of it.” His voice broke. “I’ve got no more defenses left against you. Fuck, Red. I’m done. I’ve been yours from the beginning. It’s just taken me this long to see my own worth.”

She knelt down to him, pressed her face against his.

“Mike…Mike saved me so I could have you. So, I could have Ansel. This life. This love I’ve wanted for so long, but never thought I deserved.

” His hands fisted in the fabric of her shirt like she was the only thing keeping him grounded.

“I’ve never said it out loud. Not like this.

But what you’re asking for?” His voice cracked on the next breath.

“I give it. I give you everything. My body. My soul into those beautiful, capable hands. Yours. That’s where I want to be.

That’s where I want to remain. Goddammit, Taylor, I fucking love you so deeply, together is all there is for me. ” He met her gaze head-on.

Her breath caught. "I was afraid I’d give too much of myself away," she said. "But now I know...love given only comes back so much fuller."

Boomer swallowed hard. His hands trembled when he cupped her jaw. "You were never too much," he said hoarsely. "You were everything."

Her throat closed. She leaned in until their foreheads touched, whispering.

"Me and Ansel. We're yours." He pulled her in without words, and this time, Taylor didn’t hold back. She had a life to claim, and she was claiming it now. “What’s the weather like in Virginia Beach?” she asked with a chuckle.

“Who gives a fuck? You and Ansel will be there. That’s all that matters.”