Page 27

CHAPTER 27

ROMAN

Sitting in the audience with Mama, Margot, and all of Carson’s family, watching Carson be commissioned, was surreal, yet still so damn difficult. I had to act like a friend when what I wanted was to act like all the other spouses who were proud of their partner.

Problem was, I wasn't a spouse. I wasn’t even a boyfriend or partner.

I shook my head at myself and refocused on the ceremony taking place before me. The train of thought running through my head was ridiculous. I planned to speak with him.

When the ceremony ended, Adam and Brock stood and said, “Give us a minute.”

I nodded, realizing what they were going to do, but the others protested. I waved Adam and Brock off, then stepped between the crowd of Wilcoxes.

“A new officer’s first salute is a big deal. Adam and Brock want Carson’s first salute to be from his teammates.”

“So that’s why they’re here.”

I shrugged. “I would say so, yes.”

“Doesn’t make it any less weird.”

My gaze flew to Trip and Curt, unsure which one spouted the words that made my fists curl in on themselves and my jaw clamp down.

“SEAL teams are very close. They spend more time with each other than with anyone else. They’re deployed around 300 days a year.”

Trip scoffed. “It’s still odd.”

Cal turned to his son, “That’s enough.”

“What? It’s true.”

Cal stepped into Trip’s space, their chests a breath apart. When he spoke, his voice came out in a barely audible growl, “I’m done with your attitude. Today is your brother’s day. Suck it up, plant a smile on that miserable mug of yours, and congratulate him, or I’ll take a page from your brother’s book and wipe the floor with your ass.”

“Cal…”

“No, Georgie. I’m over his shit.”

“Just don’t cause a scene. Please.”

Trip looked at his mother before meeting his father’s gaze. He stepped back and lowered his chin with a slight nod. I didn’t remember him being a homophobic bully, but ten years was a long time.

“Look, Mamaw, they saluted Uncle Carson!”

I turned and watched Carson slip Adam and Brock their coins. The nostrils of my nose flared, and I locked my teeth together to hold back the onslaught of vitriol clogging my throat. I, we , missed Carson’s first salute because of a homophobic prick.

Georgia Wilcox flew toward Carson, and the rest of us followed behind, except for Margot. She was hot on Georgia’s heels. Closely followed by his nephews and sisters-in-law.

I smiled.

So much for protecting her from getting attached to him when his job was a chaotic mess. Just one meeting and Margot had latched onto Carson like an adorable little leech. Her reaction to him and his family to her reinforced my plan to talk to him.

But his reaction to her once he set his mama down… that cemented it. He treated her like a princess, spinning her around in the air, staring up at her as she stared down at him. They looked at each other like the sun, moon, and stars were contained within the other. My mother stepped up next to me and nudged me with her arm. I glanced down at her, but her gaze was locked on Carson and Margot. A quick look around revealed we weren’t the only two enthralled by Carson and Margot’s reunion.

A sigh filled my lungs to intervene, only for the Wilcox kids to do it for me. Flooded with relief, I closed my eyes as I wrestled with the desire to step in front of all the others, pull the man into my arms, and tell him how I felt.

I planned to hang back. I told myself I would wait until his family and teammates congratulated him, but when his eyes met mine over his dad’s shoulder, all my plans flew right out the damn window.

“Congratulations, Ensign.”

The smile on his face spread further as I returned his salute. My heartbeat skyrocketed. It beat so hard I could feel it in my ears. It made my teeth chatter. It was more like a stampeding herd of elephants than a pulse.

And it only got worse when he pulled me into his arms. My world spun and twisted, knotting itself up like a strand of Christmas lights as everything I’d known slid out of place and into another. The picture of my life and my future shuffled and settled. All the parts and pieces were the same, just mixed up in a brand-new vista.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” he whispered.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” I replied before pulling away.

Not that I wanted to. I didn’t. I hated letting him go, but the facade needed to be maintained for both our sakes. His brothers and sisters-in-law descended as we parted, and I scooped up my baby girl to keep myself from jerking him back to my side.

“Daddy?”

“Yeah, punkin?”

“I’m hungry.”

I glanced at my watch and sighed. Everyone would be flooding the local restaurants, and getting a table would be nearly impossible. Plus, I didn’t know what everyone else’s plans were.

“I’m hungry too,” one of Carson’s nephews whined.

The kid stood with Curt and his wife and looked to be close to Margot in age, but the kid was huge if he were Margot’s age. Curt and the other Wilcoxes all heaved a sigh as the other kids parroted Margot and the boy’s pleas for food.

Carson chuckled. “Can I whine for food, too? I’ve not had a decent meal in three damn months.”

“Then let’s eat,” Georgia said.

Carson kissed her cheek and said as he looked at his teammates, Margot and me, “I made reservations, but…”

“Where?” I asked.

He fished out a card from his wallet and passed it to me.

“I’ll call and see if they can add a few more spots while you finish up.”

“Thanks, Rome. I’ll be back in a bit. I’ve gotta do salutes with my trainers and grab my stuff from the barracks.”

I nodded and watched him walk away, glad the protests from his family were non-existent, thanks to them all being preoccupied with the hungry kids. I dialed the restaurant while looking toward Adam and Brock. “You two look much better than the last time I saw you.”

Brock chuckled. “Considering he was trying to up and die on us…”

“No chance, Rocket.”

The ringing in my ear turned to stereo as Brock’s phone went off. He fished it out as Adam swore softly under his breath.

He glanced at Margot and said, “Sorry.”

Before I could answer, the call picked up, and a female voice said, “This is Janie. How may I help you?”

“Hey Janie, you have a reservation for Wilcox today?”

“Yes, sir. A party of twenty.”

“We’ve had a few surprise guests show up and need to expand that to twenty-five if possible. Family from overseas flew in for the commissioning ceremony.”

Janie sighed and said, “I’ll have to check.”

“I’ll make it worth your while.”

“It’ll be a tight squeeze.”

“We’re good with that. We’re all family. Plus, nearly half of the party is kids; a couple of them are too small to sit on their own.”

“A party this size…”

“Janie, don’t worry about the tip. That’s what I meant by making it worth your while. And if it takes a bit to feed us, we won’t complain. You’ve got three Navy SEALS, an Army Captain, a slew of kids and parents, brothers and sisters. We’re never in the same place at the same time, so we’ll be plenty entertained while waiting on food.”

“Okay. I’ll take up some more chairs and some highchairs.”

“Thank you. You’re a gem.”

I hung up as I glanced around. Adam and Brock were off to themselves, talking fast and quietly. Sitting Margot down, I gave her a tiny push toward Carson’s nephews and walked over to Adam and Brock.

“What’s wrong? I mean, if you can tell me.”

Adam crossed his arms over his chest. Brock watched and huffed deeply, his eyes rolling slightly as he turned his gaze from Adam to me.

“I’ve been ordered to report to base.”

“What? Now?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Well, that sucks, but you’ll have time to grab a bite with us, right?”

“They’ve called Carson in, as well.”

My eyes flew from Brock’s face down to Adam’s. “But shouldn’t he get…”

“Leave? Ha! The teams don’t give a flying fuck about leave. When you’re called, you go. Don’t matter what you’re doing,” Adam said, walking off.

Looking back at Brock, I asked, “Is he alright?”

He squeezed the back of his neck as he exhaled the breath he sucked in. “To be honest, doc. No. Not really.”

“Why’s that?”

“PTSD from being captured and tortured has a lot to do with it, but me being cleared to operate and him not, is what’s got him out of sorts at the moment.”

I knew when Adam came into my ER his injuries weren’t what we’d typically see for an injured SEAL, but the nonchalant way Brock disclosed what happened to Adam rocked me. I didn’t know why he’d said it or even if he should’ve but… wow!

“Sorry, doc. Didn’t mean to drop that on you.”

“No. No. That’s okay. I asked. I wouldn’t want you to sugarcoat it for me.”

“Well, good, because I’m not good at that shit. Carson, though, he doesn’t like to worry or scare people.”

As if saying his name made him appear, Carson strode toward us, his sea bag thrown over one of his broad shoulders. A grim look settled on his face. He bypassed his family and mine, stopping between Brock and me. I longed to wrap him up in my arms, but I couldn’t because I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold it together if I did.

“Did you get the call?” Carson asked, his eyes on me, while his words, I knew, were meant for Brock.

“Yep. I’m to report in with you.”

“Adam?”

Brock shook his head, then said, “No, not yet,” when he realized Carson’s gaze was still trained on mine.

“Do you have time to eat?” I asked.

“Did you get…”

“Yes. I handled it.”

Carson looked at Brock and said, “They’re arranging a flight to get us back on base. I’ve gotta figure out how I’m getting my truck home, and I need to get my family settled at the restaurant. Why don’t you come with too? We’ll grab ourselves something to eat before meeting our ride.”

“Yes, sir,” Brock responded. The words were parroted by Adam, who returned just as Carson spoke.

“Yeah, that’s going to take some getting used to,” Carson said, then looked at me. “Whatta ya say, doc? Ready to get the hell out of here and grab some grub?”

His eyes lit up as I replied, “Where you lead, I’ll follow.”