Page 44

CHAPTER 44

CARSON

Giggles greeted me as I walked out of the bedroom. My parents, Amelia, and Margot had been here for several days, and while Roman had a house not too far away, I’d invited Amelia and Margot to stay. The house was plenty big enough for the five of us, and for the first time ever, my house felt like a home and not a project for the little downtime I got between ops.

“Good morning,” I said, walking toward the coffee pot.

“Hey, Carson!”

I glanced up from the nectar of the Gods I poured into my cup and smiled. She’d been dressed for the day already. Amelia had her in a pink sweatshirt and jeans with matching pink Converse and her hair in those little buns.

“Good morning, princess.”

“Nana says we’re going to meet your friends. Will MisserAdam be there?”

I laughed. Every morning was the same. It didn’t matter what we had planned for the day, she was bouncing in her seat excited when I walked into the kitchen.

“He might be. I don’t know for sure, though. Why?”

“I dunno. He’s fun.”

My eyebrows shot to my forehead like rockets.

Adam fun?

“If you say so. Did you call your daddy yet?”

“Nuh-uh. I waited for you.”

I pulled out my phone, and it buzzed in my hand before I could even get the screen on. Roman’s name popped up on my phone, and I smiled.

“Good afternoon, doc.”

“Good morning. How’s my kiddo?”

“As beautiful and sassy as ever.”

“And how are you?”

“I’m uh… I’m good.”

“Your parents are listening?”

“Yep. We’re all here. Getting ready to eat breakfast.”

“Ugh. Don’t tell me. Your mama’s cooking biscuits and gravy, fried potatoes, bacon, sausage, and eggs made to order?”

“No.”

“Well, now I’m not so jealous.”

“She scrambled eggs because it’s quicker, and she says my choice of cookware is insulting to every ancestor of every Southerner that ever drew breath.”

Mama sighed, “How a West Virginia boy doesn’t know he needs a decent cast iron skillet is beyond me.”

“You don’t have a cast iron skillet? For shame.”

I laughed. “The two of you should take your act on the road because you’re hilarious.”

“Let me talk to my baby.”

I glanced around and whispered, “I thought you were.”

His groan rumbled through the phone. “You’re killing me.”

“Sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”

“You’re right. We’ll talk more later. Here’s Margot.”

I held the phone out. Margot snatched it from my hand, squealing like a banshee. The sound pierced my ears. She jumped from her chair, racing toward the living room as fast as her little legs would carry her.

“I don’t think I’ll ever teach that girl to be a lady,” Amelia said apologetically.

My parents nodded and chuckled, but I wouldn’t have them breaking her spirit, and I said so.

“She’s perfection as she is. She doesn’t need to be tamed into a cardboard cut-out. She’s got fire and spirit. And besides that, she’s a child.”

“Carson, I really don’t think…” Mama started, her gaze darting from me to my dad.

Amelia cleared her throat and gave me a look. “No. Carson is right. If Roman were here, he would’ve said something similar. He’s all about teaching her to be comfortable in her own skin and not teaching her that children should be seen and not heard.”

I raised my mug and said, “Amen.”

I wanted her to be a hell-raiser, a rabble-rouser, not some meek and mild milquetoast too demure and shy to stand up for herself. I wanted her feet to hit the floor and all the evil in the world to run for the hills fucking petrified.

“Carson, should you be standing on that leg?”

I turned to look at my dad and sighed. I had explained to them that I had no limitations other than to pace myself and not overdo it, but he and Mama had driven me nuts in the few days they’d been here.

“Oh, he’s fine, Cal. I was there when the doctor sent him back home. Carson’s doing exactly as the doctor ordered, but he does need to eat and keep the cane or crutch close by just in case.”

Mama turned, spatula in hand, and said, “Speaking of you being there, Amelia, Cal and I can’t tell you how much we appreciate all you and Roman did for our boy while he was in Germany.”

“You think nothing of it. The boys may have lost touch for a while, but I still think of Carson as part of our family. Your other boys, too.”

I moved to the table and sat down. The kitchen was spacious. A big island dominated the floor in the middle of the room, and the dining area sat between the living room and the island. When I bought the place, I ripped out all the walls, opening everything up because, if the team were here for ballgames or whatever, I didn’t want to feel cramped. Especially not when deployments meant living right on top of five other guys.

“The house is nice, son.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“A bit big for just you, though.”

I raised my cup to hide the grimace and thanked my presence of mind that I sat down so Margot was in my line of sight. Otherwise, I knew I would’ve given myself away looking at her.

“It was a flipper. I worked on it between deployments. When it was done, I liked it so much that I kept it. I don’t notice how big it is because the rooms I don’t use are upstairs.”

My dad hummed under his breath and went back to his paper and coffee.

“Oh, Carson, if I’ve not said it before, the bed upstairs is so comfortable.”

I looked over at Mama and smiled. “Good, I’m glad. Amelia, are you sure you’re okay in the room with the twin beds?”

“Yes, absolutely. And just so you know, both of those beds are comfy, too. Margot’s made me switch off with her.”

I looked at the little girl who was still jabbering away like a magpie in the living room. She had some dolls and coloring books on the coffee table and cartoons I didn’t recognize played on the enormous flat screen over the fireplace.

A few minutes passed, and Margot came running over to me. “Daddy wants to talk with you.”

I took the phone and watched her dance off to the living room.

“Hey.”

I tried to keep my voice flat and even, but my dad glanced at me, so I cleared my throat.

“You’re not getting sick, are you?”

Chuckling, I replied. “No. Just a tickle in my throat that needs more coffee.”

“She sounds like she’s having fun and very excited to see Adam today.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure which Adam she’s talking about because the Adam I know isn’t exactly what I would call fun.”

“Oh, she’s talking about Woody. He was so great with all the kids when we were in Newport, but he paid Margot a lot of attention because she was so cranky after you left.”

“I’ll have to thank him.”

“I already did because Margot’s daddy was cranky too.”

Twin flames flared to life on my cheeks, and I rushed to my feet and made a beeline for the coffee pot to hide the effect his words had on me.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I had plans that didn’t include you hopping on a chopper for Virginia.”

“Same,” I said.

Those plans played in my head, only this time I had the experience to go along with the desires I’d wanted to explore that night. Now, I knew how it felt to be taken by him, what he tasted like, and how he sounded.

I cleared my throat.

“Are you getting hard?”

“Yeah.”

The word came out strangled, making me sound like a croaking frog.

“Hey, I got a call coming in from command,” I lied. “Can you hang on for a second?”

“Liar.”

“I’ll be right back. I’ve gotta take this call,” I said to no one in particular.

Leaving my coffee mug, I dashed out of the kitchen toward the laundry room. Thankfully, it connected to my walk-in closet. Once I got to my bathroom, I shut myself inside.

“You’re fucking evil.”

“No. I’m horny and missing all the orgasms.”

“Yeah, those were nice. When do you think we’ll be able to do that again?”

“In person? Who knows?” He paused briefly and asked, “Do you have a laptop?”

“Not one that’s not DOD issued. I have a desktop.”

“Can you get one?

“Yeah, I can pick one up today.”

“Make sure it has a webcam, and we’ll see what happens after you get my kiddo to bed tonight.”

“You have the best ideas.”

“I try. I gotta get back to work.”

“Yeah, Mama nearly has breakfast ready, and we just added a stop at the PX for a laptop.”

“With a webcam. I wanna watch you come.”

“If you don’t fucking stop, I’ll need to jerk off before I leave this room.”

“If you do, I want a dick pic.”

“Holy fuck. Shut up before I come in my pants.”

“Babe, that’s not the deterrent you think it is. It’s more of an incentive to keep going.”

“Okay. That’s enough. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Chicken.”

I hung up on him, clucking like a chicken.

I tossed the phone on the bathroom counter and braced my hands against the edge, staring down at my cock, willing it to go down. The thought of jacking off with my parents, Margot, and Amelia in the other room felt wrong on so many levels. I couldn’t pinpoint why. People fucked with other people around all the time. Parents fucked with their kids in the house. Hell, mine had done it numerous times, considering they had five more kids after Trip was born.

Eww.

My cock softened to the point I thought he might just be trying to crawl inside me.

Parents fucking equals bye-bye hard-on.

Good to know.

Taking a deep breath, I walked into the kitchen and found my dad setting the table and Mama and Amelia carrying food from the kitchen to the dining area.

“There you are. We thought you snuck out the back on us.”

“No, ma’am. I got a call from command, and then I called Roman back. He wants us to pick up a laptop with a webcam so he can talk with Margot while she’s here.”

“Don’t you have a computer?” Mama asked.

“Not one she can use to video call her dad.”

“Carson, are you picking it up from the PX?” Amelia asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well, I thought it would be rude of us to all show up at your CO’s home-empty handed.”

“Oh, Amelia, that’s a good idea. Let me grab a pad and pen, and we’ll make a list,” Mama said.

I sighed and looked at my dad. He shook his head and said, “Let us pray.”

Yes, please let us pray that I survive two southern women ganging up on me.

Once my dad said grace, we all dug in. Well, except Mama and Amelia. They seemed able to do an interrogation while helping Margot and eating themselves.

“Does anyone have any allergies?”

“It’s still chilly out. Will this be inside or out?”

“Does his wife make…” Then they filled in the blank with some fucking nonsense I couldn’t answer.

Finally, I said, “I don’t know. I don’t know if anyone has any allergies. It’ll be a mix of inside and out. I never take anything other than beer and whatever Julie tells Foster to have me bring.”

“Why didn’t you say that earlier?”

“What did he tell you to bring?”

“I was told to bring myself and my company. If you want to bring something, figure out what you want to take and take it. It’s a bunch of SEALs who’ll eat the ass end off a dead rhino if they’re hungry enough.”

“Carson Adrian Wilcox! You watch your language.”

“Hey! My name’s Dree ann, too!” Margot yelled.

Daddy, Mama, and Amelia all gasped. Ignoring my mother’s admonishment and all their shocked outbursts, my head swiveled toward Margot. I fought to keep my mouth from falling open as I stared at her. I’d forgotten that little tidbit of info.

“We have the same name, Carson!”

I nodded, then said, “We sure do, princess.”

“Why’d we have the same name, Carson?”

“She’s smart as a damn tack.”

“Cal Wilcox, not you, too.”

Mama stood up from the table and marched into the kitchen, pulling open cabinet after cabinet until she came back with a mason jar I didn’t even know I had. She unscrewed the lid and plopped it down on the table between me and Dad.

“Swear jar. I’ll not have you two cursing a blue streak in front of that little girl.”

“Miss Georgie? What’s a swear jar?”

“It’s Mamaw, remember? And a swear jar is for when people say words they shouldn’t.”

“Oh. Like stupid and doo-doo head?”

Amelia dropped her head into her hand and shook her head.

“Yes, ma’am. Exactly like that,” Mama said, then turned to us, hands on her hips. “Ante up, boys. You do the crime, you pay the fine.”

“My wallet’s in the bedroom,” I said.

“You made it pretty clear you’re mobile. So, go on. Git. We’ll wait.”

I stood from the table and went to the bedroom for my wallet while my old man grumbled behind me.

I dropped a five-dollar bill in the jar when I backtracked and said, “Hit me up when I run out.”

My dad chuckled, and Mama smacked his shoulder. “Quit encouraging his bad behavior.”

The rest of the morning continued in the same manner: lively banter and an even livelier little girl who bounced around the house playing with this toy and that while entertaining us all.

I contemplated messaging Roman about Margot’s name but decided to hang off. I wanted to see his face when I asked him about her middle name.