As we took our seats on the plane, my paranoid mind kicked into gear. Luckily, it was just the two of us in our row. I had never been nervous to fly when I was a kid, yet in my adult years, I found myself running statistics of crashes through my head. I really needed to stop watching the news. It was far beyond depressing. However, not knowing what was going on in the world was just as bad.
Worse yet, we were in the back of the plane because first class had been sold out. I could not get over how much louder it was in the rear of the plane, and we had not even taken off yet.
Kyle looked at me with amusement. “Every time we fly, you turn pale, but today, you look whiter than a ghost. What’s wrong?”
“I can’t shake this aversion to flying…and the thought of crashing,” I admitted while tightening my seat belt. “And if we crash today while sitting next to these enormous engines, we’re definitely toast,” I huffed, exasperated.
Kyle chuckled, and I glared at him. His hand sought out mine, and he squeezed it reassuringly.
“Sorry, beautiful, but flying is kinda second nature to me now.”
The pilot came over the intercom and announced our immediate departure and estimated arrival time. The sounds of the turbines filled the cabin. I gripped Kyle’s hand harder as the plane backed away from the terminal.
“Did you fly a lot as a child?” I asked, redirecting my attention to him once again.
“I never flew much as a kid. So, when I joined the Army, I was quite intimidated to be surrounded by huge planes, jets, and helicopters, but it got me over my fears of flying pretty quickly.”
My pulse sped up as I blinked at him. I was not sure if it was from the plane heading in the direction of the runway or because he was sharing on his own. I settled on a combination of both.
“Where did you fly to first?” I asked, wanting to know more.
“After boot camp, I went to an Army base in Hawaii. My first sergeant took note of my ability to hit long-range targets with high accuracy. He said it was a gift not to be ignored, and he enrolled me into sharpshooter training where I scored at the top of my class,” he said while stroking his thumb back and forth over the top of my hand.
“Did you like it?” I was completely consumed with learning more about that part of his life because he was usually so reserved about it.
“I did,” he said with a short nod.
The longing in his voice made me wonder if he missed it.
“It was my calling, and to this day, I’m still grateful that my sergeant noticed my talent well before I figured it out.”
“So, was that your main career in the service? Or did you have multiple jobs?”
“I was part of a special ops group. My team and I were all highly trained in combat, but we specialized in night raids.”
“Night raids?” I asked quietly, feeling uneasy. It sounded dangerous and…bad.
“Yes.” He hesitated as if choosing his words carefully. “Putting it lightly, we would go out at night by helicopter in hopes of catching our enemies off guard. My men and I would drop down by rope or parachute, and then I would lead them as we followed through on our mission—whether it was rescuing a captive or taking out the bad guys.”
“What would happen once you were on the ground?” I asked.
“We were basically the frontline. The tactic was to increase the success of our mission by attacking the heart of the problem. Our backup men would travel on the ground in Humvees. Sometimes, we would have to call in an air strike if we needed it. No one left until we all walked out side by side as a team,” he said with an expressive smile. “We honored the creed,
Leave no man behind
.”
My heart seized, thinking of all that he must have endured as a soldier. His dedication to the men and women he had served with was apparent through his words. I could hear how much he loved those who had fought by his side.
If I was on edge from hearing his stories while he was sitting in front of me, I could only imagine how wives, children, and family felt while their loved ones were serving our country. I had always respected military men and women for their service and sacrifice, but those feelings were intensified now.
I rotated slightly to caress his cheek with the back of my hand. “You sound very fond of them,” I said softly.
“I am,” he said, drawing his brows in. His eyes displayed powerful emotions. “They were my brothers and sisters.”
“Do you still talk to any of your former team members?” I could not help but ask even though I feared I might be pushing him too far.
Pain filled his eyes. “The ones I can,” he said with a low voice.
He blinked rapidly as he shifted to look out the window, and my hand fell from his face. I could have sworn I’d seen tears in his eyes, but I didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable. He had his pride, and he needed it.
In that moment, I knew not to ask him any more today. I was thankful he had opened up another part of his heart to me, but I could see the anguish it had invoked in him to relive his past. My heart ached for all he must have experienced.
Kyle pivoted to face me once again, and his expression was now void of the emotions I had observed just moments before.
“Look, beautiful.” He bent forward to kiss my temple before showing me the blue sky outside the tiny box window. “You made it through takeoff.”
I did.
But at what cost?
Overwhelmed with sadness and compassion, I reached up to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you,” I whispered while gazing into his eyes, “for sharing a part of yourself with me and for the distraction.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied, matching my tone.
He smiled with such love in his eyes, and my heart felt like it might splinter. I lowered my head, resting it on his shoulder, and I embraced Kyle’s warmth as I let the roar of the engines take over my mind.
Kyle remained pretty quiet for the rest of the flight, except to buy us each a bottle of water and a bag of pretzels for an outrageous price.
I gave my best efforts to snuggle with him, offering quiet reassurances and tender touches, whenever I found the opportunity. With the confinement of our seats, I was restrained to stay mostly on my own side when all I wanted to do was climb in his lap to hug and comfort him.
The time on the plane passed by fairly quickly since it was a nonstop flight. Thank goodness we had not gone with the red-eye that had a layover.
When the plane finally landed, we were able to avoid the crowded luggage claim area since we only had carry-on bags. We headed straight for the car rental place where Kyle had reserved a vehicle for us. After we filled out the paperwork and were given the keys, I laughed out loud when we walked up to a Camaro.
I raised my eyebrow in question at him. “Is there any specific reason you picked this car? Or do I already know the answer?” I teased.
Kyle revealed a mischievous grin. “I figured I’d test-drive one, other than my sister’s. That way, I could push it to the limits without Abbey kicking my ass.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Then, I can give her my honest opinion about her recent splurge.”
I threw my head back as waves of laughter rocked my body. I practically had tears in my eyes by the time I met his gaze. “Oh, Kyle, you are such a guy! I can’t wait to tell Abbey that. I’m sure she’ll appreciate you romping on someone else’s Camaro and not hers.”
“Oh, she will,” he said while his eyes roamed up and down the hood of the car. His eagerness to get behind the wheel was radiating off of him. He looked back at me with a boyish grin. “Especially by the time I’m done with this one.”
He winked before we both took our seats in the car. He turned the key forward, and the engine purred to life. Kyle backed out of the parking space carefully, and then he slowly drove out of the lot.
My eyes took in the little details of the inside of the car. “Abbey surely added some fancy upgrades,” I said while looking at the stock seats.
Kyle chortled. “One thing about Abbey is that if she buys something, she goes all out.”
“Yeah, she does.” I smiled warmly. “Have you ever shopped with her?”
“Nope,” he stated, shifting gears to turn out onto the main road in the direction of my aunt’s house. “But I’ve seen her apartment, and I’ve watched her during lunch breaks with her out-of-control one-clicking, as she calls it, on Amazon,” Kyle said with a caring voice. “I’d be terrified to go to the mall with her.”
I chuckled. “Do you remember that day you insisted on going with Brooke and me?”
“Yes,” he replied cautiously as if he was pondering where I was going with this. He stopped at a red light and turned to face me.
“That was nothing.” I laughed, watching his eyes widen in shock. “On Friday, I walked out of the store with six outfits, three pairs of shoes, and a purse,” I said, shaking my head. “That shopping disease is contagious.”
“Why didn’t you just put something back?” Kyle asked with humor as he hit the gas, pushing me back in my seat.
Like it would be such an easy decision to put one item back.
I chuckled to myself.
“Because I liked them all, and so did Abbey.” I hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain this right—to a man, nonetheless.
Here goes…
“She wasn’t supposed to like them all. I thought she’d only like maybe half. That way, I could put the others back.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “My plan backfired—big time.”
“I’ll say,” Kyle said with amusement rich in his tone. “You know how messed-up that sounds, right? In fact, words can’t even describe how much that doesn’t make any damn sense.” He chortled while shaking his head from side to side.
“I know,” I sighed. “That’s why I said it was a disease.” I shrugged. “We can’t control it.”
“Uh-huh. Keep tellin’ yourself that, beautiful,” he said while turning onto my aunt’s street. Her house came into view seconds later. “Whatever makes you feel better.”
“Shush,” I said teasingly, tapping his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ve already seen your garage filled with your own weaknesses.”
Kyle laughed loudly as he slipped the car into park in Lucie and Dan’s driveway, and then he shifted to face me. “I think we share that weakness, beautiful.” He hunched over the console to kiss me softly.
“You two aren’t even out of the damn car yet, and you’re already kissing!” Jason said while banging on the car window.
I nearly jumped into Kyle’s lap at being startled. My heart was pumping ferociously in my chest. I turned to glare at my not-so-cute-at-the-moment cousin, who was laughing hysterically.
“Hello, Jason,” I practically growled.
He opened the door for me, and I pried myself off of Kyle’s body to pivot and step out of the car.
“There’s my favorite girl.” Jason beamed with his arms wide open. “Where’s my hug?”
I crossed my arms over my chest as Kyle joined me with our bags in hand.
“Your bear hug was vetoed when you scared the living daylights out of me.” I smirked.
“Ah, come on, Lily,” he teased sweetly.
His tone made me remember how good he was at talking his way out of almost anything. I had always been a sucker for it. I dropped my arms, and letting out a deep breath, I took a small step his way.
“That’s right,” Jason replied while beaming down at me with a grin.
Kyle chuckled in the background.
“You know you love me,” Jason added.
“Sometimes,” I clarified.
Jason squeezed me firmly. “Missed you,” he said while shifting to drape his arm around my shoulder as we walked to the front door.
“Already?” I smiled.
“Yep,” Jason replied.
I let out a small laugh as we reached my Aunt Lucie, who was standing on the front steps.
“Hi, Lily!” Aunt Lucie said warmly with her arms open wide. “You look lovely as always, dear,” she added.
I embraced her. “Thank you. It’s good to see you again, Aunt Lucie,” I said, pulling back. “And I appreciate you letting us stay here.”
“Of course you’ll stay at our home. You’re family.” She shifted her attention to Kyle. “You, too, dear,” she said, hugging him.
“Great to see you, Lucie,” Kyle said as they parted.
“We are so happy the two of you could visit us again. Please, come inside,” she said while gesturing us into the foyer.
I strode inside first, and Kyle lowered his hand to the small of my back while his other hand carried our luggage. Jason shut the door behind us. We took off our shoes on the rug, and Kyle set our belongings down next to the wall.
“You guys must be starving after your flight. I don’t even think they give you peanuts anymore, do they?” Lucie laughed.
“No, we had some pretzels though,” I answered.
“I made some hot lunches, and they’re ready in the kitchen if you’d like to eat.”
“Lunch sounds wonderful. Thank you.” I smiled kindly at her.
I made my way to the kitchen with two hungry men right on my heels. I wanted to laugh at the fast-paced footsteps behind me. The four of us took our seats at the table, and we immediately dug in to pulled pork sandwiches.
After swallowing a divine bite, I glanced around, noticing we were missing others. “Where are Uncle Dan and Damon?”
“They are still at work.” Aunt Lucie tilted her head at Jason. “I was only able to talk this one into taking off early, so he could help me arrange the upstairs bedroom for you and Kyle.”
“Thank you, Aunt Lucie and Jason,” I responded sincerely. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Oh yeah, we did,” Jason chortled. “The whole room was full of Mom’s sewing stuff.”
“I’m making new curtains for all the bedrooms,” she said with excitement. “I can’t wait to show them to you.”
“I’d love to see them when we finish eating.”
I smiled as I recalled how much Aunt Lucie loved to sew and redecorate. She was very talented and took great pride in her work.
“Sure! I was so relieved to finally find fabric that matched our furniture and paint.” She paused, taking a sip of her drink. “Uncle Dan said the ones we had were fine, but I think we needed some color to brighten up the place.”
“I bet he’ll come around when he sees them completed,” I said in support.
“He will.” She smiled. “So, how are you liking California? Are you unpacked yet?”