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He wanted to, but he didn’t know if he wanted what it might mean if he did. He had to think on that a lot more. The last thing he wanted was to start something with her and end up letting her down.
In his uncertainty, he’d left her question unanswered for too long. “Okay,” she said and rolled away, drawing the covers up tight. “Bye, Duncan. Be quiet on your way out.”
He started to reach for her but thought better of it. The time she’d be glad for his touch was already past. So he stood and went to the door.
Before he went through, he turned and said to the lump in the bed, “Bye, Phoebe. Take care.”
The lump in the bed did not react.
Well, he’d wanted a chance to say goodbye.
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~oOo~
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Duncan’s mom’s arms were so tight around his neck he was actually seeing stars. “I’m gonna be fine, Mom,” he said as he tried to wedge himself gently free. “If you don’t strangle me before I can leave.”
She finally eased off, but she didn’t let go. “You listen to your father. If he tells you to hang back, you hang back. Don’t try to be a hero.”
He used a little bit of force and pulled her arms away, but he held onto them. “Mom. I’ll do what I need to do. It’s not about being a hero.”
All around them, the Bulls who had families—and that was most of them—were in similar clenches. The entire family, even Grammo and Grampa D, had shown up at the clubhouse at the crack of dawn to see the whole club off. They’d had a huge breakfast together, and now it was time to mount up, but the goodbyes were taking some time.
“Just come home to me, Duncan. You and your father. Just come home.”
“We will, Mom. I promise.”
Somehow, those words finally set her tears loose. Fuck, this really was like they were heading off to war.
As Dad came over from his goodbye with Kelsey and took over the handling of Mom, Duncan felt a punch in his kidney. He turned around and found Hannah, his baby sister, glaring up at him.
She wore one of his old Mass Effect hoodies, which was about five sizes too big for her. It was like the girl was allergic to the idea that anybody would ever see her body. She dressed like early-days Billie Eilish.
“You’d better come home breathing,” she snarled at him. “If you leave me alone with those mutants we call parents, I will cut your corpse into kibble and feed you to Rowdy.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet. I didn’t know you cared so much.”
When she stuck her tongue out at him, Duncan grabbed her and forced her into a full-body hug. After a couple of seconds, she hugged him back. Hard.
“Still think you’re a cretin,” she mumbled against his kutte.
He kissed the top of her head. “And I still think you’re a swamp rat. But I love ya.”
She grunted and head-butted his chest.
“UncaDunc!” came a tiny, beloved voice from somewhere around his knees. Duncan set Hannah back and picked up his best girl.
“Hey, TildyWildy. Did you get another muffin?”
Tildy’s nod was accompanied by a grin that was far too sly for a toddler. “Mama say no, but Grammo say yes.”
“Grammo is good for sneaky muffins, yep.” He gave her an affectionate little shake. “Hey, are you gonna be a good angel for Mama while Daddy, Papa, and I are away?”
“What’s away?”
“It means we won’t see each other for a little while.”
