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Doug had rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Right. You realize I’ve heard horror stories from Deiter.”
“That’s because Deiter doesn’t have the sense to find a nice, suitable woman,” Aunt Suze had huffed. “That boy.” She’d shaken her head and Doug had laughed.
“He certainly has a type, doesn’t he.” Doug didn’t normally stick around when Deiter brought one of his latest conquests by they were so…over-the-top. But that might change with Doug’s new level of comfort with women. He might even be able to get in on the subtle teasing his aunt and uncle did, which usually went right over the head of whatever female Deiter brought home.
Fun with family, he’d snickered to himself.
Doug mingled for a while,impressed, as always, with Mason’s parents’ house where the wedding was being held. He loved their big front porch and thought that a smaller version on his own new home might look good. He might ask Mr. Sothard for some pointers. The man owned and operated a local sawmill, and was an expert in construction.
Someone had also gone to a lot of trouble doing the venue up right. There were loads of flowers, with silver and white decorations everywhere. Tables were already laden with finger foods, and several dozen chairs had been set up on the lawn on either side of a six-foot-wide aisle which the bride would walk down. He joked with a few of his SWAT teammates aboutthe command bus doubling as a podium, and then… He saw someone with whom he was long overdue for clearing the air.
He approached Mike.
The second in command of the SWAT team had found many occasions in which to take Doug down a deserved peg or two. He’d been tough, but supportive, and Doug had been an asshole in return. He felt the need to begin mending fences.
“Mike, can I have a word?”
Mike didn’t even blink. A testament to his even-keeled nature. “Of course. What’s on your mind?” He and Doug moved to the hors d’oeuvres table, and began eyeing a tray of cheesy-looking squares. The woman in charge, Mason’s mother, saw their hesitation, and told them they were zucchini quiche.
“Stop being a couple of big babies, and try them,” Ellen Sothard scolded.
Mike picked one up first. “Mmm. Good, Mrs. S,” he approved in his loud, boisterous voice after he’d chewed and swallowed. Then he picked up a few more.
Doug, with the verdict positive, followed suit, and downed two in rapid succession. “Nice,” he reiterated before he and Mike carried off a few more of the savory snacks toward a private spot under a tree on the edge of the festivities.
“Listen, LT.” Talia was the lieutenant of Doug’s squad, but Mike was Mason’s second in command ofallunits, so he was also designated as LT to everyone. “I want to apologize for all the shit I’ve been pulling with the team. I’ve…” Doug coughed as a quiche crumb stuck in his tight throat. He cleared it away. “I’ve been seeing a therapist, and he’s helping me look at things, uh, life, in a different way. I just wanted you to know I’m going to try a lot harder from now on to be a team player.”
Mike didn’t look surprised. He clapped Doug on the shoulder. “I knew you’d come around in time” he saidpragmatically. “You’ve always had a brain in your head, Doug. Your attitude just had to catch up.”
Doug snorted. “Attitude. Yeah. I’ve had plenty of that.”
Mike tipped his head. “Dare I ask if this new change of heart has something to do with a certain…pixyish woman?”
Right.Mike was damned astute.
Doug nodded. “She’s the reason I’ve been working harder on myself,” he admitted. “I need to be someone she can admire and trust.”
Mike grunted. “If apologizing for your past behavior is any indication, I’d say you’re on the right track.”
“Thanks, LT.”
“Don’t thank me. Just keep heading in the right direction. And if you need someone to talk to, about anything, I’m here. Don’t think you have to deal on your own, anymore. Got it?”
“Got it.” Now it wasn’t the crumb impeding Doug’s throat.
Damn.He’d always known Mike was an upstanding guy, but his opinion of the man just went to a different level. After the dick Doug had been over the course of the last year, Mike could just as easily have told him to stuff his newfound contrition, but here he was, offering himself up as a mentor and sounding board.
Doug’s chest swelled with humility. He’d been a dick, but people hadn’t given up on him. He was damned well going to make sure they weren’t disappointed.
“So where’s your girl?” Mike asked. “Helping Talia get ready?”
“Uh, huh.” He glanced around, not seeing Mike’s other half. “Where’s your wife?”
Doug had only met the woman once, a few months earlier, but he didn’t spot her in the crowd.
“Oh, she, uh, had something else going on today, so she couldn’t be here.”
Funny, Mike looked extremely uncomfortable saying that, and was he studiously avoiding Doug’s scrutiny? Whatever it was that was eating at him, Mike immediately shut down that line of conversation.
