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“I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.” He wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her.
“Plenty of time for that later,” Grange said. “There’s a bomb about to go off. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Jed grabbed her hand and they ran. Grange scooped Carla up in his arms and they made a wild dash to the boat, pushing off just as the explosion occurred, throwing up flames and smoke they could see long after they’d left the island. The Coast Guard and the military swarmed the island, searching for survivors.
“That’s a hell of a lot of C-4,” Jed said as the Zodiac zipped away toward the mainland, the Coast Guard as their escorts.
Elena leaned back against Jed’s chest, listening to Grange and her mother talk.
She couldn’t believe they’d survived. With a little luck and because of Jed and Grange, they were alive.
She and her mother could have been in that house when it went up.
She grasped Jed’s hand tightly, never so grateful to feel the warm sun and sea spray on her face.
* * *
“All these years I spent trying to keep you two safe by staying out of your lives, when all this time the fucking enemy was in my own backyard.”
Grange paced back and forth in Elena’s living room, hands clasped behind his back, rigid military bearing so evident in the way he held himself.
Elena couldn’t help being totally in love with her uncle. He’d helped save her life and her mother’s life.
“I think you did what you thought was best. But I have to tell you, if you think I’m going to allow you to disappear from my life ever again, you’re wrong.”
He took a moment to stop pacing and graced her with that smile that was so much like her mother’s it made her heart squeeze.
Her mother sat next to her on the sofa, her vision restored. In the past week she had been to the hospital, had been given I.V. fluids, antibiotics for an infection and all the rest she’d needed. She’d been sprung a few days ago and was more than ready to get on with her life.
“I agree with Elena. It’s time I had my brother in my life again, and not just a few phone calls and visits here and there.”
Grange crouched down in front of Elena’s mother and took her hands in his. “I almost lost you.” He looked at Elena. “Both of you. That would have been unforgivable. It’s time I make some changes in my life. I’m retiring.”
Jed, who was sitting in the chair across from Elena, arched a brow. “General?”
“You heard me. I’ve been at this long enough, and it’s time to interject some young blood into the Wild Riders. With Mac and Lily getting ready to have a baby, I know Mac is ready to get out of the line of fire, so I think he’s ready to take over the helm of the Wild Riders with Lily at his side. The two of them can run the organization as well as I ever did. I’m ready for fishing and more time on the boat. And maybe it’s time I settle down and find a woman to spend my life with.”
Carla laughed. “It’s about time, old man. But do you think you can find a woman willing to put up with you?”
He arched a brow. “Are you saying I’m unreasonable, domineering, rigid and hard to live with?”
Jed coughed.
“Didn’t ask you, smart-ass.”
“Didn’t comment, General.”
Carla swept her hand across his cheek. “I think any woman would be lucky to have you. And I’d love it if you retired down here. You can help me finish that degree in psychology I’ve been spending the past few years working on, help me find a house, and help me settle down and become a good mother to my daughter.”
Elena warmed. “You’re already a good mother.”
Her mother turned to her. “Not yet, but I intend to work on it every day for th
e rest of my life.”
“You had all these plans I didn’t know anything about. I’m sorry, Mom. I never took the time to ask you about your life. That changes now.”
Her mother cupped her cheeks and kissed her on the forehead. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m the one who made such a mess of things. I was in and out of your life like a flitting butterfly, never settling on one thing, always off on another adventure.” Her mother straightened. “My adventure days are over. I’m ready to be a responsible adult now.”
