After Baghdad, he’d convinced himself he was too damaged to build anything permanent. Now all he wanted was permanence.
“I was thinking…I’d call my parents and invite them too.” He’d avoided them for so long, always believing he was too damaged to bring them into his world.
“What a wonderful idea! We’d all love to meet them.”
Suddenly it felt possible to have a whole family instead of fragments.
After hanging up, he sat in silence for a moment with the phone still in his hand. Then he drew in a deep breath.
This suddenly felt more nerve-racking than firefights and tactical ops.
He pulled up his parents’ number and stared at it for a long second before hitting call. The line rang once. Twice.
Then his mother answered. “Vander?”
He closed his eyes briefly at the surprise in her voice.
“Hey, Mom.” He leaned his head back against the seat. “I was wondering if you and Dad wanted to take a trip with me.”
* * * * *
Summer spent the last hour of her shift glancing toward the door every time it opened.
It was ridiculous.
Half of the Black Heart Ranch had been in to see her—or check on her. Willow, Honor and Felicity had come in for a round of greasy fries and virgin margaritas. Denver and Colt sat at the bar, sipping beers and watching the game. Theo settled at one of the tables with a new guy.
When she approached them, Theo introduced her to Heath Hawk, one of the newcomers to the security team. He was tall and handsome…but he was no Vander.
Though her new friends checked to make sure she was okay, she hadn’t seen her lover all night.
She understood. Hehadtexted earlier saying he had “a few things to handle,” which could mean anything from Black Heart business to helping somebody on the ranch mend fencing.
Still, every time the front door swung open, part of her expected to see him there, watching with that steady, quiet gaze that always found her no matter how crowded the Stockyard got.
The place felt different without him in it. Lonelier.
As she neared the end of her shift, she caught herself smiling after remembering the sight of him in her kitchen that morning making pancakes for her. Shirtless. Half asleep. Completely perfect.
Summer loved him so completely now that she wasn’t entirely sure where it started.
By the time she stepped outside after closing, exhaustion dragged at her shoulders. Her feet hurt and she smelled like fryer oil, beer and ranch dressing. Warm air brushed against her skin as the sounds of the Stockyard faded behind her.
The sight of Vander hit her hard enough to stop her in her tracks.
Dark jeans. Cowboy hat low over his eyes. Big body relaxed against the driver’s side door like he’d been waiting a while.
Like old times.
Only not really because the man waiting for her now wasn’t hanging around hoping she’d eventually trust him enough to let him close.
This was the man who crossed half the state to drag her out of a truck and bring her home alive.
As she walked toward him, a smile pulled at her mouth before she could stop it. “You know, most people text when they’re picking somebody up from work.”
His gaze moved slowly over her face like he still needed visual confirmation she was okay every time he saw her.
“Never bothered before. Besides, I wanted to surprise you.”
