I’d done my research on this place before I’d decided to come back to Idaho. One benefit of my position was that I knew ways of finding intel on just about any person. If I needed more, I knew the right people who could dig further.
All of it seemed unnecessary now as I absorbed the quiet setting. The contrast was not lost on me compared to most of the locations I’d been living. But I still scanned for threats. Anything that seemed out of place or shouldn’t belong in the mountain setting.
But the only thing that didn’t belong was me.
“You lost or something?” Kane’s question came out with barely restrained disbelief seconds after I clocked his presence behind me.
“Or something. How are you?” I turned slowly, doing my best to hide my injury, schooling my features even as my emotions swirled. Would I be welcomed or cursed out? Probably both knowing Kane.
“Well, damn, leave it to you to show up in dramatic style and timing.” Kane closed the distance between us and grabbed me in a bear hug. Gritting my teeth, I held back a protest as my body tensed from the contact.
Breaking apart, he looked me over, his gaze landing on my face. “What’s wrong?”
Jeez, didn’t expect him to clock my injury right off the bat. “Nothing that time and some physical therapy won’t fix.” I gave him a fake smile as my nerve endings and muscles bunched, then spasmed, even as I willed them to settle.
“Are you kidding me right now?” Kane shook his head, then waved me toward his cabin. “Come inside and take a load off. I’m sensing a long story. Chassie, my wife, is in town right now, so we have some time to talk. But once she meets you, sees you, she’s going to want to know all about you and, lord help us, take care of you like a stray cat. You’ve been warned.”
Swallowing the unexpected lump that had appeared in my throat, I shut the truck’s door behind me and slowly made my way behind my brother, his eagle eyes not missing a step or my limp. But he held his tongue and didn’t treat me like some damn invalid.
I asked about our youngest brother before I got into the heavier stuff. “Do you happen to know what Ross is up to these days? I’d like to tell my story just once, if I can help it.”
Kane strode through the great room and into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and grabbed two beers. Pausing behind the oversized leather couch situated facing large windows overlooking a peaceful tree-filled view that none of us brothers could have ever dreamed of as we struggled day to day in our youth, my brother released a strangled snort.
“Yeah, not in a while. When I came back last year and then finally reached out to him, all I got was a cryptic text and a lame promise of getting together in the future. That was about ten months ago. Seems all the London brothers share the same gene for keeping secrets. Sit. I’m sure whatever you want to tell me can’t be that bad, right?”
Before I sat down, I lifted my shirt. Kane let out a low whistle. “Yeah, that looks bad. All that damage from one bullet?”
Sitting, I raised my left leg with both hands onto the footrest, then took the beer. Raising the can, I grinned, “Here’s to secrets. May only the boring ones see the light of day.” He returned the salute, and we took long pulls before I began.
Only years of training and having the unwritten motto of the SAC drilled into my brain ad nauseam kept me from spilling the entire story as I told Kane how I ended up back in Pineville. Stoic and silent, he took in everything I shared like a man who’d served his country and knew that there was more but knew better than to question me. Accepting that the passage of time and distance had been necessary for my work.
“Okay, so first, I’m glad you’re alive, and second, and probably the freakiest thing about your appearance, is that Astrid Johannsson has a new home less than a mile up the mountain, and all of us are helping her move in tomorrow. Karma, huh?” Kane’s eyes flashed with barely contained humor. He drained his beer, then checked his phone. “Chassie just texted me. She’s on her way home. You're sticking around, right?”
Of course, in the brief interaction with Astrid, I hadn’t included any personal details. This was another sign that I made the right choice in coming back to Pineville. Fresh start, another chance with the woman I regretted leaving behind. Time for the truth of why I left all those years ago to come out and see if the spark that had flowed and reignited between us in her clinic could be enough for a second chance.
“Yeah. At least for as long as you can stand me. And Kane, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t around more. That I left you to deal with Ross after I left for boot camp. All of it.” Damn, my hands were sweating. I took a long pull of my beer and settled back into the couch to relieve the low ache in my back. I was ready for whatever he wanted to get off his chest.
“I appreciate it. You had a hard choice to make, and seems to me, minus you getting shot, it was the best choice.” So, maybe now that we’re both out, you can share some stories about living deep undercover?”
Not the response I expected, but I’d take it. Maybe married life had mellowed out my daredevil of a brother. “Sure, it’ll be heavily redacted, but there are plenty of things I can share while keeping my oath. You’ll be my own personal therapist.” Thank God Kane hadn’t judged me for staying radio silent all this time.
And it would be nice to talk to someone finally who had a halfway idea of what I’d done. What I’d given up for my country.And maybe now that he was a married old man, he could give me some pointers on winning back Astrid.
CHAPTER THREE
ASTRID
Renaldo’s wasn’t toobusy, thank goodness. I was able to grab a table in the back that would accommodate all of us plus a toddler and pre-ordered a round of margaritas, one virgin for the expectant Zoe, that would be delivered when they all arrived.
Nerves still had my stomach in knots. Not from how my friends would react, but how I felt about seeing Chase again after so much time. And the way my body had reacted to him.
The fluttery, overwhelming feeling of a thousand pulses in my lower abdomen had been so similar to what I remembered feeling when I was eighteen anytime I saw Chase and especially that last night when he’d become my first lover.
But I also questioned if my intense reaction the moment I saw him was merely nostalgia or something deeper. Soul-deep connection that I’d buried in order to move on with my life. Lost in self-reflection, I jumped when Zoe sat down with a sigh next to me. “Jeez, you move pretty stealthily for someone about ready to pop out my goddaughter.” I wrapped an arm aroundmy bestie’s shoulders and squeezed as the rest of my friends appeared.
Noisy greetings and chair scraping ensued, and I was handed a chubby toddler, Addy and Ridge’s son, Mateo. He settled into my side and happily worked on his Binky. Whenever we were together, I would reminisce over Josh at this age and often claim baby Matty for cuddles.
“He’s already had his dinner, and we had another successful potty attempt before we got here. But if he gets cranky, just hand him to Mika.” Addison laughed as she bumped shoulders with the pediatric nurse. “I swear she’s the only one who can calm him lately.”
