Page 26 of The Defiant Curse

Oh, he was well aware.

“I learned it from you, Mom. I learned it from you.”

Yeah, he did.

Elizabeth was to the point.

“He would find it amusing you named a goat after him. I think wherever he is, he’s smiling down and sees it. That’s what I’d like to believe.”

He did too.

“When Gabby showed up and told me he died, yesterday, it hurt,” he admitted. “But then, I knew him best. He was my best friend too. He would have been good with dying if it meant you were safe. That’s how all of the Marines feel. We know the cost, Mom. We’ve always known the cost. That’s why we took that oath and swore to uphold it.”

She held his hand.

“I know, Michael. It’s just difficult to say goodbye to the men you’ve loved for years. I love me some Marines. You’re all part of me. Losing even one is unacceptable to me. Leaving anyone behind is not my thing.”

Oh, no one knew that more than the Marines.

Trust.

And.

Believe.

“Well, I hear you took out the trash that killed him.”

She simply nodded.

“Thank you for that. I know each one of your security team appreciates that, and any one of us would have done it for you, willingly. Hell! I would have danced around his corpse, and pissed on him.”

Yeah, she was aware.

“I’m glad you all weren’t there to put that fire out,” she admitted.

Then, she proved she was done talking about it. That was the thing with Elizabeth. She would give you clearly defined boundaries. They were at one right now. It wasn’t going to be a discussion with them.

Period.

And he respected that.

Michael understood a ‘classified’ mission since he’d been on a few.

“Thank you for sharing the goats with me. They’re ridiculous, but in the best way,” she said, moving her arm and scaring one so it fell over.

He laughed.

“It doesn’t get old. Sometimes, I come out here and yell Boo!”

She snorted.

“Well, I know what I’m doing tomorrow,” she teased. “I hope the horses don’t faint.”

Oh, hardly.

They were a whole other menagerie of fun with individual personalities.

Putting the goat down, he led her to the next few stalls. When a chestnut mare put her head over the gate, he patted her forehead.