AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 19
Brady drove through the gate and let it close behind them. Finally, he sighed, letting his shoulders fall and untensing his muscles. After a short stopover at Coronado for showers and to arrange flights, they were home. Maggie was home.
He’d had a lot of time to think about who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with when he was on active duty. On foreign soil, he tried to picture the perfect property, garden, weather. He dreamt about having a family and keeping them safe. It had always been something just out of his reach, until he met Maggie that fateful day in the hospital in San Diego.
Maggie had been perfect for him in every way, even though sometimes he doubted it. He had tried to be the person she could love forever, and then she was gone, and he thought she’d been taken from him permanently. He’d found the strength to go on, but soon he knew the SEAL Teams were not where he wanted to stay, especially if Maggie wasn’t there to hold him together.
She brought light into his life when he was nearly at the end of it, when he practically wanted to leave this world behind. She had saved him, saved him from being so wounded and broken he didn’t understand the miracle that lay just ahead for him. For the both of them, together. She had shown him life was worth it, could be magic, exciting every day.
Now, they had Emma, that sparkling miracle he didn’t deserve, surviving an ordeal so awful and yet never letting it dampen her true nature, her spirit. Just like her mother’s.
He thought about buying the property adjacent to his with some of the money he was earning. They could set up an eco-school where perhaps Emma could help them teach other kids how to raise vegetables, produce eggs, and farm a little patch of Heaven like they had. There were so many things they could teach, experiences they could share with kids not fortunate to find what they found—together, as a family.
Maggie had fallen asleep against the window of his truck, and she’d slept all the way back on the plane and the transfer from San Diego. He told her he had one more request before they departed for Sonoma County, and she agreed.
He’d asked permission and was granted the opportunity to show Maggie the SEAL Team 5 building. She’d looked at the equipment, the pictures of teammates lost and bad guys captured, campaign flags and banners, badges and artwork the team guys created, letters from grateful relatives and school classes who adopted their team for a school year.
She’d studied everything, letting it sink in. He didn’t interfere with her reverie. After a time, she’d smiled.
“You are the biggest Boy Scout I’ve ever seen. This is a man cave, a glorious man cave. You must miss this.”
“Not really, Maggie. There was a time for this when I didn’t have what I have now. This helped heal some of the scars. At the end of the day, all I wanted was to do good with some of my best friends. That’s it. It wasn’t for the glory or the danger. It was to do something worthwhile and important with good people who would do anything for me in return.”
He hoped she would understand, because this was such an important part of who he really was. It was important to him that he show her, not important that she fully comprehended it.
They pulled up to the house. Cassie and the girls had left Tate outside, and the dog came running as they drove the gravel driveway to the front door. He jumped several feet in midair, barking and then circling around the truck so Brady had to be careful to avoid hitting him. He slowed way down, chuckling to himself.
“I’ve never seen Tate so excited. Look at him. You’d think we’d been gone a year,” she said.
She opened the door, and Tate tried to jump up into the cab, landing on Maggie’s lap, losing his footing and jumping back down, only to try again.
“Whoa, Tate. Let’s calm down,” Brady barked at him.
Tate stood with his paws on Maggie’s thighs, staring at her, trying to lick her face, and barking back at Brady.
“This isn’t for me, you know. He’s glad you’re home. It’s all a show for you, Maggie.”
She stroked the dog’s silky head, ruffled his ears, and spoke babytalk to him until he jumped down and allowed her out of the truck.
Tate’s hundred pounds of solid muscle sat and waited for them to unload and begin the walk up the steps to the back door.
“Oh, I knew from the very first night we came here I would never have to worry about this dog hurting anybody,” said Maggie.
“Unless you were a bad guy, and then I think he’d probably tear off a limb.”
Maggie laughed.
As they approached the door, Maggie asked when Emma would be home.
“They’re out doing stuff and said they’d bring her home this evening. Not late.”
“I’m kind of glad we have a few minutes to ourselves before the crowd arrives,” she said and waved her eyebrows up and down.
Maggie looked over the gardens, her flowers blooming, and the trees on the ridgeline waving in the breeze. It was a warm Fall day, filled with sanctuary and promise.
As he closed the door behind them, Maggie grabbed him.
“So great to be home. To be here with you, Brady.”
