Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Then suddenly, he was ready to leave.
“You got the pants I just washed, right?” I asked as he leaned in to kiss me goodbye. “I put them on the bed so you’d see them.”
“I got ’em.”
“And the t-shirts I put in your drawer? Novel idea, right? Putting them away? I couldn’t help myself.”
“I found the shirts,” he confirmed dryly.
“Toothbrush?” I teased.
“I even remembered deodorant,” he replied, pinching my ass.
“Call me after you’re all checked in?”
“Of course.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too, baby.”
I let him go so he could bend down and give the kids hugs goodbye. Olive took it the worst when he went out of town, which was weird since she’d never known anything else and she’d been dealing with it for longer than the other two. Meg and Forrest were easier to say goodbye to. She was pretty much in her own world and we were just visitors she barely had time for and Forrest had no idea what was going on. As long as he had boobs available, he was a happy camper.
“Day after tomorrow,” Mark told Olive while she fretted. “Two sleeps.”
“So tonight sleep and then tomorrow sleep and then you’ll be home?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“I won’t be home when you wake up but I’ll be home before dinner.”
“Okay,” she sighed.
When he rose back to his feet, I leaned in for another kiss. “We’ll be fine. Movie night, remember?”
“I shoulda made Wilson go on this one,” he murmured against my mouth.
“You could’ve tried,” I countered with a smile. Wilson rarely did field work anymore, preferring to stay home with his family and deal with things behind the scenes.
“I’m the boss,” he grumbled, pulling away. “I make the rules.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” I joked.
“Bye babies,” Mark called out as he opened the front door. The girls had already gone into the living room, Forrest crawling behind them, unwilling to be left out.
“Bye Daddy!” the girls called back.
“Drive safe.”
He blew me a kiss.
I stood in the entryway until he’d shut the door behind him. I always did that—no matter how hectic our lives were. The kids were crazy, and I had no problem admitting that they took up at least ninety percent of my attention, but in the moments before Mark left for a job, I always took the time to tell him goodbye and stay in the moment until he walked out the door. He deserved the focus, and honestly, I needed that last second of him before he left.
I’d known from the second we reconnected as adults that his career wouldn’t ever be a boring nine to five. Back then, he’d been working for a big security company that sent him all over the world to protect dignitaries and rescue hostages. My man was the best of the best and so were his team. After we’d decided to become a family, though, some things had shifted. Mark and his team had left that big company and started one of their own. While they no longer took jobs overseas unless it was something they felt strongly about, their job was still to put themselves between danger and their client.
I knew that Lu, Forrest, Josiah, Ephraim, Eli and Wilson would protect each other and Mark better than anyone else ever could, and that gave me some comfort. But I also had to come to terms with the fact that my husband put himself into dangerous positions on a regular basis. There was always a chance, no matter how easy the job was, that when I said goodbye to him, it could be the last time I ever did.
I always made sure those last few moments were burned into my memory.
“Nus!”
“Just a second, bub,” I called as I set the alarm. I had a feeling my dad would be over for a visit before too long. He knew the code, but at least he’d be slowed down long enough that I could put my boobs away.
Chapter 2
Mark
“I’ll call you before I head to bed tonight.” I held the phone to my ear and raised a finger to Eli. “Love you, too, baby.”
As soon as I lowered the phone, he started speaking.
“She’s too good for you.” He grinned.
“Can’t argue with that. What’s up?”
“So, I know we got the basics already, but what was Wilson’s impression of this manager we’re meeting with? Good guy? Sleezeball?”
“Nothing in his background.” I shrugged. “Seemed on the up and up. Why?”
“Just wonderin’ what kind we’re dealin’ with this time.” He sat on the edge of my bed with a sigh. “The good ones are few and far between.”
“And?” Where the hell had I put the socks I’d just had in my hand?
“And—” Eli tossed my socks over. “I don’t know, Chief. This one just feels different.”
“Because the woman we’re protecting is five foot nothin’ and the face of a choir girl?”