lips twitched and I knew she was holding back her laugh. “Who put a wall up in an RV park anyway?”
“Um. Maybe because behind that wall was the national forest’s welcome center. And someone had the good sense to put up a wall so some crazy woman didn’t mow it down.”
“I’m not a crazy woman!”
“Ma. Seriously, Dad said he’d be back, he told you not to move the RV.”
“Learn this, too, daughter—when they get bossy, you have to push back. Don’t ever stop pushing back. That was where I went wrong in the beginning. Your dad and his green eyes dazzled me, and I gave in too much. Now he thinks he’s the boss. The RV was my idea. I’m the boss of the RV and I’ll move it if I want to.”
“Right.”
I tamped down my amusement until my mom finally admitted, “Next time, maybe I’ll check the mirrors first.” Then I lost it and busted out laughing. “Or maybe do a walk-around.”
There it was—my momma giving me something good to make me laugh.
I had the best mom in the whole world.
Which in turn, made me the crappiest daughter for holding out on her.
26
I heard it before I opened the door. I froze, then I looked at my feet.
Thank fuck.
Addy laughing.
Our day had started good, then slid straight to beautiful when her pretty eyes had locked with mine as I moved inside of her. We’d showered together, I’d made coffee, she’d made breakfast, and after that everything went down the toilet. She’d been nursing a snit and I’d been weaving through mines I didn’t want to blow up in my face.
Now she was laughing.
I felt a bone-jarring clap on my shoulder and looked up to find Nick. There was a second thud, then he wordlessly continued down the hall. His silent support hit me square in the chest, reminding me I’d need him, too, in the days to come. I was going to need everybody. I figured while I had Addy sequestered at my house, I was going to use it to my advantage and push. I wasn’t going to give her an option, neither was I going to allow her to run.
I heard another burst of laughter then I moved down the hall to the back door thinking about how much I loved that sound. I stepped into the Georgia sunshine, stopped, tipped my head back, and prayed when this was over Addy didn’t hate me.
“Where’d you learn to cook?” Addy asked.
It was after dinner and we were in the hot tub. Addy was in a sports bra and panties since we’d yet to go by her place to pick up her yellow bikini. I scratched that on my mental to-do list for tomorrow and smiled. To cover up the turn my thoughts had taken, I answered.
“When I was in the Navy.” Her brows scrunched so I went on to explain, “There’s only so much fast food a man can take, and eating out’s a pain in the ass so I learned to cook.”
“You’re good at it.”
“Glad you think so.”
“Do you miss the Navy?”
I waited for the unease to twist my gut—the ugly ball of regret to knot before the familiar guilt burned my chest. But it never came. Not even a twinge of bitter that I’d been discharged and cast aside. The burden no longer weighted until I couldn’t breathe.
“No.”
“No?”
“If you would’ve asked me that two weeks ago, the very mention of the Navy would’ve set me on edge. Likely I wouldn’t have answered, or I would’ve given some bullshit answer.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“Like what bullshit answer would I have given?” She nodded and I searched my thoughts. “Likely I would’ve said no.” I grinned.
“Right.” She shook her head in amusement and dropped her gaze to the water. “But it’s not bullshit now?”
I watched her hands as they skimmed the bubbling water in front of her, and having no other way to explain why I no longer missed being in the Navy, I went with the obvious.
“If I was still in, I wouldn’t be here with you.”
“Trey—”
“I wouldn’t have met your dad and your uncles. I wouldn’t have been given the opportunity to watch how a nosy, healthy family interacts. I wouldn’t have a job I enjoy.”
“You didn’t enjoy being a SEAL?”
“Enjoy is not a word I would use to describe being shot at.” I smiled. “Proud of, hell yes. But enjoyed? Not even a little bit. Two weeks ago, I would’ve given a bullshit answer because I