uncle’s speculation, mainly because I didn’t need to but also because he was my uncle and I wasn’t going to discuss my sex life with him.
“I’m beginning to understand the difference,” I told him.
“Don’t let him walk on you, darlin’.” Clark put his hand up to halt me from interrupting. “That’s not a dig on Brady. That’s me telling you that men like us, we need strong. We need a woman who knows when to push and when to concede. And just to be clear, when it comes to your safety you concede—always. If you can find it in you to allow him to be the man he needs to be, he’ll give you nothing but beauty, darlin’. Through and through he loves you. If we didn’t believe that he never would’ve gotten you where he has.”
I knew that last statement was correct. My dad and uncles would’ve had words with Brady that made it so he never would’ve turned his head to even look at me much less tell me he wanted to take a chance at a future with me.
“He says he wants forever with me.”
Everything about my uncle softened, his mouth quirked up, and he gave me a blinding smile full of uncle-ly love.
“And that surprises you?”
“Well, we haven’t even been out on a date.”
Knowing eyes danced with humor and mild disgust.
“Again, my sweet niece, it makes me uncomfortable saying this, but I suspect Brady wouldn’t have taken it where he took it with you if he didn’t know he found exactly what he wanted for his future. He wouldn’t court your dad committing homicide if all he wanted was a piece of tail and he didn’t intend to keep you.”
Well, I certainly wasn’t going to tell my uncle that that was exactly what had happened with Brady, because I was positive my father wouldn’t get the chance to murder him because Clark would beat my dad to it.
Moving right along…
“Back to my problem. I shouldn’t push Brady into spending the night, and when we get there if I feel him start to have a nightmare, I need to leave him to it.”
“Correct.”
“That doesn’t sound helpful.”
“You getting yourself to safety is the only thing you can do to help Brady. But just to say, your dad and I will put some effort into him letting us help him.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“Not just doing that for you, Hadley. Doing it because I care about Brady, too.”
“I know, and that’s why I appreciate you and my dad looking after him. He’s never had that so it would be good if he gets it from two of the best men I know. If you can recruit Uncle Levi and Lenox that’d be icing.”
A warmth I’d experienced millions of times stole over me when my uncle’s eyes went softer and his face gentled.
“Anything you need, darlin’.”
I believed that.
So I asked for one more thing. “I need you to have his back. My dad may’ve given him his blessing, but I see a battle in my future. My dad won’t be objective and Brady’s gonna need someone in his corner.”
“Taking care of your man.” I didn’t miss the approval in my uncle’s tone. “I’ll take his back.”
“Thanks, Uncle.”
Clark made his way to me and pulled me close for a hug. But it wasn’t until his lips were on the top of my head did he mutter, “You’re a damn fine woman, just like your mama.”
Yes, I’ve received many blessings—family being the greatest.
My uncle rocked.
11
“Locked and loaded,” Luke called out.
“Shooter, sector three-bravo, by eye go to the one-two board then one o’clock.”
A second later, Luke responded, “Contact.”
“Go to glass.”
I glanced down at Luke’s prone body as he adjusted his McMillan TAC-50, fitting the buttstock in the crook of his shoulder, his left hand coming to rest on the stock holding it tight, and his cheek on the cheekpiece.
Once I saw he was in place my gaze drifted back downrange and I squinted. With the naked eye, at five hundred meters Luke’s target looked like a barely-there white dot. I brought my spotting scope up and easily found the eight-inch round steel plate.
I was pushing Luke today. Over the months, we’d graduated targets both in distance and size. Luke had been an exceptional marksman and an outstanding spotter. But that had changed when an explosion had damaged his eyesight. His left eye was worse than his right, and being as Luke was left-handed, therefore, left eye dominant, he was relearning his skills as a right-handed