Home to Stay (The Long Road Home #2) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,50

drive home. Sleep in my own bed. Check on Gramps. But the sight of Lucy staring up at him, so strong in the face of a difficult and dangerous situation, her eyes pleading as she whispered ‘Stay’, was more than he could bear. Snorting, he shook his head. My team would laugh their asses off to hear me say that I didn’t have the ability to walk away from her again. But it didn’t matter. He’d made that mistake once and wasn’t going to do it again.

He pulled his boxers back on and flipped off the light. Stepping into the bedroom, his gaze shot to the bed and he chuckled lightly. He padded on silent footsteps to the side and looked down. Her dark hair was pulled back but tendrils created a halo about her face on the pillow. Her breathing was deep and slow. For another few seconds, he considered slipping out and letting her sleep in peace, but instead, he slid underneath the covers, staying carefully on his side. Her house might be a wreck but her mattress was amazing.

He lay on his back for a moment, afraid to move, almost afraid to breathe, not wanting to do anything to disturb her. While he’d been awake as long as she had, his body was more used to getting little sleep. When finally convinced that she was not waking, he gently rolled to the side away from her to turn out the lamp on the nightstand.

His hand halted in midair as his gaze landed on the photograph staring back at him. Five teammates, friends, comrades with their arms around each other, cocky grins and ass-kicking stances. Emotions crashed into him, each vying for dominance as they pushed to the forefront of his mind.

The day the picture was taken. A mission accomplished. Hard-fought but easily won. Like almost all their missions, successful.

The guys in the picture. Leibowitz, Roselli, Smithwick, Johnson… and me in the middle. An ache formed in his chest at the stark realization that he would never again be part of that team, never have another picture with those men, four of the best men he’d ever known.

He turned his head ever so slowly toward the right, watching as the black spot in his peripheral vision finally obliterated the photograph on the nightstand. His teeth ground together before he twisted his head back, staring at the picture once again.

His phone vibrated, and he grabbed it so the noise would not wake Lucy. Glancing at the screen, he saw two messages had come in. The first one was from Bray.

Glad you’re back. Boss will be in touch. I’ll buy you a round of beer next time we’re out.

He couldn’t help but smile, figuring that with the help the Keepers had given, he would owe all of them a round of beer.

The next message came from Mace.

Good work. Rest. Make sure Lucy is safe. Come in tomorrow morning to debrief. Paperwork will come in today.

His smile widened with the knowledge that first thing Monday morning he’d go into the LSI headquarters. On top of that, he’d already had a chance to work with and—hopefully—convince his new boss and coworkers that he could handle the job.

He laid his phone back down on the nightstand next to the photograph, offering a silent chin lift to the image of his old friends. For what they were, what they had been, what they meant to him and always would. But he now felt lighter knowing there was a future beyond the Army.

Lucy stirred beside him, and he looked over his shoulder to see her shift around, facing him but still asleep. Her complexion was pale, her eyelashes forming crescents that rested on her cheeks. A few freckles crossed over her nose, barely visible, and yet he fought to keep his finger from reaching out to trace them. Her lips were full, and now he knew just how kissable they were.

He thought back to her confession. She’d felt something the first time she had seen his picture. He now wished that she’d been in the photograph of the class so that he could have spent the last eight months staring at her, but he couldn’t deny how right everything felt now.

He reached his hand over and finished what he’d started several minutes ago by turning out the light. The room fell into semi-darkness, early morning sunlight peeking through the blinds as he settled on his side, facing her. Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead lightly,