Santa Soldier Bear - Meg Ripley Page 0,40
fly right now. I can get back to Wyoming in time to wish all my cattle and horses a very Merry Christmas.”
“Even with all the traffic that’s bound to be at the airport? Come on, Roman. I know you don’t like crowds, and we both remember how difficult it was to get stateside too close to a holiday when we were on leave.” He checked his mirrors and changed lanes. “It’d be much easier if you just stayed at headquarters and had Christmas with us. Hell, stay until New Year’s. We can ring it in together. It’s a lot more fun doing it in a warm and comfortable home instead of in a mess hall on the other side of the world.”
Roman couldn’t argue with that. “I’m sure you’re right. I’m sure that it’ll also be nice to ring in the new year at home in Sheridan, maybe with a few of my new clanmates, lifting up beers and belching into the night in a remote cabin where we don’t have to worry about women.”
Amar nodded. “Uh huh.”
“What?” Roman’s muscles tensed. He hadn’t really thought he’d get anything past his friend and comrade. Amar saw and noted everything. That didn’t mean Roman wanted to talk about it.
“It’s a woman thing,” Amar replied.
“Isn’t everything a woman thing?” Roman challenged.
Amar laughed. “Sure, I guess that’s true. You could make the argument that you fought for your country, putting your life on the line because you wanted to keep the women safe. You could stretch that out and make further arguments about major life decisions being based on women somehow. That doesn’t mean you made the right ones.”
“You don’t have to be the wise old dragon all the time, you know. You could just let me do what I want and call it good enough.” Roman looked out the window, squinting against the bright sunshine and all those damn palm trees. It didn’t look like Christmas or even winter around there, and he was getting tired of it.
“I could, but I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t call you out on your mistakes.”
Roman sighed. “I already explained all this. Being a dad just isn’t in the cards for me, and Melody is far better off without me. I would only get in the way of her dreams. Even if—and that’s a big if—the two of us could work it out for a little while, it would just end up falling apart, leaving the two of us even more miserable.”
Amar was silent for a long time as they floated along the expressway. Roman glanced at him a couple of times, surprised that he wasn’t making any further arguments or trying to rope him into joining the Force again.
“Thanks for helping us with the Morefield clan,” he finally said. “The rest of the crew and I work well together, but it’s always nice to get a fresh perspective on things.”
“No problem. Do you think Mrs. Morefield will do all right as the Alpha?” Roman figured it would all work out well enough, and it wasn’t really any of his business, but it was easier to make conversation about matters that didn’t directly involve him.
“I don’t have the least bit of doubt. I admit I was a little shocked to find out the woman in the flower bed was the Alpha’s wife, but after talking to her more recently, I know she’ll do well. The rest of the clan, it turns out, didn’t like her husband very much, but they do think quite a lot of her. She has the backing of the rest of her clan as well as the Force, so there won’t be any further problems from them.”
“Good. And I heard that Ruby’s parents came to get her, so everything is back to normal.” Roman turned to look out the window again. There had been a little chaos while he was in California, but it had all settled now. Roman would leave before any further trouble started.
Amar ran his hand across his face, scratching his fingers through the dark stubble that had recently grown in. “Did you happen to talk to Melody before we left?”
So much for keeping the conversation on other subjects. “No. I doubt she’d want to hear anything I have to say.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
Roman snapped his head around to look at his friend.
“Well, she was really upset about Ruby going home as it was. The last thing she needs is for you to complicate things when