Page 79 of Forged By Sacrifice

As people were ousted from the tournament, they drifted into and around the pool where Gladys and I were chatting. The noise level and energy increased as the number of people did. When Mac and his mom finally won, securing their spots in the tournament the next day, he dove into the pool, splashing and playing with his niece and nephews without a care?showing the side of Mac that I’d just discovered the night before—the big, goofy uncle who wasn’t afraid to be silly.

As the afternoon turned into evening, dinner was delivered in white catering vans just as more people started to show up. The backyard lights were turned on, and it suddenly looked like a party instead of a family gathering. I’d been warned, but it still felt slightly overwhelming.

Dani introduced me to Stan, a skinny computer engineer who used to be Mac and Dani’s roommate. He seemed completely out of place, and yet, everyone greeted him with the same welcome they’d greeted me. Open. Accepting. There were also friends of all the siblings, including a woman who Dani claimed was her best friend but seemed the snootiest of the entire bunch.

Mac tugged my hand toward the buffet line. I was surprised to find typical barbecue fare instead of something fancier. It hardly seemed worth catering, and when I said as much, Mac shrugged. “Mom and Dad want to make sure we have time to just be together without worrying about who’s bringing what and having to spend time in the kitchen.”

We’d just sat down next to each other at a picnic table when a large, heavily muscled arm wrapped around his neck and tugged. “Macauley!” a deep voice boomed.

Mac licked the arm, and the man laughed and pulled away. The man was all military. Muscles on muscles and tattoos on tattoos. Brown hair shaved to a stub. Dark eyes that were shadowed.

“Nash the Ass!” Mac returned.

“Robbie!” Bee hollered, waving her fork at the kids littered around the table.

Mac got up and hugged the man, and then turned to me. “Nash, this is Georgie, Georgie this is Nash.”

Nash grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it, and Mac pulled it away with a roll of his eyes but was interrupted from saying anything by the arrival of another muscled man accompanied by a woman with a baby in a sling that hung from her body. Mac hugged them all, kissed the baby, and then turned to me.

“Georgie, this is Darren and Tristan and their adorable little girl, Hannah.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I told them.

“Otters!” Dani said, coming up and giving both Darren and Nash a hug.

“Don’t you look gorgeous,” Nash said, slowly taking in Dani in her bathing suit and cover-up.

“Don’t think you can get out of that beer you owe me with flattery.” Dani waved a finger at him.

“Wait, I thought you owed him a beer?” Mac said.

“He wishes.” Dani smiled and moved off. Nash went to follow her, but Mac shoved him toward the other side of the table where Darren and his wife had sat down.

“Go sit by Tristan; she knows how to control you,” Mac growled, and I laughed because it was yet another interesting side of Mac to see. The protective brother. He had all these facets to him that were fascinating to see unwind like a multicolored thread, each layer making him more attractive to me when I hardly needed the additional push.

Dani returned with beers, handing one to both men and taking a pull on her own. “So, tell me, Otters, how exactly did you cheat at poker with my baby brother?” she asked.

Darren chuckled. “We rigged a camera behind a poster.”

“Shh,” Nash whispered. “Not so loud, we might need that strategy tonight.”

“No way. We’re going to beat him for real this time,” Darren responded.

“Good luck with that,” Mac said, waving his fork at them. “You’re at the Whittaker estate now, boys. We take no prisoners, and Dad has the place wired to explode at the mere sight of surveillance he hasn’t approved.”

I was smiling, and when Mac turned to me and saw my smile, his eyes journeyed to my lips and then back before winking. I turned to his friends. “What did Mac do when he found out you cheated?” I asked.

Mac groaned, shaking his head.

“Someone,” Nash growled with a nod of his head toward Darren, “couldn’t keep a fucking straight face, so he caught on as soon as I tried to reel in the winning hand.”

“But you should have seen the look of pure shock on Macauley’s face. It was—” Darren burst out into laughter—light, jovial, nothing I would have expected from a serious S.E.A.L. team leader.

It was all a little enthralling. Mac, his winks, his laughter. The easygoing attitude that flew from him and all of the family. My heart felt so full that it might have exploded. I hadn’t ever had this. Ever. Not even when Raisa and Malik and I had played games, hiding from the bodyguards, or going skinny-dipping in the pond at the back of Petya’s estate. Because our time apart had always been wider than our times together.

“You all going to sit out here, nipping at those beers, or can we count on winning your money?” Gladys called from the doorway.

“We’re coming in, beautiful lady, but I want the spot next to you!” Nash called out.

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