Page 47 of Silver Linings

“Damn straight you will be, Lil.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head and she closed her eyes once more, giving in to the tiredness while wrapped in the safety of her husband’s arms.

Sixteen

Five Weeks Later…

Lily pressed her hand into her chest. The highway was bumpy and worn, a clear sign of the country life she was about to become intimately acquainted with. Sage had done so well on the plane ride that morning, probably because instead of taking a commercial flight with hundreds of other people and long waiting times, Gunner had surprised her with his boss’s private plane.

She’d been on a plane once when she was eighteen for a church trip her parents had organized. Flying private had been completely different from that experience and she wasn’t sure what Gunner had to pay for that perk, but she was so thankful that he had.

Sage slept like a champ practically the entire flight, and Lily nursed her as they landed, so she was a happy girl when meeting Gunner’s boss, Sebastian, and his fiancee, Emma.

Lily was shocked to see Emma in such good spirits after Gunner told her what she had been through. She was such a strong woman, and Lily really admired that resilience. It also surprised her how down to earth they both were. Sebastian Montgomery was not only a former SEAL like Gunner, but he was also a billionaire. The man had been named one of America’s most eligible bachelors, along with his brothers, who owned a distillery in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. All that money was how he could start up Montgomery Defense, where Gunner and the other members of his SEAL team worked.

A thick bump jostled the truck, and Sage stirred, letting out a whimper. She’d be getting hungry again soon, and Lily prayed her sweet temperament would shine as they met with Gunner’s team before settling into their apartment.

He’d been so quiet as they drove from Bell Ridge into Silver Springs, and she couldn’t get a read on his emotions. Maybe he was just worried about being able to catch up with the cases his team was working on. Or maybe he was regretting bringing her and Sage to Texas with him.

“What’s wrong?” Oops. Gunner clearly wasn’t as lost in thought as she believed. His eyes bounced between the road and her face.

“Nothing.”

“You’re staring a hole through the side of my head and rubbing your hand into your chest like you’re trying to start a fire.” His eyebrow raised as if waiting for a response, but she gave him nothing. “If you’re nervous about meeting everyone, don’t be. You’ll fit right in.”

She dropped her hand away from her chest, choosing to channel her nervous energy into twisting the new gold band on her ring finger. To be honest, she’d completely forgotten Gunner’s promise to get her a proper band when her swelling was down. The night before, as they were giving Sage her last bath in Connecticut, he’d pulled the silicone band off and slipped the gold one on. She loved it. The band was thin and feminine and fit on her finger perfectly.

“Your boss and his fiancee were so lovely. But I have Sage to keep me busy, so I don’t really need to fit in with your group of friends.”

Gunner grunted. Maybe he was happy she didn’t really have an interest in being around his friends. They were in a dangerous line of work, after all. It was probably best for her and Sage to stay away from them. A quiet life was all she really needed until the day Gunner moved on from their agreement. The ache in her chest grew tighter.

She settled back into looking out the window at the passing landscape. Lily didn’t know what to expect out of East Texas, but there was beauty in the hard-worked land. As they left Bell Ridge and made their way into Silver Springs, Lily couldn’t help but let her mind wander to what it would be like raising Sage in the small community. Granted, their hometown in Connecticut would never be classified as a metropolis, but Lily would wager that their city had a larger population than all of Clarence County.

Gunner pulled up to a stop sign and flipped on his blinker. She knew right away that they were turning onto Ford Avenue, or as the outdated website for Silver Springs had called it, “our very own charming main street.” From what Lily had gathered, the Ford family was the first to settle Silver Springs, and they still ran a ranch that was home to the famous natural spring.

She shook her head. Silver Springs apparently wasn’t just named after the valuable metal. In fact, it wasn’t named after that at all. When the town was settled, nearly everyone in the area was hoping to strike oil. But when the Ford family started their ranch and didn’t find any, they turned to cattle. One day, when the men were out moving the cattle, one strayed, and the youngest Ford son went after it. He never found the stray cattle, but stumbled upon a natural spring. When he rested by it and took a sip, he found the water to be ice cold and delicious.

That son had always suffered from headaches, but he regularly returned to the spring to drink its water, and apparently never suffered another headache in his lifetime.

Lily loved history, and the new town seemed to have buckets of it. That natural spring still brought people from all over the region to the Ford’s ranch. Lily had copied the directions from town to the spring and kept them in her notes, thinking that a trip out there might be fun to take with Gunner and Sage after they got settled in their new home.

Ford Avenue did not disappoint. Honestly, it looked like someone took it off the front of a greeting card and brought it to life. Lily watched as the brick front buildings moved by slowly. There was a flower shop, several shops with pretty clothes on display, and even a candy shop all within walking distance of their apartment. Gunner turned into a parking lot just before a large building that looked like it had been the town’s mercantile at one time. A small sign hung above the door, displaying “Montgomery Defense” out in front of the building.

The engine shut off, and her nerves exploded.

“You ready?”

“Yep. No turning back now.”

“It’s my friends, Lil. Not a firing squad.”

A minute later, Gunner held the door open to Montgomery Defense for Lily and she stepped inside. The air conditioning was strong, and she was thankful that the cool air seemed to help calm some of her nerves. Gunner’s teammates were so important to him. She didn’t want to be an embarrassment.

She still wasn’t sure why it had bothered her so deeply to see his boss surprised at the news of their marriage. Lily had just assumed he’d told everyone in his life about her and Sage, but apparently that wasn’t the case. Did she have any right to feel upset that he’d kept their marriage quiet? That he treated it like she was some dirty secret he didn’t want to share? Was he so repulsed by her he worried what his closest friends would think about their arrangement?

“You good?” he looked into her eyes, placing his hand at the small of her back. It was such a sweet gesture that for a moment, she could almost forget her insecurities and imagine he saw her as his wife, for real. Not just as someone he was helping. Blinking hard, she washed away that image from her mind.

“I’m fine. You don’t need to keep checking in. I’ll let you know if I’m not.”

“Gunner?” a female voice called out to him and the kindness in his eyes vanished in an instant.

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