Page 38 of Securing Samantha

Shadow turned and walked out of the shop.

She turned and locked the door. She made the finishing touches while she waited for Bryan to let her know when he arrived. Fifteen minutes later, her phone buzzed with a text.

Hi, beautiful. I knocked but you didn’t answer. Hurry, I eagerly anticipate holding you in my arms.

She smiled, did one last minute check in the mirror, and unlocked the shop to allow him entry. When he attempted to pull her in his arms, she tugged him toward her workroom.

“I live in a small town. I want to keep the town gossips off our scent a bit longer,” she explained.

He smiled as he leaned in for a kiss and wrapped her in his arms. “I swear I carry this image of you in my mind when I daydream and every time I see you, you change your hair and style. Each vision keeps getting better than the last,” he whispered as he kissed her again.

She smiled. “We need to get going. Traffic in Seattle can get crazy at this time of the day.”

“I’ll let you go only because I know I’ll get the honor of you by my side for the next three days,” he teased. She grabbed her coat and the bag she packed for the trip.

She started to lock the door when she realized she had forgotten her phone. “Oh Bryan, I forgot my phone.” She ran across the room and picked up the device. A text from Shadow appeared. A picture of her son running into Whiskey’s arms as he smiled with his arms opened wide. LJ held a remote-controlled helicopter in his hands. The stance reminded her of when he returned home from a mission.

He held his arms out wide, smiled and his eyes shined. She gratefully ran into them. His breath tickled her ear as he whispered, “Hello, Sunshine.” She closed her eyes knowing he made her feel safe and wanted before replying, “Hello, my flame.”

A single tear fell, and she swiped it away as Shadow texted.

Don’t give up.

She smiled. She may never feel Whiskey’s arms around her again, but she’d always be grateful her son experienced the love she knew Liam held inside his heart.

She put the phone in her coat pocket. Bryan held his hand out for her bag as she locked the door.

Bryan checked the area around them before leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her lips. “This will hold me until we arrive in New York. She smiled as he opened the car door. He waited for her to enter when she raised her head. Surprised to find Kassie and Catherine sitting in front of Bryanna’s bakery at the cute iron bistro tables, she blinked back the tears. An outdoor heater flickered next to them. Both women stared at her. It took all her strength not to run and embrace them and tell them how relieved she felt over their safety. But the two women stared at her as if she were a stranger to them. Maybe she was.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Sadness overwhelmed him. Ash’s confession after his fight with Samantha destroyed everything inside him. He spent days in his closet at the cabin on the mountain. The team took turns staying with him. Leo stopped in and announced he planned to marry Catherine. Happiness for his friend became overshadowed by the anger he felt at being cheated out of a life with Samantha and his son. When Leo left on his honeymoon, Saint, Shadow, and Taco pestered him to shower. Doc made him walk outside. Kassie appeared inside the closet and fed him by hand when he refused to eat.

The weekend he asked for LJ approached. Shadow and Taco stood in the doorway.

“Whiskey, you asked to take your son. Now you want me to call Samantha and tell her you changed your mind? Do you know where she’ll rate on the psycho meter? Dude you aren’t messing with her, it’s the kid. If you’re hankering to see Mama Bear Samantha come out, it’s a great way to get your ass kicked,” Taco advised.

Saint threw his hands up in the air as Whiskey sat in a pair of boxers, his beard started to grow out and he didn’t own a clean pair of pants.

Shadow placed his hands on his hips. “Call Kassie,” he told the team members. Saint dialed her number, said a few words.

Within fifteen minutes, Kassie appeared with a couple of bags of things and gave orders to his friends. They scrambled as she gave out tasks. Whiskey braced himself for yet another lecture. Why his son needed him, when he clearly came with a package of adopted aunts and uncles. Whiskey retreated into his own world.

Kassie sat down next to him and held his hand. “Whiskey you can’t stay in the dark. Your family needs you. We need you. We aren’t better off without you.” When he didn’t respond, she got up and left the closet.

A few minutes later, she walked into the closet holding something close to her chest. He tried to ignore her and stay locked in his mind. She slowly uncurled his arms and placed the wiggling whimpering puppy in them. The sweet grey and white puffball curled up into his neck, licking his chin before settling down into the crook of his shoulder and falling asleep. Whiskey’s hands stroked the soft fur. Tears rolled down his face as the puppy whimpered and nestled farther into him.

“What’s his name?” he quietly asked. It was the first time in three days he uttered a single word.

“Her name’s Hope. She’s still too young to respond to it. You can call her whatever you like. I hired a dog trainer. She’s a veteran. She helped raise and train the puppies for the military. She brought us four different litters. When I saw this one, I knew she was meant for you,” Kassie replied softly. “Now you’re holding onto Hope. Your son’s due to arrive at the facility. Imagine his surprise and delight when you walk in with a puppy. A perfect way to find a bond with a child, don’t ya think?”

Whiskey turned to Kassie. “What if I fail him like I did Samantha?”

“What if you don’t? You’ll never know if you don’t try. Hope’s still young and we don’t know until the new trainer assesses her if she’ll work as a service dog. But either way, she’s yours. I thought you and LJ might enjoy picking out some toys and a collar for her. I dropped off all the basics for her at the team base where LJ’s headed. You might want to shower and get cleaned up. Your son’s waiting for you. Hope depends on you,” she told him.

She drove him to the home base in his truck while he held the precious bundle in his arms. She entered the keypad and held the door open for him.

“Aren’t you coming in?” he questioned.

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