Page 17 of Garr

“Garr? Are we gonna have a Christmas wedding?” asked Claudette, staring at the young man. He opened his mouth to speak, but it was Macie that stepped up.

“Yes,” she said confidently. “We think a Christmas wedding would be perfect. In fact, I spoke with Mom and Dad earlier, and they agreed. Mom is going to play for us, along with Amanda and Bull.”

“Wait, you already planned all this?” asked Garr. His teammates held their breath, wondering if he was about to say or do something stupid.

“I did. You want to marry me, don’t you?”

“Yes. More than anything. I told you I want a life with you.”

“Well, a life with me means marrying me so we get about the business of having babies,” she smiled. “You good with that?”

“I’m more than good with that,” he laughed, lifting her in the air. “I love you, Macie. I love you so much.”

“It’s settled then,” said Claudette. “I’ll make sure the church is ready for Christmas Eve. We’ll do it in the afternoon or early evening so folks can enjoy their evening with the kids. Your daddy will walk you down the aisle. I’ll make sure everyone knows.”

“Thank you, Claudette. I’ve already asked George to have Mama Irene’s coconut cake for my wedding cake. It’s always been my favorite, and Garr’s.” He shook his head, laughing at her.

“You’re incredible, do you know that?”

“Yep,” she grinned, “and you’re lucky I feel the same way about you. Let’s eat. I’m starving!”

As the winds began to whip outside, the cold north pushing her anger toward the south, the team settled in for a family dinner, talking holidays, Santa Claus, running, and bad guys with guns.

Just another evening at Belle Fleur.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The brisk morning air had the runners at the start of the race jumping up and down, shaking their arms and legs to get the blood flowing. Filtered into the first group of runners were seven men standing still, just observing those around them.

“Great day for a run, huh?” said a young man staring at Clay. “Cool leg.”

“Yeah. Cool,” frowned Clay.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I just think it’s cool that you’re still doing what you love,” said the man.

“It’s fine,” said Clay. “It happened a lifetime ago. I don’t even know it’s not attached any longer.” Clay was lying. He knew every damn day that it wasn’t attached. He just didn’t mind it so much any longer. The technology from G.R.I.P. made it the most advanced prosthetic limb in the world, and because of his testing, veterans were getting new limbs that were beyond imagination every day.

“Well, have a great run. Careful of that last turn. It’s blind.”

“What do you mean?” asked Clay. He tapped his comms so all could hear.

“Oh, well, the turn from Melpomene onto Tchoupitoulas is dark. It’s beneath the interstate, so it’s kind of smelly and creepy.”

“Good to know. Thanks,” said Clay. The guy pushed his way further to the front, telling Clay that he was probably a top contender for the 10k run. “Everyone hear that?”

“Roger that,” said the chorus of voices.

“Alright, runners, are you ready!” yelled the starter from the top of a ladder. “I hope you all have your jingle bells on. We’ve got great prizes for the winners today. We’ll see you at the finish line in five, four, three, two, one!” The starting buzzer sounded, and the runners took off.

For the men of Belle Fleur, this was a walk in the park. They did runs like this daily, usually longer. The men who were here today were the core group that challenged one another constantly to go farther and faster.

But their intention wasn’t to win the race. It was to spot anyone or anything suspicious and prevent a possible mass killing.

“We’re headed to the underpass,” said Luke. “Keep your eyes out for anyone in the buildings or alleyways.”

“Do you see anything?” Cam asked the snipers.

Hawk, Eagle, HG, Bone, and Hoot were perched on the tops of buildings, watching the runners below and the skies above. AJ and Sly had the drones moving around the route and filtered into the crowds were a number of team members as well.

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