Page 4 of Defending What is Mine

“Not really. But to be honest, if I’m not getting my coffee from a mess tent, I’m probably home visiting, so coffee pot worries typically fall to someone else. At least in my experience.” Jack clears his throat. “But I hear that happens to folks a lot.” He turns his attention to the dog trying to sneak through the door with us. “Marry, you know the rules.” He waggles a finger at her while using his leg to keep her on the porch so he can close the screen door.

Insta-regret hits hard as I look around the room and realize how many people are involved in a Wilde family meal. Thankfully Mollie comes to the rescue before paralysis and shell-shock set in.

“Hey, sis.” Mollie slips her hand into mine, twining our fingers and guiding me to an open seat near the door. It’s sufficiently separate from the main cluster of Wildes, but still close to where she and Hank are sitting. “Hank, do you want to introduce them?” Mollie asks as she nods her head in my direction.

“Uh…sure. Of course.” Hank stands. “Everybody…shut up,” he coughs into his fist. “You’ve all met Mollie, but allow me to introduce her cousin, Sam,” he says gesturing to me. “And that cutie over there is Sam’s daughter, Vanessa.” Hank turns to me. “Sam, you already know my brothers Jack and Gabe,” he says dismissively, providing zero time for my eyes to linger over Jack, which is a real shame because they do anyway.

“Mom’s busy in the kitchen,” Hank continues. “Pretty much par for the course around here. And over there at the edge of the kitchen is my oldest brother, Chet, and his wife, Christy.”

I do my best to nod politely as each person is hastily introduced.

A man standing with an attractive, dark-haired woman a few feet from Hank’s brother, Chet, clears his throat and holds out his hands in a what-about-me gesture.

“Oh, yeah.” Hank waves a finger in the man’s direction. “That’s my brother Frank,” he mutters. “And his way-too-hot-for-him girlfriend, Sarah.”

Sarah smiles sweetly while Frank lifts his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose. Shaking his head in frustration, he glares at Hank. “Way to keep it classy, brother.” Frank turns his attention to me and nods. “Welcome Sam, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Hank and the boys were telling us all about your recent adventure.”

Instinctively, I look to Vanessa, who doesn’t need to hear about what happened to her Aunt Mollie. “Sweetheart, would you like to go out and play with the dog for a while?”

Mollie catches my intent and adds, “Diesel’s running around out there too. Somewhere. I’ll bet you and Marry find him in under a minute.”

Vanessa practically jumps with excitement. “Can I?”

I nod. “Just don’t go too far from the house, okay?”

In a split second there’s a gush of wind, a door slam, and she’s gone.

Apologetically, I turn back to the room. “Sorry, I just don’t want her weighed down with all the details, you know? Not yet, anyway.”

Everyone nods but the room remains uncomfortably quiet for too long.

Finally, Christy breaks the silence. She waves her hand as she presses Hank to continue. “So!? You were telling us about how you boys managed to track Mollie and her deranged, kidnapper...”

Hank awkwardly bobs his head toward Mollie and me, causing Christy to bite her lip and shake her head. “Oh my God! I am so sorry. I…I wasn’t thinking.”

Hank coughs. “So, yeah. Using my natural sleuthing skills, we managed to track them down to a rickety old cabin in the woods.”

Frank interjects, “I believe you left off after bursting through the front door of the cabin. So what happened next? Did you and Gabe just stand there with your rifles leveled at him until the sheriff arrived?”

Sarah raises her hand. “So…did he put up a fight? Who called the police?” She looks around the room. “Is it just me, or does this all sound like it’s straight out of a movie?”

Hank rolls his eyes. “No, see Gabe here was concerned about contaminating the crime scene, or whatever, so he kissed him on the back of his head with the butt of his rifle. Knocked him clean out.”

Gabe interrupts, “Goddamn Hank. I think what you mean is, he must’ve bumped his head in the scuffle and passed out. That’s where we think he got the concussion. Keep your story straight. Idiot.”

“Yeah. That’s right. Everything happened so fast, and it was so dark.” He mockingly nods at Gabe. “Sorry. I keep getting that mixed up.”

While everyone else listens intently to Hank and Gabe bickering over the details of their story, I scan the room, taking in the builds and faces of so many strangers. Without realizing, my eyes stop when they get to Jack and it’s like someone turned the volume down. Conversations blend into a hushed thrum then fade into the background.

What’s not to like about this man? I even admire his posture as he sits on the armrest of the couch. Civilian clothes or not, he oozes military professionalism, or at the very least, highly-fuckable, probably unforgettable, good time.

Get ahold of yourself. What’s up with getting all goo-goo gaga over a guy?This really isn’t like me. I’ve all but sworn off men. And considering the men I’ve known, with good reason.

A familiar voice, different from the others, soft and sweet, brings me back to the conversation. When I look up, I find Marie Wilde standing behind Christy at the edge of the kitchen, wiping her hands with a dish towel. “Everything is just about ready in here.”

As everyone stands to make their way into the kitchen, there’s a knock at the door. From the front of the line Jack looks back at the herd of people between us. “Sam, would you mind getting that?”

I smile, pretty sure I would do just about anything this man asked of me. “Sure thing.” Waiting on the other side, I find my very sweaty daughter accompanied by two exhausted looking dogs, all three of them panting heavily. Oh yeah, and the hair I spent forty-five minutes on? Unrecognizable. “Well you look like you’ve been busy working up your appetites.”

Vanessa nods. “We have, Mommy. Can we come in and get something to drink?”

Marie hurries to the door. “Well of course, sweetheart. Why don’t you come in the kitchen with me and I’ll pour you a glass of sweet tea? How’d that be?”

I can’t help but smile as I sit and try to make sense of it all. Here we are, Vanessa and me, practically strangers to this family, and yet they’ve taken us in and made us feel like we belong. Like this is just a normal thing we do with them every Wednesday.

For the rest of the evening I actively work at not staring at Jack. It doesn’t help matters that once or twice when I slip, I find him looking at me too.

Everything up until the youngest Wilde brother, Leo, unexpectedly shows up is pretty much perfect. And if I’m honest, compared to some of the experiences Mol and I have endured with our family, even that isn’t enough to ruin the evening.

At least not for me. Not with Jack Wilde in the same room.

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