Page 93 of Irons

“Marry her then we will talk about it.” Dad reached into the back the same time as Travis.

“Fine, we can go to the courthouse now.” Travis gave me the cutest smile and a wink.

I spoke up. “The two of you are acting like a day hasn’t passed by. You know Travis doesn’t let people tell him what to do, dad.”

“Did we have this talk when you were what…twelve?” Dad asked. “No more sleepovers.”

“No, we never had that talk. You bribed grandma into that talk, then said no more sleepovers before you ran out of the room like a chicken.” I reminded him.

We were carrying our luggage inside as we talked.

“Clint, must I remind you that your daughter has been dropped into war zones and took down an entire motorcycle gang? I think she can handle her own sex life.” Heather started her lecture as we walked upstairs.

“My daughter doesn’t have a sex life, Heather.” Dad was in denial.

“Yes she does.” Travis said.

Dad growled as he went to Jacob’s room with my bag, and we went to my room. “Dad, that’s my suitcase.”

“Shit.” Dad cursed. “No funny stuff.” He set the suitcase just inside my door.

“Oh, there’s going to be all kinds of funny stuff.” Travis antagonized him.

Dad turned and walked out. “He doesn’t just look like Tony he fucking acts like him too.” Dad bitched as he made his way downstairs.

Home

Travis

Fucking with Clint was fun, but coming home wasn’t for my benefit. I did it for Wrenly, and it wasn’t easy. It was the missing Tony part that was hard. Looking at his house made me miss him more than ever.

No, it wasn’t for my benefit, but it was for Wrenly and Clint. My decision to come home with Wrenly was because I was going to dedicate the rest of my life to her, and coming home was a small price to pay for our happiness. We obviously couldn’t move forward with our relationship until I let certain people back into my life. That was obviously Clint and Grandma Patty. I also needed to meet her step mom and brother. I didn’t come on the trip to see anyone in my family. I had an aunt that was alright, but she never took as much of an interest in me as Tony. Hell, she probably forgot about me by now.

I meant it when I offered to go to the courthouse today, although it wasn’t ideal. I’d marry Wrenly in a heartbeat, but I understood we still needed time.

The objective of the mission was to reconnect with her dad, so that someday he would be on board with Wrenly and I getting married. I knew diving in with Wrenly meant I had to come home someday, and the sooner the better, so I decided toface my past for her benefit. Nothing that’s worth it in life comes easily, and there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Wrenly.

After unpacking, we went downstairs where Clint was waiting with two beers and two chairs on the back porch. The house had changed a lot, but not Wrenly’s bedroom so much. She had some new awards on the wall I never saw, pictures of her and her friends hanging off the mirror, but it was the same furniture, and the bedroom was still painted in that same light purple color we watched Clint and Tony paint it when we were little.

The house had been updated. The walls were different colors, there was new furniture, and the kitchen cabinets were even updated. Clint’s wife was a hot little number, but after learning she wastheHeather Tony once told me about I wasn’t surprised. I also remembered meeting her at the funeral. She was very upset and since Tony warned me about girls like the infamous Heather, I remembered her.

Tony once told me that regrets weren’t always instant. That he loved Heather, but he wasn’t interested in settling down. He wanted to have fun, experience the world, and he never cared if he ever settled down. Later, he regretted hurting her, and advised I didn’t get serious with a girl until I was sure she was the one. He said a woman like Heather would fuck with your head the rest of your life if you ever walked away from her. No truer words were ever spoken, but they came a few years too late. I loved Wrenly almost my entire life. There was no way that would ever change.

Clint and I took a seat on his back porch. It was a nice day, not nearly as cold as Indiana, but not hot either.

“Tell me about your life? You were missed around here, just so you know.” Clint took a swig of his beer.

“You know I went into the Army, then joined Delta Force. I went in thinking I’d be a career soldier, but one really fucked up mission made me think otherwise. I didn’t reup when the time came, but I took Tony’s money and life insurance and invested it. Been in Indiana ever since. My business partners are my closest buddies. I built a good life there.”

He nodded. “Tony would be proud, and so would your father.”

I wasn’t even going to go there since I had no desire to make my parents a part of the trip.

“Your wife seems nice.” I complimented her. “She’s beautiful.”

He nodded again. “Besides my kids she’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” He paused for a moment. “You’ve truly been happy? I’ve worried over the years.”

“I thought I was, then Wrenly came back into my life and my life has changed for the better. I swear I didn’t live one day where I didn’t think about her. Sometimes I think I lived in our memories more than I lived in the real world. The missions and building Creed’s Lake were just brief moments I escaped her memory. When our founder came across her file, he had no idea who she was to me. The day he brought her up in a board meeting I felt like I was stabbed through the heart then punched in the gut for good measure. Fucking special ops? What the fuck? It about killed me to know she had been over there.” I took a swig of my ice cold Guinness.

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