Page 13 of Homecoming

The former Marine waved at Angela and the baby, then motioned them through the slowly opening gate.

Aiden scanned the security fence, impressed all over again. It stretched into the night on both sides of the road, perfectly straight and even. He would have to check it out.

Once inside the gate, Aiden thought they were close, but they ended up driving another couple of miles before he started to see lights. Off to the right, they saw the broad expanse of the main… lodge? It seemed too big to be a cabin. It wasn’t a resort. He would have to check with Black for what they’d been calling it.

Then Vaughn crested a rise, and they entered a clearing.

“Is that a greenhouse,” Angela breathed.

“Looks like it,” he murmured. “A big one.”

Fallon grumbled and pushed at him mentally, trying to see out. Aiden reached for the belts strapping her into the seat. He lifted her into his arms and let her look out the window.

Aiden felt a wave of welcome and excitement as they went up the final slope, and turned left. There, nestled in the trees, was a beautiful A-frame cabin. The front porch railing was decorated with twinkling, colorful lights.

Fallon waved her hands in excitement and bounced in his arms. Then the headlights caught sight of the group of people waiting for them in the drive.

As soon as the truck stopped, Aiden was out of the car and heading toward the group, Fallon in his arms. Drake Fontana met him first and drew him into a one-armed hug, then kissed the baby’s cheek. “Welcome home, brother. Hello, sweetheart.”

Then Aiden was taking backslaps from the rest of the guys in Fontana’s crew. He stopped at Black. “I have a feeling you did most of the work here,” he said, smiling.

Black grinned and shrugged a little. “He did help a little,” he said, his voice gravelly, bumping his chin toward Fontana.

“Hey,” his buddy groused, laughing. “I’ll have you know, keeping the power going on this place has been a bitch. Black has taken care of pretty much everything else, though, I will admit.”

Aiden glanced around. Angela was deep in conversation with Jordyn, Fontana’s fiancée, as they looked up at the bright windows of the cabin. A big, muscular dog bounced around their feet, excited at the newcomers. Angela glanced his way, and their eyes connected. He could feel the pulsing anticipation, so he reached for her hand. “Let’s go look.”

Angela took his hand, and they walked through the parting crowd. There were a couple of steps up to the broad deck. The peaked roof covered the deck, and Aiden had a flash of insight. They would be using this space a lot.

As soon as he opened the door and saw the decorated Christmas tree, he knew Angela would be in tears. Turning, he pulled her into his arms as they looked around.

Even his throat tightened up in appreciation. The cabin was beautiful to begin with, but the holiday touches made it that much more special. There were twinkle lights everywhere, which he knew Angela loved, and Fallon cooed, holding her hand out to the tree. Aiden set her down, and she toddled toward the tree. He held her hand and when they got close, he kneeled beside her.

“Don’t pull on it. Just look, Fallon. It’s very pretty, huh?”

She grinned, her bright little baby teeth shining. “Pitty, Daddy.”

Aiden snorted at ‘pitty’. One of these days she’d find her r’s.

Angela was wandering through the cabin, looking in cupboards and even the fridge. Then she disappeared into the depths of the house, her coat dropping to the hallway floor as she walked.

“Let’s go see what mama’s doing, Little Bit.”

He held a hand out to her, and they walked through the kitchen, and back into the hallway where Angela had disappeared. The first room they came to was a small bathroom. Looked very nice. Serviceable. Then they found Fallon’s room. It was pink and girly and had a beautiful oak crib on the left wall. She bee-lined for a box of toys in the corner and he watched her play for a minute. There was a window in here, but it had nice wooden blinds that would block out the light when they needed it to. As he looked out the window, he could see just an expanse of snow-laden woods. It was stunning.

There were high-tech sensors in the corner of the window to register movement. He’d also spotted the tiny camera up in the corner of the ceiling. Aiden flipped the light switch. So far there had been no fluctuation or weakness in the power. Black and Fontana had done an amazing job up here. This was so much more than he’d expected.

Fallon was happy playing with a stuffed giraffe, so he stepped out to look at the rest of the house.

When he walked into the master bedroom, he felt a sense of peace he hadn’t felt for a long time. Or maybe it was Angela. She was sitting on the corner of the bed, looking out the expansive window directly across from their bed. It was another pristine snow scene. There was a throw blanket draped across her lap, and she was just staring, sightlessly. When the mattress dipped beneath his weight, she focused and turned to him with a sad smile. Tears had left tracks down her cheeks, and he reached out to swipe them away with his thumbs.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

She shook her head, fresh tears welling and falling. “Nothing is wrong. It’s all amazingly perfect, and I’m scared to believe we can be here.”

Aiden let out a soft laugh and pulled her into his arms. “I promise you, it’s ours, babe. The original plan was that the threeof us, Wulfe and Fontana and I, would have these three cabins. But Fontana said the other day that Jordyn likes where they are, in the main building. Maybe when she has the baby, she’ll want to move out here, but for now, it’s just us.”

“I love it,” she admitted. Then, cleaning her face, she straightened. “Gonna have to get some good curtains for that window, though. No sense showing the boys all the goods.”

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