Page 16 of Homecoming

And something in Angela’s heart bloomed as well, because the little town actually felt like home.

Aiden could feelthe emotions rolling off his wife, and it made him smile in reaction. They were in a situation that didn’t allow a lot of freedom, so he loved being able to give her anything normal. And he knew and understood why she fought for normalcy for Fallon. The baby was a wonder, and he had a feeling she would only be more amazing the more she matured. They needed to give her a grounded beginning.

Who would have ever thought his kid would be some kind of wonder kid? Dr. Elizabeth had warned them at the beginning of the pregnancy that she could be different. No other soldier who had been tested on with the Spartan drug had had a baby, that they knew of. So no one knew what was possible.

Now they did. Kind of. It seemed like Fallon got stronger every month. And her strength grew with her maturity. Spartan had changed him on a genetic level, which he’d passed on to Fallon.

On the one hand, he felt guilty about bringing her into their world. What right did he have to spread this curse and make hera target? But, on the other hand, she was made with love, and he couldn’t imagine living without her.

Fallon started bouncing in his arms, and it took strength to hold her to him. Santa’s sleigh, with real reindeer, was passing in front of them. “Settle down, Little Bit. We’ll go see him in a minute.”

There was a building pressure in his stomach. He glanced at Angela, and she gave him a sideways smile and a nod. She was feeling it as well. He looked at Fallon. “You need to stop pushing us. We will get you there to see him soon enough.”

She jounced in his arms and kicked her feet, wanting down. He set her down, but held onto her hand. Angela firmly took her other hand. “We have to be patient, Fallon. He’s not even at his chair yet.”

They headed in the direction the parade was going, weaving through people. It was close quarters here, which stressed him out, and he would like to find a free space. Just then, he spotted Black standing in front of a gayly decorated florist shop, talking to a beautiful woman. It was interesting because the woman was leaning into his space, her head tilted up toward him. And Black seemed to be trying not to look at her. Even from several yards away, Aiden could feel the interest between the two, and it surprised him. Black was normally so closed off.

He glanced down at Angela walking beside him, and he spotted her playful look. She had seen the mutual interest as well.

Black glanced up as they drew near and seemed glad of the interruption. “Aiden! I’m glad you made it. Grace, this is Aiden and Angela, and their baby girl, Fallon. Guys, this is Grace Lane. She decorated your cabin and basically made it livable.”

Grace grinned as she stepped forward to shake their hands, and Aiden could see why Black was a little distracted by the woman. She was beautiful, and she had a very strongpersonality. It practically radiated off her. Angela leaned in to shake the woman’s hand, and they started chatting immediately. Aiden was surprised when Fallon jerked her hand away from his and toddled to the woman. When she held her arms up to be picked up, he was even more surprised. Fallon never went to anyone she didn’t know.

Grace picked the baby up immediately, a broad grin splitting her face. She propped the baby on her hip like she was a pro. “Well, aren’t you a darling? I see you love the giraffe.” She wiggled the stuffed animal with one hand. “That belonged to my nephew when he was a baby. He carried it everywhere. That giraffe has traveled a lot.”

Fallon grinned and launched into a long baby-babble conversation, and Grace responded accordingly when she paused.

Aiden and Angela looked at each other, bemused. Fallon had a fantastic sense of people, but they’d never seen her practically leap into someone’s arms like that.

“Well, she really likes you,” Black said slowly.

Grace grinned. “I come from a big family, and my nephew is just a little older than Fallon. He’s wandering around here somewhere with my brother. Plus, I have a lot of little cousins. There’s always a baby around.”

Grace tucked some of Fallon’s baby hair under the hood of her snowsuit. “You will have plenty of little people ready to play with you. Your mom can just give me a holler and we’ll set something up.”

Fallon blinked at Grace, then reached out and cupped her cheek. Grace blinked, her gaze going a little hazy, before her eyelids did a few quick blinks and she sagged. Then she gave a hard blink and straightened, glancing around curiously. Fallon leaned toward her mother, and Angela took her.

Grace seemed to be shaping words, but Aiden interrupted her before she could think too deeply about what had happened. “So, I think we’re going to go meet Santa. It was a pleasure meeting you, Grace.”

“Oh, let me show you the way. I have an ‘in’.”

They started walking down the street, weaving through the crowds, the girls in front chatting and the guys behind. Aiden could feel his security people scattered around them, but no sense of anything in the least bit dangerous. He glanced at Black.

“Is it always this… bucolic?”

One side of Black’s mouth tipped up in a smile. “I wish I could say no, but I can’t. Whisper Hollow is a fairytale kind of place. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any place this laid back. Every trite small-town thing you can think of is here.” He shook his head. “The only official warning I’ll give you is to avoid the coffee at the hardware store.”

Aiden frowned. “There’s coffee at the hardware store?”

He nodded once. “There’s a group of old guys that meet there every morning, so they put in a breakfast/lunch counter to take advantage of the rush. The coffee there is terrible.”

Aiden lifted a brow at that. They had a rush at the hardware store?

“There is a second hardware/ craft store, but the brothers don’t get along. Don’t ever let one or the other know you went to the opposite brother first, because you’ll never make it out of the store without hearing the whole story about who slept with who’s girlfriend.”

Aiden stopped and stared at the man in charge of the Foxhole. Black was one of the most level-headed, dry men he knew. He was responsible for a huge budget and more than two dozen employees. It wasn’t like him to buy into, let alone repeat, gossip.

Black held up his hands and shook his head. “Hey, you told me to integrate, so I integrated. I’m telling you about the alligators before you go swimming.”

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