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“You going to let your brother and Dad in,cariño?”

Mac held on for a minute longer, then released Dirk and stepped back. “How? When? I thought you weren’t coming?” Mac fired questions at her brother, then she didn’t even give him a chance to answer before she turned to face me. “You did this?”

I smiled. “I told you,mi hermosa esposa, my beautiful wife. That I’d always give you what you needed.”

“Evidently, it includes telling your brother that it was time to quit feeling sorry for his damn self and be thankful for the sister who loves him,” Dirk said as he hobbled in on the crutches and my dad followed, shutting the door.

Mac stared at me, and I didn’t know what to expect, but it sure wasn’t the snort that came from her.

She continued to look at me as she spoke to Dirk, “Oh please, when did you start holding back on what comes out of your mouth because I know my husband, and he wouldn’t have put that nicely.”

I chuckled and stuck out my hand. “Nice to meet you, man.”

Dirk rested his weight on his crutches while he reached out and clasped my hand.

“Same, man.”

“Come on, and I’ll introduce you to the boys and Kiyaya. Then you can sit and tell me how your trip here was,” Mac said and led the way into the living room.

Introductions were made, and after setting my dad and Dirk up with a cup of coffee, the present opening commenced. What had taken Mac hours to get wrapped, was destroyed in no time. Wrapping paper, boxes, clothes, and toys littered the room.

Later, after the mess had been cleaned up and the tons of food Mac made for dinner was consumed, my brothers had stopped by one by one with their women to meet Mac’s brother.

Mac and I sat in the living room and watched Tracker and Paxton play video games with Dirk. Kiyaya had gone upstairs to lay down, and my dad had gone to meet with the other dads to share a beer to celebrate the day.

“He’s lost so much weight,” Mac whispered beside me.

“He’ll gain it back along with his strength. He’s still recovering,cariño. Give him time. By this time next year, I bet he’s back to the way you remember him.”

“Not all the way, though.” I knew she referred to his missing leg.

“He’ll adjust, and so will you.”

“Something else is on his mind, though. Maybe he’s worried about what he’s going to do after he’s medically discharged.” Mac sighed and laid her head on my shoulder.

“More than likely,” I answered with no intention of sharing with Mac what I thought it was. I’d noticed, too, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with adjusting to having a prosthetic or being discharged from the military. My guess, it involved a woman.

“Have I told you today that I love you?” Mac said as she lifted her head and turned to look at me.

I kissed her, and when I broke the kiss, I leaned my forehead on hers and answered, “Yes, and I hope to hear you say it a lot over the next fifty years.”

“I’m not sure that’s long enough to love you,” she said, then leaned in and planted a kiss on lips. When she pulled away, she added, “It will probably take me that long to get used to your arrogant ass.”

I chuckled, then pushed her head back down on my shoulder. I might have said I wanted what my brothers had found, but as I held Mac close and watched Tracker lean over to help Paxton with the controller—I realized I had found much more.

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