Page 10 of A Moment Never Forgotten
Holy fuck. Would they have put a young mother and her baby undercover in a place like that? He answered his own question. Of course they would.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have answered so casually. I doubt you know anything about me.” Her gaze swept the room and it reminded him of everyone he knew. It was a habit, one that kept them alive.
“Why don’t we have a seat and discuss northern African shitholes? I’ve seen my share of them.” Micah gestured for her to go first. As he followed her, he couldn’t miss the sway of rounded hips and tight butt cheeks in Navy blue dress pants. He revised his initial assessment. She looked damn good for a woman her age.
Berit sat in one of the high-back chairs across from the couch and sipped her wine. Micah chose the matching one and angled his body to face her.
“I apolo—"
“Tunisia, where—”
They both spoke at once.
Before she could finish her apology, Micah took control of the conversation. “Where were you in Tunis? Sfax? Sousse?” Those were the most popular, and populous towns in that country.
“I was in Ben Gardane, close to the Libyan border.” Her grin was sardonic. “It was a far cry from the tourist-friendly resorts along the Mediterranean. Most of the people there didn’t know if they were in Libya or Tunisia, it all looks the same. There were guards on the main roads, but the government—that was new when I was there—didn’t have enough money to patrol the backcountry. Smuggling jihadists to the training camps in Libya was the best paying job around.”
Micah couldn’t believe that she would take the baby into that environment. “How old was Mak?”
She cocked her head to the side, as though in thought, for a minute. “He turned ten when we lived in Tunisia.” She shook her head. “He was like a sponge when it came to languages. We’d only been there a week, maybe ten days, when I took him to the market. That little kid negotiated like a pro for every piece of food we took home. He sounded like he’d been born and raised in the Sahara Desert.”
“He learns quick. Adapts to his environment. No wonder he went into the SEALs.” Every man who pinned on a Trident had a different story, but they were all intelligent and highly adaptable. He’d look into Makensey Barker.
Berit set her glass on the coffee table. “He’d be bored in any other specialty.”
“Where did this cake come from?” Elizabeth’s voice drifted in.
Standing, Berit headed for the kitchen. “I couldn’t arrive empty-handed, especially since I was interrupting your evening.”
“Berit.” The warmth in Teagan’s voice was evident. “I didn’t realize you’d arrived. I’m sorry, but we got tied up with the kids. They’re so tired after the long drive.”
All four children, talking at once, darted past the adults and up the stairs.
“I’ll be up in five minutes to make sure that each of you brushed your teeth.” Elizabeth then turned her attention to Berit. “You didn’t have to bring anything. I went crazy earlier in the week baking pies and I was going to pull one of them out and reheat it.”
“You’d be doing me a favor if you ate this cake.” Berit looked sheepish. “If you guys don’t eat it, I’m just going to have to throw it away.”
Teagan grabbed dessert plates and forks while Elizabeth dug through a drawer until she found her cake server. Micah stood next to Logan and Matthew, lined up like starving, drooling dogs.
The three women worked together as though they had been doing so for years. Micah wondered if that kind of teamwork was learned or if it was innate to females. Since he’d never had a mother, he’d never been able to watch women interact. He was fascinated by the way Berit just automatically fell into step with Elizabeth and Teagan, handing each man a plate of dessert.
When the women joined the men in the living room, they immediately filled the couch. Matthew dropped into the overstuffed chair adjacent to the end, closest to Elizabeth, leaving the high-back chairs to Micah and Logan.
Elizabeth took one bite and moaned. She chewed slowly then swallowed. “Oh. My. God. You must tell me, Berit, where did you buy this cake?”
“Well, let me see,” Berit teased. “All the sugar, eggs, and flour, oh, and the chocolate, came from Kroger’s.”
“Are you telling me this is a real homemade cake…like from scratch? I didn’t know anybody still made cakes that way.” Elizabeth shoved another forkful into her mouth.
“I feel so damn successful when I can take a cake mix and manage not to burn half the cupcakes. I bow to you, Queen of the Kitchen.” Teagan made a bowing motion toward Berit. “I couldn’t do this.”
“Teagan, sweetheart, you’re getting much better at cooking,” Logan noted.
She burst out laughing. “It’s been trial by fire…literally. Who knew that you can’t put grease in the pan then run upstairs to stop World War III from erupting? I swear I was only gone thirty seconds.”
Logan grinned at his wife. “Every fire alarm in our house has now been tested…more than once.”
“I’m on a first-name basis, now, with Carol Anne from the alarm company. We’re becoming real besties,” Teagan joked. “Yep, she’s the one who told me about the cooking classes at the community college up in Jacksonville.” She took another bite of the cake. “Logan, I’m sorry, but I’m never going to be able to make anything that tastes this good.”
