Make Mine a Ranger (Special Ops: Homefront Book 4) (15 page)

“I love that woman.”

“Me, too.” Taking another bite of the
dessert, she looked up at the stars. “It’s funny. I guess it’s sort of sad that
my family was so unsupportive of Abby and me. But it’s such a miracle that I
ended up here, you know? Here in this house, with friends who really adopted me
as their family. Not many people get so lucky in life.”

Tyler cocked his head to the side. “What
are your parents like?”

Bess pressed her lips together. She
didn’t like talking about her parents and always appreciated that Tyler didn’t
bring it up. But he must be curious, really. What the hell kind of parents
would cut their only daughter and granddaughter out of their lives so easily?

“They’re—I don’t know—very
strict. Religious. That fire-and-brimstone type of deal where I walked out of
church every Sunday certain that God was going to strike me down with a
lightning bolt any minute.”

“You were an only child?”

“Mmhmm. My mother told me once they had
tried for years to have a second child, but she imagined that God wouldn’t let
her get pregnant again because I’d need all their attention to keep me from
getting into trouble.”

“Charming woman,” Tyler retorted,
dripping with sarcasm.

“Yeah. Doesn’t really sound like they had
much confidence in me, does it?” Bess stretched out her legs.

“Also sounds like they should have gone
to a different church. The only thing the chaplain browbeat us about at West
Point was this funny thing called duty. To your family. Your teammates.”

“Guess they missed that sermon,” she
said, pulling in her knees to her chest. She could change the topic now, she
considered. But for some reason, she wanted him to know everything. “So anyway,
I didn’t date much, to say the least. The first guy I dated was in my freshman
year of college and wow, that went over like a lead balloon with my parents. My
father had a ‘talk’ with him. Think he scared him to pieces—not like in
the violent way because my father, well, he’s kind of a slight man. But just in
the way that the guy must have thought, ‘why even get involved with this
totally messed up family?’ I can’t say I blamed him when he broke up with me
the next day. Said I really should find someone who would fit into my family
better. I was furious. Not with him, of course. But with my parents. Especially
my dad.”

She paused, taking a long sip of wine to
bolster her courage. “Then my junior year, Dan came along. My dad had the same
little talk with him and he didn’t scare him away at all. In fact, he seemed to
want me even more after that. He wanted to help me break free of my family’s
hold on me, he told me. And I bought it. But looking back, I think he only
wanted to pull me away from them so that he could control me more. When he
asked me to move in with him, my parents warned me that he was no good, and pretty
much disowned me. And then the abuse started right after that.”

Tyler pulled her closer, almost up onto
his lap as he let her use his chest as a backrest.

She sighed from the warmth and
understanding that enveloped her. “I think one of the reasons I let it continue
as long as I did was because I kept thinking I had to make it better. I
couldn’t let my parents be right about him.”

His hand stroked her hair lightly and she
melted further into him in response.

“Do you ever think about contacting them
again?” he asked.

Bess frowned. “No. Funny, isn’t it? I
don’t have the slightest inclination. When I called them a couple years ago to
tell them about Abby and they rejected her, I realized that they have no place
in my life. I won’t subject my daughter to them. Why would I welcome anyone
into her life that doesn’t look at her like the jewel she is?”

He shifted slightly so that their eyes
could meet. “You are an amazing mother, Bess. I hope you know that.”

Bess gave a little shrug. “I try.”

“No, you don’t
try
. You
do
.
With your history, I’m not sure how you learned to be a good mother with the
parents you had. But you definitely succeeded.”

His hand pulled her closer, and he kissed
her. The taste of him was like an elixir curing her of the remnants of anger and
rejection that festered inside her whenever she spoke of her parents. For four
years, Tyler had been the fantasy that gave her hope that there might be a man
out there for her. And now, he was the promise that she truly could open her
heart to someone completely.

Arching her back toward him, her breasts
pressed against his chest as he laid her back on the blanket. He sucked in her
lower lip, his teeth lightly scraping against her, stoking the fire that burned
low in her belly.

Sliding his body fully on top of her to
reach toward the two votive candles, he licked his fingers and pinched out the
tiny flames with his fingertips. She winced slightly at the sight—never
could understand how anyone could do that.

The darkness engulfed them, making the
stars above them appear even brighter. Bess felt emboldened by it, glancing
again at tiny green power light of the baby monitor. Surely, Abby was sound
asleep. Bess could even hear her gentle breathing through the remote.

Did she dare do this? Her desire
consuming her, she felt she had little choice as she gave in to her passion and
opened her mouth fully to him, taking him in as deeply as she could. She was
lost to her own yearnings now.

He moved his hand low on her belly,
slipping under the t-shirt and gliding up toward her breast. She practically
purred from the feel of his hands on her. It had been too long since they had
made love.

Under the canopy of darkness, he lifted
her t-shirt, and took her breast in his mouth. The moan that escaped her was
filled with need as a sweet, sinful agony pooled inside her. She pressed her
hips upward, demanding pressure from his body, and his hands moved lower in
response, slipping beneath the tight waistband of her yoga pants and meeting
her warmth. He tunneled his fingers into her curls and found the center of her
need, massaging it expertly beneath his fingers. He moved further between her
legs, finding her wet and so ready for him. She gasped as his fingers slipped
inside the delicate folds. With an aching tenderness, his fingers moved inside
her, in and out as he stole her moisture for the hard nub that ached for his
touch. Slow and steady, not in a rush at all, his other hand moved to her
breast as he toyed with her. He licked her nipple, letting the autumn breeze
dry it, and then took her in his mouth again.

A shooting star shot across the sky as
she lay beneath him and she gasped from the splintering climax that was within
her reach. Higher and higher she soared until finally she saw stars—not
the ones that shone down on them from the heavens, but the brighter, piercing kind
that radiated from the back of her eyes.

Pressing his mouth to hers, he muffled
her cry with his kiss, feeling her quake beneath him till her body melted,
pliant, into the blanket.

Still winded from the flood of sensations
that had just coursed through her body, she reached for him, wanting to take
him to the same level of ecstasy. Just as she reached for the zipper of his
shorts, they heard it:

“Mama, I’m thirsty.”

Bess’s eyes flew open from the voice that
called out from the baby monitor, snapping her into a very awkward reality. “Oh,
Tyler.”

She could barely see his face in the
darkness as she heard him utter a soft curse.

“How am I going to survive until Edith
takes her after Vi’s wedding?” he asked.

Bess grimaced, as she pulled her hand
away from the erection that was pressing against his shorts.
Poor guy
.
“I’m so sorry, Tyler.”

“Don’t be. Go get that little girl some
water. I’d offer to do it for you, but I’ll be indisposed for a while,” he said,
the tiniest hint of humor making Bess feel a little better. Just a little, as
she headed back inside to her wonderful, perfect,
demanding
daughter.

The sun was setting much earlier these
days, Tyler noticed as he went inside to turn the porch lights on. A warm glow had
settled over the Bay, blanketed in the distance by a gentle mist. Glancing
behind him as he flicked the switch, he saw Bess tossing back her head in
laughter at something one of her friends had said. Her hair glimmered in the
light of the setting sun, pulled up in a loose ponytail, revealing a porcelain
neck that begged to be kissed.

Tyler swallowed and looked away. With
three officers who outranked him, and the company of three young children, now
was definitely not the time to get aroused by Bess in those tempting spaghetti
straps that kept flopping off her shoulders.

Mick came up to him as he stepped back
onto the porch. “Thanks for having us all over, Tyler.”

Tyler shrugged. “No problem, Commander.
Bess barely even let me help. She cooked everything herself, even though I
offered to order out. This is her thing, though. She totally went Martha
Stewart on me this week preparing. She was in her zone.”

“You’re telling me. She single-handedly
catered my entire wedding, you know.”

“No kidding, Sir? I never knew that.”

“We had hired a caterer who backed out
last minute. Bess took care of everything. Everyone said it was the best
wedding food they had ever tasted. She’d probably have signed up to do Vi’s if
there weren’t four hundred people coming. The place is going to be a circus.”

Tyler’s eyes settled on Bess in the
distance. “She’s got such talent. It kills me to see her wasting away working
in a dental office, you know?”

“When you have kids, it’s all about
putting your own dreams on the back burner sometimes.”

Tyler nodded, watching Abby playing with
Maeve’s two adopted children. They seemed to be engaged in a game of freeze
tag. Kayla, the older one, was looking mildly exasperated, trying to get the
two three-year-olds to play by the rules. But already, the girl had a patience
Tyler admired. He was never that patient at eight years old.

Tyler smiled at the sight. “The kids are
getting along great. I know Bess is relieved about that.”

“They’ll grow up thinking of each other
as family,” Jack said as he approached, handing them both a fresh bottle of Sam
Adams. The gesture was friendly, but his eyes on Tyler were just this side of
lethal. “The way we all do. Bess is like a sister to Mick and me.”

Tyler knew what Jack was insinuating.
“I’m aware of that, Sir. Bess is grateful for the family.”

Jack sat down on the porch step, tossing
back a quick sip of the beer he held in his hand. “She seems pretty fond of you
these days.”

Mick rolled his eyes. “Heel, Cujo. Take
it easy on him. Tyler’s a good guy, Jack.”

Tyler sat on the step near Jack. If he
was going to have this conversation, he might as well be sitting down for it.
“No worries, Commander. If Lieutenant Commander Falcone has something to say to
me, he’s welcome to say it.”

 “Well, in that case, I’ll leave you
two alone.” Chuckling softly, Mick made his way across the lawn and joined in a
conversation with Vi and Joe.

Gazing out to the Bay, Jack didn’t meet
Tyler’s eyes. “Mick told me what you did for Bess. Facing down that bastard ex
of hers. I want you to know I appreciate it.”

Okay, so this wasn’t what Tyler was
expecting. He cocked his head, waiting for the “but.”

Jack pressed his lips together. “I wish I
had been here to help.”

“You’re in Little Creek, Sir.”

“Just the same, it’s not too far to drive
if the need arises. So keep that in mind. If something else happens and you
need back up. I’ll want to be notified. I won’t be at sea anytime soon and can
be up here in a matter of hours. Do you think we’ve seen the last of him?”

“Wish to God I could say for sure.”

“Well, you can count on me. Captain Shey,
too,” he added, tossing a nod in Joe’s direction. “He’s intimidating as hell,
but that could only work to our benefit.”

Tyler laughed, feeling slightly more at
ease.

“All that aside—” Jack began.

Here it comes.

“—I’m not sure I approve of you leveling
up the relationship with Bess.”

Well, that’s a diplomatic way of putting
it.

“And your reasoning, Sir?”

“I grew up with four sisters. I’ve seen
the way that women get attached, and then get their hearts broken. Bess has
enough on her plate right now. Raising a kid. She doesn’t need to deal with
that when you move on to someone else.”

“
When
I move on, Sir? Don’t you
mean
if
?”

“You’re an Army guy living in a Navy
town. You won’t be growing roots here in Annapolis, and you know it.”

“Meade’s a big base. I could spend the
better portion of my career stationed there if I wanted to.”

“But you won’t. You’re a Ranger. You’ll
head back to your Battalion. You won’t break ties with the brotherhood over
some girl you fell for in Annapolis, no matter how great a cook she is.”

Tyler narrowed his gaze on Jack. “May I
speak freely, Sir?”

“Please do.”

“Maybe you’re not around here enough to
know this, but Bess is a damn sight better than just ‘some girl’ a guy falls
for in Annapolis. And you don’t know what’s in the future for us any more than
you knew with your own wife when your relationship started. But I’m sure as
hell not going to be intimidated by you or Commander Riley, or even Captain
Shey when it comes to my relationship with Bess.”

Jack cracked a smile. “Bess is a grown
woman. She’s free to date anyone she wants without our approval. But I won’t
take kindly to it if you lead her on,
Lieutenant
.”

“I’m getting promoted to Captain next
month.”

“Congratulations. Isn’t that one pretty
automatic?” Apparently, Jack couldn’t resist a dig.

“I’ve asked Bess and Abby to put my bars
on me.”

From the way his expression changed, the
significance wasn’t lost to Jack. At promotion ceremonies, it was customary for
the officer to ask someone close to him to attach his new rank to his uniform
in front of the audience. Usually the honor went to a wife or parent. In the
absence of those two at the ceremony, a mentoring commander usually filled in.

It generally wasn’t a task handed to a
girlfriend, unless the Soldier had intentions of making her a permanent feature
in his life.

Bess had been happy to accept the
invitation to do it. But being a civilian, she hadn’t really known the
significance of her and Abby being a part of the ceremony.

Slowly, Jack nodded, his features
softening slightly. “Good,” he said. “If you’re smart, you’ll make sure she’s still
around for the next promotion ceremony, too.” As he stood, he gave Tyler a
swift thump on the shoulder that Tyler could only interpret as a gesture of
acceptance into their clan.

Even if he was the lowest man on the
totem pole here, it was a good place to be.

Across the lawn from him, Bess glanced
over as Jack walked away. She smiled, and came to sit beside Tyler. “Are you
having an okay time?”

“Better than okay. The dinner was
fantastic.”

She eyed Jack suspiciously in the
distance. “Jack wasn’t giving you a hard time or anything, was he? He’s kind of
protective, and he doesn’t know you as well as Mick does.”

“He’s fine. Don’t worry. A lieutenant
commander isn’t about to scare me away.” He lowered his voice. “But if Captain
Shey starts in on me, I might need to call for reinforcements. You know he’s
pretty much a SEAL legend.”

Bess giggled softly, watching the Captain
on all fours giving pony rides to Abby and Maeve’s children on his back, while
Vi snapped a photo of her fiancé on her phone and threatened to put it on her
Facebook page.

He certainly didn’t look much like a
hardened SEAL commander at the moment.

A sigh escaped Bess. “They’re so in love,
Tyler. It’s nice to see. They look like they were meant to be.” She leaned into
him slightly, and he fought the urge to drape his arm around her. He had
promised to keep his hands to himself around Abby, but the more time they spent
together, the more difficult he was finding the task.

“You’re a romantic.”

“I am, and proud of it.” Bess grinned. “I’m
so excited for their wedding now that I know I can actually manage to get in my
dress.”

“I’m more excited about getting you
out
of the dress.” He snuck a brief touch of his hand to her back. “Edith is still
fine with babysitting afterward?” He glanced over at the older woman who was
sitting out on the dock talking to Lacey.

“Yep. I just double-checked a few minutes
ago. She’s looking forward to it.”

Tyler’s smile was wide. “Not as much as I
am.”

***

With Bess catapulted into a million last-minute
wedding plans, Tyler barely got to see her over the next few days.

So by the time the Naval Academy Chapel
was filled, with Joe eagerly waiting at the front for the arrival of his bride,
Tyler was feeling just as much anticipation waiting for one of the bridesmaids
to walk down the aisle.

Edith was sitting next to him in the pew,
and she patted his knee reassuringly. “As nervous as you look, Tyler, I’d be
guessing that you’re the groom.”

“Just hoping she and Abby are doing okay
back there.” They had been whisked away from him and into the bridal room when
they arrived, Bess looking radiant in her form-fitting dress and Abby like the
perfect angel in white. Tyler barely had time to say good-bye. “Abby was
getting a little crabby from all the excitement. I wish I could help back
there.”

Edith laughed. “You would definitely not
be welcome in the bridal room.”

“Yeah, what’s the mystery there, anyway,
Mrs. B? What is it they do in there?”

Edith’s expression warmed. “Oh, a lot of
laughter, a lot of tears, and probably a little champagne to take the edge
off.”

“Sounds like what happens with the
groomsmen then, minus the tears.” Tyler had been in his fair share of weddings,
but certainly not any as huge as this one was. The chapel was packed, and Bess
told him they had needed to rent out two adjoining hotel ballrooms for the
reception just to accommodate the crowd. “I really hope Abby doesn’t get
overwhelmed. That’s a long aisle she has to walk down. And a lot of
distractions along the way.”

“Don’t worry. Bess will be walking in
before her, so she’ll be at the other end waiting for her.”

“Maybe I should—”

“It’ll be fine, Tyler.” Tilting her head,
she gazed at him. “You really love that little girl, don’t you?”

“With all my heart,” he confessed, barely
even realizing he had said it out loud before glancing over his shoulder again,
staring at the massive double doors that led to chapel.

“And Bess?” Edith grinned. “You’ll forgive
me for asking, of course. We old ladies like to speak our mind.”

As he looked at the chapel doors, a
memory flashed in his mind, so sharp it could have been yesterday. A vision of
Bess, pregnant, standing in the doorway wrapping her coat around her to shield
herself from the chill. He had first met Bess here, four years ago.

How would he have known then that the
woman he had just met would bring so much meaning to his life?

“We met here, you know,” Tyler finally
began to answer. “Commander Riley had been giving Lacey, Maeve, and Bess a tour
of the Academy when I bumped into them. She was pregnant then. I assumed she
was married, so didn’t really give her a second look. Then for the next four
years, I wonder if I ever really
saw
her until just recently. I was
always so focused on Abby, and Bess was always rushing around, making sure
everyone else was taken care of. Does anyone ever really look at her?” It was a
metaphorical question, of course, and he was surprised he had even asked it
aloud. But it was the truth. There was so much to Bess. So many layers of
beauty inside her. And it had taken four years to even reach past the first
layer.

Just then the sound violins flowed over
the crowd, hushing the guests to silence. The music was Bach, though Tyler
would never admit he knew it. Having a sister who had played cello for fourteen
years, he had heard his share of Bach growing up.

Joe’s parents walked down the aisle
first, then Vi’s parents.

Then, he saw her and his heart stopped.

Bess
.

Looking luminous, her hair swooped into a
chignon and her face as perfect as porcelain doll, she stepped into the aisle. The
dress was stunning, fitting her new figure and looking like it had literally
been designed just for her lovely curves. The bodice was nipped in at the waist
and chiffon flowed downward to the floor making it seem as though she was literally
walking on air.

“She’s beautiful,” he barely whispered,
more to himself than anyone else.