ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (94 page)

Vince twisted in his seat and grinned back at his little girl.  “Hey, pumpkin!” 

“Daddy, Mommy pretty!” 

Sydney gripped the steering wheel tightly.  Dakota had remembered the outfit when she put it on.  Now she wanted Vince to notice.  Dammit!  Sydney wanted Vince to notice on his own! 

Vince looked at Sydney sidelong.  Her dark hair looked nice stacked on top of her head, with wispy curls framing the sides of her face. 

“Yeah, baby, she is.” 

Dakota giggled and nodded her head, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth.  She held her doll out to Vince. 

“What’s this?  New doll?” 

Dakota nodded. 

Vince handed the plush doll back to her.  It had red yarn hair that was braided on each side, and buttons for eyes. 

“She’s nice.  What’s her name?”

“Pickle.” 

“Pickle?”  Vince laughed.  “She looks homemade.” 

Dakota stroked the dolls head.  “Mommy buy her at the street haystycle.” 

“Street festival.”  Sydney quietly corrected. 

“Where was that at?” 

“I heard about one that was happening in this little place called Montross in Westmoreland County.” 

“That was a long drive for just a street festival.”  Vince said, twisting back around.  He was glad to see they had arrived at their little house. 

“Yes, it was.”  Sydney said more sharply than she meant to.  “Dakota and I stayed overnight in Richmond.  I mean, we have a life to live too.” 

Vince bit down hard on his tongue.  He refused to enter into an argument with her when he hadn’t been home for even five whole minutes yet.

Vince took his duffle from the trunk and grabbed the stroller with his free hand.  Dakota ran to him as soon as she was free from the confines of the car seat.  He patted her head, and watched with a strange mingle of happiness and dread as she ran into the house behind Sydney.  He loved his daughter, but was he ready to hear her near constant chatter?

He had to give one thing to Sydney, she kept the home neat as a pin.  He took his duffle to the bedroom and began unpacking it.  Dakota came and climbed onto the bed hugging the soft doll to her chest. 

“Presents?”

Vince gave her a sly smile.  “Maybe.” 

He dug in his bag until he found the tightly wrapped package.  He loosened the tape that held it together and handed it to Dakota.  She giggled and tore at the plain brown paper with tiny fingers.  Her face lit up as she pulled a toy tea set from within the box. 

“Oh Daddy!”

“Now you can have tea parties with your dolls and stuffed animals.”

“Like princess?”

“Yes, like a princess.” 

Sydney leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed.  “Did you really think something breakable would be the best gift for a three year old?”

Vince straightened, but his body visibly slouched.  He didn’t turn around.  “It’s fine, Sydney.”  He reached in the bag and dug around until he found the other item he was looking for.  He half turned and tossed it to her. 

She unwrapped it slowly and pulled out a long blue scarf made of a fine soft gauze like material, with small silver coins hanging along the fringes. 

“Thank you.  It’s lovely.” 

Vince nodded.  “It’s supposed to be a head veil, but I thought you could use it as a wrap.” 

The three of them settled into an uneasy evening of working past normal routine disruption, and just getting used to being with each other again.  For Dakota it was easy; she had both parents with her again. 

Bedtime was a problem.  Not for the three year old, she fell asleep without incident, her tea set resting on the bedside table and Pickle still clutched tightly to her chest.  The adults were having the problem. 

Sydney seemed to be procrastinating.  There was a few toys that had to be picked up.  She had to fold the few towels in the dryer.

Vince laid in bed, an arm bent behind his near shaven head, listening to her brush her teeth.  He knew she didn’t want to come to bed, but thought it her duty. 

When Sydney finally emerged from the bathroom, killing the light as she came out, he looked at her oversized Navy T-shirt with a frown. 

Not even a nightie for my welcome home. 

Sydney turned off the bedside lamp and scooted under the covers, laying stiffly on her back beside him, not touching. 

“I’ve been recommended for OSC.” 

“Officer’s school.”  She said it almost as flatly as he had when Captain Bryant told him. 

“Will we have to go to Rhode Island?”

“Most likely.” 

Sydney turned over, her back now to him. 

“Are you not fine with this?”

The silence was deafening.  The silence was always deafening when he came home.  He needed noise to block out the images which haunted him every time he closed his eyes. 

“I’m fine.” 

Vince sighed and rolled onto his side. 

Sydney was up making pancakes when he emerged from the bedroom.  She must have started early, because Dakota was already almost done with her plate.

“Daddy!”

“Dakota!” 

Sydney poured him a generous glass of orange juice and set it before him on the table.  She returned a moment later with a plate of three pancakes surrounded by eggs and bacon. 

Vince bit into a crispy slice of bacon and closed his eyes.  “They don’t serve it like this over there.” 

“Over where, Daddy?”

“Afghanistan.” 

“Did you bang-bang the bad guys?”  She pointed her finger at him with her thumb up like a gun, one eye closed.  When she moved her arm, she accidentally knocked her sippy cup to the floor.  It made an odd thud noise as it hit the linoleum.    

Vince stared at her blankly.  The room suddenly disappeared and all he saw was half a building, smoke still rolling out of it in dark bulbous clouds.  He saw a man in dirty white linen, his prayer cap sitting crookedly, one side of his face practically melted off, also smoking.  He screamed and screamed. 

“Vince?”  Sydney said sharply. 

He blinked once, the sunny kitchen coming back into focus.  Dakota watched him with her luminous dark brown eyes.  Her lower lip trembled slightly.  He turned his head slowly to look at his wife.  Her brow was furrowed into a perfect V. 

“What’s wrong with you?”  She whispered. 

“Nothing…nothing.”  He picked up his fork and began shoveling the food into his mouth like someone was attempting to take it away from him. 

“Mommy?”  Dakota’s voice came out uncertainly. 

“Go wash your hands, baby.”  Sydney said, keeping her eyes on Vince.  She took the dirty plate to the sink before sitting down across from Vince. 

He lifted his eyes.  “What?”  He asked around a mouthful of food. 

“What was that?” 

“What?”  He asked again, irritation rising through the center of his chest. 

“You…you were here…then you weren’t.  You moaned.” 

“I did?”

Sydney nodded her head.  You didn’t answer either one of us.  It scared Dakota. 

Vince pushed his plate away.  “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know.”  She waited for him to say more.  When he didn’t she continued.  “It started early this time.” 

Vince didn’t want to talk about it.  What happened over there was like the Vegas motto.  What happens in Afghanistan, stays in Afghanistan.  He just wished his mind always obeyed that simple rule. 

“What are your plans today?”  Sydney asked, taking his plate. 

“Thought I’d just relax.  Since that’s what I’m being forced to do.” 

Sydney’s hands stilled at the sink, the warm water still cascading over her skin.  Vince almost grimaced at his words. 

“What does that mean?” 

“I wanted another tour.”  There was no need to mince words. 

Sydney whirled from the sink, slamming her hand down on the faucet, causing the stream of water to shut off with a thunk.  The soft sounds of cartoons wafted in from the living room.  Sydney could see Dakota’s head appear just above the armrest of the couch as she settled in watch television. 

“You wanted what?”

Vince played with the paper napkin still folded neatly beside the spot his plate had just occupied.  “It’s no big deal.”

“Sure.  No big deal.  You’re gone 90% of the time, but you wanted another tour.  What’s so wrong with us that you have to stay away?”

“I never said that.”

“You don’t have to…your actions do all the talking, Vince.” 

Sydney finished rinsing the dishes and loading them into the dishwasher.  She turned and looked at him, while he was still playing with the napkin. 

“Guess who I ran into the other day?”

Vince’s shoulders lifted, then fell back down. 

“Bridgett.” 

Vince lifted his head.  “Daniels?”

“Yes.” 

“Wow, I didn’t know they were here already.  Is Peter here or on deployment?”

Sydney shook her head slowly.  “He was killed by an IED eight months ago.” 

Vince’s face became an unreadable mask. 

Sydney had his full attention and she wasn’t going to waste the moment.  “It was a stark reminder of what I fear the most.” 

Vince’s features hardened.  “Do you fear my demise, or the paychecks?”

Sydney stood from the table with enough force to knock the chair she sat in backwards.  Her parting words were slick with acid. 

“You really are a bastard.” 

Vince drove around the base for over an hour before turning into the fitness facility.  It was nearly empty, just a few women occupied the cardio area and one lone man was at the free weights.  Vince worked his muscles until his head swam and his belly ached.  The lone man looked at him with his gym bag in hand before leaving. 

“Be careful soldier, you can’t work all the major muscles in one day like that.” 

Vince watched him walk away with cold eyes. 

But I’m the monster.

Vince came home as dusk was falling.  He had wanted to stay away all night, but had nowhere to go.  He found Sydney sipping a glass of wine at the dining room table.  Dakota ran into the room, already in her pajamas.  She eyed Vince warily. 

“Hey, kid.  What did you do today?”

Dakota shrugged, running a bare toe along the linoleum.  “Mommy cooks casserole.” 

“Was it good?” 

She nodded her head rapidly.  “It had the tunas in it.” 

“Sorry I missed it.”  He could feel Sydney’s eyes on him, one arm was across her stomach just below her breasts. 

“It’s time for bed.” 

“I’ll take her.”  Vince offered weakly. 

Sydney was about to say no when Dakota skipped over to her and hugged her around the belly.  “Night, Mommy.” 

Sydney hugged her tightly, breathing in the baby shampoo and toothpaste.  “Sleep well.  Don’t….”

“Let the bed bugs bite!”  Dakota finished for her. 

Sydney watched with a mix of anger and sadness as Vince picked her up and walked out of the room.  She felt shaky.  The wine bottle clanked clumsily on the edge of her glass as she poured more.  She hoped Dakota would tell Vince to leave the night light on. 

Vince walked silently into the room.  He pulled out a chair, sitting with his hands clasped in front of him. 

Sydney didn’t pull any punches.  “I want a divorce.” 

Vince felt like the air had been pulled right out of him.  “Why?”

Sydney sipped her wine.  Her mind kept repeating the stupid phrase: Courage in a shot.  She didn’t drink hard liquor, so the wine would have to do. 

Vince clasped his hands so tightly that she could see his knuckles turning white.  “Do you realize what I’ve given up for you?”  His eyes glittered madly, his face took on a more animalistic quality.  Sydney hadn’t seen that in quite some time, and it scared her. 

“I gave up a pack for you.  So you could have a normal life.”   He made quotation marks in the air, his voice diving into a deadly calm.  “I stopped being what I am for you.  Do you know what kind of restraint that takes?  The mind bending willpower?” 

Sydney shook her head slowly.  “I never asked you to stop being a Werewolf, Vince.”

“No, but you didn’t want to see it!”  He ran a large hand over his head, enjoying the prick of each short hair.  “I haven’t shifted once in a year.”

Sydney swallowed.  She wouldn’t back down from this.  She couldn’t.  “Well, now you can.” 

The kitchen table was in the air and cart wheeling before Sydney realized what was happening.  It hit the half wall, splitting in two, sending shards of wood into the living room.  Sydney screamed and protected her head as the small patter of little feet running into the room came to an abrupt stop.  Dakota stood in the doorway with large tear filled eyes, looking at each of them, then at the shattered table.