Skin Deep (11 page)

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“You’d be miserable and you’d eventually come to resent me.” Erin broke away from him. This was serious, and she needed him to see it. “I don’t want to be the reason you leave the Navy. It needs to be at your own pace. Right now? Right here? This is who you are. I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that as much as I hate what the military has done to my family, I seem to be drawn to its men.”

“Like Nebraska,” he agreed.

“Like you. Like the personalities of any of the men who get close to me. My fears are my hang-ups. Logically, I know that military doesn’t automatically mean broken relationships. Or death.”

When she looked up at him, Hotch hooked a finger under her chin. His thumb smoothed across her cheek. It gave her the courage to continue.

“You’re the one I want. For whatever reason, the Navy seems to be my dating pool.” She laughed uncomfortably. “If you were anything other than the man you are, I wouldn’t be in love with you. Changing that would be like cutting off my own arm. I won’t do it.”

“Won’t you be unhappy?”

“I’m not sure Navy wives marry without understanding that the military is the lifeblood of their men. I mean, they know, but the extent is always hard on a marriage. It was for my dad. It was for Troy. It is for you. Hell, with his upbringing it will probably be that way for Toby, too.”

“Will you resent me for staying?”

She thought about it then slowly shook her head. “No, I’ll respect you for your principles and remind myself that I chose
you
, and all the baggage that entails.”

Hotch grinned boyishly, but the sparkle in his eye made his expression distinctly heated. “So you love me, huh?”

“Something like that,” she laughed.

“When do you want to make it official?”

“Let’s take our time. Go on deployment. Come home. We have our whole lives ahead of us. Toby and I aren’t going anywhere.”

Epilogue

“Daddy!”

Toby squealed running through the open front door, around the flower delivery guy’s legs and across the lawn. Erin’s heart raced as she dodged after him. Hotch swept Toby into his arms and peppered the three year old with kisses.

“Where’s your gorgeous mommy?” he asked Toby.

Toby swung around in his arms and pointed joyfully at Erin. She watched them together, the urge to cry making her temples and eyes feel hot. She blinked and sent them a watery smile.

He dropped his duffel on the lawn and opened his free arm. “Don’t make me beg, baby.”

She laughed, stepping into his embrace and holding him as tightly as he held her. “I’ve missed you.”

“I never get tired of hearing that,” he murmured.

“C’mon. Toby and I made welcome-home cookies.”

“Mom, look who’s home!” she yelled to the house. She picked up Hotch’s duffel and looped her arm around his waist as they walked up. “She’s a bit frazzled. She’s been signing for wedding gifts and supplies all day.”

As if to prove her point, the delivery guy tucked his electronic signing pad under his arm and jogged down the path to the driveway.

“Mom?” Erin called again.

Her mother stood in the entryway, her arms folded across her chest as she stared at a huge floral arrangement of roses in every color.

“Roses? I thought we were going with tulips,” Hotch wondered aloud.

“We are, and I love that you remember that,” Erin said kissing his cheek. “Did you tell them to take it back?” Erin asked her.

Her mother shook her head no. Her lips were tightly pressed, and she didn’t look at Erin.

“Mom? What’s the matter?” Erin let go of Hotch and his duffel to glance at whatever her mother was looking at.

“They’re from
him
,” her mother rasped.

Erin tried not to smile or laugh. Neither would go over well with her mother. “Dad?”

Her mother nodded once, abruptly, as though acknowledging the identity of the sender would somehow encourage him.

Erin took the card and opened the envelope as she had been for the past several months when mysterious packages arrived from her father. She cleared her throat for mild dramatic effect. “Lauren, I’m not giving up. Love, The Jackass.”

A reluctant smile tugged at her mother’s lips.

“Is there hope, Mom?”

“I wouldn’t tell him if there was,” she admitted.

“When are you going to put Dad out of his misery?” Erin asked.

“I spent years feeling unimportant next to his job. He can keep suffering for a while longer.”

“But you’re softening, right?”

Her mother shot her a sideways glance. “I signed for them this time, didn’t I?”

Erin hugged her and giggled. “Can I give him some encouragement so he keeps trying? It’s been a year. I think he should know that you’re starting to keep the things he sends over.”

“I don’t condone or condemn any encouragement you offer him,” her mother decided stubbornly.

“Well. It’s progress.”

Her mother turned on them. “Micah Hotchkiss, if you ever put my daughter through the hell I’ve had these past decades, I will personally string you up by your flippers and use you for target practice.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Hotch answered barely concealing his laughter. He hugged Erin close and with Toby, he dragged them back to the master bedroom.

“It won’t happen,” he promised Erin when they were alone.

“I know. We’re already different than they are.”

“My Navy SEAL loyalty runs to my team Skins deep, but I belong, body and soul, to you and Toby.”

About the Author

Hi, I'm Katie Blu, the alter ego of Mia Watts. After unsuccessfully mixing genres under one name, I realized that readers needed to know what they could expect from me. So, Katie Blu has been recreated to explore the relationships between men and women.

Like Mia (because if you note above, I am Mia), I make my home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I spend my days at my day job and every other available minute writing. I strive to make my characters believable, loveable, unforgettable, and--oh yeah--hot for each other.

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