Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

China and Persia finally arrived around dinner time, and with them came two gorgeous men, both polite enough, but as stiff and unsmiling as a couple gargoyles. China and Persia could've passed for sisters. Both were obviously pregnant. China wasn't far along, but poor Persia looked ready to pop. They were both in what seemed to be the official uniform of most Americans: jeans and t-shirts. Persia's shirt was baby blue. China's was bright yellow with ‘Save your horses. Ride a Cowboy!' emblazoned in dark red across her voluptuous chest.

The moment Marlowe saw their long, thick, dark hair and radiant complexions, she ran her fingers over her bare head, embarrassed and worried her new friends would tell on her. That she'd had lice. That she'd shaved her head. Fortunately, Judy had dolled up her baldness with a light-blue headband that looked like a mini-turban. Kelsey said it enhanced the color of her eyes. Libby had dabbed a smoky eye shadow around her eyes, and for once, Marlowe looked almost pretty. Not as beautiful as these women, but Libby doing that helped her appear, well, more American.

"Uncle Maverick! Uncle Walker!" Lexie yelled.

"Excuse me," China groused, one hand on her hip "You're excited to see Uncle Maverick, but not me? Am I invisible, little girl?"

Lexie's eyes widened. "No, I can see you, but you can turn invisible? Really? Can you show me how to do it?"

Persia elbowed China as she headed for the sofa. "You walked right into that one. Ignore grouchy Auntie China and come sit with me, Lexie."

"Carefully," one of the men growled.

Lexie ran pell-mell into Persia's open arms and snuggled beside her. "Aw, Uncle Walker, I always careful of Aunt Persia," she scolded, blatantly patting Persia's baby bump. "She's got a tiny baby in this here tummy, and Mama told me how her baby got in there and how she's gonna get it out. Want me to tell you how?"

That got a chuckle out of everyone, and now Marlowe knew who belonged to who. Walker, with Persia. Maverick, with China.

"No, munchkin. I already know how, but thanks."

Walker was edgy, lean with piercing blue eyes that looked through Marlowe. Maverick was just as tense. Wearing a dusty cowboy hat, dark-blue western shirt with a black yoke, and jeans, he stood a titch taller than Walker. They both walked like bow-legged gunslingers from those old Western movies. Without asking, he hung his hat on a hook behind Kelsey's front door and turned to survey the room.

Walker crouched at Lexie's feet. "You've got a smart Mama, don't you?" he asked kindly, which surprised Marlowe, considering how irritable he seemed before. Her previous assessment of him changed. He wasn't the hardass she'd thought he was.

"Ah-huh. Mama's the smartest lady in the whole world" —Lexie spread her arms wide— "cuz Daddy says so."

Walker tipped his head to the little cherub. "Well, you tell your daddy he's right. Mommies are the smartest people in the world. You listen to her, don't you?"

Lexie's chocolate curls bobbed. "Ah-huh. I always listen cuz if I don't, I have to sit in the corner. And think about my ak-shuns."

"Rules have consequences, don't they?" Walker asked as he stood.

"Ah-huh, and if I say a bad word, she puts soap in my mouth." Lexie looked up at him, her lips pinched in a pout. "That's mean, huh? She shouldn't do stuff like that, should she?"

Walker's belly muscles twitched with a suppressed laugh. "Nope. Not mean, at all, munchkin. Your mom wants what's best for you. She loves you, and you shouldn't be saying naughty words, should you?"

"No," Lexie huffed. "Daddy says that, too."

"So be a good girl."

"I am." Again with a dramatic sigh.

After a curt, "Nice to meet you, ma'am," which Marlowe knew not to be offended by, Walker's sharp eyes returned to canvassing the place, like he and Maverick were looking for something or someone. Which was ludicrous. The only people here were the ones who'd been here all day.

These guys were hunting, that was what they were doing. Opening doors, as if someone was going to jump out at them. Cocking their heads, as if they heard something they didn't like. Being extra aware, like hungry predators on the hunt. That made Marlowe hyper-alert and nervous again, darn them. She hadn't worried since she realized Kelsey, Libby, and Judy all carried pistols tucked into hidden holsters at the small of their backs. Very smart.

After all she'd seen and lived through in Afghanistan, Marlowe firmly believed women should be armed and capable of defending themselves. Females were the most assaulted, most often raped, and most likely to be murdered of the genders. Self-defense was a common-sense solution, especially in this world gone batshit crazy. Females absolutely needed to protect themselves from stronger, larger, meaner males. If not armed, they needed martial arts training, and they should be taught that when they were little kids.

Oh, crap. She was doing it again. Wincing, Marlowe mentally climbed down from her opinionated high horse. After what happened in that stinking cave, she was a great one to talk. Self-defense training was now her number one priority, and she knew just the man for the job—if Asher was still talking to her when he got back. Marlowe couldn't blame him if he wasn't. She had been harsh with him, while he'd only ever been considerate, calm, and kind with her. Somehow, she'd turned into a bully, yet Asher remained cool, calm, and gracious. Self-effacing, that was Asher.

Darn. She'd been a raging bitch to a man plagued by nightmares, enough that he needed a comfort dog. What did that say about her? That she was mean, quick to take offense, and quicker to judge. She didn't understand why she couldn't be nice to him. He'd rescued her. What more did she want from a guy?

Marlowe bowed her head. She was still going back to Afghanistan, somehow, but she needed to see Asher first. She needed to know he was okay. But mostly, she needed to apologize and give him the hug he deserved.

"Mama," an angel-soft voice interrupted her internal conversation.

Marlowe glanced up as Bradley slapped his tiny hands on her knees to get her attention. He was leaning to one side, his head cocked.

"Hi, sweetheart," she whispered, looking down into his gentle blue eyes.

"Up," he ordered, smacking her knees again. "Me want up."

Well, okay then. Smiling, because Kelsey's kids weren't shy, Marlowe scooped Bradley onto her lap. The little guy was a handful of little boy jeans, a yellow t-shirt with a bright, red Elmo on his chest, and the tiniest black cowboy boots she'd ever seen. The scent of baby powder freshness slammed into her heart. Oh, damn. She closed her eyes. Babies were her greatest, hardest weakness. Children without parents didn't stand a chance in Afghanistan. Husbandless women and fatherless children were fair game to the Taliban.

But now, there in Kelsey's immaculate home, with her nose in this perfect little boy's baby-fine hair, Marlowe found it easier to believe that life wasn't always hard. It could be good. Even hers, as tough as it'd been. Parts of it had been good. Like when her mom was sober, and they'd scraped together enough loose change to go down to the local Dairy Queen and get root beer floats or vanilla ice cream cones. Those were good times. Not good days or weeks or months maybe, but it was funny how one good time had made the hard days easier to bear.

While the women talked about who else was pregnant, someone named Tuesday, Marlowe blinked to keep her tears at bay. Tears were weakness, and she was not weak. But sitting there, in a clean house with kind people and this perfect little boy on her lap, she was incredibly happy. Like it or not, those tears were on the verge of falling, all because of the charming child leaning against her heart. Bradley was safe, and he'd have all the opportunities America offered to everyone, not just to the rich, powerful, and brutal. But to everyone. Even her. She'd been dirt poor all her life, but she'd still gone to school, and those schools had free breakfasts and lunches, and sometimes—

She shook her head at the contrast between her life and Bradley's. He'd have it easier than she did. Kelsey and Alex would see to it because they were good parents, and that was why she kept blinking. A tiny part of her was jealous that she'd had to grow up fast and mean, pretty much motherless and fatherless, while Lexie and Bradley would never suffer one-tenth of what she'd lived through. Which was good for them. Dashing a quick hand over her eyes, Marlowe slammed the door on her stupid pity party. There wasn't a thing she could do to change her past. Time didn't work like that. There. End of that crappy story.

"Hey, darlin'," a deep familiar voice said, as some guy—

Oh, Harley. Marlowe shrugged away when he settled beside her and stretched his arm along the sofa behind her. "I'm not your darling," she reminded him curtly.

"Good luck with that, sweetheart," Judy called from where she sat with Libby and Lexie. "He calls all us girls darling. He's a big flirt."

"Marlowe likes me, Judy, she just doesn't know it yet." Harley winked at his wife. Turning back, he asked, "Come outside with me? I've got something to show you."

"I'm busy," she replied haughtily. Couldn't he see the precious boy in her arms? What made him think she'd trade Bradley for him? "Go away, you're bothering me. Us. I mean us." She drew Bradley tighter against her.

"Oh, girlfriend, you are so right for Asher." Harley's hazel eyes were bright with mischief. "But seriously, bring Bradley with you. It'll just take a minute."

"No," Marlowe growled. Didn't he know she could barely stand, much less walk without a darned walker that made her look like someone's grandmother? Surely Judy told him. Marlowe wasn't going anywhere. Not with Harley, not with herself, not with anyone. If she did, she'd have to use that walker and then, everyone would think she was helpless when she wasn't. Temporarily incapacitated was not helpless, but it was embarrassing.

"Well, if you won't go out with me…" Harley turned to Kelsey. "Mind if I let the dogs in, Kels?"

She laughed. "Do I ever say no to my boys joining us? Sure. Let them all in."

"Brutus and Hercules, too?" Harley was already at the kitchen sliders. "You sure, darlin'?"

Okay, so maybe he does call every woman darlin'.

"Sure. The more, the merrier."

Harley opened the door, whistled, and in seconds, a pack of wild dogs and puppies galloped in. Marlowe recognized Walter and Darling, but darn. There were now six, rambunctious, tail-whipping dogs and puppies in Kelsey's house.

"Puppies," Bradley squealed, clapping his hands as the biggest dog, the black German shepherd with a gray snout, headed toward Marlowe. She'd seen how ferocious military working dogs could be. She pulled Bradley back, protecting him. Instead of climbing over Bradley and her, the big dog sat at her feet with its head cocked, its tail beating the floor like a drum.

"Whipper," Bradley cooed, leaning forward, his arms stretched too close to that big dog's sharp, white teeth. My heck, he was a big thing.

Harley plopped down beside her again, but before Marlowe could tell him to beat it, he settled her adorable golden puppy on Bradley's lap. "Surprise, Bradley. You're the first to hold Marlowe's new baby."

"Awww, Darling." Marlowe couldn't believe she'd just squealed like a kid.

"Him, Whipper," Bradley said, pointing at the black beast sitting patiently at his cowboy boots. "You, Darwing." He meant the chubby puppy on his lap.

"This big boy is Whis-per," Harley enunciated as he pulled the black dog between his knees and roughed up its ears. "He and that other big fellow over there" —he nodded to the silver dog on the couch, lying across Kelsey's lap— "are EOD dogs that retired from service shortly after they deployed. Turned out they're lovers, not fighters. A guy Alex knew left them to him when he died. Cancer, I think. Alex didn't much want a dog back then, but here they are. Plus his two new pups."

Two adorable German Shepherd puppies. They were almost as cute as Darling and Walter. Both had long, fluffy hair and floppy ears.

"Whisper's the one I told you about, Marlowe. The one who found me that day," Kelsey interrupted.

Marlowe nodded, secretly thrilled that Kelsey trusted her with such a heartbreaking part of her life.

"You told her?" Harley asked as Maverick and Walker came to stand behind the sofa where Marlowe sat with Bradley.

"Of course," Kelsey replied easily. "Girls talk."

A sudden niggling, sticky awareness crept up Marlowe's spine. What was really going on? Why were all these men here? Did everyone know something she didn't?

"Relax, girlfriend," China said with a friendly smile. "These guys were special forces. It's what they do. They clear every house when they first arrive. They'll settle down once they're satisfied no boogeymen sneaked in when we weren't looking."

Oh. Okay. That made sense. Until Whisper and Smoke were suddenly on their feet, their ears perked up, and their dark eyes wide. Whisper's nose lifted into the air. What now?