Chapter 5

Five

Mac

" S o that's everything. Dyson and Eeli you'll get in touch with some of our government contacts to let them know we're open for business. I'll start talking to some of the businesses in the surrounding counties, and Mac, you're in charge of letting the Hardwood locals know what services we're offering."

I jolted when Sawyer said my name. Shit, I'd tuned out of more than half of the company meeting. I ran my hands over my face. I'd tried to pay attention to what was going on around me. But my mind kept going back to the tiny, voluptuous, curly-haired blonde I'd left back at my house.

"Mac, you with us man?"

Fuck it.

The three men in this room knew me better than I knew myself. And Trinity was Sawyer's wife so I'm sure he'd share anything on his mind with her. That's just the way it was with a love as strong as theirs.

"I'm going to be a father," I announced. My gaze took a tour around the faces of the four other people seated at the table. The circumstances were serious, but I couldn't help the smile that wanted to break free seeing the shock so clearly on all their faces. So much for being a bunch of badasses. The only one who didn't deserve to be teased was Trinity. She never claimed to be a badass. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit seeing her face with her wide eyes and her mouth in an almost perfect "O" of astonishment made my lips twitch.

"What the holy fuck, man?" Sawyer asked. "Sugar coat that shit next time. I think my heart fucking stopped." He clutched at his chest for effect and Trinity smacked at him with a rueful grin.

"Stop the teasing. Can't you tell the poor man is in enough shock of his own?"

I leaned back in the comfortable office chair and shrugged. "Sorry. I know you guys need my head in the game, but it's a little hard. Right before I got here, a woman I had a night with when I was on R&R in Lover's Cove found me and shared that she's expecting our baby."

"Seriously?" Dyson shook his head. "You ever heard of birth control, man?"

I shrugged and grinned. "We used condoms. But I guess my guys are stronger than the average swimmers because at least one of them broke his way through."

Trinity whacked me on the shoulder. "That's gross, Mac."

"Just speaking the truth," I teased.

"She's from Lover's Cove? How did she find you?" Eeli narrowed his eyes on me.

I figured this was coming. I'd been through hell and back with these men. There's no way they'd let me drop a bombshell like that without a full explanation. So I shared everything—where my head was when I arrived in the small beach town after some shit for brains bureaucrat gave us bad intel that made the mission I'd just barely made it out of go FUBAR to meeting Gabriella at a club one night and allowing her to breath a little life back into me with her sunny smile. I brushed over the details of the night we'd spent together for Trinity's sake, but I'm sure my buddies got the picture.

"The next day I had to head back to the unit and that was it. Until Gabriella showed up this morning and told me she was pregnant."

"Are you sure it's yours?" Eeli blurted out like sandpaper over a wound.

My eyes narrowed. It took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to launch myself across the table and beat the shit out of my friend for even thinking Gabriella would lie about such a thing. I might not know every last detail about her, but I could judge a person's character. Lying wasn't part of who she was.

Eeli held up his hands. "No offense meant, man. I'm just looking out for you. Someone had to ask the obvious and get it out of the way."

I nodded, but my jaw stayed clenched and I gripped the arms of my chair tightly.

Trinity leaned in and put a gentle hand on my arm, despite a warning grunt from Sawyer.

"It's obvious you care about this girl, Mac. We just want to make sure she's not taking advantage of you. You know how some women are and what lengths they'll go to in order to land a man."

The anger leached from my body as I met Trinity's eyes. She had first-hand experience of how some were for sure. Trinity's mother had been a gold digger and never did pay much attention to what she had to do to score with a man with deep pockets.

Because of her mother's reputation, Trinity had to face a lot of wagging tongues when she hooked up with Sawyer. Not only because of the size of his bank account, but also because she landed the son of a man her mother chased for years before abandoning her.

I offered Trinity a smile. "I appreciate you guys looking out for me. But I'm pretty sure the baby is mine. Unless she's the best damn liar in the world, and I don't think that is the case." I quickly explained the timing and the fact Gabriella was shocked out of her mind to find out she was three months pregnant and did not know it.

"She didn't even realize it before then? Oh god, how scary! And to be all alone." Trinity's eyes grew wide and a little panicked. Being abandoned by a parent haunted a person. Usually, Trinity did a very good job of hiding her past traumas, but right that second I could see old fears rear their ugly head.

Sawyer stood and pulled her from her chair into his arms. "Some people aren't as lucky as we are, baby. You'll never be alone like that again."

Sawyer's words hit me like an arrow to the heart. I tuned out of the rest of their conversation as I realized the truth of his words. Gabriella and I were having a baby together, but we didn't have the special connection Sawyer and Trinity shared.

Gabriella looked scared and said as much, but deep down the women had to be frantic. What security did she have that someone would be by her side through all of this?

None.

Turning my attention back to the people in the room, I realized Trinity was excusing herself to go make copies of a few of the pages Sawyer handed out during the meeting.

"She okay?" I asked him after she closed the door behind her.

"She'll be okay. It's hard to calm people who've been through so much and their trust stomped on by so many people." Sawyer shook his head. "Her mother did a number on her and she felt like all the people of Wild Ridge and Hardwood thought she was the same kind of trash. It's not easy to just stop thinking a certain way. I've been trying to show her this town loves her and she's slowly coming to see it. She wants to start a family but gets scared everyone will think she's using me. It's a nasty web caused by others."

"Sorry, man." What else could I say to that?

He shook his head. "No problem. The more we talk about it, the more she can come to terms with her past and realize she's stuck with me for good."

"Have you shared your past with her? The shit we went through overseas?" Eeli asked. "When Dyson and I shared our pasts with Clara, it brought us closer. Helped us heal. Maybe doing that with Trinity will put you two on a whole other level and she can see how you're moving on and do the same."

For someone who didn't talk much, Eeli had a lot of insight.

I swung my head to him and then right back to Sawyer.

It hadn't occurred to me that Sawyer would consider sharing his horror stories to connect with his wife.

Eeli's idea made sense, but it drove icy fear through me to consider tainting someone as good as Gabriella with such ugliness.

"Not yet. Shit, the four of us can barely talk about it and we lived it. I'm not sure she ever needs to hear about our lives as soldiers, ya know."

A month ago, hell a day ago, I probably would have argued with Sawyer and told him nothing should ever be hidden. But with my own beautiful woman currently tucked away at my house, I had a new perspective.

"Trying to tie her to you as tight as possible before you show the dark side of your life?"

Sawyer just nodded his agreement at my words.

I stood and clapped a hand down on his shoulder. "You've got nothing to worry about. That woman is yours. No doubt about it. But Eeli is right. By sharing stories of your time in the military you can only help."

"Thanks, man," Sawyer said. "I know you're right. I just worry about her. She's seen enough darkness. I want to protect her from anything else that might do more damage."

I nodded, suddenly fully understanding his need to protect the love of his life.

"I hate to break up this love fest," Dyson spoke up dryly, "But back to your news for a sec. Have you considered, Mac, what drove your woman to seek you out instead of just calling? I mean, could that one night stand have meant more to her than she's letting on?"

I turned to him. "Everyone is pretty damn insightful today. Something in the water or did Trinity dose the coffee machine with some kind of love potion?"

Eeli laughed. "Maybe, or we've all been bitten by the fucking love bug and now have feelings and shit."

"I don't know, man," I said seriously to Dyson's question. "I know for one, I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. I swear I could sense her here right before the Police Chief called me in. Like I knew Gabriella was close by. She's in my dreams, too. Every damn night. Her voice follows me through the day." I scraped a hand down my face. "What the fuck is going on?"

Dyson and Eeli both swore what they have with their woman, Clara, is on a whole other level. That they could feel their shared lover's emotions as if she shared a part of their souls.

They shared the whole spectrum of emotions as if by some kind of magic. They called it true soulmates but it all sounded hooky at the time so I shrugged it off.

But now I'm starting to wonder if there is some truth to what they shared.

"Maybe she's your soulmate."

Eeli dropped his bomb and then pushed up, heading for the coffee machine.

My heart might have come to a complete stop in my chest. I know my breath did. I struggled to pull air into my lungs as his words sank fully into my mind and heart and soul. Then everything that had stopped came to life again at double the speed. My heart thudded at twice its normal rate and my breathing came quick and shallow as the realization solidified itself inside me.

Gabriella Cole, the woman carrying my baby, was my soulmate.