23. Evie

I don't thinkI've ever been as happy as I am right now. It's been two weeks since Rebel said he loved me, and Hannah wouldn't let me out of her sight. She kissed me every time I held her. I loved her so much.

Rebel walked in from outside, looking worried; I kissed him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"We leave for Iran in an hour. I don't want to leave you alone."

"I won't be alone. Who is going with you?"

"Reaper and Steel."

"Allison and Ghost are here. I'll be fine. I'm not going to get into any trouble. I'll have Hannah. Stop worrying. I won't let anything happen to her, I promise. How long will you be gone?"

"A couple of weeks, hopefully no longer. Sometimes, things pop up, and you cannot control it."

"What kind of things?"

"It might take longer to find the two people we were hired to rescue."

"They don't tell you the correct address?"

"Most of the time, they don't know the exact address, just the vicinity where they are hiding."

"What are they hiding from?"

"Sweetheart, we are going into a hostile country to rescue people who are held against their will. Sometimes, they are held prisoner, and we must figure out how to get them out. In this case, they just want out of the country."

"Wait," I said, pacing, "are you telling me you are going into a hostile country, and you could be shot or captured and thrown into their prison?"

"Sweetheart, we know what we're doing and are extremely cautious. You don't have to worry about us. You can plan our wedding while I'm gone."

"Plan our wedding! You haven't asked me to marry you!"

"I was going to wait until I returned from Iran, but Evie McDonald, will you marry me?"

"No, this isn't romantic. You're just trying to change the subject."

"So are you saying you won't marry me?"

"Of course, I'm going to marry you. But you have to ask me properly when you return from Iran, and I want it to be romantic. Promise me you'll be careful over there."

"I promise I will be careful. I love you. Do you want to talk to me while I get my gear together?"

"Yes, I thought it was always ready at a moment"s notice."

"It usually is, but I was distracted last week when I returned, if you remember."

"I remember; I will miss you so much. Hannah and I will be waiting for you."

I watched him leave and almost cried, but I didn't want everyone to think I was a big baby. I cleaned the kitchen and polished the furniture before striping all the beds and washing the sheets, which I hung out to dry. My little shadow followed me everywhere. I picked her up and wrapped my arms around her. "I love you, Hannah."

"Mommy."

"Yes, sweetie, I'm mommy. What should we do while the sheets dry?" I heard someone knocking, and since I knew Allison was on her doctor runs and Ghost was at Spartans, I answered. It was Daisy and Raider's boys.

"I'm so happy you came to visit us. What have you been doing? Is Raider away?"

"Yes, he's been gone for three days. The boys like to visit with Tater and Alpo. I'm so happy you have Cinder back. Are all of your animals here? I haven't seen Tater or Snookum."

"They're pouting because Cinder is back," I chuckled. They are so jealous of her. I don't know why they get as many hugs as he does. Kylie decided to let me have her pets because she said getting up and out of bed was hard enough for her, and she didn't have the strength to take care of animals.

"I hope she gets better soon," Daisy said, shaking her head. Has she talked to anyone about what happened to her?"

"My Mom said she had an appointment on Monday with someone. It's going to take her time. Hopefully, she can find a way to handle everything. I'm just glad we found her when we did," I looked at Daisy, "Did you talk to anyone, after your family died in that accident?" I didn't think she would answer at first, but she took a deep breath.

"It's been over four years since my family died in that accident. It hurts so much to think about it. At least when I see little girls playing, it makes me smile instead of cry. I talk to Raider about my babies. I find it easy to talk with him."

"I'm so sorry you've had all this pain in your life. I hope one day you can find peace. When Kylie was missing, I used to stay on the streets trying to find out where they take the trafficked women. I can remember praying for peace of mind, but my mind would never stop thinking of these horrible images, and Kyle was always in them."

"I know what you mean. Being with the boys has changed my life so much that I don't dwell on what happened. I used to wonder if they were scared or if my husband knew they were all going to die. I prayed he knew nothing because I knew he would die in anguish, and I only wanted him and my babies to feel peaceful and loved."

"Mommy, I looked over and saw the boys sitting at the piano. I smiled.

"That's so sweet. Hannah calls you mommy."

"Yeah, her grandma started calling me mommy. At first, I thought everyone would think I told her to call me mommy, but then I didn't care because I am her mommy. I love her so much. I love her as if she were truly mine."

"It hurt being away from her, so I FaceTimed her every day; Reaper or one of the others would call me. Not Rebel he didn't know I called. At first, she would cry for me, but then I would sing to her and show her the things I bought for her, and she stopped crying. I knew Rebel loved me; I was just waiting for him to admit it to himself."

I wish Raider would make a move. Whenever I'm around him, I wonder if I should just make the first move."

"Really, after all this time, he hasn't made a move; that surprises me. I see how he looks at you. Maybe you should make a move; if he doesn't, you do it. You can pretend to trip and hurt yourself. Make sure you are outside with him when the boys aren't there. Make sure you have some sexy perfume. Do you know what most men find sexy?

"No, what?"

"Vanilla. Spray some vanilla on you," I glanced at her, and we burst into laughter. "Wear something sexy. Do what you have to do to make him want you."

"I know he wants me. I see it when he looks at me."

We visited and laughed for the next hour before she and the boys left. I had so much fun figuring out how to make Raider want her. Ultimately, we decided she would go to a tanning salon and tan because tanned people always looked better. I was looking forward to seeing how this turned out.