The Return of Brody McBride (17 page)

“I knew you’d take it on with the same single-minded determination you go after everything you want.”

Like I’m coming after you
. “You had no doubt I’d get through it.”

“Quit. Stop. Lose. These are not words in the Brody McBride dictionary.”

“Then why are you fighting me, honey? Be with me again.”

“Give me a kiss,” she said, and took a step closer.

Just to tease her, he said, “You told me not to kiss you because it confuses the girls.”

“I need you to kiss me because Becky Johnstone, previously Long, is on the phone right now with Roxy. She’s telling her everything she sees the two of us doing. Now, since a few minutes ago it looked like we were having an argument,” she said with a not-so-genuine smile on her face, “I need you to kiss me, so Becky will tell Roxy all is right between the two of us. Hopefully, that will make Roxy believe she can’t use you to take Autumn from me.”

“How do you know Becky is talking to Roxy?”

“Roxy always knows what’s going on with me and Autumn. At first, I wasn’t sure how she got the information and details. Through process of elimination of some of the events Roxy knew about, I was able to figure out who was feeding the information to her. Becky is one of those people. Not to mention she’s been staring at you since you arrived.”

“Not because of my good looks, huh?”

“That’s probably a lot of it, and she’s telling Roxy right now how good you look in minute detail. So kiss me and give her something to talk about.”

Sliding his fingers along her jaw and up to her neck, he leaned in close. “You sure you want me to kiss you?” Her body trembled, rippling along his fingertips, telling him how much she anticipated his kiss.

“Why are you making this so hard?” she asked, her breath catching a bit when he brushed his lips over hers in a whisper of a kiss.

“Because you’re making me hard just standing there looking good enough to eat.” His mouth brushed hers with every word. He’d like nothing better than to press her body down the length of his, proving his condition in blatant reality, but the bleachers were filled with mothers and fathers here to watch their kids play. Though the only show they wanted to see was him and Rain. So he kept the kiss intimate but light, a melding of his mouth to hers as he held her close, but not pressed to him as he’d like.

“Dad’s kissing Mom again,” Dawn said behind them, making him smile against Rain’s mouth.

Brody let go of Rain slowly, turning just enough to see Becky in his peripheral vision. She sat in the stands, talking furiously on her cell phone and glaring at them.

“Mom, is Uncle Owen coming to pizza with us?” Autumn asked.

Brody would have laughed at the confused, dazed look on Rain’s face if her lips hadn’t remained slightly parted just waiting for him to kiss her again. Before he gave into the powerful urge, he turned to Autumn and Owen. “You coming, man?”

“I’ll let you have your girls to yourself. I have some papers for you to sign before you go.”

“You got them done.”

“Some of them. I’m not a miracle worker.” Owen gave Brody a hearty slap on the shoulder and turned to Rain, who was trying to quiet the girls around her as they asked her for something with a whole lot of high-pitched
pleases
.

“Hey, Rain,” Owen called, getting her attention. He pulled her close, kissed her on the head, then spoke quietly. “Becky’s in the bleachers talking to Roxy.”

“I hope she’s telling Roxy Brody and I are getting along just fine. That kiss should tell her he’s not about to ally himself with her.”

“Why the hell would I do that?” Brody cut in. “I told you I wouldn’t take Autumn from you.”

“You also told me you’d love me forever. It didn’t stop you from sleeping with Roxy and leaving me.”

“I didn’t want to sleep with her.”

“Well, you did,” Rain shot back. “And you gave her the means to be a part of your life forever.”

“If she wanted that, she’d have kept Autumn. When she didn’t, she gave me a second reason to be with you.”

“Don’t mistake my having Autumn with Roxy giving up on you. She’s just biding her time. Now that you’re back, she’ll do something.”

Dismissing him, she turned her back and addressed the girls. Brody clenched his teeth, frustrated she said things like that, then didn’t finish by telling him what really happened with Roxy, or what was going on now. He also didn’t like people talking about them and reporting to Roxy.

“I won’t let her take Autumn. She’s ours.” He hated seeing the relief that came over Rain. “Could you just try to trust me? A little bit,” he added.

“I don’t trust her,” Rain said. Not exactly what he wanted to hear, but he’d take what he could get. For now.

“Okay, Owen, let’s do a few pitches for the girls before they burst my eardrums with their begging.”

Brody didn’t know what Rain was talking about, but he definitely wanted the girls to stop jumping up and down and asking her, “Please, Rain, just a couple.”

“Stand back.” Rain picked up a ball and went to the pitcher’s mound. Owen crouched behind home plate, glove at the ready. Rain fired in the first ball, a resounding thud echoed off Owen’s glove, and a cheer went up from the girls. Dawn and Autumn stood on either side of him, their little hands tucked in his.

“Mom is awesome,” Dawn sang out.

“Too cool,” Autumn added.

Brody had to admit, it was an amazing sight to watch Rain pitch, the balls singing over home plate at more than sixty miles an hour. Rain’s talent always astounded him. That same familiar guilt came over him thinking about all she’d given up, all that talent going to waste, everything she’d worked so hard to accomplish, so she could go to college, never achieved.

Rain finished the last of several screaming pitches to the girl’s cheers. Rain’s exuberance and enthusiasm almost convinced him she was happy with her life. Almost. He didn’t think someone like Rain—smart, driven, goal-oriented—could be completely satisfied not living up to her enormous potential.

Does she resent working at the garage when she’d had a real chance at something better? Not just a job; she’d had a career mapped out. She’d worked so hard through high school to play her best and earn a scholarship for college, not only for her playing ability, but her grades. Interested in helping people, she’d planned to study psychology, perhaps working with children.

He cursed himself for taking so much away from her.

As they left the ballpark, him in his truck following her to the pizza place, he wondered if there was something he could do to make some of Rain’s past dreams come true and still make her his wife.

Chapter Thirteen

T
HE PIZZERIA SMELLED
like heaven. Rain didn’t take the girls out to eat often, but pizza was always one of their favorites. Brody could probably afford much better. More than likely, he was more used to trendy bistros and steak houses these days. Then again, he’d been eating military fare for the last six years.

The girls climbed into the booth. The place wasn’t very busy tonight, but they were already the main attraction.

“What’ll it be, girls?” Brody asked.

“I want pepperoni,” Dawn said over her sister’s, “I want sausage.”

Smiling, Brody asked Rain, “Still like the combination?”

“That’s fine. You can get the girls a personal pizza and we can share if you like.”

“Sounds good. Should I get a pitcher of soda, too?”

“Make it root beer. The sugar is bad enough, they don’t need the caffeine, too,” Rain said before the girls demanded something else.

“But Mom . . .” Dawn began.

Brody broke in. “Dawn, you heard your mom. Root beer and pizza coming up.”

A strange sensation settled over her. It did something odd to her to have Brody on her side and help her with the girls. Normally, they’d have argued with her over the soda, but with Brody cutting Dawn’s protest off and siding with Rain, the girls knew not to even try.

Brody stood in line at the counter behind another couple. He scanned all the faces in the restaurant, checked out all the corners and dark places someone could hide, and called himself a fool for not relaxing and enjoying dinner out with his family. Instead, he was looking for a threat that didn’t exist. Everyone staring at him didn’t help.

Rubbing his palms over his jeans to wipe away the sweat, he took out his wallet and approached the counter.

“Hey, I need two personal pizzas. One pepperoni, one sausage. Then I’ll need a large combination and a pitcher of root beer.”

“Sure thing, Mr. McBride,” the girl behind the counter said, typing his order into the cash register computer. She kept looking at him like she had something on her mind. She surprised him by asking, “Is it true you were in Iraq and Afghanistan?”

“Uh, yeah. I served in both places.”

“Wow.” The young girl’s eyes went wide with astonishment. “I bet it was really scary over there. Lots of soldiers died. They talk about it on the news sometimes.”

Brody didn’t answer. The sanitized version of the brutality of war didn’t tell the true story, or even come close to his memories. He handed over forty bucks to cover dinner, thinking again that he could do a lot better for his family. That’s how he thought about them now. They still had a ways to go to being the family unit he wanted, living under the same roof and sharing their daily lives.

“Here’s your change. The pizzas will be up in about fifteen minutes.”

Brody grabbed the money from the girl. He picked up the pitcher of root beer, uncomfortable he had to use two hands to hold on to it with his sweaty palms. He made his way back to the booth. Rain watched him, her expression worried. Her eyes searched his. How could he tell her this place made him jumpy? His heart raced as the video games in the corner made a loud racket with their sirens, beeps, and explosions. A couple of teenage boys played some shooting game, the
rat-a-tat-tat
unnerving him.

Rain took the pitcher from his hands and set it on the table. He didn’t realize he stopped several feet away, lost in his mind and the sounds of gunfire.

“Brody.” Rain rested her hand over his thudding heart. “Look at me,” she called in his foggy mind. The war tried to pull him back in time, but her voice drew him home.

“Huh,” he said, sounding dumb, even to his own ears.

“Hi.” She gave him a warm smile.

“Hi. Sorry . . .”

“Don’t be.” In pure Rain fashion, she made things easy for him again. “Come sit with us.”

After Rain slid into the booth, he sat next to her.

“You okay, Dad?” Dawn asked, and carefully poured a glass of root beer.

“I’m fine, honey.”

“Mom, can I have a quarter to play one of the games?
Pleeease
,” Autumn asked.

Brody dug out his wallet and handed each girl a dollar. “Go nuts.” This would give him a few minutes alone with Rain, and he desperately wanted to be alone with her.

Both girls scrambled out of the booth to race across the room to the bank of video games. Brody enjoyed their exuberance and youthful joy. They brought some of that easy lightness back into his life.

“They’re great, Rain.”

“They’re good girls. Things haven’t always been easy, but they’re resilient.”

“It’s because of you. You’ve always been strong. It shows in what a great mother you are. They’re happy.” He didn’t know how to give her the words to describe how it felt to see his children happy when his life as a child was rarely so carefree. Which explained why he’s spent so much time with her as a kid rather than going home.

“I hope so. From the day I found out I was pregnant, and when I brought them home, it was my biggest worry. How am I going to make sure they have a happy and healthy life? As you sink into parenthood along with me, I’m sure you’ll find it’s the one thing you want for them and the hardest to ensure.”

“Harder when you’re doing it alone without the education you thought you’d have. You were so young when you had them. I should have been here,” he said, taking her hand. “Maybe you could have still gone to college,” he added.

“Brody, stop wishing for a past we can’t get back. The girls are seven. Enjoy them now, because they’re growing up so fast.”

“What about the dreams you worked so hard for and had to leave behind?”

“Things change, Brody. I learned that really fast when you left. When one dream fades, you dream a new one.”

“You can’t tell me you’re happy being a mother and working as a mechanic when you had almost a full ride to college.”

“Why not? I almost had that life. Now, I have this one. You almost had a different life here. Instead, you went away, joined the military, went to college, started your own business, gained some knowledge and wisdom, grew up and became the man you are now. This is your life now. Don’t tell me you’d give it all up, them, to have that life back. Think of all you wouldn’t have, your military career, the education and life experiences you’ve had, your business and the secure future it provides you.”

“Much of which you gave up yourself.”

“Look what I gained. You said it yourself, they’re amazing. I love being a mother. I always knew I wanted to have children. Not as early as it happened, but sometimes when something is taken away, you get something so much better. I haven’t exactly given up on school. I’ve taken courses here and there. Over the last seven years, I’ve completed two years of college.”

“That’s a long time to cover such little ground, Rain,” he said to illustrate how hard he’d made her life.

“Well, college is expensive and I don’t have a lot of time. I can’t take more than one class at a time when I’ve managed to save up enough to pay for the course and my books. I did it because it’s important to me, but not more important than taking care of them and being a good mother.”

“It really doesn’t bother you to sacrifice everything you worked your ass off to achieve.” He read it in her eyes, heard it in her voice, and knew it was there in her heart. She loved her daughters more than anything, including the future she might have had. “You don’t resent them for what you lost. You don’t even seem to resent me for getting you pregnant and leaving you.”