“I don’t regret it, Mike.” She pressed her cheek against his palm. “That’s how I met you. How can I be sorry about everything that led up to that moment?”
“That was one good thing that came out of this,” he admitted. Holding Khat’s dark gaze, Mike caressed her lips. “We can work together from now on to help your family and those villages. I want you happy, not worried about your relatives. Aunt Leeda and all your father’s family will be taken care of. We will never forget them.”
“And I appreciate that.” Somehow, Khat knew deep in her heart that her father would rest near his village of Dur Babba at peace, because she was still involved with his blood, his tribe. It was something she would want to take part in for the rest of her life.
“I know you do.” Mike eased her onto her back and said, “You have a whole new world opening up to you, angel. A better one. You’ll be going to school when your enlistment is up, and you’ll become a registered nurse. I hope they know how lucky they’re going to be to have someone like you in their midst.” Because of her years as a paramedic out on a frontier dealing with every conceivable medical issue, Khat had an immense wealth of knowledge, not to mention years of experience which no school could ever give her.
Gazing up at him, concentrating on his hand spanning her belly, she smiled softly. “In a sense, Mike, we’re both laying down our weapons of war for tools of peace. We’ll fight poverty and help others who have less than we do. I’m okay with that. And I think you are, too.” Khat studied his deeply shadowed face, those lion gold eyes of his thoughtful as he considered her softly spoken words.
“With me, it’s a question of changing priorities, Khat. If you hadn’t come into my life, I would have re-upped. I believe in what I did as a SEAL. I knew we were the good guys out there in Afghanistan, changing the face of it for the people who couldn’t defend themselves in their villages against Taliban intrusion.” Mike held her warm gaze. “But you walked into my life, and from the first moment I saw you, I was hooked on you.”
Khat lifted her hand, finger sliding against his bristly jaw. “I think there are many ways to be a warrior, Mike. We’re turning our passion into a different expression is all. We’re warriors for peace, now. We’ll let other, younger men and women carry on the SEAL fight to take out the evil in this world.”
Considering her quiet words, her wisdom, he leaned down, placing a light kiss on her belly. “I want to concentrate on you.” Watching Khat bloom before his eyes, watching her tap into her feminine side, was an amazing, unfolding process to him. And at the same time, Mike knew Khat drew out his vulnerable side. The side that rarely saw the light of day as a SEAL. Humans were complex beings—he knew that better than most.
He gathered her into his arms, her long legs tangled with his. Mike loved her strong side. Now he was going to get to watch her other side,the softer one, begin to take its rightful, balanced place in her life. Khat was a powerful woman and he was going to enjoy showing her how her life helping others would continue to count in a meaningful way. Equally, she fed him with her huge heart that knew how to love without boundaries. Her passion inspired him as much as he knew he inspired her in a different way. It was going to be a fusion marriage of varied cultures, but their hearts were both focused on giving back to those who had so much less than they did. Their children, someday, would begin to learn as he had as a child, that the world was more than they realized. His father’s insight and heart had opened Mike’s eyes in ways he could never have fathomed, and it had set him on a course to be of service in his own way.
Khat had not had the same educational opportunities he had at such a young and tender age. But her heart was passionate and her focus was just. Because she was a woman, her father had hidden her and tried to stop her from being who she really was: a warrior for the underdog. She’d found her footing in the military and it had unleashed her powerful heart’s passion. She’d thrown herself into protecting those villages without realizing the costs to herself. Her scarred back would always be a reminder of those painful times, but Mike knew it had not stopped Khat once it had happened. Her heart was dedicated to serving. She found her life’s calling in Operation Shadow Warriors, and had proved beyond a doubt that she was capable of dealing with dark forces singlehandedly.
Mike held Khat close, feeling the beat of her courageous heart against his chest as he closed his eyes. As he began to fall asleep, he wondered what their children would be like. They would be a recipe of Afghan, Saudi and American bloodlines, all enfolded among one another. He knew their blood was passionate. Their job would be to funnel their children’s passion into some positive expression. They could do it. Khat would never have to see their children suppressed or hidden, as she had been. Her heart and her confidence in herself had never been destroyed. She had a strong soul. And she would pass on those very important attributes to all their children. Mike was looking forward to a life with this brave woman who only knew how to lead with her heart.
*
Don’t miss Lindsay McKenna’s TAKING FIRE and RUNNING FIRE, available March and May 2015 respectively from HQN Books!
Also available from
Lindsay McKenna
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Shadow Warriors
Taking Fire
Never Surrender
Breaking Point
Degree of Risk
Risk Taker
Down Range
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Wolf Haven
High Country Rebel
The Loner
The Defender
The Wrangler
The Last Cowboy
Deadly Silence
Deadly Identity
Shadows from the Past
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author
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ISBN-13: 9781460382554
On Fire
Copyright © 2015 by Nauman Living Trust
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