Leah felt a surge of relief as her gaze rested on Mary’s square face. She had her dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her blue eyes were large and warm with joy. Kell braked to a stop outside the picket fence gate.
“Come on, let’s meet my parents. They’re going to love you, Leah,” he reassured her.
Leah rubbed her hands down the sides of her jeans and Kell walked around and opened the door for her. She gripped his hand, maneuvering out of the huge SUV. The sweet odor of decaying leaves on the ground and the clean, cool air mixed and made her breathe deeply. Kell opened the gate and urged Leah through it to the wet, gleaming concrete sidewalk. She was glad he placed his arm around her waist, drawing her next to him, as if sensing her trepidation.
Leah saw the delight on Mary’s face. She walked forward and, instead of hugging her son, she threw her arms around Leah first.
“Welcome home, Leah. I’m Mary.” She released her, smiling and bringing her husband forward. “And this is Orin, my husband.”
Orin smiled and thrust out his huge, work-worn hand to Leah. “Welcome home, Leah. We’re glad to see you and Kell.”
His hand was calloused, strong, but he monitored the strength of his grip as he gently enfolded Leah’s proffered hand.
“Hi, thanks,” she murmured, feeling suddenly foolish for ever thinking Kell’s parents would be anything else but kind, like he was.
Mary moved over to Kell. “Son, good to have you home!” She leaned upward and threw her arms around his massive shoulders.
Leah stepped aside so Kell could fully embrace his mother. Hot tears leaked into her eyes and she looked down at her feet, trying not to let them fall. She felt a hand settle on her shoulder, patting her gently.
“Been a long road home for you, hasn’t it, Leah?” Orin asked quietly.
Sniffing, Leah glanced up into the man’s kind gray eyes. Kell’s eyes. She was amazed at the wisdom and understanding Orin had. “Y-yes, you’re right.” She self-consciously wiped at her cheeks. Orin patted her shoulder, as if understanding. Leah didn’t know if Kell had told his parents about her background or not. She assumed he had. After all, he was going to marry her.
Once Mary released Kell, Orin went over and gave his son a huge, long bear hug. Leah felt more tears falling. The love between father and son struck her deeply. She looked back on her own life, her father missing from it, realizing that these two parents had invested their lives, hearts and souls into Kell and his brothers. It showed in so many large and small ways.
Mary came over. “I can see why Kell fell in love with you,” she said, smiling into her eyes. “You’re so beautiful!”
Heat flood Leah’s face. She had never considered herself beautiful. “Thanks, Mary.”
“I heard that,” Kell murmured, claiming Leah, his arm curving around her shoulders.
Orin smiled and looked over at his wife. “They make a nice couple, don’t they, Pet?”
“Surely, they do,” Mary said, tears springing to her eyes as she gave them a wobbly smile. “Come in. I have coffee, tea and Kell’s favorite cookies waiting for us!”
Kell urged Leah up the wooden stairs and opened the screen door for her and his parents.
There was a big red porch swing at one end. Everything seemed so personal, so family-like. Kell opened the door leading into the house and ushered her inside to a large foyer. There were several rugs for people to wipe off their boots. Kell called it a mud room. And a bench to take them off, as well, if they were caked with dirt or snow. Kell removed her jacket and hung it up on a thick wooden peg next to his. Leah smelled bread baking and she internally shook herself. She felt as though she’d walked back into that old television series she loved to watch reruns of. The Waltons. This place reminded her sharply of that famous TV family who had a farm during the Depression.
In the huge, sunny kitchen that faced west, Leah saw a long, rectangular trestle table at one end, with six wooden chairs surrounding it. The pale yellow walls made the place bright and cheery. Kell led her to the table and pulled out a chair for her. Mary came in and brought a big platter of chocolate chip cookies and set them in front of her. Kell walked to the counter and poured them both coffee and brought the mugs over.
“Can I help you at all, Mary?” Leah asked.
“Mercy, no,” Mary said. “My sons were taught to take care of themselves around here. I wasn’t going to be a kitchen slave to them.” She grinned.
Orin made himself and his wife some tea and ambled over, sitting down opposite Leah. He placed a mug of tea opposite him where his wife would sit. “Mary’s an RN,” he explained. “We have a local hospital nearby and she’s the head of obstetrics. Gets to welcome the little ones into the world.” He reached for a jar of honey in the center of the table and poured some into the tea. Then he gently nudged it toward Mary’s awaiting hand.
“And you take care of the dairy farm?” Leah asked. Orin was a huge man. If she thought Kell’s shoulders were broad, they weren’t compared to his father’s set. Orin was darkly tanned, deep lines in his face from being out in the sunlight, fresh air and inclement weather. She liked his warm gray eyes, that humor lurking in their depths. How much Kell was like his father in that way!
“I do. We have a herd of sixty milk cows,” he said. “I’ve got hired help, but it’s still a full-time job.”
Mary sat opposite her husband. She pushed the plate of cookies toward Leah. “I just baked these. You’d best hurry and grab some. Cody and Tyler are out in the woods hunting for a couple of wild turkeys for our Thanksgiving meal. I can promise you, they’ll smell these cookies on the wind a mile away. And as soon as they do, they’ll hightail it back here.” She chuckled. “Then, there’s going to be a fight to see who gets the most first.”
Orin laughed indulgently and took two of her freshly baked cookies. “Now, Pet, if you weren’t such a good cook, we men wouldn’t be fighting over the leftover crumbs all the time.”
Leah watched Kell stack six cookies by his cup, no fool. There was such warmth in this kitchen, and it wasn’t because of the woodstove in the corner, either. “They’re out hunting a turkey?”
“Yep,” Orin said, savoring his cookie. “One of my sons, at least, tries to make it home for Thanksgiving. I usually go out with him and we find a wild turkey that wants to volunteer to give up its life to us and be eaten.”
“Only this time,” Mary sighed happily, “all three boys are home at the same time. That’s a miracle in itself.”
“And Kell’s brought his fiancée,” Orin pointed out proudly, beaming. “That’s a first among our sons.”
Kell grinned and looked over at Leah. “All three of us swore on our graves we’d never settle down.” He hadn’t brought Addison home to meet his family before marrying her. Kell had been young, immature and had promised to rectify the mistake he’d made if he ever got the chance. The joy in his parents’ faces told him everything.
“Oh.” Leah chortled, giving Mary a look. “Guess that didn’t work out, did it?”
Mary patted her hand. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for one of my sons to get hitched, Leah. Kell’s first marriage didn’t work out, unfortunately. After the divorce, he said he’d never get married again. I was chewing his ear off a year ago that he was going to end up a lonely, crotchety old bachelor. I’m glad he changed his mind and fell in love with you.”
“Now, Pet,” Orin soothed, “the boys all have good hearts. I told you, when the right women sashayed into their lives, they’d fall like a ton of bricks, marry them and settle down for good.”
“And have some grandchildren,” Mary added enthusiastically. “Soon.”
Leah smiled softly and felt so much a part of Kell’s family. They treated her as a much-cherished daughter-in-law.
Kell held up his hand. “Now, Ma, don’t go there. I’ve barely gotten her to agree to marry me. Leah’s a career woman. Family will come, but in time. So give her some breathing space. Okay?”
Mary roll
ed her eyes. “I can wish, can’t I?”
Everyone nodded and smiled.
“Hey, Kell!”
Leah jerked her head up at the booming male voice carrying through the kitchen. She turned, seeing two men, both over six feet tall, entering the kitchen, grinning like fools.
Kell snorted and got up, giving Leah’s shoulder a squeeze. “My brothers are loud and noisy, as you can tell,” he murmured, smiling into her eyes. “I’m going to say hello to them.”
“Noisy?” Cody crowed, placing one of the turkeys they’d shot into the sink. He waved hello to Leah, whom he’d met months earlier. “Hey, Leah, how are you?”
“I’m fine, Cody, thank you.”
“Welcome to our noisy brood,” he called, giving his older brother a devilish look of welcome. Cody placed the rifle in the corner, turned and took Kell into his embrace, slapping him heartily on the back.
Leah watched Tyler, who was the quiet SEAL, set a second wild turkey into the sink. He glanced in her direction, his gaze inquisitive. Leah smiled a little, feeling the intensity of Tyler’s hazel-eyed stare. He had that SEAL look. That instant focus, like a laser.
“I thought you and Leah were coming later this afternoon,” Cody said, releasing Kell. He pushed his green Army baseball cap up off his broad brow, grabbing a mug and pouring himself some coffee.
Kell went over and hugged Tyler, who grinned and slapped him on the back. He released him and stepped aside. “We got a flight in a little earlier than expected,” he said.
Tyler set his rifle in the corner and then took off his black baseball cap, tucking it in his back pocket. “Introduce me to your lady,” he said to Kell, motioning toward Leah.
“Sure,” Kell said, walking over to the table.
Leah stood and felt nervous beneath Tyler’s focused observation. She’d been around enough SEALs to know he was missing nothing about her. She held out her hand toward him. “Hi, Tyler. I’m Leah. Nice to meet you.”
Tyler looked at her hand and then gave her a sudden, pained look. “What is this I hear?” he teased. “You’re marrying this troublemaker of a brother of mine? I think this needs more than a handshake, don’t you?”
Leah was caught off guard when Tyler stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her and gave her a quick, warm, welcoming hug. She felt his controlled strength, smelled the cold, fresh air on his dark blue T-shirt he wore. And when he pulled away, his hazel eyes were dancing with welcome. His sudden warmth surprised her, but he made her feel sincerely welcomed. That was a relief for her.
“Welcome to our family,” Tyler said, releasing her. He turned his attention to his brother and playfully punched Kell in his upper arm. “How’d you get so damned lucky? Usually you’re stepping in cow pies, bro. She’s hot.”
Leah blushed. She watched the brothers tussle with one another and it developed into playful wrestling. Kell stood about two inches taller than Tyler, and he had a wicked grin on his face. There was a lot of love between these brothers, she realized. They were tight with one another. She remembered how attached she’d been to Evan. When he died, a huge piece of her died with him because they had gotten along like these three brothers did with one another. Bittersweetness flowed through her heart for her Evan. She missed him to this day.
“Oh, quit, you two,” Cody growled. He stepped around them, threw his arms open to Leah and said, “I get a hug, too.”
Leah knew Cody well. He was a brazen, in-your-face Special Forces weapons sergeant, and so confident in himself. Leah eagerly stepped forward and he leaned down and chastely kissed her cheek.
“See? I warned you, didn’t I?” Cody whispered loudly so everyone could hear him, releasing Leah. “That it’s crazy when all three of us get together?”
“You warned me,” Leah agreed, laughing. Cody hung his arm around Leah’s shoulders watching Tyler trying to out-wrestle Kell. The two brothers were playing, but they were highly competitive.
“Boys.” Mary’s lilting voice rang out in warning. “Not here! You want to go roughhouse? You go outside. I’m not having you break any of my furniture with your antics.”
Kell laughed and released his little brother. “Okay, Ma, we’ll be good.” He slapped Tyler on the back, giving his younger brother a friendly look.
Tyler grinned and said, “Ma, we haven’t seen each other in a long time. This is how we show our love for one another.”
“I don’t care. You can show one another in a lot of different ways. If you insist upon wrestling, then take it outside.”
Moving his hand through his mussed-up, longish hair that fell almost to his shoulders, Tyler turned to Kell and said, “Later. We’re just getting started.”
Leah saw the spirited competitiveness among the three brothers. She was glad to have hung out with Cody earlier in the year. He had warmed to her like a long-lost sister the first time he met her at Kell’s condo.
“See, Ma?” Cody said smugly, coaxing Leah over to her chair to sit down. “Didn’t I tell you how beautiful Leah was? I didn’t exaggerate one bit, did I?”
Mary nodded, watching her two sons, who were still eyeing one another as if they wanted to tussle some more. “Yes, you did. And you were absolutely right.”
Cody took his coffee and sat down at the end of the table facing all of them. “Leah, Ma was saying that she was happy to have another woman around here. More estrogen to offset all this testosterone she’s had to put up with all these years.”
Leah laughed and felt Kell’s hand on her arm as he sat down next to her.
“Can you blame your poor mother who has had to live in a house full of males for so long?” Mary shot back, tittering.
Tyler eased into a chair next to Cody’s elbow. “Tell me something, Kell. Did Leah know what she was getting into when she said yes to you?”
“I warned her,” Kell said, giving Tyler a grin. “I spared nothing about you two birds to her.”
“Leah, you’re a strong woman to take on this guy,” Cody said, gesturing toward Kell.
“Wonder Woman,” Tyler added, drinking his coffee, a sly grin pulling at the corners of his mouth
“He’s a very sweet man,” Leah murmured.
Cody and Tyler groaned and rolled their eyes.
“Sweet?” Cody cried out, appearing completely wounded and taken aback by the word. He dramatically slapped his chest. “My God, she’s calling a SEAL sweet?”
Tyler shook his head and laughed. “Don’t ever use that word to describe Kell. Okay?” His smile widened.
Kell shrugged. “Sweet is better than vinegar,” he told his two brothers.
“Yeah,” Cody grumbled. “But sweet?” He cut Leah a glance. “I can think of many, many words to describe this guy of yours, but sweet ain’t one of ’em.”
“That’s because you’re not a woman, Cody,” Leah shot back, smiling. That brought more roars of laughter and teasing. She saw Mary get up.
“Can I help you, Mary?” she asked.
“No, not unless you want to help me get these birds gutted and then thrown into a hot kettle of water in order to pull their feathers.”
“You stay sitting,” Kell told her, rising. “I’ll go help Ma clean the birds.”
“Yeah,” Cody jeered. “We killed ’em, and now you guys have to clean ’em.”
Leah glanced over at Orin. “Is it like this all the time?”
His mouth pulled into a faint smile as he finished off his mug of tea. “Actually, this is mild in comparison. I think they’re all being sweet because you’re here.”
That brought collective groans, laughter and more raucous teasing between the three brothers. Leah found herself happier than she could ever recall being. Her own family was a cold, lifeless shadow compared to this one. She watched as Kell did all the work while his mother poured water in a large steel pot. There was love in this house.
*
KELL TOOK LEAH for a walk near dusk down a wooded trail. The temperature was in the high thirties and Leah had bundled up.
Kell walked with her on the flat, muddy trail, arm across her shoulders, holding her close. The limestone hills above were clothed with hundreds of naked trees devoid of leaves. Many of them had caves beneath them. The trail was covered with a thick layer of brown leaves. It was a bit slippery and Leah was glad to have her arm around his waist. He seemed impervious to the weather, wearing a denim jacket and no gloves, hat or muffler, unlike her.
“What do you think of my family?” Kell asked as he led her down a slight curve.
“I love them.” And then Leah added more softly, “Right or wrong, I was comparing your family to mine.”
Kell nodded. “Two very different worlds, Leah.”
Her throat tightened. “Your parents’ kitchen felt so warm and inviting. I loved looking at your father because he just watched you three and you could see the love shining in his eyes for all of you. He was present. He cared. And—” Leah shrugged “—I found myself wishing my father had looked like that at me. But he never did. He looked at Evan and then Hayden like that.”
His heart contracted with her pain and Kell leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “My family loves you. You know that? They will all look at you with that same warmth and love in their eyes. You’re one of us now. You have a new family, Leah.”
She rallied and smiled up at him, her eyes moist. “Yes. I knew when Cody came for a visit, after getting off that op in Afghanistan, that he was so much like you.”
He laughed. “Cody is the extrovert. Tyler and I are the introverts.”
“He was kind and thoughtful toward me, Kell. It’s the way your parents raised you. Even though Cody is full of himself, and he teased me horrendously about falling in love with you, he was never mean to me. He even brought me flowers and a box of chocolates as a gift and told me that if you’d been home, you’d have done the same for me. That told me so much about him, about how your parents raised all of you. He’s a decent guy.”
Running Fire Page 30
