“Always.”
“Weapons down, men,” the captain called out.
They all lowered their weapons and then turned and stowed them in the chopper. If any of them were surprised or concerned about not following mission orders, they didn’t show it. Only the bald guy was smiling.
As one, they turned back to Papa.
The second their weapons were set down, Maddie shoved her gun into her pocket and took off running toward Braden. His handsome, albeit chapped face split into a grin and his blue eyes lit up as he moved toward her. A little slower than she was moving, as he’d been bound all night and was probably stiff.
“Permission to discuss further and make a contingency plan, sir,” she heard Povey request.
She threw herself against Braden’s perfect chest. He lifted her off her feet and hugged her close, stealing a quick kiss. His mouth was probably raw from that stupid tape. She would get a lot more kisses later, but right now being close to him was enough. He was safe. She was safe. For the moment, the secret and her family were safe.
“I knew you would run to the right man for you,” Papa said.
She lifted a hand to acknowledge that prophetic truth, but kept kissing Braden.
Aiden started clapping and then Thor hooted and soon everybody was laughing and cheering. She didn’t know if it was for her and Braden or the diffusing of what could have been a horrible situation, but she laughed and clung to him.
Papa tilted his head up the hill toward his house. “Come with me, boys. Thor will cook us breakfast while we figure out where to go from here.”
Thor laughed and saluted. “Aye-aye, sir.”
“Wait,” Aiden said. “Where’s the pilot?”
The bald guy smirked. “We informed the pilot at Buckley that we could handle the bird on our own. We didn’t need any extra eyes on this mission. I flew it.”
“Nice.” Aiden walked over, gave Captain Hendrickson a manly hug, introduced him to his fiancée Melene, and started chatting with the men as they walked up to the house.
Maddie looked up into Braden’s handsome face. It looked like he had a red mask on the lower half. “You’re all right?”
“I am now.” He grinned. “Yesterday, after you flew away, I was trying to figure out how to get to you and back to your family’s valley. I was gravitating toward the helipad last night, but I hadn’t planned on something this extreme.”
She laughed. “I’m so sorry. I know you have a long story for me, but can I tell you a short one?”
“You can tell me anything, beautiful Maddie.”
“Beautiful, Buff, Bad Braden,” she murmured, then she kissed him and the entire valley lit up as the sun exploded over the mountainside. She’d never wanted pictures taken of herself, but she wanted one at this moment. She and Braden kissing in her beautiful valley with her family, who had always loved and accepted her, even when she’d tried to shut them out.
“Maddie … Maddie!” She pulled back and turned to look at her dad. “Maybe you could introduce us …”
She clung to Braden and said sassily, “Maybe I could, but I’d rather just keep kissing him.”
“Madison Delta,” her mother reprimanded.
Braden grinned at her, but shifted his left arm to hold her close and extended his right. “Braden Moyle, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet the father of the most incredible woman on the planet.”
“And the mother,” her mom piped in.
Braden had to release Maddie to hug her mom. She loved seeing that. He then shook her dad’s hand.
“Joseph and Myrna Delta,” her dad said by way of introduction. “Thank you for what you did here today, son.”
“I’m just glad we averted a tragedy,” Braden said in a heavy voice.
“Me too.”
Her dad gestured up toward Papa’s. “I hate to interrupt you two and your … connecting, but I think Papa needs some input. We avoided a tragedy, but this,” he pointed toward the chopper, “escalates everything.”