ChapterOne
Captain Zeke Hendrickson, elite Navy SEAL, the warrior no man could best and no intuitive person dared touch, balled his hands into fists to hide the fact that they were shaking. He could storm through any insurgents’ camp, take a bullet without flinching, breach a door that had dozens of unfriendlies with machine guns behind it, and stay calm and focused. Not since escaping from home the day he turned eighteen had he noticed his hands shaking.
Coming back to the Delta family’s valley high in the beautiful Colorado mountains to discuss “helping Holly Delta protect a young woman,” and “Of course you’re staying for Christmas, you’re one of the family,” had him experiencing nerves he didn’t know he had. One of the family? That was a laugh.
Why, then, did it make him strangely happy?
He rubbed at the back of his neck as he wavered on Joseph and Holly’s front porch for far too long. All seemed quiet, but there were eyes, and possibly a scope, on him. He casually catalogued the scenery while looking for the source of his impression.
The valley was vastly different from when he’d left it in late September. First, it was covered with thick white snow, the lake a slushy grayish-blue and the pine trees loaded with blankets of fluff. He couldn’t wait to take a dip in that freezing lake. It had been cold when he’d done his therapy in the middle of the night in September. It would be an iceberg now. The sun was slanting down from the southwest. It would set soon. The house was decked out for Christmas—lights strung, greenery dotted with red berries wrapped around the porch poles and railings, and holiday decorations on the small porch table between two rocking chairs with red snowflake pillows. Of course Holly would do Christmas right.
The second thing he instantly noticed was the silence. Last time he’d been here as part of the Delta Protection Detail, the valley had been teeming with troops and Delta family members, his own men, and the local sheriff’s department.
Where was everybody, and why did he sense they had security watching him when the Delta secret weapon was no more? He rubbed at the back of his neck again. He could really use Preach, Chaos, and Wolf watching his back, the goofball cowboy Thor teasing him about something, or his good friend Zander Povey giving him that big smile and quietly protecting him from anyone inadvertently touching him. His team were enjoying their own leave. Zander was an EOD and on assignment but preparing to marry Jessie Delta this Christmas. Everybody else was apparently working or busy on this bright December day.
Except whoever had eyes, or the crossbars of a scope, centered on his back.
A slight movement and sound and he pinpointed the man’s location near Papa’s front porch, the house next door. He focused in on it, issuing the challenge for the man to show himself or Zeke would come for him.
A security guard he didn’t recognize stepped out from the cover of Papa’s front porch, answering his question about who was watching him but creating a whole new list of questions.
They studied each other for a few beats. Zeke’s mind did its normal cataloguing: former military, early thirties, blond, blue eyes, six-two, two-thirty, built but Zeke could easily take him, high-quality clothing and gear, comfortable with the L129A1 sharpshooter rifle in his hands. Possibly British? If not, it was an interesting choice of weapon for an American.
The man simply glared at him and then stalked off around the back of the house. Hmm. What was that all about? The guy wasn’t a threat to him and he was obviously a hired security guard, but Zeke could sense the guard’s animosity from here and he instinctively didn’t like him. Lieutenant Van “Chaos” Udy would say the guy had a very punchable face. Zeke smiled thinking of his teammate and friend. He didn’t mind the idea of punching the security guard.
He could go after the guy for information and maybe a decent fight, or he could knock on the door and probably get the entire spiel from people he trusted and was excited to see. Well, excited was stretching it. Zeke didn’t let himself get excited about much. Emotion and excitement were not a soldier’s friend. Either could get a man killed.
Answers and a warm hug that he’d neither initiate or ask for, but somehow appreciated and didn’t hate, would happen as soon as he lifted his fist and rapped. It was easy. He just had to knock on this door. He was semi-surprised Holly Delta hadn’t been watching for him to pull into their quaint valley and run to meet him as he exited the rented Accord. Was she simply focused on whatever woman they wanted him to help? With anybody else he might presume they were icing him or testing him, but with Holly … the older woman was tough, brave, but too kind and warm for his comfort level.
Zeke flexed and released his fists, rolled his shoulders back, and prepared for battle. He wanted to laugh at himself. This wasn’t battle. Yes, Holly would give him a “mama” hug when she saw him. The contact always made him extremely uncomfortable as “hugs” throughout his childhood and teenage years had meant his dad or mom wrapping their arms around his chest from behind and squeezing until ribs sometimes broke. At the same time, he craved the human connection and the feeling of unconditional love Holly somehow bestowed upon him with the warm, soft hugs she insisted on.
Besides the hug that was coming, he couldn’t put a finger on what else was making him nervous. That bothered him. Zeke was always in control of the situation and his men. Nerves got men killed quicker than emotions did.
He could blame the security guard for putting him on edge, but he’d felt it before the guy showed his ugly face, even before he arrived in the valley. It might be the fact Holly was asking for help when she was surrounded by impressive Delta family members. These men and women were exceptionally trained and could protect the lady in danger from any threat. Why Zeke? He was one of the best-trained, highly-decorated, and able-to-execute special ops soldiers in the world, but he didn’t know if that was the reason Holly wanted him here or if it was an excuse to get him to come for Christmas.
It was also uncanny how Holly knew he had leave and that unless something huge broke, another assignment for him and his four-man SEAL unit wouldn’t be coming until January. He’d planned to custom-make a bunch of new axe-handles to sell on his website, under an identity nobody would ever know about, and spend a lot of time in the gym during the Christmas holidays. Instead …
Lifting his fist, Zeke rapped hard on the glass front door before he could second-guess it, or twenty-two guess it, as the case may be.
Footsteps came much too quickly and he could see the beautiful fifty-something Delta mom coming into the foyer. Her face broke into a radiant, welcoming smile, as if Zeke were the person she had been waiting to see for weeks. He knew that wasn’t accurate. Holly made everybody feel special. He was nothing special, unless you needed a tried and proven soldier.
He shook his head, blew out a breath, and steeled himself. His own mother had controlled, bruised, and belittled him more than his father. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Witherspoon—thankfully he didn’t share their name any longer—had both put on a persona for the church and community that they were pious, kind people. He had seen his dad treat his older sister kindly on occasion, and he’d heard other soldiers claim their parents were loving and kind. But he had never experienced a mother in her own private sphere, where no one else was watching, who was as welcoming, accepting, and loving as Holly Delta.
The door flew open and Holly rushed at him. He instinctively edged to the right, his body already moving to incapacitate her with one quick hit to the back of the neck. No! He forced himself to stop, clenched his fists and his teeth, and impressively didn’t react at all as she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him.
At least, he didn’t react physically.
“You’re here! Yay!” She kept right on hugging him. Despite his lack of movement, Zeke closed his eyes, cataloguing the moment for future reference. Nothing was as comforting and like the home he’d never known than Holly’s “mama” hugs. Somehow soft but firm at the same time, they conveyed that he was enough. That he was wanted here. “Now hug me back,” she encouraged. “You can do it, cute boy.”
Cute boy? Zeke had broken men’s arms for much less, but from Holly it wasn’t demeaning. She saw something in him that he doubted was actually there. She somehow saw him—hardened, battle-tested, emotionless, untouchable Captain Zeke Hendrickson—as “cute” and as if he had warmth, depth, and … worth. Worth beyond being a fearless weapon and brilliant and tactical leader of the best SEALs in the world. In his not-humble-at-all opinion.
He shook off the introspection and forced himself to lean into her hug and clasped his hands together at her mid-back. He hadn’t been able to release his hands and place them palms down yet. That was a step in the hugging process he wasn’t sure he’d ever get to. He kept his eyes closed, savoring the solace of her touch. All the hidden anger, remorse, and pain didn’t matter when Holly held him tight.
“Good job, my sweet boy,” she said softly.
Zeke should’ve laughed out loud. He didn’t. He’d been through more advanced trainings than anyone he knew, received commendations and praise constantly, and had been awarded many distinguished awards, including the Navy Cross and most recently the Medal of Honor. But somehow, Holly Delta telling him he did a good job hugging her and intoning he was her sweet boy, a part of the family, seemed like the best reward he could imagine.
“And there he is, the elite Navy SEAL captain, hugging my wife again,” Joseph Delta’s voice came from the foyer.