Immediately, Zeke released her and drew back. Holly smiled up at him and kept her hand on his arm as he extended his hand and shook Joseph’s.
“Nice to see you, sir.”
“You too, Cap. You too.” Joseph luckily didn’t touch him beyond the handshake and released his grasp quick. He somehow instinctively knew Zeke’s hugs with his wife were unique and nobody else in the world would get away with touching him like Holly did. Or maybe his future son-in-law, Demo, had explained to him. Nobody knew much about Zeke’s past, but Demo was instinctive and, like his men, shielded him from people inadvertently touching him. They had his back on and off the battlefield.
Joseph gestured into the house. “Come in. It’s bitter cold out here.”
Zeke shrugged. He was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and black cargo pants. He didn’t notice extremes in temperature much, trained to perform in extreme hot or cold situations, and used cold therapy whenever he could to stay in top physical condition and heal some of the strain his constant physical training brought on.
“You have a bag?” Holly asked.
“In the car.”
She gave him a look, seeming to sense immediately that he wasn’t a hundred percent committed to staying. Captain Zeke having a holly jolly Christmas with a bunch of warm, friendly Christian believers was more than a bit of a stretch. Now if this young lady they’d mentioned had a vicious killer after her, that would be more up his alley.
“We’ll get it soon,” Holly said.
He actually wanted his duffel within reach. He’d forced himself to leave everything but his knife and utility tool in his bag and in the truck. It was unsettling not to be armed with at least his Sauger. Especially with the security guard out there. He looked again, but the man wasn’t in sight. It rankled at him that he’d forgotten about the guy while he hugged Holly. The man obviously was employed by the Deltas, so it shouldn’t have bothered him, but he didn’t let his guard down. Ever. And he just had.
The family and this valley should be safe and at peace. The danger to the Deltas was gone now that the youngest, Jessie, and his friend Demo, the best EOD he’d ever worked with, had blown up the Delta weapon most of the world had been after. They had lost their patriarch, the impressive and renowned Admiral Davidson Delta. It still pained Jessie and he was sure the rest of them, too. It was impossible to fill the hole of losing a great man like their “Papa Delta.”
So why the unfamiliar guard? Something to do with the woman they wanted Zeke to help?
“Thanks for coming,” Joseph said.
“Of course.” He would do almost anything for the Deltas. These people were as unselfish, cohesive, and as extraordinary as any family he’d ever met. The American public at large had no idea, but the Deltas keeping their weapon safe from King Frederick had stayed the man from raining nuclear weapons down on America. While the Delta family had held down the home front, the elite special ops Delta Force had taken out Frederick and things had somewhat calmed on the international front. For the moment. There was always some terrorist or insurgent ready to stir up trouble. Weirdly, Zeke liked trouble. Trouble kept him busy and not thinking.
Thinking got men killed.
Holly kept her hand on his arm. He didn’t know if she was aware it was making him uncomfortable. She had some theory that she could acclimatize him to touch. He almost smiled at the thought. Maybe if Holly had been around a few years ago, his fiancée Rachel wouldn’t have dumped him while he was on a mission with no outside comms. By the time he’d seen his phone again, she’d blocked his number, relocated from Virginia Beach, and left no forwarding address. Rachel had a lot of concerns with his lack of emotion or “romance,” and she had hated his phobia of touch. Who could blame her? Being engaged to a man who never instigated and barely tolerated kissing and flinched every time they hugged. His only question was why she’d stayed around for two years.
Anybody who’d known about the relationship and his lack of dating since then would think he was heartbroken. Zeke thought it was more that he’d learned a lesson. Romantic relationships weren’t in the cards for a tough old frogman like him. Women came onto him constantly, wanting to be the one to break through his tough veneer. He wished he could tattoo “not worth pursuing” on his forehead. A relationship with him wasn’t fair to any woman, and Rachel deserved much better. He hoped she’d found it.
“Come back and meet our darling Mia.” Holly finally lifted her hand and gestured him through the entry. The sweeping staircase had decorative greenery wrapped around the railing and a variety of tall, skinny, decorated with silver balls and other unidentifiable-to-him ornaments, pine trees arched almost the height of the two-story entry. Nice.
Darling Mia?
He glanced sharply at Holly. “You said this was a mission.” It was a good thing his bag was still in the car. If she dared try to matchmake him with some girl, he’d bug out quick.
She smiled at him. “It is.” Her smile disappeared. “I’ll let her tell you about the mission, or rather nightmare, for our angel girl. Come on.” She reached out as if to grab his hand, but seemed to think better of it.
Zeke’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. He’d had about as much touch today as he could handle. When he’d been here fighting with the Deltas to protect the secret weapon, Holly had forced him into one hug a day. He hoped she wouldn’t try for more than that now, since they weren’t all busy saving the world.
He followed Joseph and Holly through the entryway and into the sunny open living area with two-story windows overlooking the picturesque lake and mountains beyond. He remembered the scenic view. Now snow-covered, it was just as quaint. They had a huge, gorgeous pine tree all decked out in the corner, Christmas-y stuff on any shelf, mantle, or wall that could be decorated, and a fire going. Most people would say the home and view were beautiful, perfect, and appealing.
Zeke stopped walking and felt his jaw go slack as he took in a view more beautiful, perfect, and appealing than anything he’d seen in his vast world travels.
A woman stood from the couch as they walked in. Five-four. Athletic. Civilian. Blue fitted sweater dress with high-quality leather boots. Definitely wealthy. But there his usual analysis failed him. He somehow forgot analyzing and simply focused on the radiance of the woman herself. She had shoulder-length blonde hair that framed the sweetest-looking face he’d ever encountered. Her smooth skin and rosebud lips were appealing, but it was the mixture of purity and happiness in her brown-sugar eyes that stunned him. Their gazes met and held and time froze.
Then she smiled at him. Warmth immediately filled his body, and it felt like Chaos had gotten a lucky hit and slammed his powerful fist into Zeke’s sternum.
Push out a breath. Okay. Pull it in. Now back away slowly.
He backed up. He needed to get away from this woman. Double time.
“Zeke …” Holly was beaming at the woman and hadn’t noticed his signs of retreat. “This is Mia Burton. Mia … Captain Zeke Hendrickson, elite and accomplished Navy SEAL and pretty much the toughest, most highly-decorated and experienced soldier on the planet.”
Zeke should pull his gaze from Mia to tell Holly to tamp down on the bragging, but he couldn’t make himself do it.