Keltan grinned and somehow managed not to spill his beer as she descended on him, his arms going around her. “Hey G,” he said into her hair.
They stayed like that for a moment before she released him, smacking him on the arm. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming, you asshole?” she scolded.
Keltan grinned. “Wanted to surprise you. Think you won that one, with your girl telling me you popped out a kid and got hitched,” he teased, his eyes going to the baby in my arms.
Gwen’s eyes followed, her eyes twinkling.
“Yeah, well, no one was as surprised as I was. I never expected to be a wife and mother at twenty-six, but I wouldn’t want it any other way,” she said seriously.
“Wanna hold her?” I gestured with my eyes. Keltan looked slightly panicked as I stepped forward with the baby in my arms. You would have thought I was holding an explosive.
“Shit, I’ll just look for now. I don’t want to fuckin’ drop her or anything,” he said seriously.
Gwen laughed, taking her daughter out of my arms. “She’s pretty resilient. I heard your mum dropped you as a kid and you’re fine—only minor brain damage,” she teased.
Keltan looked down at the baby in her arms and he softened. His large hand stroked her little cheek tenderly. “Yeah, well, let’s not forget the time Ian whacked your head on a car door. It only affected your hand-eye coordination,” he shot back, the air in the room changing at the mention of his name.
Gwen’s eyes instantly filled with tears and I froze in place, mindful of Brock’s arms around my shoulders, which had tightened.
“I’m so sorry, Ace, I promised you I would take care of him over there. I fuckin’ broke my promise,” he muttered, his voice hard.
Gwen shook her head furiously as if she was trying to shake away the tears. “Don’t you dare blame yourself, Keltan Brooke. I know you would have taken a bullet for him,” she choked out.
“Come on, babe, let’s give them a moment,” Brock muttered in my ear, his voice flat. I nodded, feeling like an intruder in this moment.
Keltan’s eyes shot to us as we made to leave the room. “Hey, don’t go. I’ve got something for you,” he told me, his voice stronger than before. He glanced back at Gwen. “For both of you.”
He motioned for us to sit down, helping Gwen and the baby to the couch.
“I’ve got to make a call,” Brock told me quietly before leaving the room with a chin lift to Keltan. I was left standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do, so I sat.
Keltan took a deep breath. “Ian and I, we had each other’s backs over there in that shithole. Shit, I wouldn’t be sitting here today if it wasn’t for your brother,” Keltan told Gwen, who was as white as a sheet. “As much as we both wanted to get back here in one piece, we knew there was a chance we wouldn’t. Knew we’d be leaving people behind if we didn’t.” He looked to Gwen, then me.
I was finding it hard to breathe.
“Ian was prepared. He was determined as fuck to make it back to his family but he made arrangements for if he didn’t.” Keltan reached into his pocket to retrieve two crumpled envelopes. “Made me promise that if anything happened to him that I’d deliver these. And that I’d take care of his girls. I intend to keep both of those promises,” he declared fiercely.
Gwen had tears running down her cheeks and was clutching her daughter.
I was staring blankly at the envelope in Keltan’s hands. He got up and held it out to me. “He wrote this for you as soon as he got back last year. Made me swear on the fuckin’ fate of the All Blacks’ World Cup game that it would make its way to you,” he told me.
I stared at the envelope, wishing I didn’t have to take it. My shaking hand took it from Keltan’s grasp. I set in in my lap, not looking at it. It was an emotional grenade.
Keltan handed one to Gwen who snatched it off him, then stared at it as if she unsure of what to do with it. She looked back up at Keltan. “Were you—” she started, then her breath hitched. “Were you there when it happened?” she asked brokenly.
Keltan’s face turned tortured. “I was two trucks behind,” he said quietly.
Gwen let out a stifled sob. “Was it…did he…was it quick?” she choked out.
Keltan put his arms around her. “He didn’t feel a thing, Ace,” he said brokenly.
The room turned silent, with the sound of Gwen’s sobs breaking it every now and then. I didn’t know what to do so I just stared down at the envelope in my hands, wanting to rip it into a thousand pieces and also pore over every word it contained. I ran my hand over the messily scribbled ‘Ames’.
Suddenly Gwen’s sobbing stopped and she jerked upright. “You’re staying here for a while, aren’t you?” she shot at him, wiping her tears away.
Keltan grinned slightly. “Yeah G, I’m booked in at the hotel in town. I’ve got a few days here and then I’m heading up to LA to check out spaces.”
Gwen perked up. “Spaces?” she repeated.
“Yeah, me and some buddies are opening up a security business up there,” he explained.
Gwen paused for a moment. “You mean you’re out of the army?” she asked quietly.
Keltan nodded slowly. “It was well past time. It was one of the things Ian and I had planned before. We were getting out and setting up our own shop well away from any fuckin’ deserts,” he said.
Gwen beamed. “That’s so fricking cool! You can come and visit, and Belle can have her Uncle Keltan make sure she doesn’t have a complete American accent,” she babbled excitedly.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“And you’re not staying at a fricking hotel,” she continued on a frown.
“Of course not, he’s staying here,” I cut in and they both looked at me.