Page 44 of Black Bay Defender
“Okay. Goodnight.” There was another brief pause before Kong added, “Don’t be hurting yourselves in there. No bedroom acrobatics until you’re both back to full strength.”
“Goodnight, Kong,” Lark shouted, attempting to sound stern, though, by the look on her face, she was having a hard time suppressing her laughter. So was Grady.
“Night.”
They both waited several seconds. Finally, they heard the door across the hall shut.
Lark hid her face in the crook of Grady’s shoulder and finally released all that humor she’d been holding back. He loved the sound of her laughter, loved the way it made his heart beat faster.
As she continued to laugh, she laid her hand on his prosthetic arm, stroking her palm over it. She’d been doing that a lot while they lay there talking, purposely touching him to remind him without words that she accepted him completely.
God, he couldn’t believe he’d broken down like that in the shower. In front of Lark. But she didn’t seem to think less of him for it. Not at all.
He’d hated what he’d become since that first hint of memory had begun to leak through the programming, but Lark’s acceptance of him – of who and what he was now – had touched him deeply and broken down all of his barriers. With only a few words, she’d taken a sledgehammer to the walls he’d built around himself and had exposed the rawness of his soul beneath. Surprisingly, instead of immediately rebuilding those walls to protect himself, he’d felt a surge of relief. As if a weight he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying had suddenly lifted from his shoulders. He felt lighter. Happy even. And that happiness had shown through as he’d made love to her in the shower and then again on this bed. He’d worshipped her, his goddess, and the cries of pleasure he’d rung from her had been music to his ears.
“You were going to tell me one of your favorite memories,” Lark reminded him.
She’d spoken about the General, now it was his turn. Thoughts of Graham Neely were like an anvil sitting on his chest. He’d forgotten his best friend under the programming and when his memories had returned, he’d had to relive the most horrific day of his life – the day Graham had died. That wound was still raw.
He could have chosen a different memory – something with Paige, or his parents, or his SEAL team – but he wanted to tell her about Graham. Talking about him might hurt but it kept his memory alive. Graham deserved to be remembered.
He cleared his throat gruffly. “My first day of pre-school,” he told her. “I was so excited to get to play with other kids.” He shook his head and let out a little huff of laughter. “Mom was holding my hand so tight I thought for sure she was going to drag me out of there at any moment and bring me back home.”
Lark smiled fondly. “She was protective of you?”
“Oh, yeah. Majorly.”
When Lark’s eyes filled with longing he wanted to kick himself. No one had been there to protect Lark when she was growing up.
“That’s a nice memory.”
“Oh, that’s not why it’s a favorite of mine,” he quickly told her. “This boy came running up to me and said his name was Gam.”
Her face brightened with curiosity. “Gam?”
“It was actually Graham, but he had a hard time pronouncing Rs so he just skipped them.” Grady chuckled and shook his head. “For the longest time, I thought Gam was his name and I got mad at the teachers for not saying it right. I should have clued in when he kept calling me Gady.”
Lark let out a laugh. “I can just see you, going to war for your friend.”
He smiled. “He was my best friend. We were inseparable from that first day. We did everything together.” He shot her a rueful look. “We got into so much trouble together too.” His sigh was wistful. “I miss him every day.”
They’d had such plans. They were going to enlist together and go through BUD/S together. After Graham had died, he’d still done those things, but with a lot more determination than he probably would have before Graham’s death. He’d had to be the best at everything. Because he’d been doing it in Graham’s name.
Lark’s expression fell, turning sorrowful. “He’s the friend you lost. The one you spoke about. The one Paige used to trigger your memories.”
The thickness in his throat threatened to choke him, so he nodded. Swallowing hard, he licked his lips. “I wish you could have met him. You would have liked him, and he would have loved you.” Of that, Grady had no doubt.
“I would have liked to have met him.”
He grinned suddenly. “Actually, Kong reminds me a lot of Graham. He had that loveable asshole quality too. You couldn’t stay mad at him because he’d smile and crack a joke to make you laugh.”
Lark snuggled in close to him. “It sounds like you had a wonderful childhood.”
Grady could hear the wistful sadness in her voice and, determined to make her laugh, he began telling her about some of the crazier exploits he and Graham got up to. There were many, and it thrilled him each time he heard the sound of her joy ringing through the room. Several of his stories prompted similar recollections from her and she told him about some of the wild escapades she and Kong, along with Jace and some of the others, had gotten up to through the years.
By the time the rain stopped and the sun began to rise, the atmosphere was light with their shared laughter and any of the earlier heaviness had been banished – at least for the time being.
Hunger had them finally climbing from the bed and getting dressed for the day. “Should we go to the mess hall or make something here?”
