Page 19 of A Moment Never Forgotten
Micah stepped closer and beeped open the locks on his car. He hit the other button on the key fob which started all eight cylinders rumbling. He gave her his best panty-dropping grin. “The only ambassadorship my father ever had was to welcome other businessmen as part of his duties on the board at the Chamber of Commerce.”
He stepped in a little closer. “And I can guarantee you, there is nothing pin-sized on my entire body.” He brushed his lips over her cheek and stepped back. “Get in the car, Berit. I’ll pull out first and you can have plenty of room to get out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Within thirty seconds, he sat idling in the street until she had successfully maneuvered her Honda Civic away from the curb. She waved at the next light when they turned in opposite directions.
On the drive home, Micah thought about Berit. She was a far cry from the women he had dated over the past ten years. None of those women would dare let their natural silver strands invade their perfectly coiffed hair.
He chuckled out loud. He knew a few divorced men who colored their hair darker in order to look younger. Another friend cut his hair so short no one could tell what color it was, but he was a Marine and the nearly shaved look worked on him.
Until that night, he hadn’t thought about his own hair. He glanced at himself in the rearview mirror. His sideburns were nearly white, and gray speckled everything that he could see. He looked like what he was, a man in his mid-forties. He liked that there didn’t seem to be anything fake about her, all the way down to the roots of the hair on her head. Another thing they had in common.
She was real. Unpretentious. And unlike any other woman he’d ever known in his entire life. None of them would be offended on his behalf. Not a one carried a gun. And, although they hadn’t talked about it, Berit knew and understood his world.
Damn. He’d had a good time and didn’t feel bad that the night ended without sex.
When Micah walked into his friends’ home, he found Matthew slumped on the couch with a glass of scotch. “You okay?”
“Just enjoying the peace and quiet.” He took a sip. “I’m too tired to be a good host. Pour yourself a glass and have a seat.”
“Is everyone asleep?” Micah asked in a quiet voice.
“Yes, thank Christ.” Matthew laid his head back. “I can’t thank you enough for picking up Austin today. I don’t know how I would have gotten him home from basketball practice if it weren’t for you.”
“You’ve been a little distracted since the doctor ordered Elizabeth on bed rest yesterday.” Micah poured his favorite scotch into a crystal glass. Wanting to cheer up his new friend, he asked, “Did you get to see Wyatt yesterday?”
Matthew’s grin nearly reached his ears. “Yeah. It was the most amazing thing. He was in there rolling around having a big old time.” His face fell. “I wish…” He shook his head. “I’m so scared…for both of them.”
“Elizabeth will be just fine. And you told me yesterday that everything was going well with Wyatt.” Micah hesitated before telling Matthew about her first pregnancy. “This isn’t the first time Elizabeth has been put on bed rest. She insisted on taking the PT test while four months pregnant with Austin. She collapsed at the end of the run and curled into a ball.”
Matthew shot up straight. “What the fuck?”
“I scooped her up, Logan drove, and Teagan did her medical thing on the way to the hospital.” Micah smiled. “We didn’t even know she was pregnant. Hell. None of us knew that she and Mason had gotten married. That was the first time I’d ever seen an ultrasound.” He looked at Matthew straight in the eye. “Have you ever been through birth before?”
“No. I missed that pleasure.” Matthew looked as though he bit back any more words.
“Elizabeth is a trooper. She was awesome when Austin was born.” Micah would never forget that day. It had been planned for nearly two months. He picked her up in the morning and took her to the base hospital. Tori had an early flight so she joined them as soon as she could.
“You were there?” Matthew’s tone was accusatory.
“Yeah. Tori and I were there during her labor and birth. Logan wasn’t able to get to the hospital until several hours after Austin was born.” He didn’t hold back a small chuckle. “When the nurse asked me if I wanted to put on the first diaper, I was scared as hell. It was a first for me too. The little squirt pissed on me.” He shrugged. “That may have been the first time, but it wasn’t the last.”
Micah started to laugh and couldn’t stop. “You just wait until you experience your first dirty diaper.”
He laughed even harder. “Or when he gets the volcanic shits and explodes all over you, the changing table, the wall, and everything else within three feet.” Tears of laughter leaked from the corners of his eyes. “This is going to be so much fun watching you with the baby.”
“Oh, fuck. I can’t even handle the two kids I’ve got.” Matthew rubbed his temples. “I don’t know how Lizzie did this all by herself; working a full-time job, playing taxi to two busy children, then coming home and fixing supper, doing homework, and keeping up with the dirty laundry. Fuck.” he pounded the arm of the chair. “I forgot to start a load of laundry.”
“Why don’t you hire somebody to help out?” Micah suggested. He glanced toward the stairs. “You know if you start falling behind, Elizabeth is going to get up and try to do things herself when she should be flat on her back in bed.”
“You’re right. And fortunately, I haven’t had to work late.” Matthew grimaced at his empty glass. “I don’t think Director Hennel is going to be any too happy if I tell him I have to leave to pick up my daughter from school and my men are in the middle of a firefight in Fuckitstan nowhere. I’ll talk to Lizzie about it tonight. Maybe she knows someone who has a college-aged student home for the holidays.”
“That’s a good place to start.” Micah couldn’t figure out a good segue, so he just flat out asked, “How well do you know Berit Barker?”
“Personally? Until she was here at the house over the weekend, I’d never had a conversation with her. Professionally? She must be pretty tolerant because she worked for my micromanaging boss for several years.” Matthew shrugged. “Maybe Hennel feels I need guidance, at least until he has confidence that I can handle the job.”
“Maybe he should have kept a closer eye on Gabriel,” Micah suggested.
Their gazes met as though they had the same thought.
