Page 44 of A Moment Never Forgotten
By two o’clock in the afternoon, she’d gotten her Kenzi time, hung a set of purple curtains in her granddaughter’s bedroom that coordinated well with the pads on the new white crib, and made sure her son had enough diapers, baby butt wipes, and the bottom cream to last a month.
Traffic was a bear as they inched closer to DC. It seemed as though everyone who wasn’t out Christmas shopping must’ve been visiting friends or relatives in Virginia. Because it threatened to snow, Micah had chosen to drive the SUV to bring Berit back home. His plan was to stay one night and sign the contract on the condo that he’d shown Berit last Thursday—and how could so much have happened with in the last four days?
Micah glanced at the woman sleeping with her head against the window, her coat like a blanket tossed over her body. Silver strands flashed under the lights as they started moving once again. She was a very pretty woman. And his.
He’d made it very clear, several times, that he didn’t share. If she was dating him, there was no one else in her life, and absolutely no one but him in her bed. She threw the demand right back at him. Rightfully so. Given his past, he understood why she thought he would be more apt to stray. But he had no desire for any woman but her.
Berit stirred. Inhaling a deep breath, she sat up, blinking. Looking around, she asked, “Where are we?”
“Traffic was backed up on the interstate, so my navigational app has taken us on a tour of Arlington.” He chuckled. “My GPS decided that I needed to see Seven Corners and is now taking us on a number of city streets toward your home.”
She laid her hand over his, resting on the gearshift. He was constantly shifting since he couldn’t seem to hit anything but a red light. “I truly appreciate everything you did this past weekend.” She squeezed his hand. “Especially the private time we had.”
She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “Are you hungry? I think I know where I am. Please let me treat you to supper.”
A text came onto the screen in the middle of his dash. It was from Matthew.
Waiting on you for supper. Bring Berit. We have plenty.
“Are you okay eating over at the Saint Clare’s?” He hoped she was going to say yes because he definitely needed to talk to Matthew.
“I’m good with someone else cooking.” Her lips went together in a straight line. “I wish I had something to bring them. I hate showing up at their house with nothing to share.”
“I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to deal with it this one time.” He punched in the change of address and twenty minutes later, they walked into his friends’ home.
“Uncle Micah.” Austin greeted him at the door with a big hug, then stepped back. “Ma’am. May I take your coat?” His quasi-godson was growing up to be a fantastic young man. Micah was excited about living close to him once again, taking him to baseball games, tossing the ball in the backyard like they’d done most of the child’s life.
Matthew walked into the room. “Berit, I’m glad you’re able to join us.” He helped his son hang up their coats, then casually flung an arm around the growing boy’s shoulders.
In that moment, Micah realized that Austin no longer needed a stand-in father. He had one. Matthew was so good with him. The love they had for one another was evident. They were becoming father and son. Part of Micah didn’t want to interfere with that because of the amazing relationship he had with his own father. They’d been best friends, right to the end.
Micah missed his father in that moment. He wanted Austin to develop that same kind of loving relationship with Matthew that he should’ve had with his biological father, Mason. They should do things together. Build that solid bond.
So, where did that leave Micah? Would he be invited to go to the games with the two of them? How did he feel about being a third wheel?
Berit’s words interrupted his spiraling self-pity. “Thank you so much for including me, Matthew. What can I do to help?”
“I think we have it handled.” He grinned toward the dining room where Elizabeth sat at the table with her feet up on a chair. “Under my wife’s close scrutiny, I think I put together a decent meal. I hope you both like chicken and dumplings. It’s an old recipe from Lizzie’s grandmother. Truly a Southern dish. It’s been cooking in the crockpot for hours. All I have left is to throw a bag of green beans in the microwave.”
“Let me deal with the vegetables.” Berit moved past the men and greeted Elizabeth.
“I need to talk to you after supper.” Micah said in a low voice. “You’re not going to believe what I found.”
Matthew brightened. “At least you found something. Most of the files I’ve been able to see, which aren’t many, have more black ink than words.”
“Austin. Liza.” Their mother called. “Time for dinner. Wash up please.”
An hour later, stuffed with Southern goodness, the four adults headed for the living room.
“Lizzie, Micah found something.” Matthew lifted her legs onto the couch and sat next to her feet.
Sitting across from them in the high-backed wing chairs, he glanced at Berit, wondering if he should say anything in front of her. Her security clearance was probably higher than his. He decided to start with an explanation for her benefit.
Micah faced Berit. “Almost twelve years ago, Elizabeth, Logan, Teagan, and I,” he slid a glance to Elizabeth and hoped the mention of her first husband wouldn’t bring back bad memories, “along with an Army special operator by the name of Mason Sinclair.” Micah was surprised when she and Matthew held gazes. The corners of Elizabeth’s mouth quirked up. Micah wondered what the hell that was all about, but he had more important things on his mind.
“The five of us were part of an experimental coed, joint-service team.” Good. Berit was listening intently if he could read her face correctly. “We were sent on a mission to Syria to blow up an ammo dump of Russian munitions they had sold to the dissidents.”
“I’m aware of the mission. Gabriel Davis was involved.” She glanced at Matthew and Elizabeth before returning her gaze to him. “When I was assigned to deal with Gabriel’s funeral, I researched his background and came across his longtime friendship with the five of you. That took me back to the Syrian mission.” She looked at Elizabeth. “I know that you lost your husband there.” She shifted her gaze to Matthew. “But I’m glad you found another good man.”
