Page 15 of Charlotte
“Are you ready, love?” He asks. “I should have warned you. The SEALs wives have insisted on getting the house ready for us. According to Wolf, they will have gone way overboard, and they will want to spoil us some before they leave. I will try to not let them wear you out too much, but they have been so helpful. I didn’t want to say no.”
“Oh, Hawk. That is so sweet of them. I don’t mind having some company for a while. If they wear me out, perhaps I won’t wake you up tonight with my nightmares.” I tell him with a smile to lighten the mood.
“Ok” he says with a tender look, “Let’s do this.” He places my hand on my lap and gets out of the SUV. He walks around to my side and opens the door. I scoot to the edge of the seat and prepare to step out. Before I can sit my feet on the running boards, Hawk has slipped his arms under me. His left arm is behind my shoulders and his right is under my knees. He sweeps me out of the truck as I let out a squeal of surprise. He proceeds to carry me to the front door. The men that have accompanied us on the trip here fall in behind us. I slap at his arms with futility and insist I can walk.
He just smirks at me. “Why walk when you can ride?”
As we approach the door, it flies open and I see Caroline waiting for us to enter. As we enter the house, I can hardly see what it looks like for all the people standing around waiting for us to arrive. Hawk’s men, the SEALs, their wives, and many people I haven’t met before are all standing there smiling at us. The crowd parts as Hawk carries me through the living room. He still refuses to let me walk. The walls are plain white drywall, but I notice a few framed pictures are hanging on the walls. It was hard to see much of the living room furniture, but it looks like a light brown couch, matching love seat, and small coffee table fill the room. There is a massive flat screen television on the far wall. We turn left to leave the living area and enter the next room where, there is a small oak dining table with four chairs in a little nook. The sliding glass door behind the table allows the sun to filter in and light up the space. There is a small kitchen to the right of the nook. It has a large black refrigerator, with matching stove and a microwave tucked under the upper cabinets. The countertops are white tile with a black back splash. The sink is against the back side of the house with a small window above it. White curtains with black checks are hanging at the window.
Hawk again turns left and heads down a short hallway to enter a door at the end on the right. We enter a large master bedroom. It has a huge cherry king size sleigh bed that dominates the room. The bed is covered with a fluffy hunter green comforter. A matching cherry dresser with mirror covers most of the wall at the foot of the bed. A 6-drawer cherry chest of drawers is on the wall with the door. A small nightstand sits on each side of the bed. On the back wall to the right of the bed is an open door that leads to the in-suite bathroom. Another door beside the dresser is closed and I assume it is the closet.
As Hawk carries me toward the bed, Caroline hurries around us and pulls the covers back on the far side of the bed. The sheets are white with small pink flowers and green vines that match the comforter. Hawk gently places me on the bed and covers my legs. The sheets are so soft, and the mattress is just right. There are big fluffy pillows across the head of the bed. Sighing contentedly, I sink down in the covers.
“I want you to rest a little while before we entertain company. The press conference was almost too much for you this morning. Take a nap and when the food is ready, I will wake you for lunch,” Hawk commands. I want to protest. It seems rude to sleep when there are so many people out there, but I can already feel my eyes closing. I just nod my head in agreement and sink further into the mattress. I don’t even here the door close has Hawk and Caroline leave the room.
Chapter 14
Hawk
She is exhausted.Please let her sleep without waking up crying and afraid. I walk out to thank everyone for coming and see if they need help with the BBQ, but I won’t stay long. I am afraid to leave her sleeping by herself. You never know how long she will be able to sleep.
“Thanks everyone for coming to welcome us home. I hope you all don’t mind, but Charlotte needs to rest for a little bit before meeting everyone again,” I inform the crowd of men and women waiting in the living area.
“Don’t worry about anything. Benny, Ace, and I are manning the grill. The girls have all the sides and desserts prepared. Go rest with her. I’ll come get you in a couple of hours when the food is ready, and beers are cold.” Wolf informs me. I nod and smile at the room as I turn to head back to my Charlotte.
Cookie stops me as I enter the hallway. “How’s she doing?” he inquires with concern.
“She’s holding up as well as can be expected. She’s suffered a lot, but she’s a strong determined woman. She will be fine.” I say with as much confidence as I can muster.
“I don’t want to push, but my Fiona went through something similar and I thought she was handling it too, but I was wrong and missed the warning signs. She had a flash back and took off on us, while I was gone on a mission. It took several days to find her and bring her home. I just want you to know that if you need any help, Fiona and I are here for you both. We have been there and know how hard it can be to make it from one day to the next. Fiona still has bad days and it’s been over 2 years since she was rescued. Make her go see Dr Hancock, try to get her to talk to you about how she feels and what she is experiencing. And know that we are here if you need help. All of the guys would come at the drop of a hat if you need help.” Cookie put his hand on my shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze. Deadeye, Straw, Abe and Dude have walked over to join the conversation while Cookie is talking.
“Thanks, I am worried about her.” I reply honestly. “She has these nightmares that wake her several times a night. Sometimes, I don’t think she is back in reality for a long while afterward. I don’t know if it’s flashbacks or what, but I have a strong suspicion that she is trying to keep how mentally unstable she is from me. Hell, even from the doctors.”
“This may sound a little off the wall and even seem creepy to you, but I recommend having trackers put on her.” Cookie states as a matter of fact.
“Trackers?” I question with one eyebrow raised.
“Yes, all our women have them. They chose to wear them. When Fiona disappeared, we were desperate to find her. If she hadn’t had my credit card to use, we might never have found her. The others have had situations where they were kidnapped by really bad people. The trackers have saved their lives and even ours.” Cookie declares passionately. “Look just think about it, talk to her about it. Tex, monitors the trackers and if something goes wrong, he calls us and let us know where our women are at. We even wear them while on missions. They have GPS in them. If the worst-case scenario happens, we can be tracked and found anywhere in the world.”
“It gives us and our women peace of mind. If she should ever have an episode like Fiona and takes off, you will be glad to have them.” Abe declares while slapping me on the back in a friendly gesture.
“It’s a good idea, Hawk.” Deadeye tells me. “After all the episodes you have described in the hospital. I think it would be foolish not to put some on her. It’s only a matter of time, before she cracks.” Deadeye throws his hands up in a shrug as I start to argue. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. I know she is tough as nails. If she weren’t, she would have cracked before we found her in the jungle, but what she suffered would make a hardened soldier like us struggle. It’s only natural for her to have some PTSD and anxiety. I say plan for the worst and hope for the best.”
“Ok, thanks guys. I will talk to her about it. I need to get back there before she has an episode. It’s easier to bring her back to reality if I can intervene before she’s too involved with the dream.” I turn and head down the hall, determined to do my best to care for this woman that has stolen my heart in a few short days.
Chapter 15
Charlotte
The soundof knocking on a door awakens me. Hawk’s muscular, warm arms that I crave are wrapped around me. Gently scooting away from him, I try to slip out so I can answer the knocking, but Hawk pulls me back against him, shushing me, whispering words of comfort to assure me that I am ok, and no one is going to hurt me ever again. I sigh deeply. I hate that it’s the first thing on his mind, that I am having a nightmare again. Twisting around in his arms to face him, I run my hands through his hair. His eyes pop open and I smile at him. He can always take my breath away with his beautiful green eyes. He smiles back and leans in to place a soft kiss on my lips. I want to deepen it and get lost in his touch, but there is again a knock at the door. Hawk startles and pulls back to get out of bed. He crosses over to the door and swings it open.
“Hey, sorry to wake you, but the food is ready, and I didn’t want it to get cold,” Wolf is standing in the doorway peering in at me.
“Thanks, we’ll be out in a few minutes,” Hawk replies softly. Wolf nods once and turns to walk back down the hall. Hawk quietly shuts the door and strolls back over to our bed and climbs in next to me. I sigh contentedly and snuggle into his chest. He runs his fingers through my hair, then lets his hand slide slowly down my back to finally settle on my butt cheek. He gives it a little squeeze.
“Time to get up, love. The guys have barbequed, and the food is done. You need to eat some lunch. You hardly touched your breakfast at the hospital.” Hawk continues to rub his free hand soothingly down my body as he talks. “You lost even more weight while you were in the hospital. You need to eat so you can get your strength back.”
“Hawk, I may have lost weight, but it’s not going to hurt me to lose a few more pounds. Besides, I eat what I can hold. It’s going to take a while for me to get used to eating good food again.” I huff out a breath in frustration. I know he means well, but my weight loss is the least of my worries at the moment.
