Page 19 of SEAL's Spitfire
“Gotta go, my car is ready.”
“I’ll keep looking. If I find anything I’ll get in touch.”
“Thank you, Tex. I appreciate you doing this more than I can say.”
“No problem. I’m happy to help.”
* * *
The driveto his sister’s passed without incident. It was nice that at least one part of the trip had. The kids were excited as always to see him and jumped on him as soon as he walked in the door. He’d been prepared, it was their usual greeting. His sister, Dawn, was another story. The dark circles under her eyes would have been enough, but her complexion was sallow. Had she been sick again?
He begged her every time to let him help her. But she was as stubborn as he was and repeatedly refused, claiming her job and the benefits she got from the government were enough. Bob was active duty when he was killed, and even though she got monthly payments for her and the kids it was hard for her to make ends meet. If she’d move to Virginia, he could help and take the kids for the weekend, but she didn’t want to take them away from their home. He understood, but they were his only family and he wanted to do more for them.
“Uncle Rafe, wait till you see how good I’m getting at basketball.”
“Great. I can’t wait.”
“Can you come now?”
“I want to say hi to your mom and your sister, is that okay?”
“I guess so,” Chase said, and it was obvious he wasn’t happy. Rafe hid his smile. They were always so excited to see him, and he couldn’t blame them for wanting to monopolize his time. Hell, he loved being with them.
Cindy, Chase’s sister, held on to his hand like she was afraid he’d disappear. “Hi, sweetheart. How are you? Do you have something you want to show me too?”
“Yeah. But I can wait.” Quiet, reserved, just like her mom. He worried she’d hide in the background behind Chase and get lost.
“Kids, give Uncle Rafe a chance to get inside the door at least. Geesh. He’s been stuck in an airport all night. He probably needs a nap.”
“Naps are for babies, Mom. Uncle Rafe is a SEAL. He doesn’t need naps.” And there you have it, out of the mouths of children.
Dawn shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “No nap for you. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I kind of figured that would happen. Can you make a pot of coffee and pour it in a pitcher for me?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Maybe,” he said with a wink as he took four steps to pull his sister into a big bear hug. “How are you doing, sis?”
“Fine, great.”
“Liar.”
“Hey, you can’t fault a girl for trying. Seriously though, it’s all good. I’m just a little tired. We all had the flu and it’s taking a while to get back to normal.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“And what would you have done from halfway across the country? I’m a big girl, you don’t have to protect me. You need to find your own woman to protect.” If she only knew. It made him think about Meghan and how she was doing with her family. Had she gotten any more information from the state department? He still needed to let her know he arrived.
“Wait. What’s that look on your face? Rafe Buchanan, you found a woman.”
“Where is she Uncle Rafe, I want to see her,” Cindy asked. She reminded him of a little doll, and he picked her up to give her a hug.
“She didn’t come with me this time. But I promise you’ll get to meet her soon enough.”
“Okay.”
“Why don’t you give Uncle Rafe and I a chance to talk for a few minutes.”
