Page 44 of SEAL's Angel
Once everyone finished, they sat around the fire and chatted. Chase told stories about other camping trips with their dad. The best was one of the father/son trips when they’d run into a bear. Rafe and he cracked up, but it horrified Dawn.
“Oops, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that,” Chase said and tried to look contrite. But when Rafe snorted, he gave up.
“I can’t believe Daddy never told me.” Dawn shook her head, though she didn’t look upset.
Jake grinned at Rafe. No wonder the kid hadn’t been afraid of being alone in the woods until he’d gotten hurt.
“I have a Daddy secret, too,” Cindy chimed in.
“Oh, really? Does it involve a bear?” Dawn raised an eyebrow at her daughter.
Jake grinned. “This is so much fun.”
“Speak for yourself, SBA.” Dawn smirked.
Jake had forgotten about her nickname, and laughed even harder when Rafe gave him a look that said, “You’re going to explain later.”
Jake shrugged.
“No bear. But he let me polish his toenails when you took Chase to the doctor when he had the flu.”
“He did?” The shocked expression on Dawn’s face was too funny.
“Yup, bright pink, too. They looked really pretty,” Cindy said with pride.
Jake howled with laughter. Bob had been a big guy like Rafe, and there wasn’t a wimpy bone in his body. In fact, Jake had wondered often why he hadn’t tried to become a SEAL instead of going into the Army. It cracked him up when he thought of bright pink toes inside Army boots. But it also said a lot about Bob. Jake wondered if he could come close to being the man he’d been.
“I don’t think I’m ready for any more surprise stories,” Dawn said as everyone stopped laughing.
“Isn’t this what campfire chats are all about? Jake asked.
“Yeah, it is. Did you do a lot of camping when you were young?” Dawn asked.
“Nope. This is my first time. Although some of our missions might qualify as camp-outs.”
“But not nearly as much fun,” Rafe added.
“I’ve heard some stories from Rafe—but nothing specific. I know what you guys do is top secret.”
Jake grinned. “I know he wouldn’t tell you classified information. No worries. It makes it difficult when you’re in a relationship, though. We’re not always given a lot of notice before we have to leave or when we’ll return.”
She lowered her voice so the kids wouldn’t overhear. “It’s hard on a sister, too. Meghan and I have had lots of conversations while Rafe was away. She’s said it makes it easier and harder to know firsthand what happens out there. But it’s never easy when you’re worried about someone.”
Jake nodded. “No, it’s not an easy life. There are a lot of divorces in the teams. Not all spouses can handle it.”
“I get that. It wasn’t easy with Bob, either, but he had longer deployments. It was different, but similar in a way. At least, we knew where he was most of the time, and we could video chat while he was away.”
“That’s not an option when we’re on a mission.” If she’d spoken to Meghan a lot, then Dawn already knew this. He watched her face in the firelight for a reaction.
Dawn nodded. “One step at a time, right? I know what it’ll be like. No surprises here.” Then she glanced at the kids and raised her voice a bit. “I need to take you to wash up.”
“But Mommy, we didn’t have the s’mores yet.” Cindy reminded her.
“You want s’mores? Really?” Dawn teased the kids.
“Hey, don’t forget about me, I want one, too.” Rafe impersonated Cindy’s whine perfectly.
“Okay, okay. All the kids get s’mores. Do you want one, too, Jake, or do you want another hotdog?”
