Page 62 of Protecting Addison
“I just need you,” Addison blurted.
“You have me,” Ricky said calmly. “I’ll call if anything changes. Otherwise, I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“All right. Be safe.”
“I will. Later.”
After hanging up, Addison closed her eyes and willed herself not to cry. This was what Ricky did. She was as proud of him as she could be. Crying over him leaving wouldn’t help the situation. But she gave herself some grace, since this was the first time he was being deployed since they’d gotten together.
After a few minutes, she took a deep breath, wiped the tears off her cheeks, and got to work boxing the cupcakes.
* * *
MacGyver was torn. He was actually looking forward to this mission. They’d gone over every contingency and he was positive about the outcome. There was no way the HVT would slip away. It should be a straightforward assignment. Not exactly safe, but nothing the team hadn’t faced in the past.
At the same time, he hated to leave his family.
He’d worry nonstop about how Addison was coping while he was gone. It was hard enough to be a single mother to one kid, and now she was responsible for four. She was amazing at it though. Strict, but not in an over-the-top way. She worked her butt off not only for her business, but to make sure each and every one of the children felt loved, safe, and cherished.
And MacGyver would certainly miss holding his wife throughout the night. Yes, the lovemaking was amazing, out of this world, mind-blowing…but it was the intimacy of holding her, of talking about their days and their upcoming schedules, laughing together quietly in the dark, that he’d miss the most.
He hadn’t known what he was missing before Addison. Kevlar, Safe, Blink, and Preacher had been so much happier since finding their women, almost too damn chipper in the mornings for PT, and now he knew why. And it certainly wasn’t because they were getting more sleep. Hell, they were probably getting less, now that they had women to love each night. No. It was because they were more content. Because they had someone to share their lives with. It was corny as hell, but MacGyver understood that now.
And one additional thing he had that his teammates didn’t was the joy of children. He was extremely blessed. Yes, it was stressful trying to make sure everyone had what they needed, emotionally as well as physically, but the reward was in every hug from little Yana. From seeing her face light up when she asked him something in English and he understood. When Artem proudly told them that he’d made a new friend at school. When Borysko understood his homework. When Ellory came home from school smiling after a pain-free day.
“I’m headed out!” Flash shouted from the hallway before sticking his head into the conference room they’d taken over for their mission prep.
“Sounds good. See you in the morning,” MacGyver told him.
“Addison all right?” Flash asked.
And that right there was one of the many reasons why he loved the men he worked with. “She’s good. Trying to be brave, but she’ll be fine,” MacGyver told his teammate.
“She has Wolf’s number, right?”
“Of course.”
“And Tex’s?”
MacGyver chuckled. “Yes. Definitely. Thanks for thinking about my woman. You ever thought about settling down yourself?”
Flash leaned against the doorjamb. “Not really. I’m not the kind of guy most women want.”
“What? Why would you say that?” MacGyver asked.
His friend merely shrugged. “I’m just not. I’ve learned the hard way. I’m too nice. Too intense. Too smart. Too focused. Too quick to fall in love. Too good-looking, so that must mean I’m a man whore. I’ve basically heard every possible reason why I’m not long-term material. It’s fine though. I like living vicariously through you and the others. I’ve already claimed dibs on being Preacher’s manny.”
“Manny?” MacGyver asked, smirking.
“Yeah, a male nanny.”
“How come you haven’t volunteered to bemymanny?”
Flash chuckled. “Because I like babies. Your kids are old enough to not need me.”
“They will always need their uncles. To spoil them. To play catch with them…or Barbies,” MacGyver countered.
“True. Anyway, I’m good. Honestly.”
