Page 74 of Protecting Addison
As Ellory jogged over to where the younger kids and Dude were playing, Addison’s vision blurred once again.
“You okay?” Remi asked, materializing as if out of nowhere.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Addison said, wiping her eyes. “I just realized that my daughter is way smarter than I was at her age. Hell, than I was at twenty-one.”
“She’s a good kid. You’ve done an amazing job raising her.”
That compliment meant more to Addison than she could put into words. All the sleepless nights, all the tears, the worries when the doctors were trying to figure out what was wrong with her medically, the trials and tribulations of navigating school and friends…knowing she’d done something right meant the world to her.
“Come on, you look like you need to swing. Or maybe go down that slide.”
“Remember those old-timey merry-go-rounds they used to have in the seventies and eighties where kids would go flinging off them when it got going really fast?”
“Yeah?”
“We need one of those.”
Remi laughed. “But we don’t need the broken bones that come with them. We’ll have to be satisfied with third-degree burns on our legs and hands from the million-degree metal slide.”
“Except this one’s plastic,” Addison said with a grin.
“Darn it. That takes away all the fun.”
“Thanks for coming today,” Addison told her.
“Of course. That’s what friends are for.”
Addison knew she probably shouldn’t ask what she was thinking, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Do you have any idea when they’ll be back?”
She didn’t have to explain who “they” were. Remi knew. “No. But I’m hoping it’s soon.”
“Me too,” she said quietly.
“It’s crazy how much we miss them, isn’t it? I mean, when they’re home they can drive us crazy, but the second they aren’t here, we’d do anything to get the crazy back.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll see if I can get Dude alone and ask him if he knows anything. Sometimes the other SEALs know stuff family isn’t supposed to. Maybe he’ll throw me a bone and let something slip.”
“That man? Let something slip? You’re dreaming.”
“Wow. I could go so many X-rated places with that, but I won’t. Because that would be wrong to lust over someone else’s man,” Remi said with a huge smile.
Addison barked out a laugh, then sobered. “Anything he could tell us would be a huge relief.”
An hour later, the kids were tired and hungry and ready to head home. As it turned out, Dude hadn’t known anything about the mission Ricky and the others were on, but he promised to see what he could find out. Which made Addison feel a teensy bit better.
That evening, after the kids all went to bed, Addison was sitting in the living room, feeling a little sorry for herself. She was lonely. Which always surprised her a little, because she’d spent plenty of nights sitting by herself watching TV. But that was before Ricky had come into her life. Before she’d said yes to a marriage of convenience that had somehow turned into the marriage she’d always wanted.
Ellory’s phone vibrated for what seemed like the tenth time since she’d gone to bed. Picking up the cell, Addison saw it was Brady texting…again. Ellory had tried to be nice earlier, telling him she wasn’t sure when they could get together again, since she was really busy with school. But Brady clearly hadn’t gotten the hint. Or he’d simply chosen to ignore it. Now, Addison was officially done.
Ellory: This is Addison. You need to stop. Ellory is in bed.
Brady: Already? She’s not a baby.
Ellory: Yes, already. And if you keep hounding her, you’ll just push her away. Give her some space, Brady.
Brady: You’re just trying to keep me from my daughter, and I won’t have it.
