Page 64 of What Started In Deception

“He was Special Forces—a Green Beret. A serious patriot. He was easily my best friend in the world, and he’s why I do what I do. I promised my mom that I would never enlist, so the FBI is how I honor my dad.”

She nodded, still staring at him with those big, gorgeous eyes.

“He was almost finished,” he said next, wanting to tell her some of his story. “He had less than three years left on his contract. He was going to retire.”

“Knowing that must make his loss worse.”

He shrugged because everything about losing his dad had been bad. “My parents met when my dad was already enlisted. I was born on a military base in Texas—before he became Special Forces. We lived in Colorado Springs for a long time. We’d been there since I was five.”

She nodded again, giving him her undivided attention.

“Before his death… He was in and out a lot, deploying pretty often with the war going on. He would disappear for a month or two at a time and never mention where he’d been or what he’d been doing, but we always knew that it was dangerous.”

He shook his head, thinking back to those long-ago days. “I was fifteen at that point and found myself getting into some trouble—minor stupid shit, really. The last time he called, my mom had just picked me up from the principal’s office for shoving some asshole who’d been pissing me off in the hallway. Dad gave me a bit of a talking-to and reminded me that when he was gone, he depended on me to help my mom and my sister. Then he said I needed to do what I knew was right. I would carry myself differently if I did. He told me that if I was proud of myself, then I could be damn sure that he would be proud of me, too. They knocked on our door the next day.”

She closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around him, holding on tight. “I’m so sorry, Ty.”

He returned her embrace, closing his eyes as he rested his cheek against her hair, finding a sliver of peace as he breathed her in. “You and I are members of a very unfortunate club.”

She nodded against his chest, keeping him close. “We are.”

He sighed, wrapping her up tighter. “Family love and loyalty… Trust… This undercover operation… I’m asking a lot of you, Lyd.”

She eased back enough to hold his gaze but not break their connection.

“I know it’s not easy.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not.”

“I need you to know that I know that. That I understand how precious it all is. You and I know that in a way that most people can’t.”

She nodded before she pulled him close again.

He exhaled another long breath, letting his hand wander up and down the soft skin of her back where her pretty summer dress didn’t cover. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“Only if you’re ready.”

He nodded, keeping his arm hooked around her waist as he looked at his dad’s grave. “I’ll see you next time, Dad.”

Lydia pressed her fingers to the stone. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Corddry. I’m sure you already know this, but you have a lot to be proud of when it comes to your son.”

He swallowed as he met her gaze, touched by her words. “Let’s head back to the city.”

She nodded. “Sure.”

He captured her hand as they walked through the grass, wanting to put the past away. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”

“I could definitely eat.”

“I know where I want to take you to dinner, but the traffic’s going to be a nightmare, so it’s going to be a while.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Unfortunately, the grapes are still in the truck, so we don’t have anything to snack on in the meantime.”

He shrugged. “You weren’t letting me eat them anyway.”

She looked at him as she laughed. “If you’ll recall, I gave you two when I repented.”

He chuckled as they made it back to the Jeep, still finding himself amazed that he was getting paid to spend his days with an incredibly awesome woman. “I imagine you think you were absolved with your offer, but I’m not over it.”