Page 14 of Rescuing Macie

“Thus?” Mary questioned with a laugh.

“She’s been reading a lot,” Emily said. “It’s her new favorite word.”

“I’m glad we’re friends,” Macie told Annie.

“Me too,” Annie answered happily.

It had been a long time since Macie felt accepted so readily and without strings. Annie was able to make her feel comfortable in a way she rarely felt around others…children included.

“Where’s your brother?” she asked the little girl.

“Daddy and him are having a manly bonding moment and I wasn’t invited,” Annie pouted.

Macie looked at Emily.

The other woman laughed and explained, “I needed a break. Ethan doesn’t sleep much. So Fletch took him to the office for the afternoon.”

“I wanted to go to the office too,” Annie said dejectedly. “I wanted some manly bonding time too.” Then she perked up. “But I also wanted to come see you. So here I am!”

Macie squeezed Annie’s hand. “I’m glad.”

“I’ve never been in the commander’s house,” Casey mused.

“Me either,” Rayne said. “And I’ve known him the longest.”

“It’s nice,” Mary noted. “It feels comfortable.”

“Why do you sound surprised?” Emily asked.

Mary shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess because it’s the commander. He’s always seemed so stern. So cold.”

“He’s not cold,” Macie said, surprised that anyone could think Colt was stern. “He’s amazing. Patient and kind. He’d never hurt a fly.” She regretted her words when three pairs of eyes stared at her in surprise. “What? He’s not nice?” she asked quietly.

“Annie, do you want to go play?” Emily asked. “There’s a playground right across the street.”

“Yes!” the little girl shouted, then got serious. “But don’t talk about anything important. I don’t want to miss anything.”

Macie forced a smile and squeezed Annie’s hand once more. “We won’t.”

“Stay at the playground. I’ll be watching from here. If you wander off, I’ll take away your obstacle course privileges for a month,” Emily warned.

Annie snapped to attention and dropped Macie’s hand as she saluted her mom. “I won’t, Mommy. Promise. Bye!” And with that, she ran to the front door and disappeared. They all watched as, seconds later, she ran onto the playground and immediately started playing with a group of boys.

“She is way too addicted to that obstacle course,” Mary said wryly.

“I know, but it makes an affective punishment to take it away, so I’m not complaining,” Emily said with a smile.

“Obstacle course?” Macie asked.

“The guys have a course they use at work for PT sometimes. Fletch took Annie there one day and that was that. She didn’t want to do anything else. And she’s good at it too. Fast.”

Macie had met Fletch and the other men Ford worked with at the wedding. She loved how protective and loving they were with their wives. It was part of the reason she’d had such a major anxiety attack at the reception. She wanted the same. And knew she was too broken to ever have a man like that. A man who could put up with her insecurities and anxiety for the long haul.

“Let’s sit,” Rayne said, gesturing to the couches.

Macie knew she should be offering everyone something to drink, but she couldn’t remember what was in Colt’s fridge. What if she offered colas or juice and he didn’t have any? Should she offer to see if he had any beer or wine? She was getting overwhelmed, so she kept quiet and followed the others to the living room to sit down.

No one said anything for a moment, and Macie’s anxiety spiked. She should say something. Get the conversation rolling…but what should she say? She wasn’t a part of these women’s lives, even if Ford was her brother.