Liv
Instead of the looks, I thought I’d get from Damon as he sees the palatial estate, the ornate grounds that are kept in pristine condition by the gardeners, or the many garages that house the cars that are now his, I’m getting a stoic gaze as he takes in all I show him.
“Wanna meet my pony?” Harry asks Damon as he tugs at his hand.
“More?” Damon asks. “We’ve seen the horse barn.”
“But there’s one for the pony too,” Harry says as he pulls with all his might to get his father to go with him.
“He really likes Chub-Chub,” I tell Damon as I come up on the other side of him and run my arm through his, leaning into him a bit. I think he needs a bit of my energy to help him take this whole thing in.
“You named it Chub-Chub?” Damon asks Harry.
“Cause of he’s fat, Daddy.” The child erupts with laughter. “Daddy! I have a daddy!”
The stoic expression vanishes as Damon picks up his son and laughs with him. “And I have a son. Come on, let’s go introduce me to your pony.”
Away we go to the small barn that houses the little black pony that was bought for Harold on his first birthday. I can see how Damon is overwhelmed by all of this. It’s grandeur for certain.
But it’s just a home when you get down to it. Inside the sprawling mansion, the family used a few rooms every day. Little by little, Damon will learn his way around. And there are always servants around to help steer him in the right direction.
As we walk through the rose garden to get to the pony’s pen, I tell Damon about dinner for the evening. “Since the hotel restaurants only had traditional English food, I ordered the cook to make us something American tonight. What do you think about cheeseburgers, fries, and chocolate milkshakes?”
“I think that sounds great. What do you think about that, Harry?” Damon asks his son as he places him back on the ground so he can run to his pony.
“I don’t know what that is,” Harry shouts as he runs in front of us.
“He doesn’t know what that is?” Damon asks me and looks as if some crime has been committed.
“His mother and grandparents didn’t eat things like that. English, through and through, is what they were. You have tons to teach him, Damon.” I kiss his cheek and watch him as he looks at his son.
“I do, don’t I?” he asks, then runs his arm around my waist, pulling me close. “Promise me that you’ll never leave us, Liv. I don’t know what I’d do without you right now. And when I have to go back to base, I’ll need your help even more so.”
“Damon,” I start to say, but he places a finger to my lips to quiet me.
“I’m going to buy a place near the base. That way we can live there. But I can’t just leave the Navy. I have certain obligations, and I’m not the kind of man who leaves his team members with no one to take his place.”
Stopping, I take his hands and stand in front of him. “Damon, you need to stay alive for that little boy. Playing soldier isn’t a thing you should be doing anymore. He has no one else in this world.”
“He has you.” He kisses the tip of my nose.
“I’m not his blood.”
“You’re every bit as close to him as a mother would be. And you’re coming with us back to Florida. You’re going to be with me throughout his life. You’ve already told me that. And all I’m talking about is a few missions, when necessary. And going to the base Monday through Friday to do the things I need to do. You can handle things at home for me, can’t you?” He twirls a lock of my hair around his finger, flirting with me to get what he wants.
Only I want him to spend time with his son. And I don’t want him doing dangerous things. He doesn’t have to!
“Damon, we’ll discuss this more later. You did say you’d give us a week here at the estate. Going back to Florida may be a thing you won’t even want to do. This place runs like a well-oiled machine. Finding a nice place and staffing it in Florida won’t be as easy as it sounds. And what about me? What is it I’ll be to you?”
The deer in the headlights look has me knowing I’m moving too fast. Asking more than he’s ready to give. But I push it anyway as I stare right back into his big eyes.
“Um, like what do you mean? You’ll be what you are now. Isn’t what we all have going well?” He gulps, and I laugh.
“Okay, too soon. I get it.”
“Good. I like you. I do. But so many things are happening right now. I don’t want to tell you something I may want to retract later and hurt you. I hope you can understand.” He puts his arm around me again and we continue our journey to where Harry is already petting his pony.
“Hurry up, Daddy. Chub-Chub’s waiting!”
I know I have to be patient with Damon. So much has been thrown at him. But damn it, it’s hard!