Thirty-eight weeks gestation

The waiting was killing her, standing on the tarmac, waiting for Roan’s face to appear. In her ninth month of pregnancy, she was sore, swollen, and cranky, but nothing was going to ruin today.

When the men finally began disembarking the transport plane, a cheer rose from the crowd. Bristol struggled to hold onto her patience as she waited. About two minutes in, when it felt like a hundred other men and women had come out of the plane, Roan’s face appeared. His dark hair was shining under the bright winter sun, and his eyes locked with hers the moment he started down the stairs. He looked damn good in his BDUs, and she wanted to leap across the barrier and wrap herself around him. The urge was strong enough to pull her up short and make her question her own sanity.

Standing next to her, Payton pointed, “There! I see him, third guy up on the stairs. He looks fit and healthy.”

“Thank God,” Bristol murmured.

Payton had returned the week before, and Micah had insisted Bristol attend her welcome home dinner. The youngest of the Storm siblings didn’t return alone though. She came with a new fiancé and future stepson, surprising everyone.

Bristol really liked Luke and Ricky, so it didn’t bother her a bit when Payton had asked if they could all ride to the return ceremony together. To her surprise, Roan didn’t make his way to her side immediately. Instead, all the marines lined up in rows and waited for instruction. After a brief speech about heroes and sacrifice, their First Sergeant gave them the order, and they shouted Ooh-rah before scattering to the crowd.

Roan’s eyes seemed to zero in on her like a missile connecting with its target, and he marched forward, bag slung over his shoulder, a man on a mission. Bristol was right there with him, ready and waiting when he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace and planted his lips on hers. He kissed her to her core, her body melting into his without a fight. While she might have had her doubts about his interest in her, his kiss confirmed their physical connection wasn’t all inside her head.

Pulling back, he gazed down at her, warmth in his eyes as he seemed to drink her in.

“Damn, B, you look incredible.”

“Shut up, I look like a whale. Or maybe a rhino, I’ve been a bit cranky lately, so that probably fits better.”

“Aw see, and here I was hoping it was because you were horny,” he teased, wagging his eyebrows at her.

“I did not need to hear that,” Payton grumbled next to them.

“Then don’t listen in on a private conversation, pissant,” Roan said playfully, reaching out to hug his little sister almost as tightly as he’d hugged Bristol. “How you been? You’re moving better on that leg, for sure.”

Payton’s injuries after an IED explosion in Afghanistan had nearly crippled her for life. Thankfully, with a lot of physical therapy and a little TLC in North Dakota, she was doing better.

“I’m good, great actually. This is Chinook,” she responded, introducing him to her service dog. “And I brought Luke and Ricky home with me to meet the whole family. We’re going to move back here, so we’re in search of a house.”

A man stepped up and clapped Roan on the back. “Storm, this must be the glorious Madonna who was allowed to carry your offspring.”

“Hot Wing, this is Bristol and my sister, Payton. Ladies, this is Sergeant Donald Crumley aka Hot Wing.”

Bristol accepted a handshake while Payton and Hot Wing exchanged some sort of military speak for hello. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but she thought it sounded friendly.

Another couple of introductions later and Bristol was pretty turned around. All the men had nicknames, making it tricky to keep track of them. She would have to ask Roan later what Garrett Lole’s nickname was when he was deployed.

Finally, they made their way to the car, and Roan settled in the passenger’s seat with a heavy sigh. “It’s good to be back.”

“I just said that myself,” Payton told him. “Nothing feels better than red dirt under your feet.”

“Agreed,” Roan murmured, his eyes closing in the seat as Bristol maneuvered the car out of the lot and headed for the Storm family home. “So, you brought a man home, huh? Should have known there was some reason you were going all the way to North Dakota for PT.”

“I didn’t even meet Luke until I’d been there a while. He’s the vet I was telling you about when we talked back in October.”

“I didn’t know Luke served,” Bristol said, glancing in the rearview mirror in surprise.

“Not that kind of vet, he’s actually a veterinarian. Ran his own practice in Montford, but when we realized we wanted to be together, he decided it was time to change course. He wants to sign on with a group practice this time, so he can spend more time at home with me and Ricky,” Payton explained.

“How’s Ricky handling it?” Bristol asked.

“He’s actually excited. School hadn’t been so great for him up there, so this change will, hopefully, be a good one for all of us.”

“I can’t wait to meet him, he sounds like a good dude, and he has to have balls the size of watermelons to put up with you,” Roan said, earning himself a slap on the back of the head from his sister. “Ouch, you hit like a girl.”

“You’re such a pussy,” she muttered. “Since you think you know it all, here’s a surprise, Luke asked me to marry him.”

There was a heavy pause before Bristol said, “That’s wonderful, I’m guessing you told him yes?”

Payton didn’t seem to notice Roan’s lack of response. “Sort of. I told him he had to meet my family first, and then if he could still stomach the thought, I’d marry him.”

“Hey, we aren’t that bad,” Roan protested. “Maybe a little overwhelming…”

“A little?” Bristol asked with a laugh, “Your dad scares the piss out of me.”

“Okay, he’s a little more than a little overwhelming,” Roan agreed, “but Luke wouldn’t be marrying him. Are you sure you want to jump into this? I mean, you just met the guy.”

“When you know, you know,” Payton told him. The siblings seemed to have a silent exchange and Bristol felt a little left out, but the moment passed quickly.

“Can we stop for a milkshake on our way home?” she asked, not really caring what the answer was. “It’s for the baby…”

* * *

The Storm family home was a two-story craftsman style with cedar shakes and a front porch just big enough for a two-seat swing and a planter in the shape of a bear. Bristol knew it had been there since the matriarch of the family, Heidi died. In the spring and summer, it was full of plants, but now, in December, it was barren.

The front entryway opened into a large dining room and kitchen, followed by a massive family room. When she and Roan were in high-school, the six siblings had undertaken a remodeling project on this home to enlarge that room by building out. The expansion had also added to the upper floor giving each of the six kids their own room. Three upstairs, and three downstairs in the basement. To this day, they each still had their own space.

In the kitchen, Micah and Asher were fixing something that smelled delicious, and with Cooper deployed to Korea, that left Jaden seated at the table playing on his phone. Grant was nowhere to be seen, which was just fine by Bristol.

“Storm 5!”

They all jumped up to give Roan hugs, and Bristol found herself in the midst of a storm of big men. As they greeted Roan, each one paused to greet her too, and her belly was touched more in five minutes than it had been in nine months.

“Do you guys mind if I go sit down?” she finally asked, “This guy is killing my back.”

Jaden hurried to pull a seat out for her before Roan could. “He’s a Storm, so he’s probably big, and you’re not.”

“The sonogram last week put him at almost six pounds already,” she admitted. “I’m hoping he stays that size because I don’t relish the idea of pushing out a ten-pound bowling ball.”

Roan moved to sit next to her, his hand covering hers over her belly protectively. “Won’t they do a C-section if he’s too big? I mean, I don’t want you going through that, either.”

“God, I hope not. I don’t want to have a C-section. All the recovery time afterward sounds miserable.”

“How much longer do you have?” Luke asked, stepping in from the family room.

“Two weeks,” she answered as Payton moved to his side for a sweet kiss.

“So, this must be the vet,” Roan said, his demeanor shifting from protective father to protective brother. He rose and moved to shake hands with Luke. “Roan Storm, I’m number five.”

“Luke Gillian, good to finally meet you. Payton speaks highly of you.”

“She’s a liar,” Roan laughed, “but a good one. How are you liking Oklahoma so far?”

“It’s very different from North Dakota, but I’m not missing the cold, that’s for sure,” Luke said.

The door opened, and Grant appeared, looking frustrated and ready to strangle someone. Bristol shivered as the cold air blew in with him, but she couldn’t have said it wasn’t because of the look on his face more than the air temp.

“God damn car wouldn’t start. Just what I needed today.” He seemed to freeze in place and then a rare smile crossed his face. “Roan, you’re back.”

“Hey, Colonel, I’m back, all in one piece,” Roan said, going over to hug his dad. They did a manly one-armed thing that involved a slap on the back and a grunt. Bristol would never understand their relationship.

Looking over Roan’s shoulder, Grant met Bristol’s gaze head on. “Bristol. I see you’re still pregnant.”

Fighting the urge to make a sarcastic comment, she simply said, “Yep, still pregnant for two more weeks.”

“Good. I knew you’d hold out until Storm 5 was back,” he said as if somehow, she’d kept her legs crossed waiting on Roan’s return.

It was all she could do to turn away without a response. She wasn’t a fan of the Colonel. He was way too forward and rude for her taste, but tonight wasn’t about Grant. It was about Roan and his return home, safe and sound.

Expending her energy on his father’s negativity wouldn’t help keep her stress level down, so she, instead, turned her attention to answering questions about her and the baby. Payton seemed especially interested in how she was doing and what she was going through. It helped eased the tension and made Bristol feel more welcome overall.

Hours later, after dinner, she was surprised when Asher found his way to her side and sat down.

“How are you feeling?”

She gave him a small smile and rubbed her belly, “Okay I guess. I’m tired, but then I’m carrying another human around 24/7, so it’s to be expected.”

“Is everything going okay? With you and Roan?”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard you turned down his proposal, and it surprised me. You’ve loved him for years, right? Why turn him down and break his heart?”

Bristol tried not to be a bitch, but her response was sharp, “Not that it’s any of your business, but when he asked, we weren’t in the right place for an engagement. I’ve loved Roan as my best friend for far too long to let something come between us and ruin that relationship. This baby is a wonderful blessing, albeit one we didn’t plan, but that doesn’t mean we have to upend our lives because of some sense of obligation.”

“But there is obligation. Roan got you pregnant, he should be there to care for his son.” Asher said, confusion on his handsome face.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean marrying me when he’s not in love with me.”

“Aha, so you’re just in denial about how he feels. I understand now.” Asher looked smug and she bristled.

“I am not—”

“Storm 1, I heard you got a big commission last month. How’d that go?” Jaden called out from across the room, putting an end to their conversation.

Asher wandered away to talk shop with Jaden, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Why was everyone so certain Roan was deeply and madly in love with her? Until last spring, they had never been the least bit intimate with each other. It just didn’t make any sense.