CHAPTER 9
Alexa stretched out her naked body against Gage as they settled into bed for the night. They had made love in the shower once again, and her body glowed from the unexpected session. Then Gage had washed her hair as she sat on the warm marble bench, the water cascading over her shoulders and back. She relished when he washed and then brushed her hair.
Nuzzling his jaw, Alexa whispered, “I need to share something with you.”
Gage had seen how restless Alexa had been all afternoon. She enjoyed seeing her brother and sister, but there was something else going on that he couldn’t figure out. He moved to his side, propping himself up on an elbow to look at her more closely. For their shower, she had piled her hair up on her head with gold barrettes. Now he eased both of them from her hair and placed them on the bed stand.
“Are you feeling okay? You seemed a little restless today,” he said, trying not to sound concerned.
“Well,” she whispered, frowning, “I just wanted to make sure.”
One corner of his mouth hitched. He skimmed his hand across her belly. “Sure about what?” He saw Alexa lick her lower lip, a sure sign of something important about to be said.
“The adaptogen, Gage. I think it’s working.” She saw his eyes widen, and his hand stilled on her belly.
“What level of anxiety are you at?”
She smiled softly. “Ever since I woke up this morning, I’ve felt no anxiety, Gage. None! I can’t believe it.” She rested her hand over his, feeling his concern, mixed with hope, for her words. “I told Tal about it at noon, how afraid I was that it would come back to slam me.”
“And you’re taking two capsules a day?”
Nodding, she released a fragmented sigh, frowning. “I-I didn’t believe Taylor when she said it would just shut off. Yesterday, I had anxiety. Today, nothing.” She slid her hand up across his chest, his skin moist beneath her fingertips. “And tonight, when we made love in the shower . . .”
“Yes?”
“It was . . . well . . . different.”
“How do you mean?” He tried to keep the trepidation out of his voice. Gage saw how tentative Alexa was right now and knew how badly she wanted this protocol to work.
“Well, before my capture, orgasms were very intense, when I had one. I mean, I felt near to fainting sometimes, Gage, the pleasure was that profound.” She lifted her lashes, staring up at him. “Tonight, I almost fainted. It felt like the kind of orgasm I used to have before the capture.”
Gage leaned down, kissing her lips. “Then it’s working, baby. Taylor said less than a week, and you’ve been on them four days now.”
She made a small sound, sliding her hand through his damp hair. “But I’m afraid, Gage, that it will come back.”
“Taylor said it wouldn’t,” he reminded her quietly. “She said it was like a faucet being shut off, and last night, I watched as you slept so damned hard, Alexa, better than I’ve seen. Maybe that’s part of the proof that the adaptogen is working.” He teased a few damp strands of her auburn hair that were stuck against her cheek and slid them behind her ear.
Alexa pulled him down upon her, burying her face against his neck. “Oh, I hope you’re right, Gage. I want this so bad . . .”
Hearing the fear in her voice, he kissed her hair and said reassuringly, “It’s happening, baby. Maybe you should call Taylor tomorrow?”
“Oh, I can’t. It’s Sunday, Gage.”
He grunted. “Okay, Monday then.” Moving Alexa into his arms, he leaned against the headboard, bringing her into his embrace. “Does it feel like you used to feel before being captured?” he asked, holding her gaze.
“Yes. The same. I’m quiet inside, Gage. I can’t explain it. It’s like this invisible animal with teeth had been eating me from the inside out. Then, suddenly, it’s gone. Just . . . gone . . .”
He murmured, “If you wake up tomorrow morning and you’re still feeling quiet and calm inside . . .”
“Yes?”
“Then it’s for real, Alexa. I think you can take it to the bank.”
She pressed her face against his chest. “Oh, Gage, I want it to be! I so want it to be . . .”
He rocked her a little, feeling how worried she was right now. “Right after my dad and Jen got murdered, I used to go to bed at night and hope that when I woke up in the morning, they’d be out at the kitchen table—Dad with his coffee, Jen with her Cheerios. I think in your case, this is real. It’s working. And it’s here to stay.”
Never had Alexa wanted to hear anything more than that. Gage felt so solid, so stable, and was ultimately practical.
“Believe me, I understand how you could feel that way, Gage. It breaks my heart that you had to go through that alone.”
“Hey,” he groused, “I didn’t bring it up to make you feel bad. I’m just showing you how our minds and emotions can skew us sideways at times.”
“My mind is still churning, Gage. I’m not thinking as logically as I usually do,” she admitted.
“Maybe that will go away, too,” he suggested.
Alexa closed her eyes as he caressed her cheek with his rough palm. “I’m so tired of fighting it, Gage. To wake up this morning and feel nothing but this delicious calm throughout me—I felt as if I’d died and gone to heaven. And the more I woke up, the more I realized that the monster wasn’t prowling around inside me anymore. I kept watching the clock, thinking it would wake up again.” She swallowed hard. “But it didn’t . . . it hasn’t . . . yet.”
*
For the longest time, Gage lay on his back with Alexa curled up beside him, sleeping deeply. Allowing her to talk out her fears always seemed to calm her. They’d had great sex in the shower, the best he could remember. And maybe, just maybe, that damned cortisol had been turned off by the adaptogen. God, he hoped so.
In the next two days, they would be getting ready to fly to the Keys. Alexa was always happy, always in her element, when she was out at the hangar with her Stearman biplane. Her mechanic, Andy, in his fifties, gray-bearded with a twinkle in his green eyes, was like a doting uncle to her. They’d work together on the plane, their wooden toolboxes with all kinds of wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, and work gloves nearby as they tinkered with the ancient engine until it fired on all pistons, the sound making them smile for a job well done.
Closing his eyes, Gage envisioned Alexa when she’d first met him at the canteen at Bagram. She’d been like blinding sunlight to his dark, fractured soul. Her broad smile had fed him hope and made him want to capture that sunbeam brilliance she radiated. It was like capturing fireflies in a Mason jar. He knew he couldn’t, but to sit there at that table with her and her brother, Matt, all of them eating pizza and drinking beer, had changed his life.
At lunch today, Gage had enjoyed the sibling repartee between the three of them. Alexa began to shine once more, as she had upon first meeting him. The sunlight was back in her eyes, the green and gold flecks prominent, the sienna nearly nonexistent. The warmth, camaraderie, and love between the three siblings made Gage ache for Jen and his family, but he hid it well, interacting with all of them, sharing laughs and jokes. Yet his heart yearned for what had been cruelly ripped away from him.
Alexa wanting to become a mother meant more to Gage than he’d admitted to her, and it was something he needed to sit down and share with her. His desire for family drove him whether he realized it or not. Until he’d met Alexa, it hadn’t been a clear thought or a need, but it was turning into a deep longing. He’d had his family torn from him, and there would be no more photos of them, no more shared memories.
But once Alexa was pregnant, he knew his life would truly change. It was so important to his soul and heart, a possibility he could hang onto, that lately he could think of little else but seeing Alexa with a belly huge with his child. Gage now understood how much his father had loved his mother. As a child, what did he know or realize? Not much. But he remembered how his father looked when he came home from deployment, the deep adoration Gage saw in his father’s eyes for his mother. And he always touched his wife with warmth, tenderness, and appreciation. They had that kind of rare, wonderful marriage.
And now, Gage was living with a woman he would marry next March, and he would give her his heart because she deserved nothing less from him. Gage was filled with so much hope, but he knew it hinged on the success of the cortisol protocol.
Gradually, Gage’s lids fell closed. Alexa was in his embrace, her head nestled trustingly on his shoulder, her soft, curvy body resting beside his hard planes. Now he began to worry about the enemies of Delos, and the blood revenge against the families as a whole.
They’d barely dodged a bullet when Rasari went undercover and assumed another identity. Gage believed he was more dangerous than Zakir Sharan, but both men had lost sons to Matt and Tal over in Afghanistan. Tal had a team putting together a PSD, personal security detail plan, for the entire global family. Robert Culver, especially, felt the whole family was at risk, not just the American contingent. And if that was so, there were a lot of Turkish and Greek young adults at risk, too. Gage wasn’t sure how the adult children would react to the information, but he knew that Uncle Ihsan and Dilara’s other two brothers, Berk and Serkan, took it with dead seriousness.
There were a lot of balls in the air right now. Because Gage had been a sniper and was in black ops, he’d told Tal and the planning team that he didn’t want a security contractor shadowing their every move. He’d handle it on his own and felt confident about doing so.
Alexa did not have her head in the game, but Gage didn’t expect it to be. Until she could get this cortisol under control, she was completely distracted in every way. And even if the adaptogen worked, when they returned from the Keys, Gage would buy a trained guard dog for their farmhouse. To outsiders, the dog would appear to be just a dog. But he’d be much more. He didn’t want Alexa alone in their home without one to warn her when someone drove into the driveway. She’d fallen apart the other day when the electric company man had shown up at their property unannounced. No, there was no question: they needed a dog. That was the last thought he had as he drew in a deep, slow breath, Alexa’s rose fragrance filling his lungs.
*
The yellow, red, and white Boeing PT-17A Stearman biplane gleamed in the bright overhead sunlight the next day at Potomac Airfield. Andy was with Alexa, who had her sunglasses on, her hair up, a shirt over her sleeveless tee, carrying a huge, weighty wrench across her shoulders. Andy was doing a final FAA inspection on the World War I biplane. It was one of the few Stearmans to be equipped with blind-flying instrumentation, meaning Alexa could fly in IFR, instrument flight rules, for poor visibility conditions. Without that equipment on board, she could only fly as far as she could see visually. She could never take off in fog conditions, low visibility, or heavy cloud conditions. With the valuable instruments on board, her little biplane could be flown day or night. It had canvas skin stretched and painted on the upper and lower wings, its huge engine clean and prepped for tomorrow’s flight to the Keys.
Gage acted as a gofer for the two of them as they chatted, laughed, and worked on the Continental R-670-5 seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine together. Alexa got all excited about her little plane’s capabilities. It had a 220-horsepower engine, cruised at 96 mph, and had a service ceiling for 13,200 feet. And then she wickedly said that she had no oxygen masks in the cockpit, and she’d always fly below ten-thousand feet because of that. He’d laughed. The Stearman, when the throttle was applied to it, could go as fast as 135 mph. Not fast, in Gage’s opinion. But, as Alexa pointed out, if the engine died midair, they could easily float to the ground and probably land unscathed, whereas in today’s domestic jet airliners, they wouldn’t coast at all because they were too heavy, much harder to land without killing everyone on board. He didn’t pretend to know an aircraft engine, but Alexa clearly did, because excitement burned in her eyes as she went through an alphabet soup Gage couldn’t really follow. She was clearly impressed with the engine on her biplane. Andy treated her like a much-loved niece. He was dressed in a pair of denim overalls, a dark blue polo shirt with the sleeves pushed up, and a dark blue baseball cap on his flyaway silver hair.
Potomac Airfield sat in Fort Washington, Maryland, a twenty-five-minute drive from Alexandria. Alexa did not want to use busy Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. This particular airfield had eighty-seven aircraft on it—eighty-four were single engine, like her Stearman. There were a number of World War II aircraft that Gage had seen too, like P-51 Mustangs, Navy F4U Corsairs, and Army trainers. It was a busy little airport with planes from the past.
Now they had pushed the biplane out of a huge aluminum hangar and onto the concrete, because the November day felt like September and the temperature was in the mid-sixties. The sun felt good beating down on the shoulders of Gage’s lightweight nylon jacket, a black t-shirt beneath it. He wore a black baseball cap on his head, plus wraparound sunglasses. Even though Alexa swore that this tiny one-runway airport was safe, he took nothing for granted. Under his jacket, he carried a Glock pistol in a holster at the small of his back, hidden to prying eyes by the fabric hanging down over his hips.
It was a perfect time to come out here, an Indian summer day, because snow had already fallen and now warm weather followed. All the trees outside the cyclone fenced-in airport area were naked and without leaves. As Gage walked around, some of his hearing was keyed to Andy and Alexa, his other ear listening for anything that sounded out of place for the area. He was in complete sniper mode. As much as he wished he could relax and lounge around, now was not the time or place to do that.
No one knew what Rasari or Sharan were up to or where they might try to strike next.
Gage wanted to celebrate that Alexa had awakened this morning anxiety-free. She was dying to call Taylor the next morning, Monday, to share what had happened to her. Today, she seemed less worried about the anxiety coming back. In fact, she looked and felt more settled than he’d seen her since the capture. It was as if she were slowly accepting that the medication might be working.
Gage had his fingers crossed. Alexa had slept ten hours, and he’d awakened her at ten a.m. She looked and acted drugged the first hour, but he’d gotten two cups of strong Turkish coffee into her that helped her wake up. It was a perfect day, except for the possibility of being attacked by their enemies.
Would it be in the Keys? He might be able to relax, but probably not. Enemies struck when their quarry was relaxed, not vigilant.
*
Gage was at Artemis on Monday, getting ready to go down to the cafeteria for lunch when Alexa burst into his office. Her face was radiant, her eyes shining. She wore a pair of camel-colored wool slacks, a vest of the same material with a ruffled orange silk blouse beneath her gray wool coat. Her auburn hair was down in a shining cloak around her shoulders, her expression joyous.
“Hey,” he called, getting up from his desk and going around it to meet her. “Did you call Taylor?” She had been preparing to do so when Gage had left for work this morning. There was a two-hour difference in time zones, so Alexa had to wait until it was nine a.m. in Wyoming to make that call. When they’d gotten up this morning, Alexa was still feeling calm, and every day, she looked more hopeful of getting her life back.
“Gage!” and she threw herself into his opening arms, crushing him with a hug. “Taylor said it’s working!”
He absorbed her full weight, taking a step back to steady himself. Gripping her to him, he hugged her fiercely. “That’s great,” he murmured, kissing her hard.
Alexa pulled back, smiling radiantly. “She said it won’t come back, that the adaptogen has shut down the cortisol receptors. Isn’t that wonderful, Gage?” She choked, fighting back tears.
“Yes, that’s the best news yet, baby.” Gage wanted to kiss the hell out of her, but there were people moving up and down the hall who could look in and see them. He had to practice some restraint, so he kissed her brow and drank in the green and gold of her eyes. She was so happy, and therefore, so was he.
“What else did Taylor say?” he asked.
“That I’ll continue to feel calm and have no more anxiety. I should stay on the regimen for the full thirty days, and that’s all.” Sighing, Alexa said, “I just can’t believe this, Gage. It was that simple, and yet ninety-nine percent of the military vets and abuse survivors don’t know about this alternative protocol. They’re suffering horribly when they don’t have to suffer at all. How sad is that?”
Gage nodded and released her. “Until the traditional medical establishment accepts alternative medicine protocol, they’ll refuse to use it. And that’s even sadder. I thought medicine, any type of medicine, was about healing the person, not that it had to fit a certain philosophical model in order to be used.”
“Hey,” Alexa said, “I’m going to find Tal and Matt to tell them.”
“No need,” Gage said, “We’re all meeting down in the cafeteria for lunch. Want to come along?” He slid his arm around her waist.
“Oh, yes!”
*
Gage sat back at the long white table, trays of food sitting on it. Tal and Matt were ecstatic about what had happened to Alexa. Excitement sizzled between the three siblings, and Gage smiled to himself as he ate his salad. Alexa could hardly sit still next to him, squirming around, her hands flying all over the place as she shared the story of what had happened to her with the adaptogen.
“Well,” Tal said after hearing the whole story, sliding a glance towards Matt on her left, “I don’t give a damn what traditional medical doctors say about it. We need to hire a functional medicine specialist for Artemis. Everyone here, more or less, has PTSD symptoms. If we can delete the anxiety, which I feel is the biggest daily issue for some of our employees, it will be worth every penny in the long run. And we need to use this protocol throughout our Safe House Foundation Charities, as well. I’ll talk to Mom about it.”
“I’m sure Taylor could help us,” Alexa suggested, rubbing her hands together, thoroughly excited.
Tal said, “Can you send her an email when you get home? Tell her our needs. I’d like to hire her as a consultant to help us set up a charity-wide plan and protocol. I’d also like to have a medical person around here, because our people are going to get PTSD, no question. We’ve got good medical insurance, and if traditional medical insurance companies won’t accept it, we’ll pay for it out of pocket. Our employees deserve this. I’ve seen what the anxiety has done to you, Alexa, and I wouldn’t wish that plague on anyone.”
Soberly, Alexa said, “I’m seriously thinking of writing some blogs on it. Or an article. Something. Because people have to know about this protocol. It could literally save lives. I mean, I’ve read of vets who have such bad anxiety, they commit suicide. It’s their only escape. That’s how bad it is.”
Grimly, Tal said,” Well, none of our employees are going to be hung out to dry like that. We’ll get an FM trained person in here to treat them. Besides, taking antianxiety medication or prescription sleeping pills only goes so far. And some people feel worse, not better.”
Matt said, “I like this. I’m going to contact Taylor this afternoon and ask for that saliva test she gave you, Gage.”
“I just turned my saliva samples to the lab, and they’ll go through my results,” he said. “I’m hoping to hear later this week from Taylor as to whether or not my cortisol is out of normal bounds.”
“Do you have anxieties, Gage?” Tal asked him.
“Some.” He shrugged. “But I have broken sleep from nightmares. And Taylor said that’s one of the symptoms of anxiety caused by cortisol being out of normal bounds. I’m hopeful that if my test results come back high, she can prescribe the adaptogen for me. I’d like to sleep eight hours a night. I don’t know what that’s like anymore.”
Tal grimaced. “Well, I don’t sleep throughout the night, either. Maybe I should take the test.”
“I think you should,” Alexa pleaded, reaching over, gripping Tal’s hand. “I’ve slept eight hours a night for the last three nights, Tal. I can’t tell you how good I feel now! I have more energy, I’m hopeful again, and I’m starting to get my appetite back.”
Gage cut her a wry look. “Maybe now I won’t have to force feed you,” he teased, his mouth hooking into a grin.
Laughing lightly, Alexa threw her arm around his shoulders, kissing his cheek and then releasing him. “Hey, I’m on vacation for the next three months! I don’t think you’ll have to beg me to eat. Besides, I love fish and all the other seafood that’s going to be available to us in the Keys.”
“I’m so damned jealous,” Tal told her. “I love our Keys winter house. It’s nice to go down there, because it’s so much warmer than the snow country we have here.”
“Well,” Alexa suggested, “why don’t you and Wyatt, Matt, and Dara plan to fly down for a weekend? That house has ten bedrooms, more than enough for all of us.”
“Maybe we’ll get Mom and Dad to come down with us,” Matt suggested. “Kind of make it a family affair? I’m sure they’d like to see how you’re doing from time to time, Alexa.”
“Yes,” Alexa agreed, “That’s a great idea!” She turned to Gage. “Would you be all right with our family descending upon us?”
He chuckled. “Sure. My sense is to do it maybe in a month, to give you about four weeks just to be quiet and heal?”
“Yeah,” Tal murmured, giving her an evil look. “You do know what will happen, don’t you, Alexa? The moment our mother tells our Turkish uncles and wives, and Cousin Angelo and Maria from Greece, they’ll all want to fly in like a flock of geese to be with us, too.”
“Ohh,” Alexa said. “You’re right.”
Gage gave Tal a puzzled look. “They’d do that?”
Matt smiled. “Oh, you don’t know the half of it, Gage, but you will. You’re marrying Alexa, so you’re going to get immersed in this American-Turkish-Greek family that’s invisibly tied to one another. If there’s a party somewhere in the world among the family, the entire family flies in to be with them,” he laughed.
“Don’t forget,” Tal told them, “that Mom and Dad usually visit the Keys winter homestead in January or February, when the snow is at its worst up here in Virginia. And the Turkish and Greek components of our family fly in for about two weeks and stay with them down in the Keys.”
“Yes,” Matt said dryly, “a moveable party feast is ongoing.”
“But,” Alexa said, suddenly worried, “it’s November. And you know? Mom and Dad’s house is where the family is going to have Christmas this year.”
“Maybe,” Tal suggested, “you should take the four weeks you need and then fly north to celebrate Christmas with all of us. Then you can fly back to the Keys afterward.”
“Even better,” Matt said, resting his elbows on the table, “is if everyone could fly down to the Keys winter home after Christmas to celebrate New Year’s down there.” He glanced over at Alexa. “Do you think you could handle that kind of stress and fun?”
“I’m stress-free right now,” Alexa shot back.
Gage placed his hand behind Alexa’s chair, his heart swelling with relief and love for her. He couldn’t believe his eyes. This was the old Alexa he’d met at the canteen in Bagram. When Alexa was fully engaged with life, not being derailed and distracted by that gnawing anxiety, she took his breath away. Could he really have Alexa back as she was before the capture? Gage knew he’d have to take it day by day, and so would she. He caught her dancing hazel gaze and smiled over at her, curving his hand around her shoulder, giving her a small squeeze of support.
Now, he was looking forward to the sabbatical for Alexa at the Keys winter home. What new adventures would they get into? Gage didn’t for a second forget that their enemies were stalking the family, and he would quietly remain on guard for himself and Alexa while down there.
Tal and Matt were already locking a security plan into place for the entire global family right now. Gage was actively working on implementing that plan today until he left with Alexa for the Florida Keys. Even then, he would be in touch with Artemis and the planners to ensure it was fully in place within the next two weeks, no matter where he was. Gage would be carrying a sat phone on him and his Toughbook laptop too, as well as many other electronic devices that would keep him in the heartbeat of Artemis.
Matt groaned. “I can just see this now,” he told them, folding his hands behind his head, grinning like a fool. “Mom doesn’t know it, but the whole family will descend a week before Christmas at their home and then stay over for longer than she was expecting.”
“Oh, pooh!” Alexa said. “Mom will love it!”
“Dad will probably retire to his man cave in the basement,” Matt chuckled.
Gage grinned. “I may join him.”
Alexa elbowed him in the ribs. “Gage! You’ll love our big family. Really. Give them a chance, okay?”
“Yeah, do,” Tal intoned, giving Matt a dark look. “Dad isn’t Turkish or Greek, and he can’t take the party atmosphere twenty-four hours a day. But you may find certain family members that you really warm up to, Gage. They’re intelligent people, every one of them. And kind. And yes, they do love to celebrate and enjoy life to the fullest, but maybe they can teach you how to see life in a more fun, hopeful way, too.”
“Point taken,” Gage agreed, giving Tal a slight smile. “I just have a tough time seeing you in party mode, though, Tal.”
Alexa snickered and Matt laughed outright.
Tal’s black eyebrows went down. “I know how to party,” she said indignantly.
“Yes,” Alexa said. “You have to remember; Tal is a Capricorn.”
“Is that another word for stick-in-the-mud?” Matt inquired sweetly, tugging at Tal’s ponytail.
“Get out of here,” Tal growled at Matt. “I know how to party! And I’m not a stick-in-the-mud. I do have to be serious when things are serious, but when our whole family gets together, I’m partying right along with everyone else. We all have Turkish and Greek blood in our veins, little brother.”
Matt pounded his chest. “Wounded by my big sister! Arghh . . .”
Gage laughed at Matt’s sudden, unexpected antics. Usually, he was as low-key and quiet and serious as Tal. This was the first time he’d seen Matt cut loose, and it was telling. Alexa giggled and Tal chuckled.
“Matt Culver,” Tal said with a straight face, “you’re such a clown when you want to be.”
Matt gave Tal an amused look, straightening up in his chair. “And you wouldn’t ever think of being one. Right?”
“Yeah,” Matt offered, giving Tal a teasing look. “And I have it on video.”
Tal colored. “Now . . . don’t you dare show Gage that video, Matt, or I’ll strangle you!”
Alexa turned to Gage. “Three years ago, Tal really cut loose after Christmas dinner over in Athens. I think it was too much retsina wine, but she was dancing on tabletops with Cousin Angelo.”
“Really?” Gage said, giving Tal a shocked look. Tal was always the quiet, responsible one, from what he’d seen so far.
“Really,” Matt said. “I got it on video.” And then he snickered. “It’s a family heirloom now, you know? Tal’s always so serious, but on that day, Cousin Angelo got her up on that long banquet table when the Greek band started playing, and she was quite a sight, believe me.”
Gage felt sorry for Tal. He’d never seen her blush, but she was doing it now. Tal was an introvert, like him. He didn’t know if he was a Capricorn or not, but he understood quiet, introverted people because he was one himself. “Hey, Tal,” he said, getting her attention. “I’m with you on this one. I’m not gonna be found dancing on any tabletops either.”
Tal grinned. “My baby brother threatens to put my wild-haired episode on YouTube someday, but so far, he’s protected my back. Haven’t you, Matt?” She slid him a wicked look.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t do that to you,” he admitted, smiling. “It’s a black ops thing, you know? We don’t put photos of us out there for our enemies to see, so that video is safe. But—” he waved his finger toward Tal “—I still think Gage and Wyatt would really enjoy seeing it, don’t you?”
“Not on my watch,” Tal growled warningly. “You show that to Wyatt and you’re dead meat. Certified, Culver.”
Alexa chortled. “This is where you see our big sister put her foot down,” she told Gage merrily.
“Yeah,” Tal said, “but I mean it.”
“She does, too,” Alexa said, giving Tal a warm look. She reached out, gripping her older sister’s hand. “You know we wouldn’t show that video unless you gave us permission.”
“I can be bribed,” Matt said, gloating smugly over at Tal.
“What? You want some M&M’s?” Tal demanded, giving him a sour smile.
“That would probably do it,” Matt agreed amiably.
Gage sat back, listening to the siblings tease the hell out of each other. But it wasn’t mean teasing or hurtful. It reminded him so much of himself, Jen, and his parents. They’d start ribbing one another at the dinner table. The Culvers’ teasing made him feel even more a part of this global family he would soon marry into.
Of the three siblings, Alexa was like brilliant sunshine. Gage looked upon Matt as being a summer day. And Tal was a moonlit, star-filled night. Each of the grown children was a unique individual bound by powerful ties of love. There was no maliciousness between any of them. And clearly, they fit right in with their big, global family, warts and all.
“I, for one,” Alexa said, as they broke up to go back to their offices after lunch, “am really looking forward to Christmas and New Year’s.”
“You’d better call Mom and tell her what’s going down,” Tal warned her. “You know she doesn’t like surprises like this. It will take her all of November to get things set up for the family to descend upon their two homes.”
“No worries,” Alexa said breezily, hooking her arm through Gage’s arm. “When I go home, I’ll call Mom.”
Gage walked with the family to the elevators down the hall from the cafeteria dining room. “Will she be happy about this?” he asked Alexa.
“Oh, for sure,” Alexa said. “Mom’s Turkish with a smidgen of Greek thrown in. Any day is a party day for her. Any excuse will do.”
Tal hit the elevator button. “Only Mom is the kind of person who wants a warning so she can organize the whole thing, first. I know she isn’t expecting to fly down to the Keys for New Year’s with everyone.”
“Yeah,” Alexa agreed. “But they have employees who take care of the house, so I think the biggest thing is just getting it organized.”
The elevator doors opened. Tal stepped in with Matt, followed by Gage and Alexa. She hit the button for the fifth floor. “I hope Dad will be able to come to the Keys. I don’t know what his military schedule looks like.”
Frowning, Alexa said, “I know, I was worried about that. But he’d want Mom to be with us, even if he couldn’t be there with us.”
“I’m sure,” Matt soothed, “that if Dad can make it, he will. He doesn’t have general’s stars for nothing.”
Gage met Alexa’s shining gaze, loving the change in her. More than anything, he wanted this coming three-month sabbatical to be a time of healing for her. And if he had anything to do with it, he would give her all the love he had. Love, after all, was the greatest, most profound, natural medicine on earth.
THE BEGINNING . . .