Seals Hunt Together (Book 3)

Chapter 2

I jerked awake about four o’clock sweating as if I’d just run twenty miles wide open in Texas during a triple digit day. Taking a deep breath, I get out of the bed and quickly make it. Pulling on a pair of cargo pants, I roll the shorts up and slide them into a small section of my bag. It took me five minutes to get my hair brushed. I hated the fact that I had to cut it, but with one hand it was near impossible to keep it long.

Putting my necklace back on, I spent the next ten minutes getting the dresser back into its original place. Swiping the key off the dresser, I slip it in my pocket and grab my bag. Walking out into the hall, I almost laugh when I see the guys stepping from their rooms as well, all ready to go. John took my bag and we made our way down the stairs. We placed our keys on the desk just as Sandy came waltzing in.

“I see you’re leaving.”

“Yeah, we have some where to be.”

“Can you tell me if Mr. and Mrs. McKenna still live on Wolf’s Lane?” She was surprised by my question, but quickly shook it off. “They do. Is this about their daughter?” I look over at the guys and with one look they understood to stay silent. “Why would you ask that?”

“She joined the Navy right after graduation. Her parents haven’t heard from her in years. Is she dead?”

“She’s not dead. We’re friends of McKenna. Thanks for your help Sandy.” I nod at her and we head to the jeep. “Little miss busy body.” I mutter to myself as I open the door. “What was that about Ella?” Sam asks softly. “She used to be a friend of mine back in high school, right up until the moment I caught her in bed with my boyfriend. So, right after graduation, I snuck off into town, talked with the recruiter and joined the Navy. Anyway, let’s get cracking.” They laughed just as I intended and Jason pulled out of the parking lot.

The town still wasn’t very large, so it didn’t take that long for Jason to reach the address I’d given him. He pulled into the driveway and for several long seconds, I just sat there and stared at the house. Shaking my head, I step out of the jeep and slowly make my way to the front porch. I could hear the guys behind me and I smiled. Knocking twice on the door, I stand back and wait. Faint footsteps from within reached my hears and I face the door. It swung open slowly to reveal my mother. “May I help you?”

She looked at me and it suddenly dawned on me that my own mother didn’t recognize me. My sight became blurry with tears. “H-Hello Mama, it’s me, Abriella.” I say softly stepping towards her. “E-Ella? Is it really you?” She steps onto the porch, her hand softly touching my cheek.

Tears streamed down her face as she pulled me into a bear hug. “Silas!” She yelled into the house, “Get out here. Our Ella’s home!” I felt a lump grow in my throat when the sound of running feet reached my ears. A quick look at the guys told me that they too were touched by our reunion.

My dad slide to a stop in the door and just stared at me. He blinked rapidly and I noticed that he was crying as well. “Ella sweetheart, you’re home.”

“Yes sir I am.” I say softly, smiling at them. Suddenly, he looked at Mom and then their eyes darted to my empty sleeve. My mom looked like she was about to start crying again, and I couldn’t handle her tears. “Hey now, it’s not that bad.” I say jokingly. I felt Luke behind me, his hand on my back. I was grateful for his presence.

“Why don’t y’all come in so we can talk?” Dad asks as he leads Mom back into the house. We follow them into the living room. They sat in the rocking chairs by the fireplace while the guys and I took the couch. “When did it happen?”

“Not too long ago really. The guys and I had just wrapped up the mission we were on and were making our way back to the extraction point. There was a sniper in the area that we didn’t know about and before any of us could do anything, I was shot. It surprised me that he didn’t go for the kill shot, but later I realized that if I hadn’t stepped in front of Spark Plug then he would have been killed.

“I bandaged it the best I could, but by the time we reached the ship, infection had already sat in. I lost my arm and my career, but I wouldn’t change anything if I had the chance to do it all over again.” My guys smiled at me as my parents looked at us. Dad cleared his throat. “Why don’t you introduce us Ella?”

“Sure. This is John, Jason, Sam and Luke. Guys meet my parents. Mom, Dad, meet the best friends I’ve ever had.” They smile at each other when I noticed that my mom’s eyes were shining. “When’s the wedding?” She asked suddenly causing the room to fall silent.

Dad looks at my hand and then at each of the guys. “Who’s the lucky one?” I slowly rub my thumb over my ring. “Luke and I haven’t set a date as of yet. But I was hoping that we could get married before he leaves on his next mission.” The next several hours flew by with us all talking and catching up.

It was almost noon when Mom decided to get us settled in. She placed the guys across the hall from me in the guest rooms, while I had my old room. Jason brought my bags in for me and sat them on my bed. With a smile, he walked to his room to unpack. I had already unpacked one bag when there was a knock on my door.

“Come in.” I call and my parents walk in. Mom made me sit down as she took over my unpacking. Dad sat beside me. “We’re glad you’re home sweetheart.”

“I’m glad I’m home to Dad. How’s Jake?”

“He’s doing pretty well. They elected him sheriff about four years ago.” I chuckle and rub my face. “There’s something I have to tell both of you. There will be nights where I wake up screaming or yelling. I want y’all to know that it’s just a nightmare and I can handle it. I just wanted to let you know so it won’t startle you too bad when I wake you up.”Dad pulls me into a hug and I lay my head on his shoulder. “It’ll just take time to adjust sweetheart.” He mutters softly.

Those minutes were the longest and most treasure-able moments I ever spent with my parents. And they were shattered by a knock on the door. “I’ll get the door.” My dad said as he stood up and quickly hurried out of the room. Looking over to my bags, I noticed that Mom had all of my clothes hung up and put away in the dresser.

“Honey, why don’t you bring our guest to the den? There’s someone who’d like to see her.” Dad calls out and I look at my mom confused. She just shrugs and I follow her back to the den. As I walked around the corner, I spotted a tan shirt and a gun belt. Instantly I knew that it was my brother. And for a split second I was terrified that he wouldn’t be happy to see me home again.