Cloey
If only I could take his pain away. He thinks he's hiding it, but I can see it every time I turn and study him. Inside him is a little boy who was never loved. But that's where he's wrong. I love him, no matter how hard I've tried to deny it. Felicity loves him. He has more love than he'll ever realize.
Gunner and I quietly sit as Dice stops at the massive gate surrounding the plantation-style manor. Inside the guard shack, a guard stands at attention. Turning around in the seat of his truck, he faces me.
"You sure you're ready for this?"
Working hard at schooling my expression, I nod. He studies me briefly before returning to the man behind the glass. Rolling down the window, the guard pushes the glass aside.
"Chance?" He hesitates a moment. "Are your parents expecting you?"
It feels strange hearing his given name when I've gotten used to being around his unit, where call signs are commonplace.
"Are they ever expecting me?"
The man seems to hesitate. I take that opportunity to sit forward.
"Hey, Ernie," I say brightly. "It looks like your wife's been feeding you well."
The guard leans over to get a better look into the vehicle. "Why, Ms. Henderson! How nice to see you again. I didn't know you knew Chance."
The shock on Dice and Gunner's faces is priceless. I allow the smile I've been fighting to surface. "Oh, we're old friends."
Cocking his head to the side, Dice studies me with one brow raised. Ernie clears his throat. "Mr. and Mrs. Sanders are attending a luncheon."
A look of uncertainty crosses the guard's face.
"It's okay." I offer him my sweetest smile while Dice lounges against his seat, staring at me. "I'm sure we can settle ourselves in." I'm banking on Ernie not knowing that I'm not the welcome guest he thinks me to be.
It doesn't take long for him to become a victim of my warm demeanor. He hits the switch to open the gates. I knew I liked him. How he's stayed employed by the Sanders is beyond me. He's too good for them. Narrowing his eyes, Dice tears his gaze away from mine.
"You're lucky, Ernie. You've seen the good side of her today," he yells as he drives through the open gate. "And get that smug smile off your face."
My eyes glisten with humor as I tilt my face toward him. "Not a chance. No pun intended."
Gunner remains silent in the backseat, but I can tell by the way he's trying to hide the smirk on his face that he's enjoying the show.
YOU ARE READING
Impossible Odds: Rescue Team Nine (Book 3)
Romance**COMPLETED** Politics is a world Chance Dice Sanders is all too familiar with. Thrust in the middle of his family's political careers, he ran off to join the Coast Guard. His fearlessness and impulsive decisions earned him a reputation as a rescue...
