The Runaway
Cuddled with his strong-willed, clever, smoking-hot wife, Sonny was enjoying all the benefits of marriage. Today was their fifth anniversary, and they'd just finished a long, slow interlude showing how much they loved one another.
Lying on his side, he ran a hand over Lisa's abdomen. Still in awe, she put up with him and thought he was worthy of being her husband. It had been a long road with a fair number of bumps along the way, but eventually, their positions allowed them to have a public relationship.
A year before their wedding, a knee injury sidelined him from operating in the teams. Lisa encouraged him to transfer to teaching Greenies—though he didn't think he had the patience. She'd been right, and although not quite as satisfying as being in the mix, he was passing on his extensive knowledge to the next generation of frogmen. Lisa's stellar professional reputation and clout grew as she rose in ranks. Last month, she'd been promoted to the lead intelligence officer for DEVGRU—which she unreservedly deserved.
Reflecting on the day he stood at the alter waiting for her to appear, he'd looked to his left, wishing Clay was there to be his best man. However, he had the solace of having Jason standing beside him. The five of them went separate ways but never lost touch.
Jason was forced out after the public reveal of his TBI but given an honorable discharge. He now operated a successful private security firm. Ray retired as planned, and he and Naima still ran Spenser House, their veteran resource center. Trent and Brock were also still in the Navy and shifted their focus to training—Trent was teaching medics, and Brock worked with new dog handlers and their four-footed partners.
So much had changed since Clay died—but their brotherhood remained strong. Bonds built on the battlefield didn't fray easily.
Drifting off to sleep—earlier than usual since he was running a drill that would start at three in the morning—knocking on his door annoyed him. He mumbled, "Are you expecting anyone?"
Lisa shook her head. "No."
"Maybe I should ignore whoever it is," Sonny grumbled.
"I'll go see," Lisa said.
Not wanting her to get up, Sonny quickly slipped out of bed and reached for his boxers. "You stay there and keep my spot warm." He stepped into his underwear and yanked them up, though he half-considered answering the door nude to make it clear to the person they interrupted something personal.
The rapping continued as Sonny shuffled out of the bedroom, and his annoyance grew. If it was some holy roller come to save his soul, he'd send them on to their maker. With a scowl on his face, he yanked open the door.
"Can I come in?"
Sonny's anger dissolved instantly as he spied a disheveled, teary-eyed, eight-year-old boy with a mop of unruly blond curls on his doorstep. Though his first reaction was to ask what the hell Brian was doing here at nine p.m. on a school night without his mother, his paternal instinct curbed the words and nodded as he ushered Clay's son inside.
"Are you alright? Where's your mom? How did you get here?" Sonny shot off quickfire once he had Brian safely inside and sitting on the sofa beside him.
Fresh tears sprouted as Brian wrapped his arms around his favorite uncle.
The sobbing responses to his queries were unintelligible to Sonny, so he embraced the distraught boy, consoling him, hoping once he calmed, he'd get answers. As Sonny held Brian, he wished his cell phone was nearby to call Stella, but it was in the bedroom. He was about to shout to Lisa to bring it to him when she appeared wearing a terry cloth robe. It wasn't particularly flattering, but Lisa loved the softness of the fabric after years of washings, and it covered her completely.
Lisa's eyes widened upon spotting Brian. She grabbed a box of tissues from the table as she moved forward and sat on the opposite side of Brian, and her eyes silently asked what the kid was doing there.
Sonny shrugged as Lisa's hand rubbed light circles on Brian's back.
"Bri, it's alright. You're safe here," Lisa said without knowing what caused the usually stalwart and outgoing child to cry like his world had ended. She scanned him, searching for an injury, but found nothing obvious.
When the crying jag slowed and turned to sniffles, Sonny tugged a tissue from the box in Lisa's lap and gave it to Brian. "Whatever the problem is, Kiddo, I'm here for you and ready to help."
"I don't wanna go. She can't make me. I hate him."
Lisa and Sonny peered at each other over Brian's head, and their hearts dropped. They were aware Stella was getting serious with a guy from Arizona. She deserved to find happiness, and Clay would want her to move on with her life and find love again. By the sounds of it, she might be considering doing just that and leaving Virginia.
Peeling the kidster from him so he could look him in the eyes, Sonny asked, "Who do you hate, and where don't you want to go?" Red-rimmed, doleful orbs pulled on Sonny's heartstrings.
"Eugene. Arizona."
"Okay. Can you give me a little more detail?" Sonny prodded.
After taking a shuddering breath, Brian said, "Tonight, Eugene asked Mom to marry him and to move to Arizona. He said it was time for us to be a real family. I want to stay here, with you and my friends. My family is all here … not there … not him."
Lisa grimaced. This was a touchy subject, and she hoped Sonny handled it well.
"Did your mamma give him an answer?" Sonny asked after considering how to proceed through this minefield.
"I don't know. I ran out of the house and came here."
"You ran five miles?" Sonny's brows rose.
Nodding, Brian said, "I'm fast like my dad. And you said you'd always be here if I needed you."
"Yes, I did. So, does your mother know you left?"
Brian shrugged.
"Well, the first thing we need to do is call her and let her know you're with me. We don't want to scare her if she discovered you missing." Sonny's sentence was punctuated with his phone ringing in the bedroom. "I think that might be her."
"I'll grab it," Lisa offered and hurried to their room. She returned and handed over the still-ringing cell. "Yep, it's Stella."
Sonny answered, "Yes, he's here." He listened for a bit and then ended the call with, "Okay."
"She's mad at me, isn't she? I'm in so much trouble." Brian slouched on the couch.
Ruffling the kid's hair, Sonny said, "Mostly, she was worried. She is on her way over, so you have a few minutes to figure out how you will apologize for scaring her."
"I didn't mean to … it's just—"
"I know, but you must own your actions, whatever your reason. And running away isn't the best way to handle problems. You had other options. You could've called me or any of your uncles to discuss it." Sonny stood. "While your aunt and I dress, you think about it."
His gaze dropping to his lap, Brian murmured, "Okay."
Ten minutes later, Lisa greeted Stella at the door and waved her in. "Would you like something to drink?" When Stella declined, they joined Brian and Sonny in the family room.
Stella smiled at Sonny as she moved to sit next to her son, grateful Sonny was there for them. She peered at her contrite boy and clasped his hand. "I said no. Eugene is a decent enough man, but I could never take us away from our family, and he isn't willing to move here. It wasn't meant to be."
"I'm sorry, Mom. I reacted without thinking about anyone except myself. It won't happen again."
Stella stroked his cheek. "Yes, it will. And it's okay. You're still growing and learning. That's one of the reasons I plan on staying here. Your uncles are important role models for you. They will help mold you into the man you want to be, one I and your dad will be proud of … though I'm proud of you now, too."
Brian hugged his mom. "I'm really sorry. I was scared of losing Sonny."
"Don't ever worry about that, Speed Racer. Even if you move away at some point, you can't get rid of me. I promised your dad to look after you and your mother, and I keep my word."
Releasing his hold, Brian turned puppy eyes on his mother. "What is my punishment for running away?"
Stella didn't believe in punishing, but before she could answer, Sonny popped in.
"The next four Saturdays, you will run the hills carrying a full rucksack with me. That's how Jason disciplined Clay when he acted without thinking. Straightened him out real fast."
Stella hid her grin. Sonny's punishment wasn't one. Brian loved running and spending time with Sonny.
"Cool!" Brian exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement.
The adults couldn't help but chuckle.
Standing at the front door several minutes later, Stella kissed Sonny's cheek and whispered, "Thank you for everything you do. Clay never had a better friend and brother than you. He knew exactly what he was thinking when he asked you to be there for us."
Sonny accepted the compliment with grace, though he wished with all his heart he never had to step in and fill Clay's shoes, and his best buddy was still with them. "I'll pick Brian up at ten on Saturday."
When he shut the portal, he turned to his wife and reached out a hand to the small yet rapidly growing belly. "At least this little one will benefit from my training with Leann and Brian."
Lisa smiled and slipped her arm around Sonny's waist. "Never doubt you're a great dad to all of them."
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Hope you enjoyed. This little scene wouldn't leave me alone, so my Muse forced me to write it instead of the next chapter of Blurred Lines (Book 4 in the Strike Force Zulu series).
