Page 269 of Mountain Men Heroes
“Hey, how about if we take a break and go grab some lunch. You’re a little pale. I think getting off your feet might help,” Trinity offered with a grin. “Plus, Mac would kill me if he thought I wasn’t taking care of you.”
“Sure.” But my thoughts were on Mac and where we went from here. If there was no trust, there was no us. Right?
Mac
“That went even better than I expected.” I jumped into the passenger side of Sawyer’s truck. “I figured old man Henry would hem and haw for at least six months before he agreed to a security set up.”
Sawyer shrugged. “It’s tourist season. Guess he hates them more than the thought of parting with his money.”
“True.”
“How’s Gabriella doing? She still dealing with morning sickness?”
“At least three times a day.” I shook my head. “I swear, I don’t know how she manages. But she just rolls with it and then goes on with her day like she doesn’t have our little Slugger doing a number on her. “
I hated the thought of my woman feeling so sick. Especially because it was the one thing I couldn’t protect her from. At the same time, pride burst in my chest at how well she handled everything.
“Has she started making the house over yet? Trinity hasn’t stopped putting all her feminine touches on the house and it’s been months since she’s moved in.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I came in the other day and found her mapping out the nursery room. She’s a pretty good artist. Her doctor doesn’t think it’s a good idea for her to be painting or anything so I’ve promised to start this weekend.”
I studied him, and I knew he was thinking of what all this would mean for his wife. “Don’t worry, man. Trinity will be fine when you two finally start your family. She’s just as tough as Gabriella.”
Sawyer rubbed his hand over his short hair. “I guess. She keeps surprising me. I did what we talked about. Shared some of the lighter stories of my past with her. I thought she’d…I don’t know. Look at me like I’m some monster.”
“She handled it okay?”
A grin grew on his face. “Shit, if anything it made the bond between us stronger.”
His shit-eating grin told me what he wasn’t saying—Trinity probably jumped him.
My thoughts turned to Gabriella. The way she reacted when I slipped and let my past show through. The horrors of being a soldier never leave no matter how long you’ve been off the battlefield.
Gabriella’s tenderness had surprised me and I’d blown a great opportunity to gain her trust by giving her my own.
But like Sawyer said, if she knew the truth would she look at me like some monster? After she knew I was capable of pulling the trigger and ending another person’s life would she trust me with her own? With our child’s?
“Have you shared anything with Gabriella yet?”
I shook my head. “No, man. I want to hold off until she’s had the baby first, ya know. You had the right idea to wait before talking with Trinity.”
“I don’t know if I had the right idea. The more I think about it, the more I think I should have shared all this with my wife sooner.”
“But Trinity grew up around all of us. There was already a level of trust there. With Gabriella, I know her parents dumped her, her foster families also dumped her. I can’t risk her thinking I’m a danger to her or our baby.”
“Have you given her one?”
“No.”
“Then it’s all in your head and you’re getting all worked up over nothing. Does she know how you feel about her?”
“That my soul feels like it’s being ripped out at the slightest idea of her leaving? Nope.”
We were quiet for a few minutes as we made our way back to the offices and our women.
Sawyer broke the silence as we were turning into our parking lot. “Don’t wait to tell Gabriella how you feel, I almost lost Trinity because I didn’t tell her.”
I stared at Sawyer for several long seconds. Heartfelt conversations weren’t his thing. He must feel pretty strongly about it to even bring it up.