Delta's Baby Surprise (Special Forces Elite 1)

Cane rubbed his shoulders where I had held him.

/> “You don’t know what it means to do what I do,” I snarled. “You have no idea what I go through. What I fight for every day.”

“No, I don’t.” Cane glared at me. “But I do know what it means to be a part of this family. If you don’t do something there might not be anything to come home to. There will be no reason to fight. We’ll all be scattered. You do realize we’re talking about kids losing their backyards. Kids not playing in the woods anymore. This family…your family is counting on you to do the right thing.”

I closed my eyes. “I’m sorry, Cane. You’re asking too much.”

“Don’t be sorry. Be the leader of this family. That’s all I ask. It’s not too much.”

I shook my head. “The thing is, Cane. You are asking too much. I get that you don’t see it. You don’t know it. But it’s too much.”

He sighed. “Delta Force will carry on with or without you. I promise you that. There is always going to be another badass to replace the last one. But this family won’t make it if everyone loses their homes. It needs you.”

I stared at my cousin. I couldn’t sort through everything fast enough. The words fell from my lips. “What if I did have someone who could help me with the contract? What if there was a girl?”

I scratched the back of my head.

Cane laughed. “It’s the hot doctor, isn’t it?”

“Hypothetical someone,” I lied. “If I did have a girl, would that solve this problem?”

“I knew it.” He grinned. “Hell. It had to be her. You’ve only been in town for two seconds. Did you tell her? Did she agree?”

“Wait, what?” I stared at him in disbelief. This conversation shouldn’t be happening right now. Nothing about this felt right. From the family drama to including Gretchen in any part of the legal problems.

“No, I didn’t tell her. What am I supposed to say? Nice to meet you. I’m in Special Forces and there’s a contract my dead father made me sign that says to keep our land I have to be married and have a baby to pass on the family name, so I need you to spend the rest of your life with me.” I glared at my cousin.

“Ok, not an easy conversation. I get it. But you should say something.”

“You’re telling me the neighboring families have found out the land is not technically in our name and want action, which means I have to pull her into it. I just met her. This is the last conversation I should have with a woman I’ve had one date with.”

“I think the timing is fucking perfect.” Cane grinned. “You met her when we need you to get married most.”

“No. It’s not perfect timing.” I shook my head. “My mission isn’t finished. I have a commitment to my Delta team. I’m going back to Razastan. I’m not about to get married in the middle of a mission.”

“I don’t think you have a choice, Brett. It’s the only way to stop the Osborns. Get the land back in our name. Show the families the next generation is on the way. You need to tell her fast. Things are out of control. You can fix this.”

I ran my hands over my head. My hair was starting to grow over the close haircut I had not that long ago. My beard was thick.

“I can’t. I’m not doing that to her. The family can handle this without me.”

“You’ve been gone too long, cuz. I don’t know if you’re more soldier than Brett Jackson right now. The man I knew wouldn’t put anything in front of his family. Who are you?”

I had wondered the same thing. I felt the pull in different directions cutting through my soul. Had I come back the same man? It didn’t feel like it. I was torn between protecting the people I shared blood with versus the men I shed blood for.

“I risk my life every day keeping the country safe. The least everyone back here could do is not stab their neighbors in the back. Fuck. I’m not asking much. Can’t they keep the peace a little while longer? They don’t even know what they are fighting for. If they had seen half of what I’ve seen, they would realize how fucked up this is. It’s not worth ruining everyone’s lives over a few hundred acres of dirt.”

“Maybe that’s true.” Cane sighed. “I don’t know what you’ve been through. It’s shitty no one else is thinking about that right now. They only have one thing on their minds—that’s taking something that doesn’t belong to them.”

“It shouldn’t be like this, Cane.”

“But it is.” He stared at me.

I placed the coffee mug on the porch.

“Let me know if you change your mind,” he called to me as I jogged down the porch steps.

I marched to my truck without saying goodbye. I didn’t want to hear anything else about the neighbor wars or what my duty was. I didn’t want to hear about how I was abandoning my family or how I had forgotten who had raised me.