Cliff always liked Dylan and the two of them had worked on a few missions together when trouble found its way to their small town. He swore that Carson, North Carolina saw more action in two years than he had ever seen on the battlefield in that same amount of time.
The walk from the tattoo shop to The Grill, which shared space with Sydney’s bakery, Wake and Bake, was short. It was just a block down Main Street which had seen a recent resurgence. The large department store that had gone out of business before Cliff had moved to town was now an indoor recreation center for the kids in town, which were growing in number at an astronomical rate; most of the Connelly family were the main contributors. There was now a brand-new retirement community about five miles away from the downtown center and so many wineries that Cliff had lost count. At the end of the main thoroughfare, the second bar in town was being cleaned out. It was a slow process done by a man that no one in town had seen except for a few quick glances. Cliff had tried to do some research on the man, but his searches came up empty. But, as long as he was here to better the community, Cliff saw no fault in the man keeping to himself. He heard from the Lady Busy Bees, the town gossipers, that the newcomer had applied for the proper licenses and permits to open a craft brewery. That information had Cliff thinking he had a new best friend in town.
Together, Harlan and Cliff walked through the door of The Grill, the bell chiming as they entered.
Sydney smiled warmly at them as they passed, her beauty took his breath away and Cliff turned his head quickly. Yeah, he may have had a little crush on the town’s sweetheart when he moved to town. But he knew that she was happily married to Dylan – a guy that he liked and respected. Together they had helped save her from a kidnapping that kept Cliff up at night.
“Hey, Sparta,” Cliff greeted Dylan with the nickname he bestowed on the man at their first meeting. He perched on one of the diner’s barstools and Harlan did the same.
“This is an unexpected surprise. What kind of trouble am I in to have both of you two assholes in my place?” the man in the white apron said in jest.
Harlan spoke up first. “Nothing at all. Cassidy wanted me to ask you and Sydney if you all wanted to join us for dinner. Ryan has been asking to see Maddelyn and Alice.” It wasn’t a town secret that Sydney and Dylan struggled to have children. So, when they showed up at her brother Ryker’s wedding reception with baby Maddelyn, the town was happily surprised. Little did anyone expect the second surprise that she was also pregnant at the time. Their youngest Alice was only seven months younger than Maddelyn.
“I don’t think that will be a problem, but are you sure? We know you just got back from tour.”
“Yeah, it was fine. Maybe it will tire Ryan out and he’ll sleep through the night. Six sound okay?”
“Sure. What can I get you both to eat?”
Cliff and Harlan ordered their sandwiches and Cliff listened quietly as his friend and Dylan gossiped like a bunch of old ladies. He ha
d always been more of an observer, probably what made him a great sniper and Army Ranger. He usually knew what someone was going to do before they did. Just as he knew that Sydney was going to walk over and give him a hug.
It only took two minutes before he felt her hand touch his exposed forearm and he turned to welcome her embrace.
“Cliff, I’m so glad that you’re here. I have a question for you.”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Well, you know that I love that picture you took of the lake. The one with the dock. Do you think I could get something again like that, but a panoramic shot with the dock in the center? I want to do a few canvases in our bedroom, so when we wake up in the morning, we’re waking up to a lake view.”
Cliff remembered the shot. It was one he took the day before Alexis had barged into his life. The woman with the swaying ponytail that haunted his every thought for years.
“Sure, I can do that.”
It wouldn’t be hard; the lake was on his property. One of the few large purchases he made.
“You’re the best. Thank you,” she exclaimed as she lifted up on her toes and kissed his cheek. He could feel his skin heat beneath her lips and Cliff tried to duck his head in embarrassment.
Like a whirlwind, Sydney spun on her heels and swooshed through the side door into Dylan’s kitchen. Cliff and Harlan watched the love-sick man move behind his own door, disappearing to see his wife.
Cliff continued to eat his sandwich in silence, mentally going through the list of clients he had for the day and the inventory he needed to order to get ready for their busy season. Spring was coming to a close and summer was rearing her head earlier than usual.
Taking a final bite of his lunch, Cliff smacked Harlan on the shoulder and thanked him for the impromptu lunch before heading back toward his shop. But he didn’t step through the front door. Instead, he went around the back and climbed the stairs that led to the apartment he once occupied above his shop.
This was the secret domain that only a select few knew about. Sure, many suspected that it was his apartment, but it was so much more than that. Until recently, he had been a part of an underground government agency working to gather information on a drug cartel that was dabbling in sex trafficking. Unfortunately, that mission had recently been shut down and Cliff had been waiting anxiously for a new assignment. Though drawing and photography eased his mind, let him see the beauty in the world, his covert missions gave him a sense of purpose.
Stepping into the main room, Cliff booted up the computer that looked like it was straight out of 1998 and typed in a name. Alexis Alta. The woman he couldn’t get out of his mind and a woman with almost as much government clearance as himself.
Seven hundred and sixty-two days since he saw her last, but she wasn’t far from his mind. A silhouetted version of her constantly played in his daydreams.
The computer pinged when it came up empty. The same sound it’d made for the last year whenever he searched for her. Cliff didn’t know why the compulsion to make sure she was safe possessed him, but he knew that it was impossible to turn off. He had tried, tried so damn hard to forget her. Forget her smile, forget the small tinkle in her laugh, forget the haunting brown eyes that held more secrets than they could handle. She was his undoing and she didn’t even know it.
Sighing as he shut down his computer, Cliff leaned back in the chair, his hands rested on top of his overgrown hair.
He hated this feeling of being weak. This feeling as though someone needed his help, but he’s powerless to do anything. Alexis was smart, Cliff knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but the last check-in he was able to find had her along the Mexican border infiltrating a drug cartel.
Cliff didn’t let anyone knew he was keeping an eye on Alexis because he knew his friends would bend over backward to try to get him the same happiness that they were all experiencing. He had his chance at a happily-ever-after, but his career burned that hope into a pile of ash on the ground. Cliff and his bride barely said “I do” before their world changed forever.