Nixon (Raleigh Raptors 1)

“It’s Tuesday morning.” I shrugged.

She sputtered a laugh, then threw herself into my arms. “I’ve missed you,” she said against my neck.

“I’ve missed you more.” I held her tight and breathed her in as my heart finally settled into a predictable rhythm. This was my life, right here with her in my arms.

Liberty pulled away but took my hands in hers. “Seriously, what are you doing here?”

“I had to see you,” I admitted. “I couldn’t take it. Not for another day.”

Her hands slid over her growing belly. “Did you hear that, baby girl? Daddy came to visit.”

I hit my knees and framed her belly over the teal tank-top that stretched over our daughter. “Hey, whoosh. Miss me?” My heart flew as I received a kick. “She’s bigger,” I said, looking up at Liberty.

She batted away a tear and nodded. “We both are. It’s a thing.”

“Don’t cry.” I stood quickly and took her face in my hands, wiping away any straggler tears with my thumbs. “I’ve only got twenty-four hours, and I’ll stand here and wipe away every single tear if that’s what you want to do with them, but it’s killing me to see you cry.” The pieces of my heart that had lain in a shattered mess the last month began to take shape again.

Not healed, but at least aware. The numbness was gone.

“You came all the way here for twenty-four hours?” Liberty’s bottom lip shook.

“Thank God there was a helicopter available, otherwise it would have been a hug and back on the boat.” My smile was slow but genuine.

She scoffed, then stilled. “Oh my God. You won’t make it back for practice tomorrow!”

“Nope. I’ll miss Thursday, too, and yesterday is obviously a wash.” Even though her tears had stopped, I still stroked my thumbs over her cheeks, unable to stop the simple caress.

“You’ll get fined!” she shrieked, pulling back and swatting my shoulder.

“Yeah, but Coach knows I’m on the fence about the contract they just offered. Seven years. I’m just not sure anymore.”

“They gave you seven years?” Her lips lifted, then dropped. “But the fines!”

“Coach estimated about forty grand, and I won’t start against Dallas on Sunday.” I shrugged. “But what’s the point of banking millions if you can’t drop everything to see your girls?”

Her jaw dropped. “Are. You. Kidding. Me? You’re letting Castle start? He’s the turnover king! The man can’t complete a pass to save his—”

I kissed her, stopping her steady flow of words. I kept it soft, light, nothing more than a brush of our lips, but it was enough to bring my banked desire roaring back to life. She was here, and I needed her. That’s all my body cared about.

But I hadn’t spent thirty-two hours traveling to get laid.

“Nixon,” she sighed, swaying toward me.

My chest tightened as awareness rose between us.

“Twenty-four hours, Lib. Why don’t you show me around?” I took in the colorful carpet beneath our feet and caught a peek of Liberty’s pack just beneath the bed closest to us. “I mean, you know, outside this tent.”

“I would love to.”

We spent the day touring the site. The chow tent was always busy and had a line out the door as they served people every hour of the day. The school tent was filled with smiling children, and the medical services tent was overwhelmed. There was so much need here.

“They pick up new clothing over there,” Liberty pointed to a long, slender tent, “and we teach skills in that tent. We’re hoping to set the women up with a way to make their own incomes.”

“Amazing.” It was. All of it.

“And this is where I work.” Liberty laced her fingers with mine and led me down the path to a separate tent. We pushed past the heavy mosquito netting, and the room opened up to include several private bays. Liberty excused herself for a second to check in with her supervisor, and I took in the details of the facility.

There was a line…and I had stolen one of their providers.

“Do you need to work?” I asked as she came back over, noting the people who filled the open area. “I can wait.”

“Not today.” She took my hand. “If I only get twenty-four hours with you, then I’m taking them. Besides, I can only see patients supervised, so I’m not really putting anyone out by taking the day off.”

She fed me lunch, and I made a mental note to donate money immediately.

By the time the afternoon came around, so did the clouds, so I checked in with my pilot, who gave me a heads-up that we might have to leave sooner than planned if the rest of the front moved in.

“Anything else you’d like to show me?” I asked Liberty as we strolled past the living quarters.

“Yes.” She grinned, then yanked me inside a tent I recognized because my pack was in the corner.