It didn’t mean I didn’t miss it. Long for it. Hell, I felt like I was going through withdrawals, if I was being honest. I wanted to be with my team—with my brothers—back in Virginia. Instead, I was in Boggy Creek, New Hampshire. Crippled and lost. So fucking lost.
Fuck my life.
“See ya later, Hunter,” I said as I watched him climb into his truck and then drive down the long driveway that was flanked by tall elm trees on either side. The yellowing leaves stood out against the green grass, and I knew in order to settle into this new life, I needed to get myself busy. My mind needed to be occupied.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out to see it was my mother calling. “Hey, Mom. How’s it going?”
“Wonderful, now that I know you’re home. How about you? How’s the knee?”
“It’s fine.”
She paused for a moment. “Hurting any?”
“Sometimes.”
She was silent for a bit too long before she asked another question. One I knew she didn’t really want to ask. “Taking the pain pills?”
“No, but I don’t need them, Mom. I’m okay. It’s going to be an adjustment, but I’m fine. I’m here to help Granddad and you and to…”
My voice trailed off.
“Heal?” she asked softly.
My mother was no stranger to what men brought back from serving. My father had carried his own set of baggage when he’d returned from the Navy. Even my grandfather had warned me before I left for boot camp that military life would change me. He served in the Korean War, and when asked, refused to talk about it. I never knew why until I went on my first deployment. Then it all became crystal clear.
“Don’t worry about me, Mom. How’s Granddad enjoying Boston?”
My mother and grandfather were in Boston visiting family on my grandfather’s side. She had been begging Granddad and had finally convinced him to go. The moment I’d told her I was discharged and heading home, she’d wanted to cut their trip short, but I had told her not to. I’d been truthful with her and told her I needed some time alone. I was lucky she understood and granted it to me.
It didn’t mean she wasn’t going to call every few hours though. I knew she meant well, but I couldn’t really tell her some wounds were too deep to ever truly heal.
With a sigh, she replied, “Boston is fine and don’t change the subject. I know you, Aiden O’Hara. You’re exactly like your father. He could never sit still either. Always itching to be out doing something. There’s a reason you followed in his footsteps and joined the military. You’re going to go stir crazy for a few months. Trust me, though, it will get easier, especially once you settle into the business.”
I wanted to groan. The business had been my grandfather’s dream, my father’s dream. Never mine—at least not now, anyway. I always knew at some point I would leave the Navy and come back home. It was part of my long-term plan. I loved Boggy Creek and knew I would settle here, but not this soon.
“I’ve already thought about that. I’m going to do some private security stuff in Boston every now and then after I hire a couple of foremen I can trust. One of the guys I used to serve with has a private security firm there. I told him to give me a shout for short jobs. Pays good, too, for only a few days’ work.”
More silence. I knew why. My mother wasn’t trying to hide the fact that she was happy I was out of the SEALs. I never told her I had been moved to Tier 1. She would have worried even more. It was bad enough knowing her son was a Navy SEAL. If she knew I was on the team that got sent in when the best of the best was needed, she’d have worried herself sick. She never knew exactly how many times I’d been shot, stabbed, and thrown by bombs. She knew I’d been hurt a number of times though. I didn’t earn the medals on my uniform for nothing.
“I’m glad you’re home, Aiden. So is Granddad, and we are both so proud of you. Your daddy would be too, but I’ve told you that before.”
I rubbed the back of my neck in an attempt to push away the approaching headache. “I know. Listen, I’ve got to go—Hunter wants to go out tonight. Willa got a divorce, and they are having a celebration. I’m going to try and catch up on some sleep first.”
“Good, I’m glad she dumped that little prick. No one in town can stand him.”
I laughed. “Mom, did you just call someone a prick?”
“I certainly did. He cheated on Willa when she was pregnant. Pregnant, Aiden.”