Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(95)
Harlow had two children, Chloe one, Everly had a set of twins plus one more, and Zara and Meat had decided not to have children, and instead had a menagerie of pets at home.
Peals of laughter rang out in the yard as the men played tag with the kids. David stood off to one side with Everly’s youngest in his arms.
In some ways, Peru seemed a lifetime away for Mags, and in others, it seemed as if it were yesterday. But the women sitting around her now had turned out to be her saving grace. They’d laughed together and cried. They’d each been through their own traumatic experiences, and it felt great to be able to thumb their noses at the people who’d tried to take them down. They were all living amazing lives despite what had been done to them.
“David looks good,” Zara observed. “He’s not going to be very tall, though, is he?” she said with a laugh.
Mags shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. He’s never going to have ‘arms as big as tree trunks,’ as he once said he wanted either.” They all chuckled.
“But he’s still a hell of a basketball player,” Morgan observed.
“Well, he’s a good shooter, but when the other kids grow taller than him, he’s going to have a hard time getting around them,” Mags said with a shrug.
“He’s a good kid,” Harlow said quietly.
Mags looked over at the other woman, trying to read her. “He is.”
“No, I mean, he’s a really good kid,” Harlow said again. “The other day, he came over to help me and Gabby with the food we were preparing for the shelter, and he didn’t complain at all about having to spend the whole afternoon with us. And when we got to the shelter, he immediately went over and started playing with the kids. I’m just saying, he might’ve had a rough start, but you and Dave are doing everything right with him. You should be extremely proud of him.”
Mags’s heart felt as if it was going to burst out of her chest. She was proud of her son. “Thanks. I’m sure we’ll have some issues when he gets into his teenage years, but he’s not only smart and athletic, he’s empathetic too. I’m not sure if that comes from a part of him remembering how things used to be or what, but I’m thankful.”
“Have you told him about Lima?” Chloe asked.
Mags shook her head. “Not yet. I will, when he’s ready. He’s asked to see pictures of him as a baby, and I had to tell him I didn’t have any, not because I didn’t care about him enough to take them, but because we were so poor when he was a baby, I couldn’t afford it. That seemed to appease him for now, but I know he’ll continue to have questions.”
“I have no doubt you and Dave will figure out how to tell him about his past in a way he’ll understand,” Everly said confidently.
“I hope so,” Mags said.
“Our men needed this,” Harlow said after a minute went by.
Mags nodded. They did. They’d all gotten back from a mission a few days earlier that had been really rough. They’d raided a house in New York that had been rumored to have several women and teenagers being kept there against their will. The rumors had been right. They’d rescued eight women, all between the ages of fourteen and nineteen. Four were missing children from the States, and the other four were from Canada, Italy, and Mexico. They were all addicted to meth and being forced to pimp themselves out in order to get the drugs their bodies craved.
It was horrific, even more so because half the women didn’t want to be rescued. They were all being cared for in various rehab facilities, and in the process of being reunited with their worried and very thankful families.
The Mountain Mercenaries had been instrumental in saving the lives of more than two hundred women and children over the last seven years, since they’d concentrated on missions in the continental United States. They’d even been given commendations by the president.
But if anyone saw any of the men on the street, they wouldn’t see them as the larger-than-life saviors that they were. They’d see men devoted to their wives and families.
Calinda came running up to the porch panting, saying, “I’m thirsty, Mom. Can I please have something to drink?”
“So polite,” Morgan murmured. Then louder, she said to her daughter, “Of course. Maybe this is a good time for a snack break anyway.”
Calinda turned to the yard and, at the top of her lungs, screamed, “Cookie time!”
Everyone stopped in their tracks and ran toward the porch en masse.
Mags stood and laughed, just as the other women did as well.
Dave came up beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning down to nuzzle her neck.
“Ew! You’re all sweaty!” she complained, trying to push him away even as she laughed.
“That just means I’ll have to shower later,” Dave whispered in her ear. “And if I get you smelly too, you’ll have to join me.”
Mags rolled her eyes. But secretly she loved that her husband was still as into her now as he had been before she’d been taken.
He held out an arm for his son, and Mags’s heart twisted when David snuggled into his father’s side. She knew the time was coming when he wouldn’t want hugs from them anymore, so she tried to cherish each and every one they got.
“Hey, champ?” Dave said.
“Yeah, Papá?” David said, turning to look up at his dad.