Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(97)
Fifteen Years after Returning Home
“Who’s the letter from?” Dave asked as Raven came back into the house after getting the mail. She’d ripped open the envelope on the way back to the house and had her head bent reading as she walked.
He knew it could be from any number of people. Daniela, Teresa, Bonita, Carmen, Maria, or even their son, who was off at college. For some reason, they all loved writing actual letters back and forth, rather than communicating via faster and more efficient emails. It was a weird quirk, but he couldn’t deny he loved watching his wife’s face light up when a letter came in the mail for her.
“Maria,” Raven said, not looking up. “She had her baby. They’re both doing well. She says she wants to come up and visit in a few months.”
“That’s great, sweetheart. It’ll be good to see her again. How many kids is this for her now?” Dave asked.
“That was her fifth.”
Dave whistled low.
That got Raven’s attention. She looked at him for a long moment, then padded over to where he was sitting on the couch. “Are you sorry we didn’t have any other kids?”
Dave immediately shook his head. “No. I love David with all my heart. But I’m also selfish, and I’m glad I didn’t have to share you with anyone else.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head at him.
Dave pulled her down onto his lap and rested his chin on her shoulder as she brought the letter back up to continue reading. He couldn’t understand a word of it, as it was written in Spanish, but he knew it was full of happy news, since his wife was chuckling under her breath as she read. When she was done, she folded the letter and put it back into the envelope. He knew she’d immediately write back that evening so as not to make Maria wait for her response.
“The guy I’m considering selling The Pit to is coming over to check the place out later. Want to come with me to show him around?”
“Of course. Are you sure you want to sell?” Raven asked, turning in his arms.
“Yes. I’m ready to relax and not have to worry about ordering stock and dealing with assholes anymore. I’m not getting any younger, you know.”
Raven scoffed. “Even at almost sixty, you can still overpower just about anyone. Especially drunk assholes who get a little too handsy and disrespectful.”
That was true, but now that the Mountain Mercenaries had retired as an active team, he wanted to enjoy his twilight years with Raven. He hoped they still had decades left together, but the last thing he wanted was to regret spending so much time working if something happened to either one of them. They both knew how short life could be, and he didn’t want to waste one second of it.
Money wasn’t an issue. Between his investments and the sale of The Pit, he and Raven wouldn’t have to worry about money. They could simply enjoy life.
“I know, but I’m ready to have nothing better to do than sit on our back porch, sipping coffee and enjoying your company.”
Raven laughed. “As if that’s all you’re going to do once you sell the bar. I know you, Dave. You’ll find some project or another to get involved in. You have to be busy. You have to help others.”
“Then we’ll find others to help together,” he said simply.
Raven nodded. She curled her arm around his shoulders and rested her forehead against the side of his head. “Together. I like that.”
“Always,” Dave told her. He looked at his watch. “I think we might have time to . . . shower, before we have to go meet the buyer.”
Raven shook her head and rolled her eyes. “But I’m not dirty.”
“I can get you dirty,” Dave told her with a straight face.
“You think you can keep up with me, old man?” Raven asked as she jumped off his lap and headed for the stairs.
Grinning, Dave gave her a head start before jogging to catch up. He heard her giggle from the stairs above him and, for the eight-millionth time since he’d found her in Peru, said a silent prayer of gratitude that she was here with him, healthy and whole, before he ran up the stairs after her.
Twenty Years after Returning Home
Dave felt Raven’s fingernails dig into his forearm as they sat in the bleachers at the University of Denver and watched their son stand up to give the commencement address.
Everyone had come out for the occasion: Gray and Allye, Ro and Chloe, Arrow and Morgan, Black and Harlow, Ball and Everly, and Meat and Zara. Gabriella was also there with her husband and two young kids.
Dave had tried to give them all an out, saying that graduation ceremonies weren’t exactly the most exciting things to sit through, and that they’d meet them all back at The Pit—now under new management, but still owned by Dave—but they’d said there was no way they were going to miss hearing David give his speech.
David was one of the smartest people Dave had ever met, and he didn’t think that just because he was his son. Today, he was celebrating earning his applied quantitative finance master of science degree. He’d already been hired by a mutual-fund company based in Denver as a financial engineer. He’d had more than a dozen job offers, but he’d chosen a job that was close to Colorado Springs and his family. David had always remained close to Raven, and Dave loved watching their bond continue to grow deeper with every day that passed.