Worth the Fall (The McKinney Brothers, #1)(42)

“Okay. Gracie, honey, please remember you can’t say a person said something they didn’t really say.”

Gracie’s brown eyes filled and her voice wobbled. “But he did say it.”

“Oh, baby.” Abby got out and came around to Gracie’s door. “Come here, my sweet girl.” She unbuckled Gracie’s car seat. “I’m sure Matt would love to play with you if he could. But you will still have a wonderful birthday, and I will play dolls with you.” She kissed Gracie’s neck, tickling her until she got a giggle.

“Come on, guys.”

Annie and Jack went off to their rooms, and she walked Charlie and Gracie to the preschool. She was almost out the front door when she heard her name.

Dr. Stafford approached, looking especially GQ in a light tan suit, pale pink shirt, and loafers.

“Miss Davis, good morning.”

“Good morning, Dr. Stafford.”

“Please call me William. I wondered if I might have a word.”

Shoot. Charlie only went to school two days a week, but she stopped and forced a friendly smile. “Of course. I hope no one’s in trouble already.”

“Oh no, nothing like that. I thought we might continue our conversation from registration.”

“Okay.” The word strung out in her mind. Had they had a conversation at registration?

“Would you like to come into my office? I think you’d be more comfortable.” He gestured toward the door, and she felt his hand graze her lower back as she passed.

It was just barely, but it felt weird. And wrong. Because it wasn’t Matt? Newsflash: It was never going to be Matt.

“Miss Davis, have a seat.”

Abby sat perched on the edge of a red leather chair. The walls were also a deep red and graced with oil paintings of past headmasters and headmistresses. She had the urge to correct the “Miss,” but that felt wrong too.

William Stafford stood in front of her, leaning against his desk instead of sitting behind it. “Well, I’ve been thinking about your offer to serve the school and I have the perfect job for you.” He paused, smiling like he expected an enthusiastic thank you.

She waited for him to continue.

“The board is looking for a new fund-raiser that would involve the children in a unique way. They’ve asked me to brainstorm ideas in which I think the lower school could participate alongside the upper-school students.”

“Sounds like a great idea.”

“I think so too, and I thought you would be the perfect person to help me.”

Not at all sure why, but…“Okay.”

“It wouldn’t be a time-consuming job, or long-term, unless you wanted to serve on the committee, and certainly not labor intensive. I think it’s perfect,” he added with a satisfied smile.

“Okay,” Abby repeated, standing. “Let me think about it. When does the board want your ideas?”

“In the next few weeks. They’d like to have something to take to the October general meeting.” He walked her to the door, his hand grazing her back again. “Maybe we could both think on it, then put our heads together. Over lunch perhaps?”

“I’ll let you know.”

Abby left his office, thinking about the request and why his touch bothered her so much. Working on the project would be a way to give back, and it certainly sounded like a worthy cause. Involving the children was a great idea for the annual campaign. Not that she had a huge amount of extra time on her hands, but beating the volunteer Nazis had a certain appeal. As did staying busy until she forgot the man she wished were touching her.

—

The Black Hawk sped silently over the Afghan mountain range. Almost go time. Matt thought of Abby, then tried not to. He met the eyes of each of his teammates, a silent message passing between them.

Get in. Get the package. Get out. And I hope to God I see you back on this chopper.

The plan: Fast-rope in above the sparse tree line and move silently into a valley shielding the cinder-block building that held the prisoners. Decker would blow a hole in the wall. He and Chappers would locate while the rest of the team provided cover. Then extract and all return to the LZ for their ride. They’d gone over the op enough times to run it in their sleep, planned for every contingency possible, but Murphy and his law were a bitch.

After a quick meeting of the minds, each man checked and double-checked his gear and that of the man beside him. If they succeeded, two UN peacekeepers, who’d survived a deadly blast only to be snatched by the enemy, would go home. If they failed? Then they were never here, and their families would be told they died on a training mission in an undisclosed location.

Unseen. Unheard. In and out. Fifty-four minutes. Each man set the time on his tactical watch, stood, and readied for the exit. Matt felt the vibration and wrapped his gloved hands around the familiar black rope.

Last one out sucks balls. Teddy’s exit motto echoed in his mind as he slipped soundlessly into the night.

Fifty-three minutes later Matt checked his watch. Every man was accounted for and back on the helo with four seconds to spare. Like a well-oiled machine.

The adrenaline high ebbed as they flew through the night. They talked shit and let off steam. Scout, the team medic, tended to the rescued prisoners.

With the UN hostages liberated and safely delivered to the nearest base for treatment, Matt and his team began the journey to their own base at Little Creek, Virginia. The entire op may have taken less than two hours, but getting transport back to base took as long as it took.