“You are something else, Sam. I swear if I had met you first…” He trailed off, and I couldn’t stop the blush from heating my cheeks. It only made Bear laugh harder, and I smacked him on his hard shoulder, playfully.
Snorting, he said, “Be careful, I don’t want you breaking your other hand.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, let’s just play. I’m ready to show you how this is done.”
He just smiled and began sorting out the money. Once the board was set, we chose our game pieces. Bear picked the horse and rider, and I grabbed the car.
“I always wanted to be a cowboy,” he said as he rolled the dice.
I looked him over, pretending to give him a critical eye and shook my head. “Sorry, you just don’t look like a cowboy.”
He smiled. “Yeah, but that doesn’t stop a boy from dreaming.”
We played for the better part of an hour, shooting insults and talking trash. I was winning, of course. I had most of the properties and wasn’t lacking in money either. Bear grumbled about me cheating, which earned him glares and more insults.
“So why do Jordan and Alex have a closet full of board games anyway? I never knew they liked to play stuff like this,” he asked, as I took my turn around the board.
I shrugged. “They’ve had them a while, I guess. We use to play them a lot back when we first met.”
“You make it sound like you don’t play anymore. Why?”
My cheeks heated again and he chuckled. “Oh, I get it. You guys moved on to playing like grownups instead.”
My lips pulled up into a grin, but it probably looked more like a grimace. It was still hard to think about those times. I had moved on, and luckily, Alex and Jordan were with me now, yet I continued to regret how things became so messed up back then.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” Bear said softly, his smile falling. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I waved my hand, dismissing his apology. “I’m not upset, just some unpleasant memories.”
“Want to talk about it?”
I opened my mouth to say no, but shut it again. As I looked at Bear’s concerned expression, I realized I wanted to tell him. Something about him made me feel comfortable, so I opened my mouth and told him what had happened. I told him everything, except the dirty details, of course.
He was looking at me sadly, as I finished. “I’m really sorry it went down like that, but it seems that everything has worked out.” He smiled. “You’ve got a little girl on the way, and I could tell right away that Jordan and Alex are head over heels for you.”
“You’re right. I’m very thankful that it’s worked out so well. I just hope they come home soon. I’m ready to start a future with them, and there is so much to do before the baby comes.”
Bear’s gaze was steady on mine. He looked as if he was mulling something over. I knew my face showed my confusion, but I stayed quiet, letting him get his thoughts together.
Finally, he let out a long sigh. “We need to talk.” His voice was deep, yet soft.
“Okay,” I croaked. I cleared my throat and sat back in my chair. “Jordan and Alex aren’t coming home today, are they?”
“No, I’m sorry, they aren’t.”
I nodded. I knew they weren’t, but deep down I had hoped.
“How much longer will they be gone?”
Bear shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“I can’t tell you.”
I reached out and grabbed his hand. “Please tell me what’s going on. Please?” I begged, as my eyes began to tear.
When he shook his head again, I stopped him from speaking. “Who am I going to tell? There’s no one here with me, but you.”
He massaged the back of his neck and let out another long sigh. “You’re right, if the guys trusted you enough to let you in on their secret, then they would want you to know what’s going on. It’s not right to keep you in the dark.”
I began to let go of his hand, but he surprised me by tightening his hold, as he looked me square in the eye.
“The mission didn’t go as planned. Somehow the enemy found out ahead of time and set a trap.”
I gasped. “Is everyone okay?”
Bear bit his bottom lip, and I began to tremble. It was obvious from his expression that everyone was not all right. Were Alex and Jordan gone for good? Would Bear have told me if that was the case?
“Everyone is alive, we think.”
“You think?”
“Paul, Jordan, and Alex have been captured. The rest of the team was able to get out, though, Leo was badly hurt. He’s healing as we speak.”
I stopped listening after he said Jordan and Alex had been captured.
“You have to do something! Go in and get them!”
“Our team is doing everything they can to get them back.”
“Obviously not if you’re still here,” I said as I pulled my hand away from his. How could he just sit here playing a board game, while my men were being tortured or worse?