Wylde Ride

Chapter 9: Spartan

~Lesia~

I giggled as the dishwashing suds hit my nose. Skimming my hand across the sink, I narrowed my eyes at Riley.

"Don't do it, Lee-Lee," Riley said shaking a finger at me. Two years had not lessened Riley's cute factor but I had long since gotten over my crush. He was more of a big brother these days, especially since he'd agreed to stay in the house when my dad had been deployed to the Middle East. I stuck my tongue out and flung the bubbles at him. He wiped his face and pointed a mock threatening finger at me.

"You're in for it now, girl," he threatened, lunging at me with wiggling fingers. I squealed and dashed out of the kitchen, skidding to a halt in front of the front door as the bell rang. Riley was right behind me as I pulled open the door. My eyes went wide at the two men, one officer and one enlisted, in full dress uniform on my front porch.

"No," I whispered, "No, no, no,no, NO!" Arms went around me and I crumpled into Riley as the men stepped into my house, the looks on their faces telling more than their words would ever say.
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The next week passed quietly. I think the boys kept waiting for the next shoe to drop but no one came by. I was pretty sure I knew why. Unlike most teams who came to boot camp, we hadn't been together before we got here. I think they were giving us time to establish ourselves as a team. Also, they weren't exactly leaving us be. I had seen us being watched when we were outside, seen all of the boys retrieved in the middle of the night individually and return before morning. I knew the boys were being run through a number of small drills to figure out where their strengths lay. I had gone through the same drills when the academy recruited me.

After a day or two, the boys started to relax. Wes got the Xbox to pick up cell signals but that only lasted an hour before the signal got blocked. It was kind of funny that after all that work, he just shrugged it off, said at least he'd done it. I was developing a soft spot for Wes. Even with his humming and talking to himself, he was quiet. He had this fascination with sandwiches and creating these perfect little towers of incredible flavor. He was as focused when he made the sandwiches as when he'd been working on the Xbox. Unless he was working on tech or sandwiches though, he was majorly forgetful. He was, to a certain extent, fastidious and he liked having a schedule for his day.

I'd taken to making up a schedule for all the things that needed doing around the cabin so that he'd know when he had to do something. Of course, it helped the rest of us too. We gradually began to learn each other, to move around each other. There was a certain unity to us now that hadn't been there a week ago. I kept an eye on them all, my boys as I thought of them now. Isaiah had a tendency to get wrapped up in his jewelry or clothing designs and forget about little things like eating. I made sure to shove to sandwich in his peripheral vision now and then. Micah was so different from his brothers though. He was a much more physical person than either of them. He was also very introspective. I'd found him writing in some kind of journal one day and he explained that he liked to write out the facts of his day and then reflect on his own actions and decisions. When I'd found him pacing a hole in our floor, I knew he needed something more than hanging around the cabin so I set up a workout schedule and made sure to spend some extra time sparring with him. I'd found a set of weights at the store and bought them as well. I took the boys out into the woods a couple times, put together fun little outings just to get us out of the cabin and to get us working as a team. It worked. We were starting to act and think like a real team and I found myself dropping the walls I'd had up since my father died and letting myself connect with them.

Then there was Scott. My sweet, sexy, lost in his own skin Scott. For the first time since I'd met him he was completely and totally relaxed. The transformation was amazing. He laughed easily with Henshaw boys and quickly developed a camaraderie with them. He'd read these big, heavy volumes and I looked at one only to quickly shut the incomprehensible medical text. The most amazing thing was that he just relaxed and became part of the team. He didn't try to tell anyone what they had to when or plan anything or be in charge. I felt like I was finally getting a glimpse at what my boy should be like and I was loving what i was seeing. He also seemed to be getting more comfortable with me. I'd often feel a hand brush across my back when he walked by, or a gentle stroking on my hand or arm when we'd talk. The night we veged out to movies, Scott had pulled me into his lap about halfway through the first movie and just held an arm loosely around my waist. My inner cheerleader had squealed. I didn't know what had brought on the change in Scott but I was enjoying every minute.