Make Mine a Ranger (Special Ops: Homefront Book 4) by Kate Aster Page A

kiss on the cheek.
    “Oh, it’s nothing. I’d buy more for you
if I thought you’d accept it,” Edith said, taking Abby by the hand. “Come along
now, Abby. Let’s get your mommy home so she can soak those sore feet in a hot bath,
okay? I’m buying you better shoes next, Bess. Whether you like it or not.”
    “Are your feet hurt, Mama?” the little
girl asked Bess as Edith walked her out the door and toward the car.
    “Just a little. I’ll be okay. Give
Grandma Edie a hug now.”
    Abby embraced Edith with a full body hug.
“Love you.”
    “Love you, too, sweetheart,” Edith
answered, helping Abby into her car seat and snapping it tight.
    Bess gave a wave to Edith as she pulled
out of the driveway, thinking about the bag of clothes she had just tossed into
the back seat. She wasn’t even sure if she had the nerve to try them on, as
tight fitting as they were. But she would. She had promised.
    The sun was low in the sky as she drove
over the Naval Academy Bridge, and a group of midshipmen caught her eye as they
took their evening run.
    She remembered the first time she had run
on Tyler’s treadmill, only lasting a whopping ninety seconds. She hadn’t
improved much since then—barely able to top off five minutes before her
knees started killing her. But her walking had definitely improved. She could
keep up a 4.4 mile per hour pace for fifteen minutes before having to slow it
down to an easier to maintain four miles an hour.
    Could she really have lost a little
weight? She’d never admit it, but Edith had been right. Bess tended to opt for
clothes that were stretchy. The kind of items a girl could gain ten pounds in
without even feeling it.
    She wasn’t eating nearly like she used to,
either. She had always been such a stress eater, but now that she was working
out almost daily, she found herself a lot more relaxed.
    With her shopping bag in hand, she opened
the door, watching Abby shoot up the stairs like a bullet. “Brush your teeth
and get ready for your bath now, okay?” Bess commanded.
    Silence ensued, as it usually did when
Bess was handing out a task to her three-year-old.
    “Did you hear me, Abby? Abby?”
    “What?” Abby called downstairs.
    “I said to brush your teeth and get ready
for your bath. I’ll be up in a few minutes. Okay?”
    “Okay.”
    Bess sighed, tossing the bag on the sofa
along with herself. It would be a half hour before Abby got those two things
done, and she knew it. She kicked off her shoes. Might as well enjoy the time
off.
    “Hey,” Tyler said as he came down the
stairs, looking decadent. The cobalt color of the polo shirt seemed to make his
blue eyes pop, and its short sleeves stopped just high enough to showcase his
marvelous biceps. He was wearing khaki pants tonight rather than jeans, a step
up in this casual town of Annapolis. He must have a date, Bess thought, feeling
a tinge of jealousy.
    “Hey, yourself. You look great. What are
you dressed up for?”
    “Taking Janette out to dinner and to hear
some music in Baltimore. I’ll be pretty late. Thought I should tell you so you didn’t
worry.”
    “Oh, I wouldn’t worry. Someone living in
this house has to get some action,” Bess laughed, hoping her sense of humor
would lighten up her mood.
    “You gotta get out and meet some guys,
Bess. You’re around the house too much.”
    “I’m a mom, Tyler. That’s what happens.”
    “Oh, hey, speaking of… some guy stopped
by to see you.”
    Bess shrugged. “Probably the guy who raked
the leaves last year looking for work.”
    Tyler laughed. “Not driving a Lotus. No,
don’t think he was raking leaves for a living. Dan something.” He paused
briefly. “Dan Wils.”
    Tasting the burn of bile in her mouth, her
body seized up in panic.
    “Oh, God.” She was hot suddenly, dizzy, desperately
needing to empty her stomach. She rose, staggered a moment as Tyler reached for
her to help, and darted across the room to the bathroom. Her full body quaked and
she