I knew that the latest mission had been successful. The hostage had been rescued without incident. Not that I expected it would go any differently, but I still wanted to know the details.
I hated it when an operation happened and I wasn’t here to take part in it from our San Diego headquarters.
Especially when it had been volunteer members from my previous Delta Force team who had completed that flawless op out in the field.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust every single person involved in Last Hope, but I’d been there to watch my team’s six for years, just like they’d watched mine.
I didn’t like it when they were running a rescue, and I wasn’t there to monitor it personally.
I exited my black, F-150 Limited and shrugged out of my suit jacket, tossing it in the back before I locked the truck.
Maybe my truck wasn’t the vehicle of choice for a lot of guys who had the money to buy any car on the planet. But there was no way I was going to suffer by contorting my extra-large frame into a seven-figure vehicle just for the prestige of driving an expensive sports car.
I was a large man who needed more shoulder, leg, and head room. I also wasn’t into status cars that were as uncomfortable as hell to drive every day.
Occasionally, when I had the time—which was almost never—I liked to find remote areas to just chill out, camp, and fish. At times, I liked to get out of the city, and those pricey sports cars didn’t cut it on dirt roads.
I also liked my damn space and comfort when I was driving in traffic on a daily basis.
As I walked to the door of Tori and Cooper’s home, I rolled up the sleeves of my dress shirt.
I guess I could have made a stop at home first to change.
But my empty stomach had been in control, and I’d wanted to get to this barbecue before all the food was gone.
Hudson, Jax, Cooper, and Chase could put away enough food that would usually feed a dozen people, and I wanted my share.
“Wyatt!” Tori exclaimed as she opened the door and instantly threw herself into my arms with a delighted shriek. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
Generally, I wasn’t a hugger or a touchy-feely kind of guy, but my little sister was the exception.
I wrapped my arms around her, lifting her feet off the ground as I returned her embrace.
Tori was the only female who ever embraced me unconditionally, even when I was an asshole, which was most of the time.
I realized that she had a husband now who watched out for her well-being. Yeah, I trusted Cooper Montgomery, but I’d been Tori’s protector long before he had taken on that job. I’d always taken that responsibility seriously, and my big brother instincts hadn’t lessened just because Tori was married.
Hell, I’d almost lost my baby sister not once, but twice, because she’d been kidnapped in the Amazon on two separate occasions.
I was grateful that she was happy, healthy, and still alive to hug my ornery ass.
“Where’s the food?” I asked gruffly as I released her.
She grabbed my arm and I allowed her to pull me inside as she chattered, “We have plenty of food. My friend is here. She made enough incredible food to feed the entire neighborhood. Everything is still warm. Grab a plate.”
My stomach rumbled as I arrived in the kitchen and inhaled some of the most mouthwatering scents I’d ever experienced.
After years of MRE’s in the military, anything edible that wasn’t ready-to-eat meals that mostly tasted like crap got my attention.
I appreciated good food, but despite the fact that I had plenty of money to buy the best cuisine, I rarely did.
My schedule was too damn busy to take the time to eat at good restaurants, and my own culinary skills were extremely limited.
“Who’s the friend?” I asked, distracted by all of the dishes that filled every space on the large kitchen island.
Granted, I was disappointed that there was apparently an outsider at this gathering, which would keep me from getting the details of our latest Last Hope mission, but I still wanted to eat.
Tori slapped me on the arm playfully as she handed me a plate. “Shelby Remington. You’ve met her. She was the chef at Chase’s wedding. Load a plate and come outside by the fire pit with us. And don’t forget to take some of that caramel apple cake with cream cheese frosting. It’s ridiculous. You’re lucky that we left any of that for you.”
I didn’t move to dish up my food.
I just stared at my sister before I asked cautiously, “Shelby Remington? Do you mean Kaleb’s cousin?”
Fuck! The woman was a sharp-tongued menace.
Kaleb had always claimed that his beloved female cousin was the kindest female on Earth, but I’d seen no evidence of that during a brief encounter with her after Chase and Savannah’s reception.
Tori had told me that she and Shelby still kept in touch, but I hadn’t expected to see her here.
My sister always limited these casual barbecues to family and close friends so everything was relaxed, a way to blow off steam in a trusted environment.
Tori’s face fell as I frowned, which made me feel slightly guilty, but I shrugged off that momentary twinge of remorse.
What in the hell had possessed her to invite that woman to this dinner?
“Please be nice,” Tori said in a pleading tone. “She said you two got off to a bad start when you met at Vanna and Chase’s reception, but she’s my friend, Wyatt.”
We got off to a bad start?
That was putting it mildly.
Okay, so maybe I had jumped the gun by assuming that she was an unwanted intruder the night of the reception, but she’d insulted me several times, and she’d swilled a tumbler of my best whisky, dammit. Right before she’d high-tailed it out of my place like she didn’t want to spend another second in my company.
“She’s an annoying, bad-tempered, sarcastic woman with no filter,” I grumbled.
Tori rolled her eyes. “No, she’s not, but I’m sure it was disconcerting to find a woman who didn’t fall all over you.”
Fall all over me?
Not only had she not fallen all over me, but she’d also irritated me like no other person—male or female—ever had.
Nobody had ever ignored me or needled me the way she had, and I hadn’t particularly liked her sarcasm directed toward me, even though I was a master at it myself.
“Please,” Tori said again in that cajoling voice she knew I couldn’t refuse.
I forked a perfectly cooked steak and dropped it on my plate. I then started taking some of everything on the island until my plate was so full that I couldn’t fit anything else on it.