Special Ops Christmas Read Free

he started this forever-long mission, and I was
stressed. Then the holidays were coming up, and then…well, I started getting
sick every morning.”
    She faced her mom, feeling like she could do this… could
conceal her emotions behind a cheery false front. But it was hard when she saw
Martha’s hands rise to her cheeks, accompanied by a huge smile.
    “Oh, I bet Aiden is beside himself!” She took Vivianne’s arm
and guided her to the sofa in the living room. “What a lovely Christmas surprise!”
Luckily, Martha didn’t wait for an answer or look Vivianne directly in the eye.
Surely she’d have seen something was wrong.
    More than anything, Vivianne wanted to tell Aiden about
their baby. But they had fought every time they talked since she’d discovered
the news herself.
    Sitting down, Martha added, “You’ve been trying for, what,
two years now?”
    Vivianne nodded, afraid of what her voice would reveal. Why
hadn’t she confided in her mom before? She’d always been so darn proud, never
wanting to admit weakness or ask for help. She had worked while going to
nursing school and still earned a 3.98 GPA. After graduation, she’d put her
time in at the nearest ER while looking for a job at a medical office. It
didn’t take long. Not only did she have high recommendations from her manager
and co-workers, she connected well with interviewers, male or female. Now she
was a head nurse at an office close by her home.
    Her career was in full swing, but her marriage had hit an
invisible wall with a splat. Vivianne shook her head, trying to clear it, when
she realized her mom was watching her closely with doubt in her crystal blue
eyes. Those same eyes that Vivianne always wished she had inherited instead of
the hazel ones from her father. Finally, her mother blurted out, “Why aren’t
you happier?”
    “I just miss him so much,” Vivianne said, the tears breaking
through and stinging her eyes. She fell onto her mom’s shoulders, crying,
instead of explaining.

Chapter Three
     
    “We’re not giving up on you. You… are… NOT … giving up
on your marriage. Do you hear me, soldier?” Daniels stood behind Aiden, talking
to his back in that commander voice, pausing after each word. It was an order,
and one Aiden wanted to follow.
     “O’Riley, I know you love her. She was all you talked about
for the two years you dated. Then, you were the happiest man I’ve ever seen
when you tied the knot. Even the tone in your voice when you talk about her is
different. You know that? You’ve got something special.”
    Had something special and, like an idiot, he’d let it
waste away.
    “You don’t get it, Vinny.” He didn’t use Daniels’ first name
often, but now seemed like a good time. Maybe using Vinny would make him
listen. “She’s done. We’ve been in trouble for almost a year. There’s just
nothing to fight for anymore.”
    Daniels grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him around
so fast he had to catch himself from tripping.
    “O’Riley! Of course there’s something to fight for – your
wife! Quitting is not an option.” They stared eye to eye for a minute. Daniels
had gone through a divorce, an ugly, bitter one. That lent weight to his words.
    Aiden threw his head back, sighing. His frustration built
like a pot about to boil over. “It might be out of my hands. She needs someone
who’s there. She needs to start a family. And…and I fucked up.”
    Yep, this was his fault. It was more than him being gone a
lot. Way more. He’d killed Vivianne’s trust in him, her love for him, and her
self-confidence—all in one short , brutal confession ten months ago.
    What he’d done wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but that
didn’t matter. His infatuation for another woman had inflicted the same damage
as an all-out affair.
    It had been an innocent friendship that went too far…well,
maybe friendships with women can never be entirely innocent. Cindy was there.
Vivianne wasn’t. He and Vivianne