Mack felt the first smile touch his lips since the jungle. She had as much spirit as her mother.
"Maddie Marie, you listen about as well as this fella does," the colonel said with a sigh and scooped her up into his arms.
Faced with part of what he'd given up, Mack's chest locked down tight. He'd never thought he wanted to be a father again, not after he screwed up so bad the first time around. But that little bundle of brown hair and blue eyes could have been his second chance at getting it right. "Sir – "
"Dad, the steaks are going to burn if you don't get back out there." Marley came around the corner and skidded to a stop a couple of feet behind her dad. Her gaze locked onto his and she stumbled back a step.
He watched in silence as Marley visibly got control of her emotions before she came the last couple of feet to the door. "What are you doing here?"
It took Mack a second to process her words. He'd braced himself for the impact of her anger and was completely unprepared for the innocent question. "I didn't really give the doctors much choice."
She looked at his side, which was covered by a black pullover. It still burned like a bitch but he didn't care, he couldn't have waited another second to lay eyes on her beautiful face.
"Stubborn man."
"Not denying it."
He saw the uncertainty on her face, felt the tug in his heart. He wanted to replace that look with happiness, but damned if he knew what to say with her dad staring bullet holes through his head and her daughter watching every move he made. Mack cleared his throat, hoping the colonel would take his hint and give them some privacy. But he wasn't having any kind of luck in that department.
"Dad, do you mind taking Maddie out back?" Marley saved him the embarrassment.
"Yes, I do," her dad said flatly.
"Dad," Marley drug the word out with a hint of annoyance in her voice, "I'm a big girl."
The colonel's response was a grunt and a death stare at Mack. "You do anything to make her mope around this house again and there'll be no place on this Earth you'll be able to hide from me." The colonel took Maddie and left.
A long stretch of awkward silence followed him. Mack shuffled from foot to foot, trying to find the right thing to say.
He'd driven there in such a rush, he hadn't really given it enough thought and planning. Hell, he was a pro at planning missions, identifying the target's weak points and attacking. Marley turned all that upside down; she left him tongue-tied and uncertain.
"Mack, why are you here?" Marley asked in a soft voice.
This was the moment of truth. A thousand excuses sprang to mind, but it didn't feel right. He wasn't a flowery kind of guy, although if she made him, he would go down on his knees and beg. "I'm sorry."
Her eyes immediately filled with tears and Mack could have kicked himself for being such an insensitive jackass. Yeah, he was blunt, but she deserved better.
"You're sorry?" The hesitancy in her tone took him down a whole other level.
"Yes, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a fool. All I could see was my own anger, but you were right. You made the right decision. You couldn't have known me long enough to trust me, not with that beautiful little girl I just saw. Hell, I'm kinda mad at you for telling me in the end, now. She's too precious to take a risk on."
Marley shook her head almost violently, tears tracking down her cheeks. It took all his willpower not to snatch her into his arms and comfort her. "Dammit, Marley. Stop crying." Every fresh drop was another knife to his chest. "You're ripping my heart in two."
"You're asking me for forgiveness? You didn't do anything wrong, Mack. I was the one who withheld the truth. I lied to you. I thought about putting your men in danger." Her voice broke. "About putting you in danger."
Forget giving her space. He didn't care if she stuck a knife in his gut, he had to hold her. Mack pulled her to him and locked his arms around her. He'd let go if she tried to fight his hold, but she didn't. She caved in his arms.
"Will you forgive me Marley? I swear to God I'll never hurt you like that again. Ever."
"There's nothing to forgive, Mack." She circled her arms around his neck and pulled him to her, her warm breath a heavenly caress on his skin.
"I love you." He'd been so scared to say the words, hadn't said them to anybody since his wife died, but with Marley it just felt damn good.
She sucked in a deep breath and squeezed him, the fierceness of her hold sending a shock of pain through his wound and Mack couldn't hold in the grunt of pain.
She released him and instantly slapped a hand over her mouth with wide eyes. "Mack, I hurt you."
He yanked her right back into his arms, burying his face in her soft silky hair. "Only when you let go. Promise me you'll never let go again."