It was a stark contrast from the tough, tomboyish woman she'd met back at Bagram. "You look like a Bond girl."
"Hey, I like that description," Jackson, Maya's husband, said in his slight Texas drawl, stepping up next to Maya to snake an arm around her waist and nuzzle her hair. Candace adored him, and his and Maya's story was epic. "FBI Special Agent Maya Thatcher, Bond girl." After the harrowing ordeal they'd been through together as POWs in Afghanistan, Maya had applied to and been accepted into the FBI, with a glowing letter of recommendation from the Secretary of Defense. The least he could do, since she, Jackson, and Wade had saved the man's life.
Maya bumped him gently in the ribs with her elbow, the way her lips curved upward telling Candace she was pleased by the comparison. "That's right, and don't you forget it." She glanced at Candace. "Are the others here yet?"
"Not yet. Their schedules were still all over the map, but with any luck, everyone will be here by the ceremony on Saturday morning." She wished she could have a few extra days with Ryan, like the others were getting with their husbands, but a couple days together was still better than nothing. "You all remember my grandma Ruby?"
"Oh yeah," Maya said with a smirk, and shook Grandma's hand. "You're a hard woman to forget."
"I try to leave an impression," Grandma said, looking pleased by the compliment.
Candace bit back a smile. Oh, Ruby certainly left an impression all right. "So, you guys hungry?"
"Starved." Erin hooked her arm through Wade's. "And thanks again, Ruby, for comping us the rooms and helping set this up for us. We didn't expect that, but we appreciate it and it means a lot to us."
"Not at all. I'm happy you wanted to have your wedding here." She wagged her eyebrows. "And your wedding night. This mountain air is famous for working up an appetite, if you know what I mean."
Wade's expression froze and Erin seemed at a loss for words for a moment before she cleared her throat and changed the subject. "They have some place good to eat around here?"
"I hope none of you are vegetarians," Grandma said as she climbed down from her stool and stepped up beside Candace. "Around here it's steak and potatoes for the most part. Real food that'll stick to your ribs. And from where I'm sitting, it looks like a few of you could use several good meals while you're here," she added, giving Maya a pointed look. "This way, everyone. Follow me." With that, she turned and marched away toward the direction of the grill restaurant in the next building over, expecting them all to follow.
Erin snickered as Maya leaned in to murmur to Candace, "Your grandma's a trip."
"Oh yeah," she agreed. "Believe me, you ain't seen nothing yet." The Bagram group had been at her and Ryan's wedding last year, but Grandma had been pretty tame throughout the whole thing. Candace was pretty sure her dad had threatened his mother with some dire consequence if Grandma didn't behave.
"So," Maya said quietly to her as they fell in behind the others. "Your contract with the force is almost up."
"Yes."
Maya gave her a knowing smile. "You decided if you're gonna re-up yet?"
"Not yet," she lied. She'd actually made her mind up a couple weeks ago, but didn't want to tell Maya before she talked to Ryan about it. She was done with combat missions, with being in a warzone and fighting her lingering demons on a daily basis.
Still, the decision hadn't been easy.
It had taken years for her to become part of AFSOC, let alone make captain and become the first officer on a Spectre gunship. Whenever she became a civilian again, she worried that it might feel like a piece of her was missing. "I'd miss my crew, and the aircraft itself if I left. I'd never get to be at the controls of a Spooky again, and that makes it hard to let go." Ryan wasn't going to like her decision. But flying wasn't the same for her now as it used to be. Hadn't been for a long time.
"I can understand that. Any thoughts as to what else you might want to do?"
"I have no idea." And therein lay the crux of the problem. Not just for her, but between her and Ryan. She felt lost and had no idea what to do next, and he hadn't exactly been there for her since he'd been on this latest deployment.
Maya blinked in surprise. "What? That's not like you. You've always got at least six different contingency plans in place."
"Not this time." She sighed and kept walking. With her background and résumé, she probably wouldn't have trouble finding a job as a commercial or private pilot. That didn't hold much appeal, though, not after flying one of the most advanced and feared gunships in the world. She wanted to do something meaningful with her life. "I can't help feeling like it's just time for me to leave."
Maya knew every bit of her story.
"After that mission where Ryan and I ended up in the mountains behind enemy lines together, flying was never the same for me. Now that I've fulfilled my contract, part of me wants to move on and do something else. Is that so wrong?"
"No, not at all." Maya shot her a sideways glance. "What does Ryan say about all this?"
She pursed her lips. "We haven't talked about it." Not really. Because he hadn't been interested in listening. And from what he had said, it was clear he didn't get where she was coming from. At all. She was hurt and angry that he couldn't-or wouldn't-see her side of things.
She'd forced herself to drop the whole issue for the time being because she didn't want to fight while he was overseas, since there was always a good chance something might happen to him over there. It wasn't fair to either of them to argue about it while they were apart, and he needed to be focused on his job, not distracted by her or their problems. So she'd decided to shelve it until he got back stateside.
"What about you guys? You're both pretty settled now. Planning on having kids anytime soon?"
"Not for a while yet. We both love our jobs way too much." Maya waited a moment, hanging back from the others so they could have more privacy. "Bet you're excited to see Ryan when he gets here, huh?" she asked as they reached the main building's front door.
Candace thanked Jackson for holding it for her and walked out into the cool fall air. "Yeah." Just three more days. The all-too familiar buzz of nerves started in her stomach again. She couldn't believe she was actually nervous about seeing her husband again, but this time she was.
"How long's it been since you've seen him this time?" Maya asked, her high heels clicking softly on the flagstone path that linked the main building to the one beside it.
"Eight months. How long for you and Jackson?"
"Five months and eleven days. Not that I counted or anything." Maya studied her a moment. "You nervous?"
She shrugged. "I'm always a little nervous after we've been apart so long." This time it was more than nerves, however. She was a bit apprehensive, to be honest. Part of her was worried that this homecoming would be less than idyllic.
Whenever they could swing it in the past, they'd managed to steal a few days away together. Someplace quiet, away from home and family, where they could be alone and reconnect while Ryan adjusted to being out of a combat zone again.
The readjustment wasn't as hard for her because she wasn't on the ground in harm's way the same way he was during a mission. The last time they'd snuck away together, she'd noticed a big difference in him.
He hadn't slept much for those first few days he'd been back from Bagram, and he'd been withdrawn, which was totally unlike him. All part of the wear and tear on his psyche from the constant strain he was under in a warzone.
That was another reason she'd bottled up her feelings recently, not wanting to distract or upset him. She'd done her share of operations over there too, but from the sky, with the notable exception of when she and her crew had been forced to abandon their gunship that time during a rescue attempt gone terribly wrong.
It hadn't been easy for her to get past it. If not for Ryan, she wouldn't be here today.
"I get it." Maya's appreciative gaze strayed to Jackson, a few steps ahead of them, talking to Erin and Wade. "Homecomings are the best though, aren't they?"
"Yes." There was no doubt Maya was anxious to get dinner over with so she could be alone with her husband as soon as possible. Candace didn't blame her, because the long separations were hard on couples.
Sex was always the easy part though. After being apart for so many months, forging that physical connection again was the most natural. The problem was, the rest wasn't always so easy to smooth over.
As a pararescueman, Jackson was in huge demand and served frequent combat deployments to Afghanistan and other hot zones throughout Africa and the Middle East. Unlike PJs, combat controllers like Ryan were off grid for long stretches at a time, on classified missions often conducted deep behind enemy lines.
Even with her top security clearance as an AFSOC member, there were only certain things Ryan could tell her about what was going on, and no amount of phone calls or e-mails while they were apart gave her the kind of deep, meaningful connection she craved with her husband. With their conflicting views about her career, it seemed to her they were drifting apart, and it scared her.