He squeezed her waist and winked. “Uncle Stu, put the bread down,” he ordered as they entered the room.
Cheers went up and they were surrounded by hugs, handshakes, and slaps on the back. Everyone was talking at once.
Josh poked his head out from under the table. “Uncca Luke!” The toddler bolted for his uncle and Luke picked him up, tossing his nephew in the air.
“Uncca Luke! Camo!” Josh pointed to the camo t-shirt he was wearing. “Like you?”
“When you come back he’s going to be twice that size,” Ty teased. “Kid eats fifteen pounds of mac and cheese a day.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Luke laughed. Harper skirted around the crowd to Sophie who handed her a glass of wine.
“Hanging in there?”
Harper nodded. “Yeah.” She watched Luke juggle Josh to one side so he could hug Aunt Syl. “Did he tell you what he did to my car?”
Sophie rolled her eyes. “Has my brother ever willingly told anyone anything?”
“Good point,” Harper laughed and filled her in.
“The big softie.” Sophie sighed and blinked her watery eyes. “He loves you, you know. He protects you like family.”
“I know he cares for me, but I don’t think he’s ready for the l-word. I, on the other hand...” Harper trailed off and sipped her wine.
“I knew you were just what he needed, and now you’re leaving, too,” Sophie sniffled.
“Oh my God, don’t you start or it’ll set me off and then Luke will get pissed at both of us,” Harper said, blinking her eyes to fight off the tears that blurred her vision. “Please tell me something funny!”
“Last year, Mom took Josh overnight so Ty and I could have a night out. We stayed in instead and drank an entire bottle of Kraken. When we ordered a pizza and I bet him he wouldn’t answer the door wearing my pink pajama pants with kitties on them. I lost.”
Harper slapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. The laughter was already erupting. They both doubled over in hysterics.
“Pink kitty pants?” she gasped.
Sophie, lost in silent laughter, could only nod.
“Ladies, am I gonna have to arrest you for public disturbance?” Ty said, approaching.
It set them off again and had Harper clutching Sophie to stay upright.
“What did you do to my girl, Ty?” Luke appeared at her side, a beer bottle in his hand.
Harper wiped the tears from her cheeks, thankful that she went with waterproof mascara tonight. “Sorry. Sophie was just telling the funniest story.”
“If you’ve recovered your oxygen supply, I’ll introduce you to Mrs. Moretta.”
Harper nodded and straightened her shoulders. “All recovered. Excuse us, Soph, Mr. Kitty.” She clawed the air in front of Ty as she walked passed.
Sophie started giggling again.
“Damn it, Soph. Why are you spilling secrets?” Ty sighed behind them.
***
They eventually got everyone seated long enough for the waitress to take the group’s order. When everyone’s drinks were refilled, Charlie got to his feet, glass in hand. Luke squeezed Harper’s thigh under the table.
“It’s Garrison family tradition to send our boys off with some words of wisdom. Luke, Aldo,” he nodded at both. “I’ve witnessed you grow from trouble-making kids to trouble-making teenagers. Now you’re grown men, and you still occasionally make trouble.”
Harper smiled at the laughter that bubbled around the table.
“But I couldn’t be prouder to know you both. You’re good men who lead with heart. You believe in loyalty, friendship, family. Thank you for your service and come home safe.” Charlie raised his glass. “Cheers.”
“Cheers,” everyone echoed, raising their glasses.
Luke squeezed her leg again and stood up. “Thanks, Dad. I’d just like to point out that we learned our trouble-making from you. I don’t usually do this toast thing, but I wanted to thank you all for your support. For us, leaving is never easy. But it eases our minds with all of you picking up the slack for us at home. I may not say it often enough, but I appreciate all of you and everything that you do.”
Luke laid a hand on Harper’s shoulder. “A lot of you know that Harper has made pre-deployment a lot easier for me at work. At home, she got dogs and furniture and generally brought a lot of chaos.” The group chuckled.
“We’ve talked a lot about what to do with me leaving, and we’ve decided that it’s for the best for us both if we go our separate ways.”
Harper stared at her lap and pretended not to hear the gasps.
Sophie, on her left, poked her under the table with her foot.