Free Penance (Long Slow Tease, #2) by Ann Mayburn

had his own cleaning supplies. After handing the young man one, he stripped off his jacket and sighed. “Wyatt, Marshall, I sincerely apologize for the fireworks. I made it very clear that I did not want them at this party, but I’m afraid my sons don’t beat their children enough and the kids brought some with them to shoot off over the lake. I’ll make sure they get taken behind the woodshed and whipped for this.”
    Wyatt stiffened for a moment before Michelle squeezed his hand and laughed. “Easy there, Dad. Wyatt doesn’ t know your twisted sense of humor yet.”
    Her dad gave his trademark charming smile and she knew he was putting on a show for the other men. While he could fool most people, he couldn’t fool her. He was worried and Michelle prayed he wouldn’t say anything to hurt Wyatt. Her father could be a bit overprotective of her; she’d heard from more than one boyfriend about his you-better-not-hurt-my-little-girl lectures.
    “Wyatt’s fine.” He turned to look directly at Wyatt. “He has nothing to be ashamed of.”
    “Yeah,” the young man spoke up as he tried to dab the chocolate frosting off of his dark navy coat. “He didn’t just tackle a Senator and almost get his ass shot by the same Secret Service that he’s trying to get a job with.”
    T he young man flushed, but her father laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to your director and let him know how impressed I was that you would lay down your life for me after shadowing my detail for only two days. By the way, Michelle and Wyatt, this is Marshall. He recently retired from the Army after a deployment in Afghanistan and is thinking about working for the Secret Service. His father is Major General Schwartz, a good friend of mine.”
    Out of the corner of her eye she watched Wyatt take in the situation and a small change came over him. He stood taller and some of his embarrassment drained away as he faced Marshall. “Welcome home, and thank you for your service.”
    “Thank you. I read your military file. Errr…damn, I probably shouldn’t have said that.” Marshall flushed and Michelle marveled at how young the man was; it shocked her to realize that she was getting older, as stupid as that sounded. “Anyways, you went through some crazy shit and managed to make it out alive.”
    “ Don’t worry, I know my background would have been checked out. And the only reason I made it out was because of some really good doctors.” He gave Michelle such a warm look that she practically melted into a puddle at his feet. God, she loved him.
    She shook her head and tried to frown, but her lips kept curving into a smile. “Why is it when you come in complaining about a sore toe I’m the evil bitch who will only give you Motrin, but when you’re dying all of a sudden we’re good doctors?”
    Michelle’s dad took a seat behind his desk. “You know, just because my daughter saved your life doesn’t mean you have to put up with her.”
    Laughing, Wyatt pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “I kind of like her sassy side. Life will never be dull with Michelle.”
    “ Amen to that. Have a seat.” Michelle’s dad nodded to Marshall. “You too, Marshall. I think you would benefit from this as much as Michelle and Wyatt. Your dad is the one who first told me about this.”
    Michelle pulled Wyatt down onto the couch with her, hiding a smile as he sat up straighter when her father looked at him. While she had no idea what her dad had up his sleeve, she was eternally grateful to him for turning what could have potentially been a terrible situation into something salvageable. She wanted Wyatt to like her family and wanted them to like him as well because she wasn’t going to give him up. She couldn’t.
    He was her life now.
    Even as she had that thought , a memory of making out with Owen on this same couch began to intrude and sent a wave of unexpected pain through her. Why couldn’t she move past Owen’s death? Widowers