Start of a Happy New Year

January 1st – Clay's Apartment

Lounging on his couch, Clay reflected on the past week. He spent a few days with Sonny, then they shifted to his place because Clay preferred his own bed. Sonny stayed with him one more day … unnecessarily hovering like a mother hen. Someone, and no one would claim responsibility, restocked his freezer, fridge, and cupboards before he returned home. He suspected it was a combined effort.

The way his team and their families came together for him on Christmas and the days after made him all warm and gooey on the inside. Celebrating New Year's Eve last night had been fun too. Ray invited everyone over, and Naima provided him sparkling apple cider since he was not cleared to drink alcohol yet. Adam was one hundred percent right … team is all the family I need.

And it extended beyond Bravo now to include Echo's rookie. Bob called to express his heartfelt thanks for delivering Melissa and Marty to her sister's home. He also shared his news … there had been a third person Clay helped that night … an unborn child.

Clay's mind shifted to the only dark spot … his missing car. Both the woman and her partner were dead, and dead people didn't tell tales. The FBI and Alabama police caught up with Jessica and Bruce outside of Riverview, Alabama. When cornered, the criminals began firing at the cops and agents … believing they could escape. They were wrong, and both died in the shootout … the car they were driving at the time riddled with bullet holes.

The police found evidence in the vehicle that proved the man and woman were the ones who killed the family they robbed. There was no question they were guilty, but questions remained as to why they bludgeoned them to death instead of just leaving them tied up. But in Clay's mind, he believed the woman might be a bit off her rocker. She had changed from playing the damsel in distress to a cold-blooded murderer in seconds when he stopped to help.

He glanced down at his wrist. The cops also found his watch and wallet and returned them, but his car had not been located. It appeared the duo stole several vehicles along their route, ditching them when they ran out of gas instead of risking being spotted by stopping to refuel. His Nova could be anywhere within two hundred and fifty miles from where he was attacked. Finding his stolen vehicle didn't seem to be a priority to the authorities, so unless someone reported an abandoned car, he might never get it back … which sucked.

A knock on his door drew Clay from his thoughts. He rose and opened the door to find an unknown male holding a case of beer. "Hello?"

"Hi. I'm Bob Clarkson. Are you Clay Spenser?"

"Yeah. Come in." He stepped back, allowing Bob to enter.

"Where should I put this?" Bob asked.

"The counter. Can I get you a cold one?"

"No, Garret is putting us through drills, and if I don't want to be running the hills, I better not be late. I only have time to stop by to say thanks again for helping my wife and kids … and to drop off a tangible thanks for you to share with your team. I appreciate Hayes looping in Blackburn and the lieutenant commander's help in fixing my pay."

Clay only nodded, but from the open doorway, Sonny's voice rang out as he said, "So if your new kid is a boy you naming him Clay?"

Bob chuckled, grinned, and shrugged. He wouldn't admit it, but Melissa suggested Clay as a boy's name when they discussed it, but he didn't think Clay Clarkson sounded quite right. "Gotta be going. See ya around."

Sonny made way for Bob to exit as he entered.

"Thanks for the beer," Clay said as he shut his door. Then he turned to Sonny. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm your ride."

"Where?" Clay hadn't gotten any texts the team had been spun up or called in for a meeting, and besides, Jason told him he would be benched for his safety for another week.

"Surprise." Sonny grinned as he chewed his ever-present toothpick. "Grab your jacket."

Clay did as told and followed Sonny out since he was curious.

Jason's Truck

Clay peered out the window at the winter landscape, comfortably tucked under a blanket in the back seat of Jason's truck. He held a cup of steaming hot chocolate in his hands and took a sip every now and then, as Jason, Ray, and Sonny chattered away about something. After following Sonny outside his apartment, he realized Sonny took liberty with the statement, 'I'm your ride,' since, in truth, Sonny only drove him to Ray's home.

The blanket and cocoa were Naima's doing. She admonished his three chaperons to make sure he didn't get chilled on their trip. The guys all nodded and readily promised before they hopped into Jason's vehicle. Still in the dark as to the destination or purpose of the journey, Clay decided to just go with the flow, mostly because men who kept secrets for a living and passed Green Team SERE were unlikely to divulge information unless they wanted.

"You're awful quiet. You doing alright, Goldilocks?"

Clay twisted his neck to peer at Sonny, who sat beside him. "Sure."

"Aren't you curious where we're going?" Ray asked from the front.

"Sure, but when I asked Sonny, he said it was a surprise. Figured it would be a waste of air to ask again." Clay finished off his hot chocolate, and when the fuzzy blanket slipped as he set the cup in the holder, he shivered. He hated to admit that after his bout of hypothermia, he still chilled too easily. But since most of their missions took place in hot climates, that shouldn't affect his performance.

"Well, it's a long drive. Why don't you grab a nap," Ray suggested. Naima had schooled him in the after-effects of hypothermia and indicated Clay might need more rest than usual.

"Not a baby."

"Never said you were," Ray huffed. Yeah, he didn't like being molly-coddled anymore than Clay or the other guys and should've kept his mouth shut.

Clay settled back into his previous position, staring out the window listening as Jason started talking about Mikey's latest hockey achievements. Without meaning to, his lids lowered, and he drifted off to sleep.

Jason glanced at Clay in the rearview mirror and grinned when he noted Clay nodded off. Concussions were nothing new to team guys, but always a bit worrisome. One reason he would be making sure the kid took it easy for at least a month. He spoke to Blackburn about using Bravo as a last resort until February. And he would limit Clay's role in missions if they were spun up. Spenser would likely balk, but better to deal with a ticked off kid than chance him getting knocked on the head again too soon.

Durham, North Carolina

Three and a half hours later, Jason came to a stop in the Sweet Frog Brewing Company's parking lot. Jason grinned as he spotted Trent, Brock, and Cerb waiting for them. "Time to wake the kid." He opened his door, as did Ray, and both strode over to the other guys, leaving Sonny with the honors.

In the back seat, Sonny gently shook Clay's shoulder. "Hey, Sleepy Head. We're here."

Groggily, Clay stirred and blinked open as he turned to face Sonny. "Here? Where?"

Sonny smiled as he reached for the door handle. "Come find out." He didn't wait for Clay, hurrying to join the others.

Clay rubbed his eyes, yawned and stretched as he peered out the window. Though the surroundings were unfamiliar, they could be in anytown USA. He wondered how long he slept as he noted a sign that read, Sweet Frog Brewery. He chuckled. So they took me to a bar. Some surprise.

Glancing at his watch, wondering how he became so stiff in such a short time, his jaw dropped when he noted almost four hours had passed since he climbed in the truck at Ray's home. Sliding out of Jason's vehicle, the frigid air caused him to shiver slightly. Clay almost reached for the warm blanket, not caring Sonny would probably razz him about needing a security blanket. But he resisted and strode around the front, heading for the pub's entrance.

He froze. His eyes rounded at the sight before him. "SURPRISE!" rang loudly from five brothers as Cerb added his barking to the noise.

Clay laughed … happiness and astonishment flooding and warming him to the core as he stared at his Nova. It appeared to be in pristine condition … no worse for wear after being stolen. He moved forward with long strides as he said, "How did you find it?" His fingertips skimmed the hood as his brothers parted like the Red Sea granting him access.

Jason supplied the details, "You can thank Davis and her techies for scouring tons of traffic camera footage until they spotted your car. Then Mandy contacted her buddy in the FBI, and he contacted local authorities along the route. Durham police located it here after checking recent incidents of stolen vehicles on the twenty-fifth. The only report was from the owner of this bar."

With a bright grin splitting his face, Clay opened the door and slid behind the wheel. "Wish I knew. I would've brought my spare key."

Sonny tossed a keychain to Clay. "Snagged them from your place last night while you slept."

Clay squinted. "You were in my place, and I didn't wake up?"

"What can I say … I'm just exceptionally stealthy." Sonny grinned.

"More like the little sedative Trent slipped you with your New Year's Eve apple cider knocked you out." Brock rubbed his arm as Trent elbowed him. "Sorry."

"Yeah, I like you better when you are quiet," Trent grumbled, not sure how Clay would take to being given a sedative, but he had not been sleeping well for several days and had been looking more and more ragged.

Ray stepped in before anything could disintegrate. "We planned on grabbing something to eat here, and then we'll all drive back to Va Beach."

Too happy about getting his Nova back to be upset about the sedative, Clay was privately glad Trent had given him one without him having to ask. His nights had been a weird mix of dreams, some good and some terrible, which kept waking him. Accepting his brothers only acted in his best interest, Clay dismissed their underhandedness and said, "I'm hungry. Let's go inside."

Clay locked his baby, and with his grin firmly in place, he followed his brothers as they sauntered toward the bar. This is hands-down one of the best Christmases I ever had.

.

AN: Hope you enjoyed this mostly feel-good story. Oh, and I always refer to Clay's vehicle as a Mustang, but I'm probably wrong since I can't really tell one model from another. If my hubby were still alive he could've told me what it is in a heartbeat. - THANKS to a reader with a 'car guy hubby' who identified Clay's car as a Nova ... I've fixed in this story.

I promise to pick up Unfit for Duty and get a chapter written soon. I've got ambitious goals for 2020. I'm striving to publish two more Beauty of Life novels (BREAKPOINTS and TREASURES), and three more Strike Force Zulu novels (BLOOD BONDS, and two untitled ones).

If you like my writing style, you can check out my website for sneak peeks of upcoming books: lauraactonauthor. com (remove the space before com)