Ralph asked his buddy Brian and a soldier deployed with him in the same unit, "Tell me, you have not tagged me in the video and pictures you had taken at the Atlanta airport of Adira, Raven, and me?"
They were in Kuwait, as they were delayed and were waiting in limbo at a military camp. But the campsite was good, with all the facilities. One could be fooled by thinking that they were back in the U.S. Ralph was waiting at the community hall with his friends Daniel, Brian, and Michael. Brian was sitting with Ralph while the other two were enjoying the facilities at the camp. Brian's idea of enjoying himself was posting pictures and videos of Adira, Raven, and Ralph on social media and then tagging Ralph.
Brian shrugged. He had a stupid grin on his face, which was irritating Ralph all the more. Brian agreed he did tag Ralph.
"You realize my family will watch it and assume it's true?" Ralph asked him.
Brian replied, "It is not far off from the truth. You seem to be in the habit of attracting women like Adira. Granted, the hotness level is so high, I fully expect the corresponding level to be equally crazy."
Ralph replied Adira is not crazy. She is desperate and in need of help. But she is hot as fuck, I must say.
Brian told him, "But you cannot deny that you attract those in need?"
Ralph retorted, "That is not the point. You should not have posted that shit to Facebook."
"Whatever, dude," Brian replied.
Ralph ordered him, "Take those pictures and videos down."
"As soon as I have access to the computer," Brian replied.
Ralph shoved him into an empty chair in front of a desktop computer. He ordered, "Hop on and make them disappear."
Brian saluted him, and then Ralph marched out from there. He strode outside into the dry afternoon heat. There had been a dust storm earlier, which had covered everything in fine-grained sand.
Ralph was thinking he would be coughing all the shit up at eighty. Provided he lived that long, as these sand storms appeared unannounced. Also, after each deployment, he was sinking dark and deep. A part of him did not want him to come out every time he went home on leave.
At that point, Ralph's phone started buzzing, taking him away from his thoughts. When he landed at Kuwait airport, he bought a SIM card that would enable him to take texts or calls from anywhere. Provided the service was available there.
When he checked, he was surprised to find it was Adira's message.
Adira: Please tell me you are around to talk.
Ralph: Give me two minutes, and we can talk face-to-face. What's your Skype ID?
Adira: I don't have one.
Ralph: FaceTime?
Adira: Yes!
Ralph did some jogging and then reached his room. His phone was buzzing again. He glanced down and saw Adira was requesting him to come on FaceTime. A grin kicked up the corner of his mouth. He pressed the accept button while simultaneously opening the door of the room. "Hold on, sweetheart. Let me open the door and go in. It's too hot outside. I need to get out of the sun," He said.
Adira asked him, "its daytime there?"
Ralph stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He replied, "Yeah, it's daytime." He told Adira, "If you were not so impatient, I would have called you first."
She rolled her eyes and said, "I think we are past that sort of thing."
Ralph said, "Damn, it's good to see you." He let his gaze travel over the parts that he was allowed to see. She had a gorgeous face, dimples, slim neck and shoulders, and the top of her shirt. 'Castle Beach Football' was printed across her chest.
Ralph asked her, "Are you wearing my old shirt?"
She blushed and said, "Your Mom gave it to me. I am sorry."
"But I am not sorry. You look damn hot wearing it," Ralph grinned happily and replied. He then asked her, "Is everything good?"
She replied, "Kind of?" She then said, "No, I don't know."
Ralph's grin faded. He asked her, "What's wrong?"
She replied, "Nothing is wrong, and that is the problem." She tucked her hair behind her ears and continued, "I got here late last night, and your sister and mom were happy to see me... us."
She then had an uneasy look on her face, which Ralph noted. She said, "Remember how everyone thought we were married back at the airport?"
"Oh shit," he thought to himself. But he said "Yeah," to Adira.
She continued, "And how everyone thought that Raven was your daughter?"
Ralph replied, "Yeah."
"Well, that has happened again. The entire family thinks I am your wife, and Raven is your daughter. It is because someone tagged you in a video and some pictures on Facebook," she said to Ralph.
"I am going to kill Brian," Ralph muttered.
"What?" Adira asked.
"Nothing. I was imagining hurting Brian for causing all this drama," he replied.
"I don't know what to do, Ralph?" Tears pooled in her eyes, and she glanced away. "I think I could have stopped it right away. But your Mom looked so sad and then was happy, and she is saying that everything that Raven does is just like you, and...." She then blew a shuddering breath and said, "Help me do the right thing."
Ralph's heart started to gallop. He thought that Adira was probably looking ready to bolt.
Ralph asked her, "My mom is happy?"
Adira nodded, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Very. She is playing with Raven right now so I could get more sleep," she said.
Ralph leaned back in his chair, letting his head fall into his hands. "Let me think about this," he said.
"She mentioned something about your brother Mike disappearing?" Adira said while looking at him again. She continued, "I don't want to snoop, Ralph, but I feel like that is pretty important."
"Yeah." Ralph then said, "He went missing over a week ago. The coast guard has downgraded the search, which means he is dead. I came to know about it the day we met."
"Oh, my God!" Adira said. Her dark eyes searched his face. She then said, "I don't know what to say?"
"There is nothing to say, sweetheart." Ralph smiled faintly. He said, "The only thing you need to do is be yourself."
"Myself. That means your wife. How am I supposed to pretend to be married to you?" Adira questioned him.
He replied, "We did a pretty good job fooling the guys at the US army Lounge and hostel at the airport." But as soon as those words escaped his mouth, he was afraid he might get into trouble for saying that because they were monitored. But he hoped those in power might have a bigger fish to fry and not spy on him. But he asked Adira, "What do you want to do?"
"I have no other option except to move in with my brother when he returns." She laughed and said, "Can you believe he had it all planned? He wanted Raven and me to move with him, and he would get a second job so I could afford daycare for Raven and get my life back together."
"Yeah, I can believe it," Ralph said. He thought it was something special about Adira that made a guy want to protect her. He wondered why the fuck did Lucifer spoil her life as he did? How could he hurt her? Hell, how could any men do that to women? He could sense his wolf emerging, but he calmed down. He told Adira, "How about this... let them think what they want?"
She asked him, "You want me to lie?"
He replied, "Not exactly. Let's consider it just an omission."
"Omission of the truth? It means a lie," Adira retorted.
Ralph laughed and said, "Remind me not to debate with you."
"I don't want to take advantage of their kindness or emotional vulnerability. It is already bad enough that I am here in the first place because my family has disowned me," she said.
Ralph thought if he got a chance, he would give her guardians a piece of his mind. Who the hell throws away a relative, especially in their time of need?
Ralph asked her, "How do you know you and Raven aren't exactly what they need right now, especially my Mom?" He thought that if Adira went along with this lie, even for a little while, it could help ease the pain of losing Mike.
Adira looked up at the ceiling and then back at Ralph. She said, "Your mother practically said the same thing that you sent us to her because you knew how much she needed us."
Ralph questioned Adira, "You want to pay me back?"
She nodded and said, "Very much so."
"Then lie, Adira. Lie until my family can put Mike's death..., uh, disappearance behind them."
"Then what?" Adira asked. "What do I do when they are happy again?"
Ralph promised, "I will clear everything up. I will take full responsibility." He then leaned forward, willing her to understand his plan. He said, "I swear to take care of you and Raven. There is nothing to fear from my side."
Adira nervously replied, "I don't know."
Ralph asked her, "Do you trust me?"
"Yes," she replied.
Adira replied with so much conviction that he wanted to kiss her. He said, "Trust me when I say everything will be okay. Remember what I promised you and Raven?"
She replied, "Yes. You said that as long as we were with you, you would not let anything bad happen to us."
"I keep my promises, Adira," Ralph replied.