Reckless Faith

Lock Walker strode down the street toward Meridian. The streets were dark, only the glow of the streetlights illuminating the path in front of him.

He stared for a moment at the front of the bar. A bar he’d spent so many hours in with his father growing up.

Cody ran it now. His brother had mentioned they were all meeting up there tonight, but they had no idea that he intended to join them. Or that he was even in town.

He shot a glance at his watch. He’d been here for less than an hour. Wasn’t it supposed to feel like home the second he stepped foot in Misty Peak? It didn’t. But then, nowhere felt like home. It hadn’t for a while.

The familiar facade of his dad’s old building grew closer, and fuck if the memories didn’t hit him hard. Of his dad pouring drinks. Of the noisy nights with his family.

There were also other memories. Ones that were harder for him to think about. Of his father getting sick. Of Dad looking less and less like the strong tower of a man who’d raised him every time Lock came home for a visit.

He stopped in front of the doors and took a deep breath. He couldn’t go in yet. Because for a single second, he felt stuck. Rooted to the spot.

Why was it so hard? Why was being here so fucking hard?

It shouldn’t be. None of this should be. Not leaving the military, or coming home, or trying to figure out who the fuck he was and what the hell he was doing with his life.

His gaze moved down the street, a street where so many more of his childhood memories lived, before looking back at the door.

Do it, Lock. Step inside. Tell your brothers you’re home for good.

One more beat of stillness—and he forced himself to push into the bar.

They were all there. His four brothers. Their partners. His niece. Nylah was the only one missing.

Cody was the first to look up, a frown creasing his brow. Then Kayden. Then Eastern and finally Jace.

At first no one spoke, outside of a few gasps, and a quiet slipped over the room, so heavy it thickened the air.

Then a wide grin spread across Cody’s face. “Lock Walker. What the fuck are you doing here?”

His brothers rose to their feet and, one by one, embraced him. He returned their tight hugs, then lifted his niece into his arms. She was too damn big. A hell of a lot bigger than he remembered. He knew she was eight, but in his head she was still a toddler, inciting chaos.

Then he was introduced to their women, each as beautiful as the next. But it wasn’t just that they were beautiful. Each of them had a smile that lit up the room…and when his brothers looked at their women, there was love in their eyes. Real fucking love.

Shit, he’d missed a lot.

Cody pushed a beer into his hand, and Eastern shoved him onto a stool at the bar.

“Talk,” Kayden said.

Lock raised a brow at his oldest brother. “What do you want me to say?”

Jace crossed his arms. “Don’t screw with us. Are you on leave?”

His next breath was heavy. “Actually, my Ghost Ops team disbanded, and we were all discharged. I’m home for good.”

There was that thick beat of silence again. He didn’t blame them. He’d barely come home over the years, so they probably thought he’d never return, even if he left the military.

“You’re screwing with us, right?” Cody asked.

“Nope.”

“Hell yeah!” Jace shouted.

Kayden gripped his shoulder. “In that case, it’s good to have you home.”

Lock dipped his head. “Thanks.”

“If you need somewhere to stay, the place upstairs is empty,” Cody said.

Lock shook his head. “I’ve got somewhere.”

He didn’t say more than that, and he could see the questions on his brothers’ faces, but they didn’t voice any of them. He’d owned a place here in town for a while.

Over the next few hours, everyone around him talked while he mostly listened. Watched. Observed the dynamics of his family.

It wasn’t until Sadie asked Elle a question that his attention shot over to them.

“Are you coming to Callie’s class with me tomorrow?”

Lock’s heart stammered at the sound of her name.

Elle shook her head. “Absolutely not. You go to your intermediate classes. I’m switching to beginner’s yoga.”

He didn’t have to ask to know which Callie they were talking about. The same Callie who lived so damn deep inside him that he could barely think about her without his entire body reacting.

Jace turned to him and lowered his voice. “Did you know she was back?”

Lock’s fingers tightened around his beer. “Eastern mentioned it.”

All his brothers knew about his relationship with Callie. It was short and they’d only seen each other when he’d made it home or she’d gone to his base, but it had been intense…and it had changed him.

He cleared his throat. “Is her new studio doing well?”

Jace nodded. “It seems to be busy.”

Of course it was. Everything that woman touched did well. She was smart and hardworking and had this smile that turned heads.

Kayden turned toward him and shoved Lock’s shoulder. “You’re the last Walker sibling left single.”

“How long he lasts is the question,” Jace said with a grin.

Cody nodded. “Yeah, there’s something about this town…people don’t stay single for long.”

His brothers talked and laughed, but Lock barely paid attention. It still felt too surreal to be home, like he wasn’t really here.

Eastern was the first to leave because he needed to get Avery home to bed. Then one by one, Kayden and Jace headed out with their women. When it was just him, Cody and Harper left, Cody gripped his shoulder.

“You sure you don’t need a place to stay? If you don’t want to stay in the upstairs apartment, we have a spare room at our place.”

Harper nodded. “You’re more than welcome.”

Lock shook his head, standing. “Thanks, but I’ve got a place.”

Cody watched him closely. “Okay. Well, it’s great to have you home. Call if you need anything.”

“Thanks.”

He told them both goodbye and drove the short distance to the house. It was a place he’d owned for a while now, yet still hadn’t told anyone about, not even his brothers.

He parked in front but didn’t get out right away. Instead, he sat, studying the rotting wood and broken decking. To anyone else, this place would look like a piece of shit, yet he’d bought it in this condition, because to him, it was so much more than that. It was the place where he was supposed to start his new life. The house he was supposed to turn into a home.

He hadn’t.

Would he finally get that chance now?

He’d come home not just because his Ghost Ops team had disbanded…but for her.

For Callie.

To get her back.

To build the life with her that he was supposed to have built years ago.