“Relationship?” Abby asked as Dylan could see the panic setting into her eyes.
Dylan sent her a wink. “Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to marry me.”
“Oh,” Bridget sighed sadly. At least he had her on his side.
“What? Marriage? Who’s talking about marriage?” Abby asked as her father began to look victorious.
“No one. That’s the point. No need to worry about marriage. I will not ask you to marry me. In fact, I’ll wait until you beg me to marry you so we can take this nonrelationship as slow as you want. Though for me to marry you, you might have to convince me you love me.” Dylan grabbed a piece of bacon as Abby’s mouth opened and closed while no words came out. Ahmed looked smug, Bridget was hiding a smile behind her napkin, and Jackson, Talon, and Lucas looked confused. “But, you can’t ask me to marry you now. I have to run an errand. Guys, can you look after Abby for the next two hours?”
“Of course,” Jackson said slowly as he looked around the table, still confused. “We’ll stay on the farm. If we aren’t here, we’ll be at the gym.”
“Thanks. Be back soon.”
He had two women to see about their babies.
* * *
What the hell had just happened? Abby was speechless as she looked around the table. Her mother was smiling as if she knew something. Her father looked as if he’d just won a horse race. And Jackson, Talon, and Lucas looked as confused as she felt.
Abby slammed her mouth shut and sipped on her orange juice when she noticed her father smiling at her. She put her neutral face in place as she envisioned herself slamming those armoire doors closed after stuffing everything back inside. Relationship? Marriage? Kissing her at the table in front of her father . . . again. What was Dylan up to?
Not that a relationship with Dylan would be bad. In fact, the way she felt when he touched her had her thinking that waking up every day in his arms would be the furthest thing from bad there was. But her job . . . was probably over. And Dylan’s job . . . was something she fully supported. So maybe the obstacles that had been there before were no longer relevant?
“Well, I have to get to the training center,” her mother said as she stood from the table. “Ahmed, are you going to bring Nemi in today?”
Ahmed shook his head. “No, I am going to stick with my daughter today, and every day until she’s safe.”
“Dad, that’s not necessary. I can protect myself and I have three agents who you know and trust with me. Do what you need to do. I’ll be fine.”
“Oh no. I think a daddy-daughter day is just what we need. Remember how we used to have them once a week when you were little?”
Abby smiled as she nodded. “Like when you taught me to throw knives when I was seven?”
“And how to survive in the wilderness when you were six?”
“I still am the best in my unit at leaving no trail behind,” Abby said as she reminisced.
“And sharpshooting at twelve,” Ahmed said with a sigh as he remembered the good times they had together.
“Okay, a daddy-daughter day sounds nice. What should we do?” Abby asked, giving in. Because when it came down to it, her father was overprotective and didn’t know the meaning of boundaries, but loved her as fiercely as she loved him.
“Well, the guys mentioned the gym. Want to practice close-combat kill moves?”
Abby jumped up from the table to go change. “Sounds great! I haven’t done that in a while.”
“You do realize she’s not ten anymore, right?” Abby heard her mother ask her father as she hurried upstairs. Ah, good memories.
Dylan banged on Sienna and Ryan’s door. They were the closest so he’d hit them up first while he’d sent a text to his mom telling her not to leave. His cousin’s wife opened the door with their son sitting on her hip and smiled when she saw it was Dylan.
“Hey, Dylan. Ryan is at work and you caught me about to leave for Mommy and Me class. What’s going on?” Sienna asked as Ash gurgled and held out a chubby hand for Dylan. Ash’s head of growing black hair took after his Grandpa Cole and his hazel eyes came from his Great-Grandpa Jake Davies. Most of the Davies family members had them, with the rare exception of Ryan’s brother, Jackson, who had inherited Cole’s silver eyes.
“I need a favor,” Dylan said seriously as the smile slipped from Sienna’s face.
“Of course. What is it?”
“I need to take Ash to your Mommy and Me class, no questions asked.”
Sienna opened her mouth to automatically agree and then left it hanging open as the request clicked in her mind. “What?”
“I need to borrow my little cousin. Please,” Dylan said, hating the slight begging sound that came out when he said please.
Sienna’s brow wrinkled as she looked down at Ash and back to Dylan. Then with a shrug she reached for the monogrammed diaper bag next to the door and handed it to him. “You have to wear a sling. It’s in there. The moms will show you how to put it on. The class is in Lexington. I’ll text you the address,” she said, sending it to him before handing over Ash who found the whole thing very amusing. At least that was what Dylan thought the gurgling meant. Sienna smiled as Ash pulled on Dylan’s hair with his slobbery hand. “Well, I’m going to see Nora at the Fluff and Buff and get my nails done. If you stay for the playtime class, I can even get my hair done.”
“What time would you be back if you did both of those?”
Sienna thought about it. “Two hours?”
“I might not stay for the class, but I’ll keep him until then. See you in a couple hours.” Dylan turned to leave but turned back to Sienna. “Thank you.”
“I may be a new mom, but I’ve already learned to never turn down free babysitting. If you are asking, there’s a reason, and I can’t wait to hear what it is. Oh, and don’t forget the car seat!” Sienna called out as she unlocked her car from the porch. Then she got her phone out. “Hello, Nora. I need to get in ASAP. This is not a drill!”
Dylan bent into the car and set Ash into the car seat. How hard could moving a car seat be?
Five minutes later as sweat poured from his face, Dylan pulled the car seat base free and had it strapped into the back of his SUV. He’d even used a bungee cord to make sure it was completely strapped down. All the warnings on the thing made him think the child would die if he hit a bump, which made the trip to his mother’s very slow as he made sure he didn’t drive too fast or take the turns sharply.
Dylan honked as he saw his mother putting his little sister in the back of the car. He rolled down the window and yelled, “Wait, Mom!”
He parked quickly behind his mom’s car and rushed out.
“I’m sorry, but I have to get going or I’ll never make my class.”
His mother may have looked like she was only old enough to be his older sister, but she was actually in her early fifties and today was the first time he’d seen her look close to her age. There were dark circles under her eyes. She didn’t have a bit of makeup on. Her hair was sticking out at odder than normal angles, and there was what looked to be spit-up running down her back.
“Let me take Cricket to the class while you do whatever it is you need to do,” Dylan suggested.
“Huh?” Tammy asked as clearly things weren’t computing quickly. Then Ash screamed and his mom hushed Cricket before pausing again. “Do you have a baby in your truck?”
“Yeah, I’m taking Ash to the Mommy and Me class. I thought to help you ou—” Dylan didn’t have a chance to finish the sentence as his little sister, car seat and all, was shoved in his arms.
“Here’s her bag. The sling is inside. I don’t even care why you’re doing this. I need to sleep. And maybe get my hair done at the Fluff and Buff. I can multitask!” she said excitedly as she picked up her phone. “Nora, I’m coming in right now. I’m going to nap while you do my hair. I only have an hour,” she said her voice dropping with sadness as Nora probably explained Sienna had already called.
“Just text me when yo
u’re done and I’ll bring Cricket home,” Dylan whispered as a tear ran down Tammy’s cheek.
“I’ll be right there, Nora. Yes, champagne and a pillow sound lovely.” His mother hung up the phone and wrapped her arms around his waist as she only came up to his chest. “It’s hard raising a baby in your fifties. But if you tell your father I said that, I’ll kill you in your sleep.”
Dylan chuckled and hugged his mom back. “I promise he won’t hear it from me.”
“I must have done something right as a parent if I have you,” she said as she pulled away.
“You did a lot right. Piper helps save people with her inventions, Jace will help save people when he’s a doctor, and Cassidy has a heart of gold. I’m your only mess-up,” Dylan laughed, but his mother didn’t.
“Don’t you dare say that! You are not a mess-up. You’re a wonderful son who protects the entire country. Someday you’ll find someone who will protect you, and you’ll find your own happiness. Until then, I don’t care why you want to take your sister, just take her. You’re the only one she stops crying for anyway.”
Dylan looked down at Cricket as she peered happily up at him. She was in a cute pink flannel dress, white tights, little shoes, and had a big pink bow wrapped around her head. She was adorable. “You don’t cry, do you?”
His mother snorted. “Not for you. For us she cries all the time until I learned to put a big picture of you above her crib. I’ve finally been able to get a couple of hours of sleep now.”
“Well, go nap and get your hair done. I’ve got this.” He’d pulled out hostages from behind enemy lines. He’d assassinated terrorists in the middle of their own compounds. How hard could a Mommy and Me class be?
13
Abby was hot, sweaty, and as happy as she could be. She and her father had worked for the past hour on fighting moves as Jackson, Talon, and Lucas joined in. Abby tossed down the towel she used to wipe her face as the four of them took a seat on the bench in the gym and drank water.
“If this is what you’re teaching at the training center, I need to sign up,” Talon said before gulping down half a bottle of water.
“This would have come in handy the last time I wrestled a polar bear,” Lucas said, nodding his head.
Abby shook her head at the Alaskan. It must have to do with being in two months of constant daylight and then two months of constant night that made Lucas who he was.
Abby caught herself looking at the door. Damn Dylan for mentioning a relationship and then walking out as if he didn’t have a care in the world. It was all she could think about now. What would it be like to call him her boyfriend? To talk about having a future together? It wasn’t as if that had been unforeseen. It was over a decade of repressed emotions coming to the surface. The question was: what exactly were those emotions and how did she feel about having them?
She could see herself coming home from an assignment, or whatever her new life held for her, and sharing it with someone who would understand. She’d never let any of her previous boyfriends know the real her. They didn’t even know what she did for a living. Well, until Sebastian. But Sebastian was a friend-turned-one-night-stand-turned-back-to-friend—never a boyfriend.
And Dylan would understand her life, her talents, her abilities. He wouldn’t freak out at her stabbing someone or shooting them. He would trust her when she’d have to go out of town for work and not tell him where she’s going. Before, she had to lie, and eventually boyfriends became suspicious when you had to leave with an hour’s notice and were gone for three or four days before showing up again.
Just thinking about it felt good. It filled her with . . . hope. Hope for an actual normal life, well, as normal as she would want. Hope for a partnership, companionship, and hope for something deeper, like love.
“Ready to work on some knife strikes?” her dad asked, pulling her from thoughts of what life with Dylan would be like.
“Yeah, let’s do it,” Abby said, pushing the thoughts of her future back, especially when the nagging voice of doubt whispered what if Dylan doesn’t want that.
* * *
Dylan slid his SUV into the last open parking space at the strip mall in Lexington where the Mommy and Me class was held. He grabbed the two diaper bags from the front seat and tossed them crosswise over his body until it looked like a big X of diaper bag straps across his body.
Cricket had screamed the entire trip. Ash had been too engrossed with his hand to care. Dylan already had a throbbing headache. His sister had the strongest lungs of any person he’d ever known. And he’d made a lot of people scream over the past couple years.
Dylan opened the back door and grabbed Cricket’s car seat. “Ladies first,” he cooed and Cricket instantly stopped screaming as soon as she saw him.
Ash saw his cousin disappear and started to scream. By the time Dylan made it around to the other door, Ash was in a full tantrum. “Shh. Cousin Dylan is here now. It’s . . . not okay!” Dylan gagged as the smell hit him. “Ash, what did you do?”
Ash giggled up at him, or at least that’s what Dylan thought the gurgling noises were. He looked at his watch; he had two minutes. He could do this. Dylan opened the trunk, reached into the diaper bag, pulled out the changing pad, diaper, and wipes before setting Cricket down next to the changing pad and detaching Ash from the contraption of a car seat.
“One minute and forty seconds, we’ve got this kid.” With military precision Dylan had Ash on his back, his onesie unsnapped, and the diaper off. While Dylan had been too young to help with his younger brother, Jace, he had been old enough to help with Cassidy. And changing a diaper was something he could do quickly.
“Now, let’s get you cleaned quickly since it’s a little chilly out.”
Dylan pulled down the diaper and breathed through his mouth. He would not throw up, he would not throw up. It was a four-wipe kind of cleanup and Dylan leaned over to lift Ash’s bottom when there was a slight gust of cold wind followed by a splash of warm liquid.
“Ah!” Dylan screamed as Ash babbled. His pee somehow launched itself up and over Dylan. He scrambled and covered Ash with the new diaper and took a deep breath as he reached for yet another diaper. Cassidy had certainly never done that before.
Dylan’s watch sounded as he wiped the pee from his shoulder after snapping the onesie back into place. “Done!” he called out, holding up his hands. He heard a giggle from behind him to find three moms covering their mouths with their hands as they tried not to laugh too loudly.
“Are you in the Mommy and Me class?” Dylan asked as he strapped Ash back into his car seat and carried a car seat in each hand.
“Yes, it’s right here. Are you meeting your wife?” the perky blonde asked. Dylan also noticed they were all in yoga pants. He looked down at his military black cargo pants and his long-sleeved workout shirt that stretched tightly over his muscles. He kind of matched them all in their yoga pants.
“No. I’m not married. This is my little sister, Cricket, and my little cousin, Ash,” Dylan told them as he used his foot to push open the door and hold it for the women who all giggled again.
“Your mom is Tammy? There’s no way she’s old enough to have a son like you,” the blonde said with a smile.
“God, can you imagine pushing him out?” the brunette whispered to the redhead.
“That wasn’t what I was thinking of doing with him,” the redhead whispered back. Dylan winked at her, and her face turned as red as her hair.
“Where are Tammy and Sienna?” the blonde asked as the entire room of moms stopped to stare.
“I told them I’d take the babies so they could get their hair done,” Dylan replied and then looked around the room as there was a collective sigh.
“Hello, ladies!” the leader called out. “Geez,” she gasped when she caught sight of Dylan. “And, um, gentleman. Pick a mat and place your baby, or babies, at the end of the mat. Let’s start with some warm-ups.”
Dylan placed Cricket and Ash next to each ot
her and was about to take a seat when the leader clapped her hands. “Come onto your hands and knees into chaturanga dandasana.”
Dylan looked around as the women moved into the yoga position and followed suit. “Keep those legs straight. This isn’t the beginners’ class,” the leader called out. While it was said softly, it was with the sound of a drill sergeant. “Slowly lower yourself and now kiss baby’s belly.”
Dylan was lost. It was kinda like a push-up, yet, not really. But he watched and followed the lead. Cricket squealed when he kissed her tummy and Ask gurgled before Dylan was whisked away into another pose.
* * *
“You did well,” the blonde said after the hour-long class. They were now in singsong time. Some babies were smashing their hands on instruments while a song played over the sound system. Other babies were sitting and staring at each other while their mothers talked. The trio of ladies he’d walked in with had formed a circle of mats and their babies were playing in the middle.
He might have done well, but his legs and arms were shaking. Warrior pose two about killed him. He’d had Ash in one hand, straddling his front leg, and Cricket in the other as he held her out behind him.
“Thanks. I didn’t know it was an exercise class. I guess I could have been more prepared.”
“Will we see you next week?” the redhead asked as she blushed again.
“I don’t know. But I appreciate you all letting me join your group. I’m Dylan Davies,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Becky,” the blonde said, shaking his hand.
“Olivia,” the brunette said next.
“Yours,” the redhead said, instantly causing herself to blush a shade redder than her hair.
“That’s Emily,” Olivia said with a shake of her head. “She’s single if you couldn’t tell. But the real question is, are you?”
“Hopefully not for long,” Dylan said before looking at his watch. He’d been gone from Abby long enough. It wasn’t quite time to drop the babies off, but he wanted to get back to Keeneston. He’d fulfilled his first mission. “Well, I look forward to seeing you ladies again.”
Forever Notorious: Forever Bluegrass #11 Page 11
