Full Force Fatherhood

by Tyler Anne Snell

  Why hadn’t the mugger taken anything?

  In the haze between wakefulness and sleep, her thoughts went to Victor’s journal, hidden in a box in the kitchen.

  Maybe he’d been looking for something more specific.

  Chapter Six

  Guilt hung heavy within Mark’s chest. Lying in bed, he couldn’t get the image of Kelli’s scraped cheek out of his head. What was it about the Cranes that nulled his ability to keep them safe? It was a question that had pushed itself to the front of his mind during his cab ride home the night before...and it had still been there when he awoke.

  “Get it together, Tranton,” he scolded himself. “The past is the past.” But even as he said it, he knew it wasn’t true. The past had called him back to his favorite bar, asking him to avenge a man who died because of him.

  The weather forecast was clear for today, but a storm was in the distance. He could smell the rain as he walked to his small balcony. Drought for months and then nothing but rain. Dallas was consistent with its weather inconsistency.

  He moved through his apartment, trying to focus on anything other than last night. It wasn’t working.

  “Have you ever had a gut feeling, Mr. Tranton?”

  Yes.

  That Darwin McGregor wasn’t behind the fire.

  But he wasn’t in the business of trusting his gut. Not anymore. Not when it hadn’t even twinged at the cabin that night.

  Mark skipped his morning gym session and went straight for the shower. He managed to wipe his mind of any thoughts of the past. So much so that when he got out and looked at himself in the mirror, he took a moment to shave. Jonathan Carmichael would have been proud. Every time they had worked together during their time at Redstone Solutions or the Orion Security Group, he had always commented on Mark’s five-o’clock shadow and lack of neatness. Facial hair hadn’t been a point of fixation for the ex-bodyguard, and that had driven Jonathan a little crazy.

  “You look like you’re the one we’re protecting our client from.”

  The memory made him snort.

  And now I don’t protect anyone.

  His hand paused midmotion.

  Once he had shaved, he decided Jonathan would’ve approved—he did have to admit it made him look better. He was heading to the bedroom when a knock sounded at the apartment door.

  Eyeing the buzzer on the kitchen wall, he quickly went through a list of people already in the building who would want to pay him a visit. He wasn’t pals with any of the tenants, but on occasion he would get asked to watch the game or go out drinking with Craig from the gym. As he walked to the door, towel around his waist, chest still bare, he marveled at the fact that he couldn’t even recall Craig’s last name.

  Which was fine, since it was Kelli waiting at the door for him.

  “Oh,” he said, opening the door wide from its original cracked position.

  “Oh,” she repeated. Her eyes darted up and down his body. He pictured the pair of shorts and shirt on his bed that he probably should have put on before answering the door. “Sorry. Is this a bad time?” she asked, recovering. A slow pink had risen in her cheeks.

  “No. I just got out of the shower.” He motioned to the towel that hung low on his hips, just in case the droplets of water across his bare skin and his wet hair weren’t enough proof to make his claim believable.

  “Right. Um, could I maybe talk to you for a minute? I promise it won’t take long.”

  Mark stepped back and waved her inside, cautious of how loose the towel felt as he moved. After everything they’d been through, he didn’t think flashing Kelli Crane was the best way to start a conversation.

  “Make yourself comfortable. Let me go get dressed.”

  Kelli nodded and took a seat on the couch, but only on the edge of it. She was uncomfortable, but why? Mark dressed in record time and sat in a chair across from the intriguing young woman, ready to find out.

  “Sorry if coming by was too intrusive,” she started. “I may have Googled your number the other night, trying to find your address.” The blush from earlier came back, but not as strong. “I was in the neighborhood, meeting my realtor for some papers, when I realized how close your apartment is. So I decided dropping by might be better than leaving another voice mail.” She gave a little laugh. “Now I see that maybe it was just creepier.”

  Mark still wasn’t sure he could sum up how he felt at seeing Kelli again—especially in his apartment, wearing a pair of tight jeans and a form-fitting blouse—but he didn’t feel creeped out in the least. He hadn’t even thought to ask her yet how she’d gotten into the building.

  “It’s not creepy,” he admitted. “But I am curious how you got in without buzzing up.”

  “A man asked me who I was here to see and waved me in.” Her smile was small. “Said he was worried you hadn’t shown up for the gym that morning.”

  He laughed. He really needed to learn Craig’s last name.

  “So what’s up?” Mark asked when it was clear she needed a bit of prodding. “Did they catch the mugger?”

  Kelli shook her head. “They told me they’d call if they did, but so far, no call. That’s partly why I wanted to talk.” She readjusted in her seat and seemed to take a breath before looking him in the eye. “I wanted to sincerely apologize for everything. I shouldn’t have asked you to meet me after all this time just to spin a paranoid theory about a charity, of all places. I just— I guess I thought I’d accepted—to some degree—what happened to Victor. Finding his journal showed me that maybe I haven’t fully.”

  She shrugged, sudden vulnerability showing in each movement. “After I had Grace, I needed to be strong for her—for us—to make it. I suppose I might have buried some feelings rather than faced them. Though creating a conspiracy in my head was probably the wrong route to take.”

  Her gray-green eyes took on a new shade as the conversation left the past behind. The vulnerable side of Kelli disappeared with it. The corner of her lips pulled up into a smile. “To apologize for trying to rope you into my crazy, I’d like to invite you to dinner tonight at my house. And before you say yes or no, I should warn you—my best friend, Lynn, will be there, and, of course, Grace. Most of the house is boxed up. So if you’re expecting fancy, you won’t find it there.”

  Mark tightened his jaw so his mouth didn’t fall open in surprise. Once again, he hadn’t expected their conversation to go the way it had. Being invited into Kelli’s home to eat with her loved ones? No, he hadn’t seen that invitation coming.

  And he didn’t know how to feel about it, either.

  “Listen, I appreciate the offer—I really do—but you don’t owe me anything, Kelli. You don’t have to apologize to me.” Ever, he wanted to add.

  The blonde’s smile grew. “Now, you listen to me. You saved me last night, and...well, it wasn’t the first time.” She pulled a small piece of paper out of her purse and handed it to him before standing. “I’d really appreciate it if you came, Mark. I’d feel a whole lot better knowing that—after I’d gone a bit crazy—you at least got a good meal out of it.” She started to walk to the door before pausing. “Unless you already had plans? I—I realize I didn’t even ask.” Kelli’s eyes quickly flicked toward the bedroom.

  He smiled. “No plans here,” he said.

  “Okay, great. Then you really have no excuse not to come.” That made him laugh. Kelli Crane was tenacious.

  “Fine,” he replied, copying her playful tone. “I’ll be there with bells and whistles on.”

  Kelli’s expression contorted to disgust. “I know that that’s an expression but please, dear goodness, don’t bring bells or whistles into my house. I have a toddler. She will want them and use them until we’ve all gone crazy.”

  Mark laughed again and followed her to the door. “Deal.”

  Ke
lli smiled and was gone, leaving him standing in his doorway with the paper in his hand. On it was an address and the starting time of seven. His eyes went back to the house number, and his memory sparked. Guilt undid the fun humor he’d lapsed into with Kelli when he realized she still lived in the same house she’d shared with Victor.

  He was about to go to the house of the man he’d let die, to eat with his widow and daughter.

  Mark rubbed the back of his neck.

  He’d spent the past year trying to keep away from the past, and here he was, going to dinner with it.

  * * *

  LYNN HAD HER face so close to the window that her breathing was starting to fog up the glass. Grace, who had been copying her godmother’s nosiness minutes before, was now sitting next to her feet, playing with Lynn’s phone. Kelli rolled her eyes and wiped sauce off her hand onto a dish towel. She was a decent cook but lousy at keeping the ingredients off her. She wouldn’t be packing the dish towels until they were out the door and on to the new house.

  “You know, typically, when you invite guests to dinner, you’re not supposed to watch for them so intensely,” Kelli said. “That’s what the doorbell is for. It lets you know when your invitee arrives.”

  Lynn turned her head and rolled her eyes. “First, don’t act like you invite people over all of the time,” she said, serious. “Second, I’m sorry if I’m insanely curious about the person you did finally invite over.”

  Kelli kept her smile firmly on her lips. They both knew the reason she hadn’t been the most entertaining woman in the past year. Being a single working parent had limited her time. As far as her first guest being a man, well, that had surprised her, too.

  Inviting Mark over hadn’t been an impulsive decision. Instead, it had been one that grew from a thought seeded in her mind during the moments right before sleep. It wasn’t until she was driving to meet the Realtor that she’d decided to act on the idea. Despite short notice, Lynn had been more than willing to help keep Grace entertained while they all ate. Even though Kelli had explained she truly needed to apologize and show thanks to Mark for saving her the night before, Lynn liked to tease her. She’d done it when Kelli wouldn’t admit she’d liked Martin Ballard their sophomore year of high school, and again with his brother Tony a year later.

  Not that Kelli liked Mark the way she’d liked the Ballard brothers.

  Before she could stop herself, she pictured the ex-bodyguard with nothing but a towel around his hips. Her face heated instantly and Lynn’s eyebrow rose as if she could read Kelli’s thoughts.

  “Want to come help me?” Kelli asked, attention turning downward to Grace, cutting off any questions that Lynn might start throwing out.

  Kelli put the dish towel over her shoulder and went to her daughter. She picked her up, and Grace giggled.

  “I guess I’ll go powder my nose or something,” Lynn said, resigned.

  “Good,” Kelli said. “Less smudging on the windows before our guest gets here.”

  Grace started to do her routine of toddler babbling and let her mom know really quickly that she preferred to stay right where she was on her hip. So Kelli tried her best to set the table while juggling the little diva. It didn’t go as well as she would have liked. Grace had become fascinated with Kelli’s dangling earrings.

  “Pretty,” she cooed.

  “Nothing compared to you.” The little girl had her hair braided in pigtails and wore a long green floral shirt and pink-and-purple-striped tights she’d picked out herself. The outfit, plus her innocent smile, brightened the entire room. Kelli was so distracted by the pure love she felt for the little human that she jumped when the doorbell sounded behind them. “Our dinner guest is here.”

  Grace started to squirm until Kelli put her down. She ran to the door and paused to glance back at her mom. Kelli peered through the peephole to confirm it was the ex-bodyguard before giving the girl a nod. Grace squealed, and together they opened the door.

  Kelli felt a single butterfly dislodge in her stomach. It began to flutter at the sight of Mark. Even though he was fully dressed, there was a new attractiveness about him now. Wearing a white button-up and a pair of nice slacks, he looked as though he’d taken pains to style his short dark hair. Though she realized his face had been shaven when she’d visited him earlier, without the presence of his half-naked body she was able to appreciate how the clean look softened his otherwise hard expression. His dark green eyes scanned her face before falling to the child at her side.

  A wide smile split his face.

  “You must be Grace,” he said, bending to meet her gaze. She was unapologetic in her stare right back, but Kelli knew she was reverting to the rare shyness she had only when first meeting someone. Her little arms wound their way around Kelli’s leg. But surprisingly, Grace smiled. “Beautiful kid,” Mark added, straightening.

  “And she knows it, too,” Kelli responded with a wink. She moved farther back into the entryway, inviting him in.

  Kelli took a quiet, quick breath when their eyes met again. She wasn’t sure what that butterfly was up to, but it was causing her to feel some things she probably shouldn’t.

  For a brief moment, she wondered about the love life of the man she’d just invited into her late husband’s home.

  Chapter Seven

  Lynn managed to not lose her composure when she came into the entryway, moments after Mark shut the front door. What she didn’t manage to do was keep her eyes from roving up and down the man. She cut a quick look to Kelli, who was at his side, before extending her hand.

  “You must be Mark,” she greeted him.

  Mark took her hand. “And you must be Lynn.”

  The short-haired woman beamed.

  “That’s me—childhood best friend, keeper of all embarrassing stories, holder of everything secret. You know, the norm.”

  Mark chuckled, and Kelli swatted at her. Knowing her, she’d launch into one of those embarrassing stories if not adequately distracted.

  “Why don’t we go ahead and sit down?” she suggested, ushering the group into the next room. The table wasn’t made up as fancy as she would have liked, but judging by what she had seen of his apartment, Mark didn’t mind the lack of flamboyance. Like Kelli, he seemed to find pleasure in simpler tastes.

  “You weren’t kidding about boxes,” Mark commented, taking the first seat he made it to. His back was facing the door but with a perfect sightline to a pyramid of boxes against the wall behind the table.

  Kelli laughed. “I warned you.”

  “Yes, you did.”

  Lynn sat across from Mark while Grace climbed up on her lap. Normally Kelli would have said something, but the toddler had been in such a good mood that she didn’t want to jeopardize it. Not that she thought Mark would have been angry if she had thrown a tantrum. He seemed to be a good man.

  “I hope you like spaghetti,” Kelli said, bringing in a pot full of it. “I’m not a five-star chef, but these two have never complained.”

  Lynn leaned in a bit but spoke loudly. “I just haven’t told her that I’ll never turn down free food.”

  Mark laughed, and the three of them launched into the small talk that happens when everyone isn’t fully acquainted. Lynn brought up her disdain for her boss and, immediately after, her dream of owning her own marketing agency.

  “I’d force this one here to leave her gig and get a job with me,” she said, thumbing in Kelli’s direction. “She can use those artsy skills to make a mean profit, helping me design pretty campaigns.”

  “You’re still working in art therapy?” Mark asked after downing a mouthful of noodles. Kelli was surprised he remembered.

  “Actually, no,” she admitted. “I currently train others to use art therapy to help senior citizens with special needs. I used to be the one doing it, but now I teach those who wi
ll.” She shrugged. “I have to say, it’s way more flexible schedule-wise, which helps me take care of that little thing there.” Grace’s attention was on her food, even though half of it was on her face. “Though the pay leaves room to be desired.” She glanced at the boxes stacked in the living room.

  “It’s great what you’re doing, though,” Mark replied once he, too, had glanced at another stack of boxes. Kelli wondered if he’d put together the fact that her new job and its lower pay was a big contributor to them moving. “Helping people can be a hard business.”

  “Speaking of helping people,” Lynn chimed in, “Kelli tells me you’re no longer working as a bodyguard?” Kelli’s eyes shot daggers at her best friend. Always one to talk before thinking, Lynn’s eyes widened. She’d finally realized the most likely reason behind his change of work. However, it was too late to take her words back.

  If Mark was offended, he didn’t show it.

  “Yeah, I needed some time away from it,” he said. He didn’t meet their gaze but focused on his drink. “Don’t get me wrong. Orion is the best place I’ve ever worked, but I’d been doing it for so long, I needed a break.”

  Kelli hoped what he was saying was true, that he’d changed careers for reasons that didn’t involve her or her family, but she certainly wasn’t going to pry into his motive.

  “Orion. I just love that name,” Lynn said, showing Kelli she wouldn’t pry, either. That earned a smile from the man.

  “The founder, Nikki, named it after Orion’s belt. It was her way of remembering why she started the group.”

  “Why did she? What’s the connection?” Kelli couldn’t help but ask. Even though they’d hired Orion, she’d never heard their origin story.

  “I’ll warn you, it wasn’t the best beginning,” he said. “Nikki and I, along with two other agents, were working at an elite security agency called Redstone Solutions before Orion was even a thought. We did almost the same thing as Orion does now, but for a high price.” Sadness crept across his face. Kelli realized that perhaps she’d jumped from one sore topic to another. “One day a woman named Morgan Avery came in, asking for protection while she traveled to the UK. She was competing for placement in an astronomy program that was really hard to get into. She said she’d been receiving threats and was terrified. We were told to turn her down—she didn’t have enough money—but still she came day after day to ask again.”