Disarmed by Love

by Gail Chianese

  “You should have told me.” He sneered.

  “There are a lot of things you should do. Shall we discuss those?” At his silence, she went on. “There was no reason to tell you. It happened, we talked about it, and it’s over.”

  “I don’t want you to take him back there. Find someplace else.”

  “You have no say in the day-to-day decisions about my son or even the big ones for that matter. You didn’t want the responsibility. Remember?”

  “Yeah, well I do now. I’m not the same man. Mia’s made me a better person and I want to be a better dad to Dylan.”

  Her mouth ran dry.

  “How were you planning to do that?” Please don’t say it, please don’t say it, please don’t say it…

  “Mia and I talked and we’d like to spend more time with Dylan. Maybe take him again next weekend and then all of July and August.”

  Her heart stopped beating.

  “That’s the whole summer,” she stammered.

  “Yeah, well it’s only fair. You have him all year long and I only see him two weekends a month.”

  She reached for the railing to keep from falling. “Because you didn’t want him. At all. You left not only me, but also our son. For almost eight years you didn’t even take him for your allotted times, coming up with excuses practically every month.” It took everything she had not to yell. Not that it would get through his thick skull.

  Nothing was ever Salvador Rossi’s fault.

  Not even when he cheated on her.

  This couldn’t be happening. There was no way she was going all summer without seeing her son.

  “My job is a little demanding, in case you didn’t notice, and it’s not like I can visit him when I’m out to sea,” he shot back.

  She stepped forward, getting up into his face or rather his chest, which she poked for emphasis. “You have the same job now that you’ve had for the past ten years of his life. You’re not going to take my son and then dump him on some stranger to watch while you and your wife go do whatever it is you two do together.”

  “I haven’t dumped him, as you put, with anyone when he comes over. We do things together, the two of us and all of us as a family.”

  Yeah, and how long would it be until he and Mia got tired playing house? A ten-year-old took work, a lot of work. What if Mia got pregnant? She wouldn’t want to spend as much time with Dylan then and once again her son would be abandoned. Not to mention, Sal had bolted the last time a baby came into the mix. Who was to say he wouldn’t do it again? Her son would be crushed.

  It was too much to ask, too much to risk.

  “We’re sticking to the schedule, Salvador.” She crossed her arms and glared.

  How dare he just decide after all this time he wanted to be a dad! As if he could ignore his son and parental responsibilities for years and then decide he was done partying, so now she had to yield to his wishes.

  “He wants to spend the summer with me, Fiona.” Her heart cracked, but she refused to show her ex any weakness.

  “He also wants to eat junk food every day, stay up past his bedtime, and ride his skateboard without a helmet. Doesn’t mean any of those things are good for him. We stick to the schedule, Sal. End of discussion.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see about that when we’re standing in front of a judge.”

  Chapter 5

  For the past week, Fiona had walked around on eggshells. After Sal had left her parents’ home, she had gone back inside, and eyed her son. Instead of asking about staying with his dad, he flashed her a smile and went back to tearing up lettuce for the salad.

  With every decision fear had enveloped her. She didn’t know if she could take Dylan telling her he wanted to live with his dad.

  But she’d refused to be a doormat for a ten-year-old or anyone else.

  There’d been a few moments of muttered grief and “Dad would let me,” but for the most part Dylan had been his usual self, which was why Fiona was standing at the far end of the base pool staring at a bare-chested Dante.

  Well, okay. She wasn’t really there to stare at Dante. She was there to see if her friend, Sally, who was a lifeguard would be willing to give Dylan private swim lessons. Dante—wet and in swim trunks—was just a bonus.

  At the moment, both were busy conducting a swim test for the class of officers. Not wanting to interrupt or distract either, because people’s lives were at stake, she took a seat on the bleachers. About fifty men and women, some wet, some dry were tuned in as one of the instructors talked. Dante stood on the side and Sally was in the water at the far end. Both ready should anyone not surface.

  It happened. A lot.

  Or so she’d heard through the grapevine. She’d worked in a different building so she’d never had the opportunity to watch before. Dante jumped in the pool along with Sally and one other lifeguard she didn’t know. Topside, on each long side of the pool, was another instructor.

  The first one up was a petite blonde who ascended to the top of the twelve-foot tower with no hesitation. She walked to the end and jumped. A few seconds later, her head surfaced and with sure strokes, swam to the side of the pool. Next up was a big guy, like football-player big. Slowly he climbed the ladder as if his feet weighed a ton and took all his effort to lift them to the next rung. Fiona remembered him from class. Carl maybe? Nice, good sense of humor, and a smile that could get him out of hard work.

  At the top of the tower he froze, hands gripping the rails. His eyes were fixed straight ahead. Minutes passed by.

  “Drake,” Skip Thomlison, the head instructor, called out from the left of the tower. “We don’t have all day. Jump already.”

  Dante shot the man a look that said shut the heck up. “Carl, you ever serve on an aircraft carrier?”

  “Yes,” he replied tightly.

  “I want you to think of that ladder as the scaffold and now you’re standing on the brow. Take the next step, sailor, and walk to the quarterdeck.”

  “One problem there, sir. There’s no ship at the end of your brow.”

  Dante smiled. “True. Tell me, is it the height or the water?”

  “Not real fond of heights, sir.”

  “Look down at me,” Dante commanded.

  Carl hesitated, then he turned his head a scant inch in Dante’s direction.

  “Think about that brow to the carrier. Now look at me. Cakewalk, right? You’ve done it a hundred times. When you get to the end, don’t think about the distance. Close your eyes and jump. You can do it.” Dante’s voice was calm and reassuring, coaxing Carl to walk forward.

  When he got to the end of the board, he stopped. All eyes were on the diver. She wouldn’t have even made it that far, so she gave him points for trying. One of the instructors moved toward the ladder. Hmm, is he going to jump with the guy or walk him back down? The instructor took another step and Carl muttered, “Fuck it” and stepped off. A few moments later he surfaced and made his way to the side with his class clapping and cheering him on.

  The rest of their group made quick work of the board and soon all were floating face down—the dead man’s float, but they couldn’t call it that anymore, as they wouldn’t want to freak out the students. Next they had a fifty-yard swim. Then they were instructed to exit the pool and dress in blue coveralls. One by one they jumped back in. The instructors on the side of the pool walked back and forth, while Dante, Sally, and the other swam around.

  “Remember to unzip those suits, bottom up, people. Come on start pounding that water. You need those air bubbles in your jumpsuit ASAP,” Skip yelled. “Keep your back hunched, Hernandez. You want all the air to escape?”

  The blonde was having trouble getting enough air bubbles in her suit; her slaps on the water became frantic, fast, and barely-there swipes across the top of the surface. Dante swam over to her. Fiona couldn’t hear his words, but the woman ca
lmed. She treaded water, nodding at his words. A few minutes later, her suit was inflated and she was floating.

  Funny, when she’d first met Dante, she got the impression teaching wasn’t his thing. But watching him with first Carl and then the woman, it seemed to her that it fit him to a tee.

  Wonder how he is with kids?

  While the first group exited the pool and Skip ran through the instructions again, Dante hopped out of the pool and came over.

  “Personal trainer, yoga instructor and swim test voyeur. Any other jobs or hobbies I should know about you?” Water ran down his chest. She had a sudden thirst and insane idea to lick each and every drop off.

  Dante smiled wider, as if he could read her mind.

  “Just here to see a friend. Not you,” she said when he leaned in closer. “Sally.”

  “What a shame.”

  “Torres, any time you’re ready. We’d like to get on with our day,” Skip called out.

  Dante walked backward, until Fiona thought he’d fall in. Instead, he stopped at the edge, did a backflip and slipped under the water.

  She hadn’t even notice Sally standing off to her side. “What brings you over? You hate the water.”

  “I do, but I need to ask you a favor when you get a moment.” Fiona lowered her voice when Skip glared at her.

  “Okay, I should be done soon. The first group always takes the longest.”

  Her friend slid quietly in the water and Fiona sat back to watch. Sure enough, the next group ran through the process without any hiccups. The last man jumped from the dive, but after a few moments he didn’t surface. The seconds ticked by and still nothing.

  “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Dante muttered and cursed before he dove.

  The jumper stood at the bottom of the pool, arms stretched over his head. His head jerked back and forth, as bubbles escaped, and a panic etched on his face.

  Why didn’t he just push off the bottom?

  Dante grabbed him from behind, and kicked hard to send them toward the surface. The student grabbed at Dante’s arms, hitting and clawing. Fiona couldn’t figure out what the guy was trying to do. Maybe he wanted to drown? They surfaced with the guy still fighting against his rescuer. Dante let go and the student started to sink again.

  “For crying out loud,” Dante said before grabbing him again.

  This time he ignored the student’s attempt to escape until he had him in front of the ladder, with his hands securely on the rails.

  “Why didn’t you flap your arms to surface?” he asked.

  “I… I thought I’d float upward,” the student said.

  “You ever throw a rock in a lake?” Dante asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Did it float? No and neither do you, not when you jump in from twelve feet above the water. If you did that from a boat, you’d be dead right now. See Blakely, the dark-haired woman at the end of the pool, report to her tomorrow morning at oh-six-hundred.”

  “Why?”

  “Buddy, you failed your test. Until you pass, you’re in remedial swim class.”

  The remaining four whizzed through the rest of the test and everyone except the sinker passed, which was pretty good. Sally grabbed a towel and sat down on the bench below Fiona.

  She squeezed the water from her hair. “So what’s this favor? Please tell me you need a friend to go on a double date with you. It’s been ages since I’ve been out.”

  Random droplets of water hit Fiona’s arm. She glanced over to her left to the source, her mouth dropped open, and she had to bite down on her lip to keep from groaning.

  The man was sex on a stick.

  Dressed in his uniform, Dante was sexy, every woman’s fantasy of a Naval officer. In workout clothes, with sweat glistening his skin, Dante was sexy. Standing in wet swim trunks that hugged the curves of his butt and all that bare skin and muscle on display, Dante was downright smoking hot.

  Sally laughed. “I do love the perks of my job.”

  Fiona tore her gaze away and met her friend’s smug look. “Nothing wrong with looking, right?”

  The two of them laughed.

  “Here’s the deal. My son, Dylan, is being bullied at the kid’s center because he can’t swim. He refuses to take lessons at the other pool saying they’ll put him in with the little ones and then he’ll be teased even more. Totally understandable, but I can’t afford the classes out in town. So, I was kind of hoping that I could talk you into giving him private lessons.”

  Sally wrapped the towel around her and tucked the ends into her top. “Why do kids have to be so mean? I wish I could help, but when I get done here I go straight to the other pool and teach class there, plus lifeguard.” She looked around. “I could ask Blakely for you.”

  “I could do it.”

  Both women turned to stare at Dante.

  * * * *

  The words were out of his mouth before his brain registered what he’d done. His next instinct was to kick himself in the ass. Sure he could swim, but he knew nothing about teaching a kid. What if he drowned?

  “Are you certified?” Fiona looked to Sally and back.

  “In more ways than one.”

  She cast him a speculative look. “Know anything about ten-year-old boys?”

  “Sure. Used to be one. Guess that makes me kind of an expert.” What the hell am I doing?

  The last thing he needed in his life right then was a relationship, especially with a woman who had a child. He had enough to focus on without adding the stress of worrying about other people’s feelings. He should tell her he didn’t mean it, that she and her son were better off without his help.

  Sally stood and leaned down toward Fiona. “You should get him to teach you at the same time.”

  Fiona froze, her eyes darted back and forth, and her lips pressed together. All color drained from her face.

  Interesting. As was her reaction.

  He’d seen that look of sheer terror many times, usual on the faces of young kids heading out on patrol or preparing to diffuse an explosive for the first time. Whatever happened to Fiona left a deep scar. He gave her kudos for not pushing that fear onto her son and it was that strength of hers, her determination to help her child that kept him from saying he’d changed his mind.

  Instead he climbed up and claimed the spot next to her as Sally waved them off to prepare for her next class.

  “Dylan, right?” He looked to her for confirmation, which came in the form of a soft smile and nod. “Is he afraid of the water?”

  “I wish. That kid isn’t afraid of anything. The higher it goes, the faster, the more dangerous, the better it is in his opinion. In ten years, he’s taken a good twenty years off my life.”

  “You wear it well, but it’s good he’s not afraid. It’ll make it easier to teach him. What kind of exposure has he had to the water?” He still didn’t think it was the best idea, but how hard could it be?

  “No formal lessons, but he plays in the pool at my parents’ house. He can do that dog paddle thing and float on his back already.” She fidgeted in her seat, looking down. “How much do you charge?”

  “The last time I asked a lady that question, I got a badge flashed in my face and a night in the slammer.”

  It took her a second to process, but he saw the instant she got it with her jaw dropping and stunned silence.

  “Really? You tried to hire a prostitute?” He wasn’t sure if that was outrage or fascination he heard in her voice.

  He laughed. “No, I was kidding.”

  She covered his hand with hers and squeezed. “It’s okay. Don’t be embarrassed. I’m not judging you, it’s just, I’ve never met anyone who engaged a professional before.”

  “And you still haven’t.”

  “Oh, I get it,” she lowered her voice to a husky whisper. “You don’t want th
e navy to know. Security clearance and all that. No worries, your secret it safe with me. But just out of curiosity. Was it because you have commitment issues or was it the first time and you wanted a pro?”

  She looked at him expectantly, totally serious. Way to go, Dante. Now she probably thinks I have performance issues, too.

  “No. Honestly, I was just kidding and wanted to see how you’d react.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Really it was a joke. I don’t have… issues.”

  Thank goodness none of the guys were around to hear the conversation. They’d have a field day.

  “Okay, fine. I believe you.” Her voice and face said anything but that. Then after a moment, she smirked. “You have a strange sense of humor, Dante, but at least you have one.”

  “Doesn’t everyone?”

  “No. Although there are some people who think they do, but they don’t. They’re just warped and others are just mean, and some are simply stupid.”

  He laughed again. “You don’t pull your punches. I like it.”

  “Of course you do. What’s not to like about me. Now, back to my question on your rates.”

  “No charge.”

  “Dante, I’m not a charity case.” Her eyes were stone cold. He definitely hit a sore spot.

  “Did I say you were?” he asked softly.

  “Then tell me how much it’ll cost.” Several heads turned at her raised voice.

  “That depends. Are you asking for the basic package or the platinum? Personally, I’d recommend the platinum, because my skills in the water are nothing compared to my other talents.” He couldn’t help it. When she got riled up her hazel eyes turned a deep moss green, and flashed with fire almost too quick to see. She was an interesting mix, feisty and confident, proud, funny, and he’d bet his life savings, passionate in everything she did.

  After a moment, she rolled her eyes and punched him lightly in the arm. “Conceited much? Let’s get back on track. We’re talking about swim lessons for my son and that’s it… to start with. Then maybe if I like your moves we’ll see if I can find any other use for you.”