Rebel Lion

by Anna Lowe

  Dell hugged Quinn a little closer. “Already?”

  Connor nodded then took a deep breath. “Listen, if you’re really ready to see this through, I’ll back you up. We all will. But you have to be sure. And you have to prove it.”

  Dell scowled. Connor was doing that tough-love thing, wasn’t he? Damn the man.

  “Like I said, I’m learning,” Dell insisted.

  Connor didn’t look convinced. “Well, you’d better learn fast. Starting today. And not just for an hour or two. You need to be able to take care of Quinn all day if you want to keep her.”

  Dell hid a wince. All day? He’d been planning to work on his place, then take a cat nap, and after that—

  He caught himself there. Connor wanted him to be Captain Responsible? Fine. “All right, already. I’ll take care of her all day.”

  Connor gave a curt nod. “And you need to figure out what to do with her while you’re at work.”

  Dell frowned. Shit. He hadn’t thought of that one. His bartending job was only part time, but still. What would he do with Quinn? Not to mention during the security patrols that made up the rest of his working hours.

  Jesus. How did single mothers ever manage?

  He looked at Quinn, starting to doubt his own resolve. But then she looked at him, so wide-eyed and innocent, and it gutted him. How could he ever give her away? She was his own blood. His last connection to his brother. She was family.

  He took a deep breath. The first step was to survive an entire day. He had already called around and found other people to cover at the Lucky Devil for the coming week, so at least there was that. And in the meantime…

  “What about the investigation?” he asked in a low voice.

  Connor gave a grim nod. “We’ll cover that.”

  “Anything so far?”

  Connor made a face. “Only getting started on what a mess Lourdes’s life was.”

  Dell held Quinn a little tighter, resisting the urge to cover her ears. “Maybe that wasn’t all her fault,” he murmured, remembering what Anjali had said.

  “Maybe,” Connor said, not sounding convinced. “We’ve got some leads on the ex-boyfriend, but we’re waiting for our contacts on the East Coast to report more.”

  Quinn was squirming around, so Dell resettled her on his lap and handed her one of Joey’s dinosaurs — one big enough not to be a choking danger.

  See? he wanted to say. I know that much.

  “Like I said, you concentrate on the kid,” Connor growled.

  Dell leaned over to huff to Quinn. “Dragons. So bossy. Be glad you’re a lion, kid.”

  Connor gave him that look that said, Joking doesn’t solve problems, you know.

  Oh, he knew. But it sure made life more fun. Did having a baby mean you couldn’t have any fun?

  His shoulders drooped. Maybe it was best if he found Quinn a home with parents who didn’t have as much to lose as he had.

  Not losing, his lion whispered. Gaining.

  Footsteps sounded on the porch, and he turned. Anjali was coming down, and just like that, time went into slow motion. His heart thumped more slowly but twice as loudly. His eyes tracked her every move, from the slide of her hand over the railing to the bounce of her hair. She’d dressed in long brown shorts and a yellow shirt, and he wished she still wore that thigh-length T-shirt she’d slept in. Not so much for the sex appeal as for the chance to see her looking a little more relaxed. A little more free.

  That’s what she is, his lion decided. A caged lion. It’s up to us to set her free.

  Dell thought that one over. He already had one impossible mission to attempt. Taking on a second one was a recipe for certain failure on both counts.

  Maybe they go together, his lion mused.

  He made a face. What if Anjali didn’t want to be set free?

  “Good morning,” she said in that voice that was music to his soul.

  “Morning,” Connor said gruffly.

  Anjali came over and squatted to smile. It was aimed entirely at Quinn, but he still felt like a million bucks.

  “Hey, sweetie. What do you have there?”

  Quinn showed off her slobber-covered dinosaur while Dell answered for her. “Gigantosaurus.” Then he shot Connor a look. See?

  Thanks to Joey, he knew about all kinds of dinosaurs. Didn’t that count as a parenting skill? Or, shit. Did that fall under babysitting?

  Babysitting, Connor’s look said.

  But Dell’s mind was already off on another tangent. Anjali was so close, he couldn’t resist inhaling her rich jasmine scent.

  “Got your calls done?” he asked, feeling ridiculously…attached. Like they were a couple and he got to ask her about things every day.

  She sighed. “Just getting started.”

  For a moment, it had felt as if he, Anjali, and Quinn were the only three beings in the world, but then Connor spoke up, facing Anjali.

  “Listen, we’d like to invite you to stay for a few days. It sounds like you have a lot to do, but it would be good to…you know. Transition a little.”

  Dell held Quinn a little closer. Connor was talking about transitioning the baby right out of his life.

  Still, having Anjali around for a few days would be a good start. Maybe he could figure out a better solution in that time.

  “If you can swing that,” Dell added in a tone much softer than Connor’s habitual growl.

  Anjali looked at Quinn, then her phone, and then Dell. The moment their eyes met, his body warmed.

  Mate, his lion purred, lashing its tail from side to side.

  Seconds — minutes? — later, Anjali jolted her gaze away and cleared her throat. “Technically, I have another week off.” She forced a smile. “That’s what you get for neglecting to take a vacation in three years. And it would be best for Quinn…” Her eyes drifted to Dell, then jerked away again. “So, yes. I can swing it. If you don’t mind, of course.”

  In any other situation, Dell would have cracked a joke. A beautiful woman offering to spend a few days around him? No, he didn’t mind.

  But he bit his tongue and managed to keep it to a polite, “That would be great. Thanks.”

  Anjali’s smile was all the reward he needed. The problem was, his inner beast was running away with a thousand ideas. Like how to get to know Anjali better. How to free her from her cage.

  Free us from our cage, too, his lion whispered, though Dell had no idea what that meant.

  He looked down at Quinn and gave himself a firm nod. He could learn to take care of a baby. How hard could it be?

  “Good,” Connor murmured, standing to go. “Dell here was just going to town to pick up everything the baby needs.”

  Dell snapped his head upward. “I was?”

  “I can watch Quinn if you’d like,” Anjali offered. “She’ll be ready to nap soon, and I can make a few calls.”

  Dell tilted his head. “How about you come with me? See Lahaina. You can’t be all work and no play.”

  The moment he uttered the words, Connor shot him a hard look.

  Anjali looked between them, obviously trying to get a handle on the dynamic between them. Which would be hard. How could a human understand about dragons and lions, or about soldiers who’d gone through enough together to be closer than brothers?

  “Right,” Dell sighed. “Big man here wants me to do it on my own. Like a test, I guess.” He frowned, then brightened. “But I can drop you off in town. Lahaina is really nice. You can look around there while I get…um…formula and stuff.” He turned to Connor. “Is that allowed, boss?”

  Connor gave him a look that said, Watch it, buster, but didn’t say a word.

  Anjali hesitated. “I do have a lot of calls to make…”

  It was crazy, how desperately he wanted Anjali to come. How eager he was to get a workaholic to let her hair down.

  “So make your calls in town, then. Do a — what is that called? A working lunch. Come on, treat yourself,” he said.

  Come with me,
his lion begged silently. Please come with me.

  Anjali looked at her phone one more time and finally allowed herself a careful smile. “I guess I should see a little of Maui while I can.”

  Dell nearly stuck his arms up in triumph. “You definitely should.” Then he caught Connor’s frown and added, “While I do the shopping with Quinn.”

  For a moment, he pictured how nice it would be to meet Anjali in the park. Maybe take a walk by the seaside and follow up with drinks. Then Quinn cooed, and his lion growled.

  No drinks. Not with a kid.

  He considered that one. Smoothies, then.

  He nearly laughed out loud. Soon, he’d be driving a minivan and going to the playground. Could he really handle all that? And not just that, but could he really have a mate?

  Connor clapped him on the shoulder and turned to go. “Dell navigating the baby aisle of the supermarket. That, I have to see.”

  Dell blanched, picturing boxes of diapers, a dozen choices of formula, and… What else did babies need?

  The panic must have been written all over his face, because Anjali leaned in with an encouraging look. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I can coach you on the way.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Okay. I’ll check in again tomorrow.”

  Anjali clicked off her phone and sighed. Technically, she was on vacation. But it sure didn’t feel that way, not when she’d spent the past two hours making business calls.

  She lifted her head and blinked herself back to Maui, almost surprised to see turquoise water and palm trees. She closed her eyes for a moment, drinking in the fresh air and scent of tropical flowers. Then she scanned the horizon one more time. She had never seen the Pacific before, and it was spectacular. Two islands dotted the horizon, but behind them, the ocean stretched on and on in ever-deeper shades of blue. Over to one side of the breakwater, surfers were catching the waves — some beginners, others more adroit. Just watching them bob on the water, waiting for the next set of swells, fascinated Anjali. In Chicago, no one sat around waiting for anything, especially not in the middle of the day.

  As beautiful as it was, she kept finding herself looking down to check on Quinn. Then a hollow, empty feeling would set in when she realized the baby was with Dell. Anjali took a deep yoga breath and reminded herself that had been the plan all along. But, damn. She didn’t look forward to saying goodbye for real when the time came. Not to Quinn, and not to Dell.

  Then she made a face and quickly scanned her planner. Dell was the kind of guy she might have flirted with if she had a chance to be twenty all over again and nowhere near as obsessed with her GPA as she had been back then. He was absolutely, positively not the type for a responsible, thirtysomething career woman to be dreaming of. So what if the guy was good-looking?

  He’s sweet, a little voice whispered in the back of her mind. And fun.

  She smiled in spite of herself. Dell had cracked her up with jokes on the drive into Lahaina, and she’d laughed even harder when he made her write down what kind of formula and diapers to buy.

  “Sizes? They come in sizes?” He’d stared, looking petrified.

  “I could come and help,” she’d whispered. “Just this once.”

  But Dell had shaken his head. “No, thanks. I’m supposed to be Captain Responsible, you know.”

  She laughed. Of all nicknames, that was the last one she would have associated with Dell. But he’d remained resolute, dropping her off in the town center while he went shopping with Quinn.

  “Aloha,” a deep voice said, making her turn.

  Anjali broke into a broad smile, because it was Dell.

  “Aloha,” she said, nearly purring at the sight.

  Nearly breaking into a sweat, too, because that combination of very fine, muscled man with tiny little baby practically made her ovaries twitch. Dell looked happy to see her too, which went ever further in warming her up.

  “Say aloha, sweetie.” Dell lifted Quinn’s hand in a little wave.

  He’d bought one of those baby snugglers that held the baby up against his chest and freed his hands, and Quinn looked right at home.

  Lucky baby, Anjali sighed inside.

  To Dell, she laughed. “Wow. Aren’t you the pro?”

  Dell’s eyes sparkled as he plonked himself down on the grass beside her. Anjali reached for Quinn without thinking, then froze with a hand on the baby’s cheek. What did it mean that both Dell and Quinn made her heart leap? She was leaving in a matter of days. It was no time to even dream about falling in love — not with the baby, and certainly not with the man.

  But damn it, she was already helping Dell unbuckle the snuggler, which meant she got to brush his hands and chest and cuddle the baby. Not exactly a formula for shutting down dangerous emotions.

  Dell wiped his brow and flashed that winning grin — a combination of I’m already exhausted and I’m actually having fun. How about you?

  Well, she hadn’t been having much fun with her calls. But now? Yes, she was. Something about Quinn lit a whole new side of her soul, and Dell made everything seem sunny and easy again.

  “Oh my God.” He gave an exaggerated sigh. “I’ve been through hell and back.”

  Anjali raised an eyebrow.

  “The baby aisle at the grocery store,” he explained. “You didn’t tell me there was daytime and nighttime formula. Plus a fortified kind. Plus an antiallergenic kind. And don’t get me started on diapers. How am I supposed to know how much she weighs? She’s tiny. That’s all I know.”

  Anjali laughed. She’d gone through the same thing a week ago. “Just wait till she grows up. I hear teens are even harder.”

  He covered his face with his hands. “God, don’t even go there.” Then he turned his head, glancing at the surfers with a definite glint of I could have been out there today. But then he looked back at Quinn and slowly broke into a secret smile. Maybe Captain Responsible was in there, after all.

  “This looks handy,” she said, touching the baby snuggler.

  “Handy, yes,” he said, letting her help him maneuver Quinn out of it. “Pricey, too. I think I just blew this child’s college fund.”

  Anjali brought Quinn right up to her face, cooing to her. “Not cheap, huh?”

  “Not once you get this thing.” Dell gestured to the snuggler then shaped a huge pile of gear out of thin air. “Plus a crib, a stroller, a hypoallergenic blanket…”

  Anjali chuckled. “There is such a thing as secondhand, you know.”

  “I know. But A, I was in a rush, and B, nothing but the best for this kid.” His voice went from joking to sorrowful. “I figure she’s already been through a lot. Not that a new crib makes up for losing her mom, but…”

  He trailed off, and they were both quiet for a time. Then Quinn gurgled, and he laughed. “It’s a hat, sweetie. A hat.” He pulled the edge of an adorable yellow sunhat out of Quinn’s mouth. “Not a snack. I swear, this kid would eat the car if I let her.” Then he went back to scolding Quinn. “I let you pick your favorite and everything, and now look what you’re doing to it.”

  Anjali smiled, picturing Dell with a five-year-old, a ten-year-old, and a fifteen-year-old Quinn. He might not be the world’s most conventional parent, but he certainly had the unconditional love part down pat. The question was, could he handle everything else?

  Anjali left those thoughts for the moment. She’d finally loosened up a little, and she wanted to keep it that way.

  “And how exactly did she choose a hat?”

  Dell shrugged. “I showed her two, and this is the one she slobbered on first.”

  Then he flopped back on the grass, folding his arms behind his head while Anjali held Quinn. “I swear, getting kitted out for my first tour in Iraq didn’t involve as much equipment as this child.”

  Anjali peeked at him out of the corner of her eye. Were his jokes a way of wallpapering over more serious experiences, or were they a function of being younger brother to straitlaced Quentin? A little of both, ma
ybe? Either way, she was starting to see…well, not through Dell, but into him.

  Then he slowly jackknifed back to a seated position, and Anjali gulped. There was a sweaty spot where Quinn had been nestled against his body, and his shirt stuck to his skin, showing the outline of every flexing muscle.

  “Want a smoothie?” he asked, standing as quick as a cat.

  She looked up at him, blinking as a dozen dirty thoughts came to her mind. Really dirty, the likes of which she hadn’t entertained in a long, long time. Like getting to her knees, helping him slide off those cargo shorts, and—

  She coughed the thought away. “A smoothie would be great.”

  He crooked an eyebrow. Oops. Had he read her mind?

  “Any particular flavor?” he asked in a slightly husky voice.

  Another few heated images flitted through her mind, and she took a deep breath. “You choose.”

  His eyes sparkled. Damn. Those words were filled with all kinds of innuendo, and she blushed.

  Finally, he grinned and turned, thank God. Anjali watched his perfect, boxy ass for ten seconds before ripping her gaze away and fussing over Quinn, who’d yanked off her hat. Anjali fanned herself with it. If Dell did manage to pull off the parenting thing, he’d be Hawaii’s DILF of the year — every year.

  Quinn started to cry a moment later, and Dell whipped around and came trotting back.

  “Looks like she’s hungry,” Anjali murmured.

  “I gave her a bottle after the store,” he said.

  The second he came near, Quinn gurgled happily. Anjali grinned. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one falling for Dell.

  Her face dropped. It was good that Quinn liked Dell. But for her, a grown woman, to fall for his charm too…

  Dell came up behind Anjali to smile over her shoulder at Quinn. He looped his arms loosely around Anjali’s shoulders to reach the baby. And there they stood, him, her, and the baby, all looped together in a most intimate way. Not intimate as in sex, but intimate as in familiar and perfectly at ease. Anjali closed her eyes and inhaled that intoxicating combination of man and baby scent. She might have stayed there for a long time, enjoying sensations that felt foreign and comfortable at the same time, if someone hadn’t cleared his throat, making them turn.