by Paige Tyler
“I’m game if you are,” he said with a smile.
Up ahead, Emma was sitting on the floor in front of the howler monkey exhibit engaged in a deep, meaningful conversation with the fuzzy creature on the other side of the glass in the open-air enclosure.
“They invited Holden and Wes, too,” Kimber added. “They want to thank them for helping rescue Emma.”
Dalton considered that. He’d been honest with Kimber the day before when he said he had no idea what the hell Holden and Wes were up to. Holden had some seriously bad people in his past—as in gangs and organized crime kind of bad. He wasn’t into that stuff now, but Dalton’s biggest concern was that his teammate had to offer a favor in return for the gear they’d borrowed. Unfortunately, Holden was keeping that to himself.
“I’ll call and tell them,” Dalton said.
He and Kimber quietly sat down on a bench behind Emma, neither one of them wanting to interrupt her as she chatted with the monkeys. Dalton draped his arm along the back of the bench, and Kimber slid closer, snuggling up to him. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Damn, he could get used to this.
Dalton quickly discovered that howler monkeys were appropriately named when the entire group swinging around in the enclosure’s trees and climbing gear hooted and hollered. Every few minutes, they’d fall silent and one of the monkeys came to sit on the other side of the glass near Emma. She animatedly chatted with them, calling each by name.
“Is she making those names up?” he asked Kimber.
“Nope. The handlers taught her how to identify each and every one of them. According to the zookeepers, she never gets any of their names wrong.”
“Wow. That’s amazing,” he breathed. “I bet she’s going to be a zoologist when she grows up. Or maybe a veterinarian. Should we be trying to get her into a special school for gifted kids?”
Kimber laughed. “Dalton, she’s five-years-old and likes monkeys. Let’s see how she handles learning her multiplication tables before we chart out her entire future, okay?”
Dalton looked at Emma to see her making funny faces at a mother and baby. Perhaps Kimber was right. “Um…okay. Maybe I was getting a little ahead of himself.”
She lifted a brow. “You think?”
“Sorry.” He shrugged. “This parenting thing is new to me. I’m sort of feeling my way through it right now, hoping I can figure it out.”
“I get it,” Kimber said. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve been doing this for five years and I’m still not sure what I’m doing. You spend every minute wondering if you’re doing the right thing, terrified you’re going to screw it all up. But the important thing to remember is that Emma doesn’t care if you’re doing it right, as long as you’re there.”
Dalton couldn’t help thinking about the fact that he’d already missed so much of Emma’s early childhood. But Emma didn’t seem to care. She was happy he was around now.
Even so, what if it was too late for him to make up for that lost time? Then again, he wasn’t sure if that was even going to be an option. Despite everything that had happened last night, he still wasn’t sure where—if anywhere—this thing with Kimber was going. He wanted to be part of Emma’s life…and Kimber’s. He just wasn’t sure if she wanted the same thing. He could hardly blame her. What was he going to do, fly up and visit now and then in between deployments and random combat missions?
“How are your parents?” Kimber asked.
“They’re doing good,” he said. “Running their little store and selling fresh produce.”
“That’s good to hear,” she said. “Are they still trying to convince you to move back home?”
Dalton chuckled. There was a time when Bo and Denise Jennings thought he might go back to the tiny town in South Carolina where he’d grown up, settle down with a Southern belle, and take over the family business. After seven years in the Navy, they’d finally figured out that wasn’t going to happen.
“Nah, they gave up on that when I reenlisted a few years ago. That’s when it really hit them that I’m not moving back home to run the store.”
Over by the glass enclosure, Emma skipped back and forth in front of several monkeys, showing off her plush wolf to them.
“What are they going to say when you tell them about Emma?” Kimber asked.
“They’ll be thrilled. They’ve always wanted grandchildren, so they’ll spoil her rotten. If I know Mom and Dad, they’ll dig into their savings and be on the next plane out here.”
They were still talking about his parents when Emma finished her plushie show-and-tell and climbed on Dalton’s lap. “I think Pansy really likes my werewolf. Can we buy her one too?”
Dalton assumed Pansy was one of the monkeys, so he wasn’t so sure buying a stuffed animal for her was a good idea. Not that he was going to tell Emma that. “Maybe,” he said noncommittally, taking the fluffy gray wolf from his daughter and looking it over. “Werewolf, huh? How do you know he’s a werewolf and not a regular wolf? And how do you know about werewolves anyway?”
Emma looked at the plush toy, then back at Dalton like he was dense. “I just know. And she’s a girl, not a boy. Can’t you tell?”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kimber working hard to maintain a straight face. She obviously wasn’t going to be of any help here. So, he nodded. “Right. I see it now. I just had to get a closer look at her. So, is she a zoologist werewolf?”
His daughter frowned at him, making it hard to figure who was the adult and who was the kid in this situation. “I don’t know that word. But she isn’t whatever that is. Khaki is a police werewolf. All werewolves work for the police. Everyone knows that.”
Dalton threw a quick glance in Kimber’s direction, but help still wasn’t forthcoming. “I do now.”
He was all prepared to learn more about Khaki the werewolf cop, but Emma tucked the stuffed animal under her arm and spoke before he could. “I’m done hanging out with the monkeys. Can we go see the sea lions now?”
Dalton looked at Kimber. “They have sea lions here?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but it’s a very small habitat. Emma means she wants to go down to Fisherman’s Wharf to see the wild sea lions playing on the docks at Pier 39.”
“Ah.” He gave their daughter a smile. “If that’s what you want to do, then that’s what we’ll do.”
Emma’s face lit up like a lamp, which made him feel pretty damn good. Then he caught Kimber frowning at him and realized he probably shouldn’t be so quick to give into everything their little girl wanted to do. But Emma was already off his lap and running for the doors.
“I’ll put my foot down later,” he promised Kimber as they hurried to catch up with her. “No toys, candy, or anything.”
Kimber snorted. “Yeah, right.”
CHAPTER NINE
FROM WHERE SHE stood by the kitchen window in her parents’ house, Kimber smiled as Emma put on a little play for Dalton, Holden, Wes, and her grandfather on the back deck using the diverse collection of stuffed animals she’d gotten both at the zoo and the Rainforest Café the day before.
“I see Emma already has her father wrapped around her little finger,” her mother said softly as the men watched the adventures the werewolf, sea lion, octopus, tiger, and walrus were having. “Are those all the toys he bought for her or just the ones you could fit in the car?”
Kimber laughed. “No, that’s all of them. I told him not to spoil her. But I have to give it to him. He really tried. He’s simply no match for her. She threw out that lower lip and he crumpled like a house of cards.”
“Poor guy.” Her mother sighed as she added more mayonnaise to the egg salad and stirred it in. Tall and blond, she was an older version of Kimber. “He might be a big, tough Navy SEAL, but he’s fighting unarmed when it comes to Emma. She’s got him all tied up in a neat little package.”
Kimber silently agreed. The three of them had spent hours wandering around Fisherman’s Wharf yesterday looking at the sea lions an
d strolling along the pier, sightseeing and being a family. It had been a beautiful day, made even more perfect by all the fun they’d had together. It was unexpected and nice, and it hadn’t taken her very long to figure out that Dalton was crazy about Emma. It was obvious that their daughter was just as crazy about her dad.
“By the way,” her mother said in a voice that suggested she already knew she was about to say something that might not be well received. “I couldn’t help noticing you and Dalton still make a cute couple. And if the way you two were laughing together when you first got here is any indication, you obviously get along well. Any chance we’re going to see him around for more than a weekend cookout?”
Kimber stifled a groan as she focused on the tomatoes she’d been slicing before she got distracted by the impromptu play outside the window. She’d known that question was coming when her parents suggested this get-together. Unfortunately, she hadn’t come up with an answer. “It’s complicated, Mom.”
“It doesn’t have to be. I know it makes for a better story in the movies when it’s true love from the very beginning. But in the real world, sometimes it takes two people willing to make it work. It doesn’t have to be easy. It just has to be real.”
“I know that,” Kimber said, doing her best to keep the frustration out of her voice. “Look, I’ll be the first to admit it. Dalton and I are still into each other, and all the old magic is there. But while these past couple days together have been great—minus the kidnapping stuff, of course—most of the things that made me decide to walk away from him five years ago haven’t changed. None of those issues are easier to deal with simply because some time has passed.”
“They might be, if you try.”
Kimber could almost see the desperation on her mother’s face. She wished she could tell her mom what she wanted to hear. “You know it’s not that simple, Mom. Yes, Dalton enjoys spending time with Emma, but I can’t make a decision this big based on that.”
Her mother grabbed ketchup and mustard from the fridge and added it to the tray along with the mayonnaise. “Why isn’t it?”
“Because it’s one thing for him to show up and be a dad for the weekend,” she said in exasperation. “It’s completely different to change his entire life for us and do it full-time.”
Her mother stopped fussing with the condiments to lean one hip against the counter, arms crossed and dark eyes full of concern. “Us? Is that what has you worried, honey. That he might be willing to change his life for Emma, but not for you?”
“That has nothing to do with it,” Kimber said, the words coming out sharper than she’d intended. She took a deep breath and set down the knife, then turned and looked at her mother. “You know that every decision I’ve made over the past five years was with my daughter’s welfare in mind. What I want doesn’t factor into this. I have a job and a support system for Emma here in San Francisco. Dalton lives in San Diego and he has a job where he’s gone more than he’s home. He runs into dangerous situations every day, any one of which could take him away from Emma forever. How can I let her fall in love with a father who could die on his very next mission?”
Her mother glanced out the window, her gaze settling on Dalton, who was standing by the grill with a smiling Emma in his arms, watching as Holden flipped burgers and moved the hot dogs around. Emma was giggling like crazy, her arms clasped tightly around her father’s neck.
“If you didn’t want Emma falling in love with her dad, you should never have let them spend time together,” her mother said quietly.
Kimber knew her mother was right. But what could she have done differently?
“Because Emma already loves him. What about you?” her mother asked, turning her gaze back on Kimber. “You said the magic is still there. But do you love him?”
Kimber didn’t say anything as she went back to slicing tomatoes. What she felt didn’t matter. She wasn’t some teenager, free to run into the arms of a man simply because she felt something for him. She had responsibilities. She had a daughter. Those had to come first.
“Like I said, it’s complicated.”
Her mother snorted. “That’s a load of horse crap!”
Kimber snapped her head up, stunned by the tone in her mom’s voice. She’d never raised her voice to Kimber before.
“What? Don’t I get the right to be upset when I see my daughter messing up her life?” her mother demanded. “And before you say anything, I’ve never held the fact that you decided to raise Emma on your own against you. I even admired it. You sacrificed for your daughter. That’s what a good mother does. But what’s going on now isn’t about you sacrificing for your daughter. It’s about you being too scared to admit you’re in love with a man because it means you might get hurt if it turns out he doesn’t love you back.”
“It’s not like that,” Kimber insisted. “I’m not in love with him. Hell, he’s barely been in town for less than a week,”
Her mother looked at her like she was an idiot. “You’re not in love with him because he hasn’t been in town long enough? Kimber, you’re a smart, strong woman, but I think that’s the dumbest thing I think I’ve ever heard you say. Look, let’s make this simple. Have you slept with Dalton since he’s been here?”
Kimber gasped. “Mom!”
“You don’t need to answer that,” her mother continued. “From the look on your face, it’s obvious that you have. And I’m not saying sleeping with him is a bad thing. Just try looking at this from my perspective, okay? The moment Emma was in trouble, who did you turn to? Dalton. The first time you go out to do the family tourist thing, who’s it with? Dalton. And now, you finally let a guy into your bed for the first time in five years, and who does that guy turn out to be? Dalton. Seems to me like you already know exactly how you feel about him. You’re just too much of a chicken to admit it. Even to yourself.”
Kimber’s head was spinning, mostly because her mom had nailed it. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t falling hard for Dalton. The only thing keeping her from giving into that feeling was the fear that he didn’t feel the same. Hell, as far as she knew, he’d be heading back to San Diego any day now, not to be seen again until the next time he was home on leave. She’d tried to convince herself that she was only worried about Emma’s heart. But that wasn’t true.
None of that soul searching meant she was going to admit any of that to her mother.
She carefully arranged the sliced tomatoes on a plate. “I appreciate everything you’ve said, Mom, but this is something personal between Dalton and me. You’re going to have to trust me on this.”
Kimber expected her mother to argue, but she nodded in acquiescence “Okay. I’ve said my piece. I’ll let it go.”
“Thank you.”
Outside, her father and Wes had wandered over to the grill to talk with Dalton and Holden. Emma was grinning from ear to ear as she stirred a pot of baked beans. With Dalton’s help, of course.
“Your father mentioned that the break-in at JASCO is a major topic on the local news channels,” her mother said, obviously doing her best to change the subject.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that, too.” Kimber rarely watched the news, but she couldn’t avoid the constant barrage of stories related to her employer. “They’re getting almost all the details wrong, but they’re right about one thing. The whole situation looks bad for JASCO.”
“Are you going to get fired over this?” her mom asked. “I mean, you did break in and steal the chips.”
Kimber put the cutting board she’d been using in the dishwasher. “Jasper was mad, but in the end, he understood why I had to break in. He even told me that he would have done the same thing in my situation. JASCO’s board wants me out, along with most of the security department, but he said he’d go to bat for me, so I think I’m going to be okay.”
“I guess that’s a good thing,” her mother said.
“Of course, it’s a good thing.” Kimber shut the door of the dishwasher with a sharp click. “Unless you
’re keen on the idea of me losing my apartment and moving back in with you and Dad?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
“How did you mean it then?”
Her mother’s lips curved. “I was merely thinking that if you didn’t have a job to worry about here, it would make it easier for you and Emma to move to San Diego with Dalton.”
Kimber bit her tongue—but just barely. So much for her mother letting it go.
CHAPTER TEN
SO, DID YOU and Wes take care of that obligation you had?” Dalton asked casually as Holden moved the hot dogs over to the side of the grill, then flipped a few of the burgers. His friend still hadn’t said a damn word about what he’d had to do in return for the equipment they’d used to break into JASCO, and Dalton couldn’t help but worry. Holden and Wes, on the other hand, had shown up at Kimber’s parents’ house an hour ago with a few bags of chips and some sodas, acting like nothing had happened.
“I did some stuff for the people I got the gear from,” Holden said without looking up. “A favor for a favor, so everything is square now.”
Dalton didn’t think he’d get anything else out of Holden, but he waited a few seconds before digging for more, just on the off chance he was wrong.
He wasn’t.
“This favor you did,” he prodded. “Any chance it’s going to come back and bite you and Wes in the ass someday?”
Holden still didn’t look at him. “I kept Wes out of it for the most part. As far as anyone knows, he was never there.”
Dalton cursed silently. “I’m thrilled for Wes, but what about you? You told me once that it had been hard for you to walk away from your past. Are you right back in it now because of what I asked you to do?”
Holden shrugged. “I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to help you. It’s nothing I can’t handle on my own.”
“Dammit, Holden. That’s the point! You don’t need to handle this on your own. If you got yourself in trouble because of me, I’m going to be there to get you out.”
