“Yes, Daddy.” Brooklyn smacked her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to call him that. It slipped out.
“Repeat that for me, Brookie,” he demanded, dropping the plates onto the counter with a clatter before walking back to her side.
“Yes, Daddy,” she whispered.
“That makes me extremely happy, Brookie.”
He whisked her back into his arms and twirled around in a circle, taking her breath away. She clung to him and laughed for the first time in many months. Her heart thumped inside her chest. She’d found someone who made everything better. “No,” she corrected her thoughts. “I found my daddy.”
CHAPTER 5
Dragging himself from the house had taken all his years of discipline. Caden was amazed how easily Brooklyn had settled in. The sight of her nestled in her crib with Fluffikins this morning had made him consider retirement for the first time. The military had always been his life. Funny how quickly she’d turned that around.
Before he’d sent her to bed, they’d worked on a plan for her to follow when he was deployed or simply out of the house. Most of the action steps required her to have a phone. He’d take care of that this afternoon on his way home.
“Guess we’ll have a light day.”
Caden looked up to see his team in a semicircle around him with expressions ranging from amusement to quickly concealed longing. Pulling his thoughts into the present, Caden zeroed in on Koa who’d made that suggestion.
“Thanks for inspiring our practice today, Koa. We’re going to focus on medical evacuations. Team, you’re down one member. The enemy blew up Koa’s backpack of equipment. Unfortunately, a piece of the radio struck our communications operator in the head, leaving him with a dangerous head injury and questionable sanity. We need to get to the barrackson Chestnut in under sixty minutes to rendezvous with the helicopter. We’re in the middle of enemy territory. Time starts now.”
“Fuck!” Koa said, dropping the backpack and hitting the ground. “I hate being the dummy.”
Max ran forward and scooped Koa over his shoulder as the group broke into a run toward the opposite side of the base. They moved into the shadows of the buildings to the tree line. Each member of the team contributed to their progress. They rotated who carried Koa to avoid overtaxing any individual. Caden worked with the team while noting places where they could make improvements. At sixty-seven minutes, they arrived at their target.
Caden announced the time. “We missed the transport. What could we have done better?”
Automatically, the men headed back to their starting point. They discussed where they lost unnecessary moments, potentially shaving off seconds here and there. The next time, they arrived three minutes late. On the third run through, the team had time to survey their surroundings and emerge safely into the clearing to dive into their imaginary helicopter.
“What do we take with us from this?” Caden asked.
“We don’t let Koa have any more ice cream cones at our gatherings,” Hank suggested, rubbing his shoulder.
“Hey! Thank your lucky stars you were carrying me and not Max,” Koa protested, gesturing at the largest man on the team.
“Should we run it one more time with Max as our injury?” Caden asked.
“Nah. The weight wasn’t the problem. It was the temptation to drop Koa on his head that slowed us down,” Jerico said.
Everyone turned to stare at him in shock. Jerico was the last person anyone would have expected that ribbing to come from. Caden laughed, breaking the ice, and the others quickly joinedhim. Jerico was the newest member of the team, having joined them a few months ago. That joking comment showed Caden the group had truly bonded together.
Caden studied the group with a half-smile. The link between them would go a long way in keeping the men alive. He couldn’t have planned this better.
Keepinghis focus on the training exercises had challenged Caden’s discipline today. Rigidly, he’d kept his head in the game despite wishing he was back at home with his little girl. Caden had always planned on taking things slow when courting someone. Like his teammates, Caden had recognized Brooklyn as his own immediately, like a lightning bolt zinging through him.
By the end of the day, his ability to make small talk had evaporated. Caden focused on getting back to Brooklyn. He forced himself to stop and pick up the phone he’d reserved earlier in the day. A cute case with bunnies on it caught his eye at the store and went into the sack as well. She’d need some kind of protection for the device, right?
The house appeared quiet when he pulled into his driveway. His heart sank in his chest. She couldn’t have left. Pounding up the two steps to his front door, Caden burst inside. He spotted a flash of pink and knew he’d scared her. Instant regret flashed through him. He shouldn’t have imagined the worst. Why the hell hadn’t he checked for her car in the garage? He tossed the phone on the couch, disgusted with himself.
“Brookie. It’s me, sweetheart. I’m sorry I scared you,” he called as he walked into the hallway.
When she didn’t answer, he continued, “The house looked abandoned. I panicked, thinking you had left.”
“You told me not to go.” Her whisper came from under the crib. The bedding naturally draped over the edge of the bed.
“That’s a great hiding spot, sweetheart. You thought quickly on your feet.”
“Was this a test?” she asked. Caden could hear the outrage in her voice and knew he needed to tread carefully.
