He shook his head and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, leading her to the door. “Go on. I’ll be down in a minute.” Giving her a small push toward the stairs, he entered the hall bath and closed the door. Several minutes later, he bound down the stairs and followed the sound of voices to the kitchen.
Doug pushed away from the counter with a hand outstretched. “Jordan. Welcome back.” Jordan wasn’t surprised when Doug pulled him into a bro hug and pounded on his back. “Thanks. I—” He stepped back. “Thanks.”
Jordan slapped him on the shoulder and scanned the room for Emme. She stood with her father in the adjoining breakfast nook. Her head rested against his chest with her arms wrapped around his waist. They’d always been close. An image of a little girl with Emme’s curls running to him flashed in his mind. That’s what he wanted. The piece of him he never realized was missing.
“You want a beer?” Doug asked.
He tore his gaze away from father and daughter. “Yeah.”
“They’re in the garage.”
He turned, but Jordan stopped him. “I’ll grab it. Where’s the garage?”
Doug pointed to the door on the other side of Emme and her father. “Through that door. Fridge’s is on the left.”
He edged around Emme as her dad moved back. “I’m grabbing a beer. Do either of you want one?”
Emme shook her head. “I’ll come with you,” General France said. He followed Jordan through the door into the two-car garage.
Jordan opened the fridge and pulled two Sam Adams lagers from the door. He held one out. “General.”
Taking the proffered beer he said, “You’re sleeping with my daughter. I think you can call me Emmard.”
Jordan froze. Even though he detected no censure, he didn’t know how to take the general’s words. “Sir, I want you to know that I care for Emme.”
“Jordan, you can be very sure if I didn’t believe that, you wouldn’t be here right now.” He twisted off the bottle top and threw it in the trash next to the fridge. “I read Titan’s after action report. I know you volunteered to stay with her, even though they had someone else lined up.” He took a swig of his beer. “I also know how close she came to being killed.”
“She’s safe, Sir.”
He took another pull of his beer and nodded. “When do you join back up with your unit?”
“I leave here in the morning. There’s a flight leaving out of Fort Bragg in two days.”
“Thank you, for going to get her. I know it probably seems ridiculous…you weren’t really needed, to be honest. But it was a comfort to Lori knowing someone who knew Emme would be there when she was rescued.” He looked at Jordan and gave him a level stare. “Someone she would be comfortable with after everything we imagined happened to her.”
“I understand, sir.”
He pushed away from the bench. “Come one. Let’s go back in before Lori comes looking for us.”
Jordan followed Emmard back into the house. Emme caught his eye and raised her eyebrows, silently asking if everything was okay. He nodded his head and sent her a quick smile. Relief softened her face. Had she really been afraid her dad would shoot him? He took a drink of his beer to hide his smile.
