Page 76 of Her Guarded Hero

“Well Boys, it was real nice meeting you.” He shook hands with Dex and Hunter. “I’m all in. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Dex and Hunter barely got in their good-byes before Gunnar was down the hallway to his bedroom. As soon as they all heard his bedroom door shut, Dex started to laugh and Aurora started to squirm.

“I think your grandfather didn’t want to discuss where Dalton was staying tonight,” Dex smiled.

Aurora blushed. How in the hell could she blush when she was five months pregnant with the man’s son? She blushed even hotter. Dalton put his arm around her shoulder and she shoved her face in his chest for a moment, then sighed and looked up at the three men.

That’s when it hit her. Great, now she had to pee. At most, she had a three-minute window before things got critical and she’d have to make a run for the bathroom. Who knew your bladder would shrink to the size of a peanut?

“You’re welcome to stay here, there’s two guest rooms,” she said as things got worse. Dalton realized something was wrong and gave her a quizzical stare. She gave a small shake of her head.

“While everybody was good-bye’ing, I made reservations for Hunter and me at one of the hotels in-town.” Dex said.

“How?” Hunter asked.

“On my phone,” he said holding up his I-Phone.

“I figured you had a place to stay,” Dex smiled at Dalton.

“Do I?” Dalton asked Aurora.

“If you’re up for dealing with morning sickness you do.”

He tried to pull her close. Aurora pushed at his chest. “Sorry, along with morning sickness is peanut bladder syndrome.” She turned to the other SEALs. “It was good to meet you,” she gave them a wave, then rushed down the hall.

“You’ve got one of the good ones,” she heard either Dex or Hunter say as she pushed open the bathroom door.

* * *

“Do you really think Jack’s dad will come through?” Dalton asked Dex as he stood outside his truck.

“Yeah I do.”

“Why has it taken him so long?” Hunter asked.

“Well that is because somebody is dumber than a stump. That’d be me.” Dex sighed in exasperation, letting out a plume of icy air into the night. “I didn’t think to call Jack until right before this last mission. I’m a dumbass.”

“Shut the hell up,” Dalton said sharply. “You’ve been all over this from the get-go. I’m the fucking dumbass in this scenario.” He looked up at the house and saw the light on in Aurora’s bedroom. “I’ve been a dumbass on so many levels.”

“I’d say you’re doing just fine,” Hunter rumbled. Dalton looked at his friend who had a shit-eating grin on his face.

“What?” Dalton demanded.

“Your woman is hot. Not as hot as Aliana, mind you, but pretty damn hot. I saw those pictures in the living room of her on a horse. She is something else.” Then Hunter turned serious. Dalton had been expecting it. Hunter, more than anybody else, had stood next to him when he’d lost Reagan.

“So, you’re going to be a father again. How’s that going to work?” Hunter asked.

Dalton took a moment, trying to find the right way to answer the question.

“I expect it’s going to work the normal way, lots of diapers and bottles,” Dex interjected with a smile.

“Seriously, Man. How are you coping?” Hunter asked.

He looked from one man to the next. He was lucky to have such good friends in his life. “It’s like I’ve gotten a whole new lease on life. Looking at Aurora today about took me to my knees, but after a few minutes I felt like I needed to be on my knees in another way. I needed to be thanking God for this second chance.”

Dex was grinning, but not Hunter. He just gave Dalton a look that spoke volumes, and that’s when he realized that his friend had gone through the same thing. Hunter had received a second chance with Aliana, and Dalton knew that he thanked heaven for it every single day.

“Boy or a girl?” Dex asked.