Daddy, Sir (Dirty Daddies 2024 Anthology #6)

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Daniel

He was still laughing as he watched Sadie and her crew leave.

Talk about brat shenanigans…

After waiting for them to get out of sight, he went to his garage and entered the code for the door. His Charger still rested under its cover and the keys were on the pegboard over his workbench. Aside from a bit of dust and a few cobwebs in the corners, everything was unchanged. He’d gotten lucky that the storm didn’t do more to the garage than rip off a few roof tiles.

He dug into his kit bag for fresh clothes, then used the tiny bathroom in the back of the garage to wash up. As he dressed in jeans and a blue button-down shirt, he decided to come clean with Sadie. He’d still do the work he promised, but it didn’t sit right to let her pay him or eat the expense of onboarding a new hire.

Lastly, he pulled the cover off his car and slid behind the wheel, noting that Mel had left him plenty of gas. The engine started with a throaty purr, and he smiled as he backed it out of the garage. He hadn’t realized how much he missed having his own stuff, or how good it would be to get home.

And he didn’t mean to his sister’s place. As much as he loved Mel, she and her family had their own lives. Even storm-damaged and not quite ready to be lived in, the bungalow was his.

Hell, maybe he’d set up a cot in the garage after he spilled the beans to Sadie. It wouldn’t be for more than a week or so.

The scent of garlic, tomatoes, and spices snuck into his open window as he parked behind the restaurant, and his mouth watered. The turkey and cheese on white he’d had for lunch was hours past, and he hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he smelled food.

As he walked in, he heard feminine laughter from a large table in the corner and knew without looking that he’d found Sadie’s crew. Their buoyant giggles were infectious.

“There he is! Daniel!” Sadie called, waving her arm in the air. “Join us and cop a squat.”

Shaking his head, he grabbed a chair from an empty table and squeezed between Sadie and a beautiful redhead he hadn’t met. She looked to be in her late thirties, with cute, freckled cheeks and brown eyes.

Before he could introduce himself, Sadie said, “This is Jolene Miller. She’s the landscape architect working for your friends at The Majestic.”

“You know the boys?” Jolene asked.

“I haven’t seen them in years, but yes. I’m Daniel Palmer.”

“Good to meet you.” Jolene swallowed the last of her beer, then grabbed a mozzarella stick from an appetizer tray. “Are you the new hire Sadie was telling me about?”

“Yeah, but only for two weeks. I’m starting a job at the airport soon.”

“And how do you know the Horsemen? You Navy too?”

“No. I was in the Army. We met up in Hawaii several years ago, and lost touch.”

“Are you out for good?” Lourdes asked.

“Mostly. I have a few years left as a reservist.”

“Guys, we don’t need Daniel’s autobiography,” Sadie interrupted. “He’s great about helping where he can, but he’s got a life.”

“Except you didn’t ask those questions when you hired me,” Daniel replied. “For all you know, I could be a serial killer.”

He was mostly teasing, but the more he thought about it, the less he liked it. Daniel appreciated her kindness, and he suspected at least some of the women at the table wouldn’t be working at all if not for her, but Sadie shouldn’t have to worry about her staff being like Jim the asshole. If she wasn’t going to ask the hard questions, it would happen again.

And next time, nobody would be around to paddle her ass for it.

“See?” Lourdes bumped Sadie’s shoulder. “He still might be a serial killer, but even he thinks you should ask more questions when you hire people.”

“Fine!” Sadie scowled, then waved for him to continue. “What did you do in the Army?”

“I worked in communications and transferred to the reserves as a first lieutenant.”

The women went very quiet and simply stared at him until Beatriz finally whispered, “We shouldn’t.”

“We have to,” Lourdes replied.

“It’s a rule,” Jolene said, shaking her head sadly. “Sorry, it just is.”

“What’s a rule?” he asked.

“We don’t have a choice.” Sadie laid a dramatic hand on her forehead and sighed. “We can’t avoid it, so there isn’t any use trying.”

“I’m sorry. I’m really lost. What are you talking about?” Daniel asked, trying to decide whether they were serious or up to something nefarious.

“It’s just too sad.” Sadie’s lips twitched into a smile, and she wiped a faux tear from under her eye. “You should have stayed in the Army long enough for another rank, because now we have to call you Lieutenant Dan.”

The ladies burst into laughter and passed the food over, along with a mostly full pitcher of beer, essentially welcoming him to their group.

Apparently, Sadie was not remotely done with brat shenanigans. He had a feeling she never would be, which suited him perfectly.

Sadie

“You are all brats,” Daniel said, before transferring fried mushrooms and mozzarella sticks to his plate. “Bratty, bratty brats.”

“Sadie is the brattiest,” Jolene replied. “We just follow her lead.”

“Hey!” Sadie sniffed and resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at Jolene. “Remember that time you?—”

“We’re not talking about me, Miss Brat,” Jolene interrupted, her face turning pink.

“Is there anyone at this table who doesn’t identify as a brat?” Daniel asked, a smile teasing his entirely too kissable lips.

“Me.” Lourdes raised her hand. “I’m a good girl.”

Beatriz snorted as her crewmates started giggling. “Except for that week-long pout you had when Sadie wouldn’t let you carry your new puppy in a baby sling while you worked.”

“He’s just a baby!” Lourdes replied. “He needs his mama.”

“And now that baby weighs a hundred pounds and still thinks he’s a lapdog,” Sadie muttered, making everyone laugh.

By the time the pizzas arrived at their table, her crew had taken to Daniel like he’d been with them all along, which made her both sad and delighted. It really was a shame she wouldn’t get to keep him.

Then again, if he wasn’t working for her, she could test the waters and maybe see if he was single. If he was, she might just do something girly like shave her legs and put on a dress to ask him out.

Of course, she’d have to actually own a dress… And also, a razor.

Maybe she should think about hiring someone to get the girly crap done, like Sandra Bullock did in Miss Congeniality .

She could take him to Club Apocalypse when it opened and… No. Sadie shook the thought away, deciding a bondage dungeon probably wasn’t the best idea for a first date.

Besides, despite her fantasies of being taken in hand by a stern dominant, she didn’t know if she’d be into it in real life. A man who could curb his dominant impulses enough to let her work in a male-dominated field would be a fucking unicorn.

Daniel doesn’t seem to mind…

“Anyway,” Daniel said after he devoured the last of his pizza, “I have a confession to make.”

“No!” Beatriz said. “Please don’t tell us you’re really a serial killer who plans to take us to your school bus buried in the desert.”

“God, Bea.” Jolene rolled her eyes. “You watch too many movies.”

“I promise I’m not a serial killer,” Daniel replied, chuckling. “But I do need to tell you something.”

“Well, what is it?” Sadie asked.

She didn’t think his secret would be anything bad. At worst, she wouldn’t get the two weeks he promised, which she wouldn’t have had in the first place.

“That house we’re working on?” He dabbed his lips with a napkin and shrugged. “I’m the owner. My sister Mel hired you to do the repairs.”

Staring at him, Sadie blinked, then closed her mouth. Of all the things he could have said, that was the last she’d expected. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

He smirked and tapped her nose, making her want to bite him. “This is why everyone is telling you to ask more questions, boss lady. Formal background checks would be better.”

Yep. She should have bitten him—especially when everyone started laughing.

“He’s got you there, Sadie,” Lourdes said. “But anyone can say they own a house. If you’re really the owner, tell us what’s in the garage.”

“A black 1972 Charger under a gray cover, a workbench, a small bathroom, and a spare engine on a lift. The Charger is parked right outside. You can also call Mel to verify me.”

“Son of a bitch.” Jolene chuckled and shook her head. “Best practical joke ever.”

“Not seeing the humor,” Sadie muttered. “Again, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because you needed help, and you wouldn’t have let me if you knew.” Daniel turned in his seat and laid a hand on her knee. “And seriously, you don’t have to pay me. I wanted to learn to do the work myself, and I can’t think of better teachers than you and your ladies.”

Damn, he was good.

“Nope.” She handed her credit card to the waiting server. “I can’t hire the person I’m supposed to be working for, and I can’t have you on site if you’re not being paid or in a formal internship.”

Since she hadn’t asked the right questions, she could tell herself he hadn’t truly lied, but he had put her in an ethically tight position. Thankfully, it had only been one day, and nobody had gotten hurt.

“Except my sister hired you, so technically, you’re not working for me,” he countered.

When her crew started nodding their heads in agreement, she rolled her eyes. “Semantics. At the end of the day, you, Lieutenant Dan, are the property owner. Not Mel, who is also in trouble with me for not saying anything.”

“She didn’t know I’d decide to ask you for a job.”

“Still no.”

“Then give me an unpaid internship.” He caressed her knee, then squeezed gently and leaned close to whisper, “I’ll even let you call me Lieutenant Dan without spanking you.”

Although he was probably teasing, her belly cramped almost painfully, and she swore she had Niagara Falls in her panties. Just the thought of going over his knee with her jeans pulled down…

“It’s not illegal for a property owner to work on their own house,” Jolene said, thankfully distracting her from the moisture drenching her core. “You can’t stop him after you leave for the day, and you’d also have him there to approve the design details like paint and shit.”

“Yeah,” Jasmine said. “Just have him sign an insurance waiver, keep him away from power tools and ladders, and move on. It’ll only be until his house is done.”

Dammit. She should have been careful about what she wished for when she wanted him to not be her employee.

Knowing it was a waste of time, she sighed and said, “We all have to agree. Do we keep Lieutenant Dan or kick him to the curb?”