Dante (HC Heroes #11)

Chapter One

I f Dante Williams needed help, he could always count on his military brothers to have his six, a fact proven again and again during their Delta days and beyond.

Two years ago, he left the service to take care of his infant son after his wife had been struck by a car when the driver suffered a major heart attack and the vehicle jumped the curb. Sheri, along with another pedestrian and the driver, had all died at the scene.

The senseless, tragic accident had changed Dante’s life forever, but his buddies were there to help him transition.

At the time, some of the guys were still on active duty with him, several others had already returned to civilian life, and a few weren’t even Delta, they were former SEALs that he’d worked with on joint missions, but all had shown up at his door.

Dante never took his friends for granted. He appreciated their support and the ease with which they’d helped him tackle processing out of the Army. Several of them had even stayed a few days after the funeral while he’d found his footing and faced the reality of being a widower and single father of a four-month-old.

At least he’d had live-in help with the baby in the form of Sheri’s grandmother. He thanked God for Ida.

Five months before Sheri’s death, she’d left North Carolina to temporarily stay with her grandmother when her grandfather had passed away.

A few weeks later, his wife had gone into labor nearly a full month early.

Luckily, Dante hadn’t been on a mission and caught a flight and arrived on time for Noah’s birth. Not only had the healthy baby boy brought him and Sheri happiness, Noah had also sparked a joy in Ida that had been hard to miss. Because of this, he and his wife had agreed she and Noah should remain there a few more weeks. Dante needed to return to base, so the best he could do was Facetime daily and visit whenever possible.

Those weeks turned into four months, and never had Dante imagined needing Ida’s help because Sheri wouldn’t be around.

Gigi—short for great-grandmother—had been the only family he and his wife had, so when his buddy, Mac, had offered him a job at his Texas company, Eagle Security and Investigations, Dante reluctantly declined even though he’d wanted to go.

Uprooting Ida hadn’t felt right, so he’d stayed in Phoenix, joined the police department, and for the past two years devoted his life to taking care of Gigi and his son.

Sadly, Ida had passed away in her sleep a few months back.

Once again, a bunch of his military brothers had shown up on his doorstep for the funeral, and this time when Mac brought up the job offer, Dante accepted. There was nothing left to keep him in Phoenix anymore.

“Where do you want the sectional?” Holden asked, snapping Dante’s mind back to the present as they carried a large piece of the couch into his new home in south Texas.

Two days ago, three of his Delta brothers, Mac, Holden, and Sinjin had arrived in Phoenix with a moving van to help him pack up what little he was taking.

With his name already on the deed—at Ida’s insistence last year—Dante sold the house without wading through legalities, and while it was in escrow, he’d searched online for a home in Harland County. When he saw the listing for a three-bedroom, two-story with a front porch, two-car garage, and large, fenced- in backyard surrounded by other nice houses, he bought it through his realtor in Phoenix—but only after his friends had done a walkthrough to make sure it was a solid purchase and a safe place to raise Noah.

Dante’s sole concern was minimizing the changes for his young son, so moving straight into their permanent home was a must. Temporary digs were out of the question.

Noah deserved a smooth transition.

“Up against that corner,” he finally replied, nodding toward the far wall in his new family room. “That should leave space for Noah’s toys and toybox in the corner on the other side of the sliding doors.”

Dante had deliberately kept the sectional and all his son’s belongings, including toys, clothes, and bedroom furniture. He wanted Noah to have a little familiarity in their new home.

Of course, he hadn’t realized how much stuff his son had accumulated in two and a half years. Given the fact Noah’s things had taken up a good portion of the small moving van Mac and Sinjin drove back to Texas while Holden rode shotgun with him and Noah in Dante’s SUV, it was possible Dante may have overcompensated for the losses in his son’s young life with a few too many toys.

“You sure about that?” Mac chuckled from behind him, carrying the last piece of the sectional in with Sinjin.

Straightening, Dante frowned and eyed Noah’s designated corner. “What do you mean?”

Had he misjudged the size of the room? After all, he’d only given the place a quick walkthrough when they’d arrived a half hour ago. Between reuniting with a bunch of his buddies and quick introductions to their families, he’d been a little concerned that the large gathering of strangers may have been too overwhelming for Noah, so he hadn’t given the place a proper inspection.

He needn’t have worried about the little dude, though. His son was too social and curious and had immediately raced out into the backyard when beckoned by his two new young friends.

Holden cupped Dante’s shoulder. “Think Mac means Noah has a lot of stuff.” He grinned, releasing him.

Dante laughed. “Yeah, but at least I’m not guilty of that monster swing set.”

Facing the sliding glass doors that he’d opened to take advantage of the unseasonably warm Saturday in March, he pointed at the large wooden swing set/fort that hadn’t come with the house but currently took up a corner of the backyard.

His son’s laughter drifted in through the screen. Dante smiled, warmth filling his chest. That sound always righted his world.

“The monster would be your housewarming gift, courtesy of Cooper and Abby and Hunter and Christa,” his friend Dex informed, walking into the room with Noah’s gigantic toy box. “Seems their kids insisted your son needed it.”

“I see.” He chuckled. “Good choice.”

As he understood it, Cooper’s daughter, Mindy, was only two months younger than Noah, and Hunter’s son, Dillan, was a little over a year older. All three were chasing each other and climbing on the gym set while several adults looked on.

A picture-perfect, happy setting that reaffirmed for Dante that his decision to move to Harland County had been the right one. Peace whispered through him, bringing a smile to his face.

“It took the two squids over a day to build that monstrosity.” Carter, another of his D-Force buddies smirked as he sat on the floor hooking up a large smattering of electronics by the loaded entertainment center that apparently Dante no longer needed to purchase.

In fact, all the items on his “To Buy” list were officially covered.

When he’d walked into his new house for the first time, besides the crowd, he found every piece of furniture he expected to buy already in place. Curtains also covered the windows, dishes filled the cupboards, the big-ass fridge was packed, and the heavenly aroma of freshly baked cookies even greeted them at the door.

Shock had rippled through him, and he couldn’t believe they’d accomplished everything in barely twenty-four hours.

Yesterday, after his two morning closings in Phoenix, Dante had instructed the local realtor to hand his new house keys over to Dex. Because of this, apparently, his friends and their families had made sure that he and his son walked into a welcoming home instead of an unfurnished, sterile house.

Gratitude washed through him then and now. Had they worked through the night? He hoped not. He was damn lucky, and his appreciation went beyond words, although his chest was tight with them.

Dante blew out a breath. “I appreciate their gift. Noah is having a blast,” he said then turned to face his friends. “In fact, I appreciate all of this, not just for me, but for making this move much easier for my son. You guys have gone above and beyond anything necessary.”

Holden cupped his shoulder again before releasing him. “That’s what brothers do.”

“Exactly,” Carter agreed, rising to his feet, all the electronics in their places and the clutter of cables magically absent. “ Hooah. ”

Mac and Sinjin connected the rest of the sectional into place before they straightened and echoed the sentiment.

And in the corner, Dean and RJ, two of his SEAL buddies, followed that with a Hooyah —their Navy battle cry—as they stacked several boxes near the toybox…and a frowning Dex.

The Delta Dog quirked a brow and added another, “ Hooah .”

Smiling, Dante shook his head at the battling battle cries. “Doesn’t matter who’s responsible for what, I just want you all to know I appreciate the help, both in Phoenix and here.”

“What you’ll really appreciate is Loni’s baking,” Dean said, warmth and pride lighting his eyes.

“And Lori’s,” RJ added, wearing a similar expression.

He cocked his head. “Are they the ones responsible for that delicious smell that hit me when I walked through the door?”

Holden had already informed him of the talented sisters and their bakery located in the small strip mall next to ESI headquarters and that they made a mean caramel-topped donut filled with a brown sugar custard. Dante intended to sample one come Monday morning.

He was a little bummed that the guy no longer worked at ESI but thrilled to hear his buddy had found his place in life as the manager of an animal sanctuary he co-owned with his fiancé.

“Damn straight, that’s what you smelled.” RJ grinned.

Now Dean cocked his head. “I take it by that question you haven’t tried any of their cake and cookies yet.”

Carter snorted. “He’s not stupid enough to go sniffing around your women.”

Holden rolled his eyes, Dex and Mac shook their heads, Sinjin remained deadpan, and as expected, both SEALs frowned.

“Not what I meant, dufus, ” Dean grumbled.

“Calm down, squiddo, ” Carter said, a dumb grin on his face. “I know that. I just like to see the vein bulging in your neck.”

Dante smiled and scratched his temple with his thumb. “Jesus, Carter. Nothing’s changed. You still like to live dangerously.”

Dean’s features instantly relaxed and he laughed. “You haven’t met his wife yet.”

What did that mean?

He went brows up. “Is she tough or something?”

Carter smiled. “Both.”

“Yeah, wait until you meet Mel,” RJ said. “She’s big and tough and full of tattoos.”

He went brows up again. That was not the description he’d expected.

Carter snorted. “Don’t listen to him.”

“Yeah,” Dex chimed in. “She’s not big.”

“Exactly. Mel’s a bit shorter than me,” Carter said, warmth seeping into his tone and expression. “My petite, tatted, redheaded spitfire owns the tattoo parlor next to the bakery.”

Dante nodded as his memory sparked. “Oh, right. I think Hunter said his fiancée works there.”

Apparently, it was where the two had met.

“Yeah.” Carter smirked. “Christa inked him into submission, just like Mel did to me.”

Dex snorted. “No. You submitted to Mel well before she inked you.”

“Wait…inked? Carter, you have a tattoo?” Dante asked, disbelief rushing through him like a busted faucet. “The guy we used to have to double-team to drag to the infirmary for mandatory vaccinations?”

Despite the guy’s affable demeanor, he was one tough mother. It had taken a bunch of them to hold him down for injections.

“Yep.” Carter grinned. “See?”

He lifted his shirt to reveal a tattoo of a heart with a key unlocking it, and on that key was Mel’s name and a hummingbird at the end. The entire tattoo covered the left side of his chest.

“Damn, Carter, that’s big. You must really love her to let her stick you with the slew of needles it had to take to ink that,” Dante said.

“I do. Absolutely.” The guy’s gaze was full of so much warmth and adoration, Dante’s chest tightened.

Even though he and Sheri had grown to love one another, he wondered if they would’ve felt it as deeply as Carter…had they been granted more years together.

A pang of guilt ripped through his tight chest and settled in his gut. He tried not to think of Sheri too much because it forced him to face some hard truths. Being honest sucked and the truth was if Sheri hadn’t gotten pregnant, Dante probably wouldn’t have proposed.

The guilt over admitting that truth ate at him constantly.

They’d been friends. Good friends with some great benefits, but neither had wanted anything serious. Sheri had told him that on their first date. It was the main reason they had a second one and got on so great together. The military and his brothers were Dante’s life, his focus. And Sheri had been in law school, determined to become a prosecutor.

But then a broken condom had changed everything. He couldn’t imagine his life without Noah, and he liked to think the change was for the better because they had been happy.

Was it because they were living apart mostly?

When Dante had caught some long missions, he left Sheri alone, sometimes for months. She hadn’t seemed to mind. And when Sheri had moved to Phoenix, she seemed happier. She even transferred her credits and enrolled in law school there.

He often wondered if she would’ve ever moved back in with him.

Didn’t matter now. He mourned the loss of his wife. Not so much for himself now, although he missed his friend a lot, but for Noah and the fact his son would never get to know his mother and what a wonderful person Sheri was.

“You think this is big? You should see the tattoo Christa inked on Hunter,” Carter said, pulling Dante’s mind back to the present.

He blinked and refocused on the conversation.

“Yeah, it’s huge,” RJ agreed.

Sinjin nodded. “A masterpiece.”

“Took several sittings,” Mac added.

Dante shrugged. “Yeah, but Hunter could take a needle.”

And a knifing, a punch, bullets, and he had the scars to prove it. Hell, Dante often wondered if the guy was immortal…like Sinjin.

“Give yourself some credit, bro.”

Carter stood straighter and let his shirt settle back into place. “Thanks. I do. That’s why I let her ink my arm.” The grinning idiot lifted his sleeve to reveal another inked heart.

“Good for you.” All kidding aside, he was pleased to see his friend so elated.

It was evident that all his buddies were happy. Civilian life and Harland County suited them, and Dante hoped to eventually join those ranks.

“Okay, enough with the show and tell. How about we finish emptying the van?” Mac asked. “The murals Steph and Christa painted in Noah’s room should be completely dried by now.”

Dante couldn’t wait to get his son’s room all set up and for the little dude to see the dog characters from his favorite TV show gracing his walls.

He smiled. “They did an incredible job. Noah’s going to freak.”

Holden nodded, putting away his phone. “And Emily and her sister are on their way with the pizza.”

“Roger that,” Dean said, pivoting around before heading for the door with RJ on his six.

Mac chuckled. “You always were the motivator, Holden.”

Everyone laughed as they headed outside, and by the time the pizza arrived, the van was empty, and Dante was putting the last of his son’s clothes in the closet organizer he suspected Dex had installed.

“That about does it,” Holden said, placing the pillow on the toddler bed that coordinated with the walls. “Noah’s going to love this room.”

Dante smiled. “I know. I can’t wait to show him.”

He stepped to the window and peered down into his backyard. It was now full of people eating, including the sheriff who was another of his SEAL friends, along with several women Dante hadn’t yet met.

Holden walked over and glanced down. “Looks like he’s currently too preoccupied with pizza. Smart boy. We should follow his lead and grab a slice before they all disappear.”

“True.” He chuckled, following his buddy down the stairs. “If memory serves, those SEALs can eat.”

Holden’s snicker echoed up at him. “Not just the SEALs.”

His buddy was right.

“Pick up the pace, Jones,” he said, rushing behind him.

“Roger that, Williams,” Holden replied.

They were both still laughing as they walked out of the house and into the backyard toward the boxes of pizza sitting open on the patio table he no longer needed to purchase.

“Good thing you got here,” Carter said, shoving a box with an untouched pie at them. “We had to hold Cooper back from taking thirds.”

“Thanks.” He grabbed a plate and helped himself to two large slices, his stomach growling in appreciation.

As he ate, he flicked his gaze to his smiling son who was back to playing with the other kids by the swing set. He didn’t seem to have a problem with Dante being out of sight.

Nothing new.

Noah had gone to daycare since he was two months old. Sheri had enrolled him at the same time she’d gone back to law school.

His son was a happy-go-lucky, well-rounded little boy.

Noah was going to be just fine.

Taking a moment to himself, he glanced around his backyard at all the familiar and unfamiliar faces eating and enjoying themselves. A warm wave of contentment washed through him that he hadn’t felt in a long damn time.

He was with his brothers. He was home.

And when several of those bulky brothers moved to grab beers from a cooler sitting against the house, Dante caught sight of a few of the newcomers again, but this time, he locked gazes with one of the women and his pulse tripped.

Something it hadn’t done in years.

Was that Emily?

Damn. If it was, Holden was one lucky SOB. She was stunning. Hell, every woman in his yard was beautiful, but there was something about this fair-skinned beauty and her incredible eyes. They were a light gray or green, he couldn’t tell from this distance, but they were definitely mesmerizing.

Not good.

He ordered his pulse to slow and his gaze back to his plate.

He hadn’t had any feelings for a woman since Sheri. Sure, he’d had a few hookups over the past year, but for physical release only. None of it involved his heart or any movement in that area of his body.

Until today.

Great. He didn’t need it now, especially for the wife or girlfriend of one of his brothers.

After he finished his pizza, he threw his plate in the trash can near the beer and was about to head over to Noah when Holden set a hand on his shoulder.

“Come on,” he said. “I want to introduce you to Emily.”

A shard of dread sliced through him. Dante nodded, silently hoping his buddy would lead him to some of the other women he hadn’t met yet that were sitting near Dex and his wife, Rylee, and their two-month-old little girl, and Stefanie and Mac, who was holding his young son. He estimated the little boy to be around the same age Noah had been when he’d lost his mother.

Before that thought even had a chance to settle, he was tugged by Holden in the other direction.

The one that led to the beauty with the gorgeous eyes.

Swallowing down a silent curse, he followed, noting that the woman stood next to another newcomer with curly brown hair and warm brown eyes. Both females were beautiful, but only one affected his pulse, which increased with each step as they neared.

To Dante’s surprise—and relief—his friend slipped his arm around the pretty woman with the warm brown eyes.

“This is my fiancée, Emily,” Holden said. “This is Dante.”

Recovering quickly, he held his shock in check and shook the woman’s outstretched hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Emily,” he said. “Thanks for the pizza and anything else you’ve done here.”

“No worries. My pleasure.” She smiled, releasing his hand before motioning to the woman at her side. “This is my sister, Amanda. She just recently moved to Harland too.”

Dante braced himself before turning to face the beauty, acutely aware that his friend was observing him closely. Damn, he knew he should’ve slid his aviator sunglasses on.

His buddy’s scrutiny didn’t stop his pulse from jumping when he met the woman’s incredible gaze.

Green…

Now that he was up close, he noted her eyes were a light green that faded into gray with a dark ring around the iris, and all of this was emphasized by her sun-streaked, light brown hair.

Breathtaking.

“Hello, Amanda,” he finally said, offering his hand since he’d just completed that ritual with her sister and didn’t want to appear impolite, even though he knew instinctively that touching her would be a big mistake.

“Hi, Dante,” she replied, a rush of color flushing her pretty face, and when her fingers slid across his palm, a lot more than his pulse jumped to life.

Yeah, it was a big mistake, but an amazing one too.

Awareness rippled through him and settled where it shouldn’t settle. Even if she wasn’t attached to any of his friends, Dante knew right then that he intended to avoid her. Should be simple enough, between his new job and taking care of Noah.

He felt it safe to guess that he probably wouldn’t even run into her, except perhaps occasionally at Holden’s.

He could live with that.

Feeling calmer, he released Amanda’s hand and shoved his hand in his pocket. For some reason, that action brought a smile to Holden’s face.

“And I’m not responsible for the pizza, other than helping with the delivery.” She smiled, and an unexpected warmth spread through his chest. “However, I’ll take full credit for the organizers in the bedroom closets.”

Surprised lifted his brow. “You did them?”

She nodded.

“Here I thought it was Dex.” He shrugged. “Sorry, and thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Her beautiful smile widened. “Trust me, I know how important storage is, especially for children’s things.”

He blinked and tried to fight the flash of disappointment that rushed through him. Even though she wasn’t wearing a ring—a fact he’d noted within the first thirty seconds of meeting her—she apparently had children and no doubt a boyfriend, because no guy in his right mind would let her get away.

“Amanda is single.” Emily smiled as if she knew what he’d been thinking. “And a teacher. At the daycare.”

Dante’s stomach dropped.

That news was great, but it also wasn’t good.

Holden’s grin broadened. “Yeah, she’s probably Noah’s teacher.”

So much for avoiding the beauty.

Definitely not good. That shot his plan to hell.

Then why was anticipation rushing through him instead of dread?