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 barracks on 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 joined him.
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.
Keeping his 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.
“No, Brookie. It wasn’t a test. This was your daddy’s fear exploding. I should have trusted that you’d stay true to your promise.”
“That’s right. You should have trusted me.”
“Would you come out here so I can apologize?” Caden asked, needing to see her. He settled cross-legged on the floor next to the crib.
Seconds clicked by in the silent room. Finally, the bedspread twitched as a hand pulled it to the side. Brooklyn peeked out. Her eyes widened upon seeing him so close to her. Immediately, she scooted out.
Caden scooped her up in his arms and set her on his lap. He kissed her softly before saying, “Hi, sweetheart. I’m sorry I scared you.”
“I wasn’t sure what time you’d be home. Then someone banged on the door as they tried to get inside.”
“I bet you thought it was Brent. That was frightening. How about if I come in through the garage from now on? I’ll always be here around five. Today, I’m a bit late because I had to stop for something.”
“What?” popped out of her mouth before she quickly said, “Sorry. That’s not my business.”
“You can ask me anything, Brookie. I may not be able to answer if it’s about work or the team, but I’ll share what I can. How about if I show you what I picked up in a few minutes? I need to hold you now.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Caden squeezed her tight and couldn’t resist kissing her again. She had such a sweet nature. “I missed you today. Did you miss me?”
She leaned on his chest and nodded. “Fluffikins missed you a lot too.”
“He’ll be excited to learn that I ordered a food delivery with some special treats for him.”
“Fluffikins doesn’t like carrots,” she told him, obviously guessing what he had purchased.
“A bunny that doesn’t eat carrots? No way. I guess we’ll have to eat them for him.”
She shook her head vigorously. “Not me.”
“That means more yummy carrot muffins for me.”
“Carrot muffins? Are those good?” she asked, giving him the side-eye.
“Oh, yeah. Perhaps you’d try a taste for me? Just to see if Fluffikins might like them,” he suggested.
“Maybe.”
Caden knew that was the best he would get. “Thank you, sweetheart. Did you find the note I left you about breakfast and lunch?”
She hesitated slightly before answering. “Yes. I’m sorry I was such a lazybones this morning. I should have gotten up when you did.”
“No way. My day starts way too early. Did you sleep well?”
“I don’t think I moved last night. That… That bed is very comfortable.”
He loved the pink tinge on her cheeks as she bumbled with what to call the crib. “I’m so glad. Was the bed in your furnished apartment bad?”
“No. It was okay. This one seems so secure. I wasn’t scared at all last night.”
“It’s been a long time since you felt safe, hasn’t it?” he asked.
“I try not to think about that,” she told him.
“Let’s go see what I stopped to pick up.” Caden boosted her to her feet and rose to take her hand.
Guiding her down the hallway, he pointed to the sack on the couch. “There it is!”
She rushed ahead to sit on the couch. “Can I open it?”
“Of course.”
She pulled out the phone and looked up at him. “I haven’t had a phone for a while. I ran over my old one when I figured out that he was tracking me with it.”
“Good job, Brookie. I’m glad you thought of that. We’ll be sure he doesn’t get your phone number on this one.”
“It was a scary time. I even went to a free clinic to make sure he hadn’t given me anything. Like a disease. Trusting Brent didn’t seem like a good idea.”
When her face turned red, Caden guessed she hadn’t planned to share that type of intimate information with him. “I’m glad you took care of yourself, Brooklyn. Zale tests the team routinely too. You’re safe with me.”
Her flushed cheeks turned a deeper red. To distract her, Caden pointed to the sack and said, “There’s something else in there.”
Eagerly, she thrust her hand back inside and pulled out the special case he’d found for her. “Bunnies! This is so cute!”
“The bunnies insisted on coming home with me. We’ll get your phone set up after dinner.” He glanced around the house and didn’t see any signs that she’d been home throughout the day. “What did you do today?”
“I played in my room most of the day. Fluffikins wanted to explore all the fun stuff in there.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed your room. What did you find for breakfast and lunch?”
“I… I wasn’t hungry.”
Her expression alone told him she wasn’t telling the truth. “What did my note say?”
“Good morning and a bunch of stuff about breakfast and lunch,” she answered.
“Hmmm. Did you have any trouble with the coffeemaker?”
“Oh, no. It was easy to figure out.”
“Little girl. I think we’ve talked about lying,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “I’m not lying.”