37. Dane
Chapter 37
Dane
The day before I was scheduled to go back to Lemoore, Daniel and I headed over to Lennox’s house to go swimming. My boyfriend had gone all out and filled the pool with floats and every possible water toy an eight-year-old would love.
“Don’t look at me like that, Calloway. All these toys are for me, so you can’t say I’m spoiling him.”
It was hard not to love the big idiot when he went all out for my kid. He was going to make a hell of a father one day and if we were together, he’d be the fun one and I’d be the stick in the mud.
“Come on, Dad. You can get in the tank.”
Lennox wiggled his eyebrows at me suggestively. “Yeah, Dad. You can ride that tank with that big water cannon.”
It went without saying that Daniel was smitten with his new best friend. I was pretty crazy about him too, and the way he treated my son and included Camile made me happier than I’d ever been in my life.
“You two go ahead while I get the snacks. And don’t shoot your eye out.”
Lennox gave me the thumbs up and jumped into the pool.
When I returned, I found them in a heated water gun battle.
Lennox was perched on the back of a hot pink flamingo, wearing a mask and snorkel, armed with two tiny water guns. Daniel sat a top of a Tyrannosaurus Rex float with a giant super soaker. It was just like Lennox to make sure the battle was fair.
I stopped in the middle of the deck as they turned and looked my way. Lennox pointed at me.
“Let’s get him!” he shouted. “Whoever gets there first, gets to push him in!”
Daniel gasped and then cackled, making me smile.
As they began their awkward journey across the pool, I sat down the tray of fruit -and took out my phone. I snapped photo after photo of them, flailing around and splashing ungodly amounts of water as they made virtually no progress on the oversized floats.
“I see I have nothing to worry about with you two slowpokes,” I teased as I sat down on the steps.
When Daniel grew tired, I got in the water and swam to him. “Need some help, buddy?”
Before he could answer, a stream of water hit me in the back of the head, making him laugh.
I smiled and took his super soaker, then turned and fired at my boyfriend. Lennox used his two pidley water guns, but they were no match for me.
By the time Camile arrived for dinner, Daniel was exhausted. We managed to get a burger in him, but he didn’t last much longer. When she was ready to leave, I carried him to the car and buckled him in. Squatting down, I rubbed the hair back out of his face.
“I’ll see you when I get back from training. Be good for your mama, okay?”
“OK, Daddy. I love you.”
I leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I love you too, buddy.”
After another kiss, I stood and closed the door. Camille looked at me, and I could read the expression on her face.
“You look really happy Dane. Lennox is good for you. I’m not sure I’ve seen you smile this much in a very long time.”
I propped my hands on my hips and bit my bottom lip. “Yeah. I am.”
She smiled, then hugged me. “Don’t shut him out. He’s good for you.”
I nodded and squeezed her hard.
“I’m off the Lemoore tomorrow. I should be back on Thursday. If you get called in, I’m pretty sure the big kid in there would love to babysit.”
Camile laughed. “I’ll add him to the list.”
She kissed my cheek, then pulled away. I opened the car door for her and closed it when she was buckled in.
Glancing back at Daniel, I pressed my hand to the glass, where he did the same.
I stood on the side of the street and watched her pull away. I was so proud of the kid he was becoming.
Lennox wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder.
“Are you okay, babe?”
I sighed. “I’m fine. He’s growing up so fast.”
Lennox was quiet as he held me. I turned in his arms and kissed him. I was grateful for the seclusion in his cul-de-sac.
“He’s a great kid. You and Camile have done a great job with him.”
“We’ve been lucky.
“Have you thought about leaving the Navy?”
“Not until recently.”
He grinned at me like he knew something that I didn’t. “How recently?”
I smiled but looked away from him. He laughed, making me want to punch him or maybe just shut him up with a kiss.
“I’m not admitting to anything.”
“Of course you’re not.”
“Have you thought about leaving football?”
Lennox ran his hands up and down my back to soothe me. “Yes. Now that I have you back, there’s more to my life than cuddling up with a pig skin every Sunday.”
“And you’re not getting any younger,” I quipped. But neither was I.
He steered me back into the house. “Let me see if I can take your mind off it.”
Once we were inside the front door, I turned around and looked at him. Stripping out of my T-shirt, I watched as he locked the door and set the alarm. With a flip of a switch, the room darkened until there was only ambient lighting.
Lennox found my eyes as he closed the distance between us.
“It’s only eight o’clock, Grandpa. Ready for bed already?”
When he reached me, his hands went into my hair, and his mouth found mine. The smell of his skin and chlorine from the pool were scents I wanted to memorize.
“We’re not going to sleep anytime soon.”
His hands dropped from my face, and he took my hand to lead me to his bed.
When I slipped inside him half an hour later, I melted into his green eyes and knew I was looking at the rest of my life. He was who I was meant to be with.
Had I known that moment might have been our last, I would’ve made sure he knew how much I wanted a life with him.
Everything was routine that next morning until it wasn’t.
Javi and I were engaged in a routine training exercise, paired with another team to essentially play tag. We were out over the Pacific, chasing the other jet in tighter and tighter three-hundred-sixty-degree circles when we began to spin. Wind rushed over the canopy and I lost sight of the horizon. We lost seven thousand feet in five seconds.
“What’s happening, Sunshine?” Javi yelled from behind me.
The warning indicators started blaring, and I had no idea if we were up or down. There was nothing left to do.
“Bail out, bail out, bail out!”