Chapter Three
T wo days later, Dante sat in the ESI locker room sorting through his assigned gear at the end of the day. He’d spent the morning filling out paperwork, sparring with his buddies on a large rollout mat in the garage, and then sitting in on a meeting that sent Dean, RJ, Sinjin, and Carter out on a security detail in Houston for three days. Almost felt like old times on base.
At noon, they’d met Gabe for lunch at a local diner before they returned to ESI, and Mac gave him a tour of the large three-story brick building.
The top floor held two state-of-the-art apartments. One was Carter and his wife’s permanent residence, and the smaller one was a designated safe house available for clients. The second floor consisted of larger meeting rooms, Mac’s office, and extra storage.
On the main floor was a reception area, their regular morning meeting room, a small lunchroom, a computer/surveillance area, a main storage area that housed an ammo vault, and in the back was a locker room and showers off the garage with a large bay door that led to an alley.
All in all, it was a great setup. Mac and the guys had done a stand-up job putting the company together, and he was excited to taste his first experience as an operator under Mac’s command again, even if it was going to be a slower-paced civilian gig.
Dante hadn’t expected to go out on a call his first day, but the tempo was very different from putting his life on the line daily on the Phoenix streets or in active-duty combat. Still, he eyed the tactical gear in his open locker and acknowledged that he was lucky to be utilizing his training.
It might take a little time to get used to the pace and rules, but he was glad to be working with a few of his brothers again.
“So, how does it feel to have your first day at ESI under your belt?” Mac asked, walking into the room with Cooper, Hunter, and Dex on his six.
“Good, but I’m not used to staying in the building,” he replied, closing his locker door before turning to face them fully.
Hunter grunted.
“The pace, the rules…you need to retrain your brain,” Dex said.
Cooper nodded. “It does take a while. We’ve all been through it.”
Hunter scratched his temple. “Is it just me or is this conversation déjà vu?”
The others laughed.
Mac smirked. “Yeah, we just had this conversation with Holden when he first came here.”
“Not gonna lie,” Dante said. “I wish he was still here.”
The guys nodded in agreement.
“We all do,” Mac stated. “But we also know he’s doing what he was meant to do.”
Absolutely.
It had been evident yesterday when Dante and Noah had joined Holden and Emily for dinner before touring their sanctuary. Watching his buddy talk about the animals and the programs they planned to put in place all while Braddock walked with his body flush to Holden’s leg had been truly awesome. It brought back many memories of active duty, most of them good.
The peace radiating off his brother had been infectious. Even Noah had soaked it in because when it had come time for bed later that night, his son had gone out like a light instead of insisting on three stories and two glasses of water.
“Hooah,” Dex muttered.
Dante echoed the battle cry with Hunter and Mac while Cooper let out the Navy equivalent.
“It’s like I told these guys, everyone transitions at their own speed,” Mac said. “I don’t want you to think you need to force it.”
Dante nodded. “I appreciate that, Mac. I adjusted to life outside the military a long time ago. It’s the lack of daily… action that will take a bit to get used to.”
“Not every day is slack, trust me,” his boss said. “There will be times when you’ll need all your wits and training, and jobs where you need your eyes or ears and lots of patience.”
He snickered. “I’m raising a two-year-old. Patience is a must.”
Hunter laughed. “Roger that.”
Cooper snorted. “Truer words.”
Their other two buddies both nodded.
“Think Mac and I have a little time to store some up,” Dex said. “But I can’t imagine little Sophia testing my patience or Rylee’s.”
Cooper laughed and set a hand on Dex’s shoulder. “Then you’d be wrong, my friend.”
“Sophia is starting daycare next week,” Dex said. “I think Rylee will find the adjustment harder than the baby.”
She was still an infant and sleeping more during the day than at night. Dante hadn’t had to work through that problem with Noah because he’d been on the east coast at that time in his son’s life.
“Come on, Coop.” Mac cocked his head. “You can’t tell me sweet little Mindy acts up?”
The cute, tiny blonde was a little shy but always pleasant and smiling. But it was that behavior that could lull a person into a false sense.
“I can, but I won’t,” Cooper said with a shrug. “Although she does, but it’s mostly when she’s overtired, teething, hungry, or sick.”
Mac blinked. “So, basically, daily.”
“Exactly.” Cooper nodded.
“Damn,” Dex muttered. “Not looking forward to that.”
Dante slapped his buddy on the back. “Yeah, but you’ll get through it. And it’s all worth it.”
Hunter, Cooper, and the new fathers nodded.
“Okay, then.” Mac grinned. “What do you say we go get our kids?”
He glanced around, noting the eagerness on his friends’ faces and he couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at his lips.
Hunter raised a brow. “What’s the smile for?”
“Just remembering the last time we were together and I saw everyone so eager,” he replied.
“Yeah.” Dex snorted. “To head to the nearest bar and get shit-faced.”
Cooper nodded. “Or our rocks off.”
More laughter echoed through the locker room.
Dante sobered. “Man, our priorities sure have changed.”
And he was okay with that.
“Holden aptly told us a few months back we’re domesticated.” Dex snickered.
“And loving it,” Hunter added.
“Now we get to enjoy the very side of life we fought for,” Mac wisely pointed out.
Dante nodded. “Amen.”
“Hooah.”
“Hooya.”
Dex and Cooper spouted simultaneously.
“And now you know why I won’t send any of you on an overnight job unless it calls for more hands on deck,” Mac said. “The others might not be single, but they don’t currently have children. They understand that and are okay with taking those jobs.”
“Appreciate it, boss,” Dex said, with a salute. “And since my girls are home, I’ll be heading there. See you tomorrow.”
Ten minutes later, Dante pulled into the daycare parking lot, as did Hunter, Cooper, and Mac. Several people were already leaving the building with their children. He noted each of the kids were smiling and some were even skipping. Dante took their carefree demeanor as a good sign.
Even though his friends sent their kids here and recommended the place, he still worried about his son liking it and fitting in.
Hoping for the best, he parked and joined his buddies in line to sign their children out. Dante was impressed with the tight security at the academy and their strict procedure for releasing each child. He had to use a keypad inside an entrance that would unlock the inside door when he signed Noah in and out of the building. And once inside, he also manually signed him in and out in a logbook on a table.
“Was Noah’s daycare in Phoenix like this?” Mac asked after he filled out the daycare logbook and moved aside for Dante.
He shook his head. “No. It was at a YMCA. It was nice, but there were no locked doors or keypads.” He found his son’s name and signed him out. “I much prefer this.”
“I don’t blame you,” Hunter said, going through the same motions with the preschool logbook.
“Yeah,” Cooper said, filling out the book. “Pretty sure if they hadn’t had these measures in place, we would’ve suggested it.”
He chuckled. “Suggested, huh?”
“Yep. Nicely, of course, and at our expense.”
“Roger that,” Hunter said before he disappeared into the preschool wing.
The pretty face of a light-haired, green-eyed preschool teacher flashed through Dante’s mind. Amanda was in that wing.
Good thing he was headed in the opposite direction.
Shaking her image from his head, he followed Mac and Cooper into the daycare wing. Dante had been given a tour that morning when he brought Noah. Again, he was impressed with the operation. The large area was made up of half walls, sectioning off the one-year-olds from the two-year-olds. A door on the right led to a separate room for infants.
Mac headed in that direction while he and Cooper walked toward the opposite corner.
“I like to stand here and wait for Mindy to spot me,” Cooper said with a grin. Pretty sure the people in the parking lot can hear her when it happens. Watch.”
Dante was watching. He was watching his son laughing next to Mindy and another little girl as they tossed blocks into a bucket. Then the little girl with tiny blonde pigtails glanced up, and sure enough, her excited scream resounded through the room.
“Daddy!” She rushed across her classroom area and bounded right into Cooper’s arms, who met her at the opened door/gate.
Noah glanced to see what was happening and then spotted Dante. A smile split across his son’s face and it warmed Dante’s heart.
“Daddy!” he yelled in a voice several decibels lower than his friend.
Thankfully.
Smiling, Dante moved toward the opening and gathered up his smiling son into his arms. “Hey, little dude. Did you have a good day?”
“Yes,” Noah replied, smiling into his face. “We did letters and story time and napped and played with blocks.”
“Yeah, Daddy, we did letters and napped and blocks,” Mindy told her grinning father.
“That’s wonderful, princess,” Cooper said as they set the kids down to put their coats on and grab their backpacks from their assigned cubicles outside their section.
The little girl’s eyes widened as she glanced behind him. “ Missmanda! We did letters and napped and blocks.”
Dante’s pulse quickened even before he turned to see Mac carrying his son in an infant car seat while he walked toward them with Amanda at his side.
“You did?” She grinned at the little girl who was back in Cooper’s arms. “That’s terrific.”
He picked Noah up, compulsorily using him as a buffer.
“And we had story time, too,” his son told her.
Amanda shifted her attention to Noah. “Oh, story time is my favorite. Miss Lisa is so good at it. Did you have fun today?”
Noah nodded. “Yes. I like it here.”
Dante exhaled as relief flowed through him. He hadn’t realized how much he’d needed to hear that.
“That’s good. I’m glad,” Amanda said, and when she met Dante’s gaze, the genuine warmth in her beautiful eyes triggered a wave of calm through him.
She had a gentleness about her that spoke to his soul.
“Helping out in the infant room today, I see,” Cooper said to Amanda.
Yawning, she nodded. “Oh, sorry. Yeah, just for the afternoon, but man, now I think I need a nap.”
Dante chuckled with the others and as they all began to head to the parking lot together, Amanda walked ahead of him with Mac. The light caught the blonde streaks of her swishing hair and his fingers itched to see if it was as soft as it appeared. Then his gaze drifted lower, and he couldn’t stop himself from admiring her long legs and the way her black pants hugged her fine ass.
He was heading for trouble and needed to rein it in and keep his distance. She was too nice, too beautiful, too mesmerizing. With any luck, she would teach the preschoolers and not have to help out on the daycare side of things too often.
When they exited the building, he focused on his car and breathed an inner sigh of relief when she started to walk toward the other side of the lot.
“Hey, Amanda!” Mac called out. “You’re going to be at the barbeque on Saturday, right?”
Dante willed her to say no, since he’d already told Gabe he’d be there with Noah because Hunter and Christa were bringing Dillan.
“Yes.” She nodded. “I’m in charge of the sangria.”
And apparently his pulse. He blew out a breath and forced it to level out.
“Sweet.” Cooper grinned, stopping at his car. “You getting it from Texas Pub?”
She smiled. “Of course. No one makes a better sangria than Kerri McCall.”
“Absolutely.” Mac smiled. “My cousin’s wife is a master chef and part owner of the pub with her sister, who’s married to my other cousin,” he told Dante. “You’re going to enjoy the food at the pub and the sangria.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
Cooper met his gaze and smiled. “And I’m looking forward to the barbecue because Gabe and I are going to whip all of you in horseshoes.”
Amanda frowned. “Horseshoes?”
“Yeah.” Cooper nodded. “Dante is filling in for Rylee, so he and Dex are the Double Ds.”
Dante sighed. He might’ve known the idiot would come up with that moniker.
“And Mac needed a partner too,” Cooper added.
Mac nodded. “Stef is sitting it out this time.”
“Oh, boy.” She winced. “I have to warn you, Mac. I seem to have two left hands when it comes to horseshoes.”
“That’s okay.” Cooper snickered. “Dante has two right hands and he’s agreed to play.”
He smiled and counted the chuckling squid lucky his “two right hands” were busy holding his son, or he would flip the guy the bird when the kids weren’t looking.
“Daddy doesn’t have two right hands.” Noah frowned. “Do you, Daddy?”
Meeting his son’s gaze, he shook his head. “No, Noah, I don’t. It was just a figure of speech.”
“It was dumb,” Noah stated.
Dante tried to hold back a laugh but failed when he heard the others chuckle.
“Yes.” Still smiling, he looked over at Cooper, who’d just finished putting Mindy in her car seat. “Sometimes Cooper says dumb things. He can’t help it.”
Noah shrugged. “Maybe he should go to preschool.”
Cooper and Mac laughed outright. Amanda bit her lip and with a wave, she turned and walked away.
This time, Dante managed to hold back a laugh but was unsuccessful in stopping a grin. “He’s too old,” he said, hooking his son into his seat.
During the short drive home, he contemplated the rest of the week while Noah sang his ABCs. Provided Amanda didn’t substitute on the daycare side of the building, he felt confident he could avoid her presence.
But as for Saturday? He ran the entire conversation through his head.
Was Cooper trying to set him up with Amanda too?
The guy hadn’t said anything suspect, still, Dante picked up a subtle vibe from him. But if he was trying to hook them up, wouldn’t he have just paired him with Amanda for the game? Maybe. He blew out a breath.
Christ, he hoped not.
Dante had a hard enough time fighting his attraction to the woman the way it was. He didn’t need any encouragement.