Chapter 2
CHAPTER
TWO
CLAY
"Kaleigh, put your shoes on, please."
I spread peanut butter across two slices of bread while the unmistakable slap of bare feet echoed through the house as she did laps around the living room.
"Daddy! I'm hungry!" she squealed as she climbed up onto the stool at the kitchen island. A smear of strawberry jam decorated one of her cheeks, and she'd somehow managed to get glitter in her curls—all before eight o'clock in the morning.
I’d stopped asking a long time ago how she managed to get into the things she did.
Maverick sat beside her like the disciplined soldier he was, his ears forward, eyes tracking every movement. Retirement hadn't dulled his instincts. If anything, it had just made him more interested in breakfast.
Kaleigh grabbed a piece of toast and took a bite, leaving a trail of crumbs across the countertop.
"If you drop one more piece," I warned, pointing the butter knife toward Mav, "he's going to think it's his."
"I know." She grinned. "He's hungry too."
Before I could stop her, she snapped off a corner and handed it to him.
Traitor.
"Maverick already ate."
“Him still looks hungry,” she shrugged.
I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling.
I'd negotiated with village elders in Afghanistan who were less stubborn than my four-year-old.
I finished tucking Kaleigh’s sandwich into a baggy, then into her lunch box, and reached for the plate of scrambled eggs I’d left warming on the stove, sliding them across the island to my daughter.
“Do not feed your eggs to Mav, kiddo.”
Kaleigh gave me that trademark smirk that I’d seen on my own face when I looked in the mirror.
“I mean it. Eat your breakfast,” I warned before reaching for my coffee mug. The black liquid had already gone cold. Again. Oh well. I drank it anyway.
“Daddy?”
I raised a brow. “Hm.”
“Miss Marcie said she can’t come anymore.”
“I know, baby girl.”
“Who’s going to watch me after school?” she asked with a mouth full of eggs. "Who's gonna stay with me when you go to work?"
“Please don’t talk with food in your mouth.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. "And I’m figuring it out.."
For the last two years, my entire life had revolved around one mission—being the father Kaleigh deserved.
After retiring from the Marines, I traded deployments for preschool pickup and play dates, tactical briefings for bedtime stories, and early morning PT for learning how to braid hair.
Making up for missing out on the first two years of her life, and trying to make up for the fact that Kaleigh’s mother decided a newborn was just too much to handle.
Guess that was what I got for thinking with my dick and getting involved with a woman I barely knew, while also being dumb enough to believe her when she said she was on the pill.
That was my only regret.
But if I’d never gone out that night with the sole purpose of getting my dick wet, I wouldn’t have my daughter.
I was scared shitless when I found out her mother was pregnant, but the moment I got to hold Kaleigh in my arms, my life changed for the better. That was the best fucking day of my life, as was every day after.
Since retirement, I’d been here for every scraped knee, every nightmare, every swimming lesson. My awful braiding skills had gotten better, and I’d learned how to use a curling iron for those perfect ringlets she needed for her dance recitals.
And I loved every minute. But I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that there was a tiny piece of me that felt like something was missing.
The camaraderie. The rigorous routine and hard work. At least, a different kind of hard work, because parenting wasn’t exactly easy. Most nights I fell into bed exhausted.
Then Sloane Archer had called me about coming to work for him at Sunbreak Security, and I said yes almost immediately, only for reality to come crashing in when I realized there was no way in hell I could sign up to protect anyone if I didn’t have someone at home that I could trust to protect my entire world.
My cell phone buzzed on the counter.
Sloane Archer
Speaking of the devil, I laughed to myself.
“Wilder,” I answered.
“You busy?”
I looked around the kitchen. Kaleigh was feeding Maverick her leftover eggs and telling him an elaborate story about pirates and dolphins. At least the dog was fully invested.
“I’ve had quieter mornings in the middle of 110-degree deserts.”
A rough laugh came through the speaker. “I found a sitter for you.”
I coughed as coffee went down the wrong pipe.
“You mean you found someone I could interview?”
“No. I found a sitter for you,” he repeated.
“Is there a difference?”
"It is when I already did the homework."
I leaned against the counter. "Meaning?"
"Background's clean. CPR certified. Early childhood experience. References checked out."
"You hired her already?" I barked.
"Damn right I did," he said, sounding like the smug bastard he was.
A muscle ticked in my jaw. I trusted Sloane, but this was a bridge too far. "You hired a nanny for my kid without asking me?"
"I hired an admin."
That caught me off guard. "What?"
“She came in to interview for the admin position. Rafe had already vetted her and gave his stamp of approval over the phone. Then I noticed her resume.”
“I don’t trust people just because their resume looks good, Sloane.”
I’d interviewed at least a dozen nannies over the last month. Most were highly qualified. A few had excellent references. Another had decades of experience. None of that mattered when Kaleigh cowered behind my legs and wouldn’t speak to any of them.
None of them were the right fit, and I was running out of hope that I would find anyone who was. There was no way I was going to leave Kaleigh with someone she was afraid of.
“I appreciate the effort, Sloane, but I can’t hire just anyone.”
“I’d be disappointed if you did. But listen, I've got an administrative coordinator starting Monday," Sloane continued. "I've also got one stubborn Marine who won't start work because he doesn't have anyone he trusts with his daughter. That’s why I’m asking you to meet her.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Is that an order?”
“You know what? As a matter of fact, it is.”
I groaned, my Marine instincts kicking into overdrive. “And if she’s not interested or isn’t a good fit?”
"Then she starts behind the front desk, and we keep looking."
That...actually made me feel a hell of a lot better.
"Drop Kaleigh at preschool and get your ass to the Beacon."
Before I could argue, he added, "And wipe that resting murder face off before you walk in. You're gonna scare the poor woman."
The line went dead.
I shoved my phone in my pocket and ran my hands over my face. Today just kept getting more interesting.