Hot Combat

Questions spiraled out of control in Charlie’s mind.

Lolly stood in the doorway, watching the two adults. Had she heard what had passed between them? Did she now know the big man was her father?

Up until Lolly had started school, she hadn’t asked why she didn’t have a father. Her world had revolved around Charlie. She didn’t know enough about having a father to miss it.

Charlie pulled open the screen door, gathered her daughter in her arms and lifted her. “Hey, sweetie. Do you still have that brush?”

Her daughter held up the brush. “Is the big man going to stay?” She shot a glare at Jon. “I don’t like him.”

“Oh, baby, he’s a nice man. How can you say you don’t like him when you don’t know him yet?”

That stubborn frown that reminded Charlie so much of Jon grew deeper. “I don’t want to know him.”

Charlie cringed and shot a glance over her shoulder at the father of her child. Had she been wrong to keep news of his daughter from him? Would he have wanted to be a part of her life from birth?

Jon’s expression was inscrutable. If he was angry, he wasn’t showing it. If Lolly’s words hurt...again, he wasn’t letting on.

Then he smiled. Though the effort appeared forced to Charlie, it had no less of an impact on her. She remembered how he’d smiled and laughed and played with her when he’d been there seven years ago.

She still had a picture they’d taken together. He’d been laughing at something she said when she’d snapped the photo of them together.

Her heart pinched in her chest. No matter how much she might want it, they couldn’t go back in time. What they had was gone. They had to move on with their lives. How Jon would fit into Lolly’s world had yet to be determined, if he chose to see her again. Now that Jon knew about her, Charlie couldn’t keep him from being with her. She just hoped he didn’t break Lolly’s heart like he’d broken Charlie’s all those years ago.

“Lolly, Mr. Caspar is going to be visiting for the next week. I think you’ll like him.” She stared into her daughter’s eyes. “Please, give him a chance.”

Lolly stared over Charlie’s shoulder at the man standing behind her. She didn’t say anything for a few seconds and then nodded. “Okay.” Then she extended the hand with the brush toward Jon. “You can brush my hair.”

A burst of laughter erupted from Charlie. She clapped her hand over her mouth, realizing it sounded more hysterical than filled with humor. Trust her daughter to put the man to the test first thing.

Charlie set her daughter on her feet.

Jon nodded, his face set, his gaze connecting with Lolly’s. “I’d be honored.” He took the brush from her and glanced around.

“You can have a seat in the kitchen,” Charlie said. “I’ll make some coffee. Have you had breakfast? I’m making blueberry waffles.”

She went through the motions of being a good hostess when all she wanted to do was run out of the room screaming, lock herself in her room and cry until she had no more tears left. With a daughter watching her every move, Charlie couldn’t give in to hysterics.

She’d cried more than enough tears over this man. No longer a young woman on the verge of life, she was a mother with responsibilities. Her number one priority was the well-being of her little girl.

Charlie rinsed the bowl in the sink, poured cat food into it and set it aside. Shadow jumped into the window again, startling her. “Cat, you’re going to give me a heart attack,” she muttered. “I’ll be back.”

As she left the kitchen with the cat food, she watched Jon and Lolly.

Jon had taken a seat at the kitchen table and stood Lolly with her back to him between his knees.

Charlie swallowed hard on the lump forming in her throat.

The Navy SEAL, with his broad shoulders and rugged good looks, eased the brush through Lolly’s hair with a gentleness no one would expect from a man conditioned for combat.

Once outside, Charlie stood for a moment on the porch, reminding herself how to breathe. What was happening? She didn’t know which was worse, being threatened by a potential domestic terrorist, or facing the man she’d fallen so deeply in love with all those years ago. Her life couldn’t be more of a mess.

An insistent pressure on her ankles brought her out of her own overwhelming thoughts and back to a hungry cat, purring at her feet.

“Sorry, Shadow. I keep forgetting that I’m not the only one in this world.” She set the bowl on the porch, straightened and was about to turn when she saw movement in the brush near the edge of the tree line behind her house.

Narrowing her eyes, she stared into the shadows. Sometimes deer and coyotes made their way into her backyard. An occasional black bear wandered into town, causing a little excitement among residents. Nothing emerged and nothing stirred. Yet awareness rippled across her skin, raising gooseflesh.

Charlie rubbed her hands over her arms, the chill she felt having nothing to do with the temperature of the mountain air. She retreated behind the screen door where she stood just out of view from an outside observer. A minute passed, then another.

A rabbit hopped out of the shadows and sniffed the air, then bent to nibble on the clover.

Releasing the breath she’d been holding, Charlie turned toward the kitchen. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the rabbit dart across the yard, away from the underbrush of the tree line.

Charlie shook off that creepy feeling and told herself not to be paranoid. Just because someone threatened her on the internet didn’t mean someone would follow through on his threat.

She closed the back door and twisted the dead bolt. It didn’t hurt to be careful. Walking back into the kitchen, she couldn’t help feeling safer with Jon there. He had Lolly’s hair brushed and braided into two matching plaits.

Her daughter leaned against Jon’s knee, showing him her favorite doll.

Jon glanced up, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Oh, yeah. He was angry.

Charlie didn’t doubt in the least he’d have a few choice words for her when Lolly wasn’t in the room. And he had every right to be mad. He’d missed the first six years of his daughter’s life.

Glad she had a bit of respite from a much-deserved verbal flogging, Charlie rescued a waffle from burning, poured batter into the iron and mixed up more in order to make enough for a grown man. Flavorful scents filled the air as the waffles rose.

Milking the excuse of giving her full attention to the production of the waffles, Charlie kept her back to Lolly and Jon. Yes, she was avoiding looking at Jon, afraid he’d see in her gaze that she wasn’t totally over him. Afraid he’d aim that accusing glance at her and she’d feel even worse than she already did about not telling him.

“Here. Let me.” A hand curled around hers and removed the fork from her fingers. “You’re burning the waffles.”

Charlie couldn’t move—couldn’t breathe. Jon stood so close he almost touched her. If she backed even a fraction of a step, her body would press against his.

God, she could smell that all too familiar scent that belonged to Jon, and only Jon—that outdoorsy, fresh mountain scent. She closed her eyes and swayed, bumping her back into his chest.

With his empty hand, he gripped her elbow, steadying her. Then he reached around her with the fork, opened the waffle iron and lifted out a perfect waffle. “Plates?” he said.

His mouth was so close to her ear, she could feel the warmth of his breath, causing uncontrollable shivers to skitter across her body.

Plates. Oh, yeah. She reached up to her right and started to pluck two plates from a cabinet. Then she remembered there were three of them now. After setting the plates on the counter, she turned away from the stove, desperate to put distance between her and Jon. Her body was on fire, her senses on alert for even the slightest of touches.

“Come on, Lolly, let’s set the table while Mr. Caspar cooks.” She grabbed the plates and started around Jon.

He shifted, blocking her path. “We will talk.”

She stared at his chest, refusing to make eye contact. “Of course.”

He stepped aside, allowing her to pass.

Charlie wanted to run from the room, but she knew she couldn’t. Her daughter was a very observant child. She’d already figured out something wasn’t right between her and Jon. Besides, running away would solve nothing.

Lolly gathered flatware from the drawer beside the sink.

Charlie set the plates on the table and went back to the cabinets for glasses. While she filled them with orange juice, she took the opportunity to study Jon while his back was to her.

The Navy SEALs had shaped him into even more of a man than he’d been before. His body was a finely honed weapon, his bulging muscles rippling with every movement. He’d been in great shape when he’d come home on leave seven years ago, but he was somehow more rugged, with a few new tattoos and scars on his exposed surfaces.

Charlie yearned to go to him, slip her arms around his waist and lean her cheek against his back like she had those weeks they’d been together. She longed to explore the new scars and tattoos, running her fingers across every inch of him.

He slipped waffles onto a platter and turned toward her, catching her gaze before she could look away.

Charlie froze, her eyes widening. Shoot, he’d caught her staring. Could he see the longing in her eyes?

She dragged her gaze away and darted for the stove and the pan of blueberry syrup simmering on the back burner. Her hand trembled as she poured the hot syrup into a small pitcher.

“Careful, you might get burned.” Jon took the pan from her and set it on the stove.

You’re telling me? She’d been burned by him before. She had no intention of falling for him again. Her life was hectic enough as a single parent trying to make a living in a small town.

She hurried away from Jon and set the syrup in front of her daughter.

Lolly pointed to the end of the table. “Mr. Caspar, you can sit there.” She climbed into her chair and waited for the adults to take their seats.

Charlie felt like she and Jon were two predatory cats circling the kill. She eased into her chair, her knees bent, ready to launch if things got too intense.

Jon frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want your mother to sit here?”

Lolly shook her head. “She always sits across from me so we can talk.”

Jon glanced at Charlie.

Charlie gave half of a smile. “That’s the way we roll.”

“Before we got our house, we sat on the couch to eat,” Lolly offered.

“How long have you been in your house?” Jon asked.

“We moved in on my birthday.” Lolly grinned. “I had my first birthday party here.”

“What a special way to celebrate.” Jon reached for the syrup and poured it over his stack of waffles. “Where did you live before?”

Charlie tensed.

Lolly shrugged. “Somewhere else.” Her face brightened. “Did you know mommies go to school, too?”

Jon smiled. “Is that so?”

Lolly nodded. “Mommy went to school.”

His brows hiked as he glanced toward Charlie.

Heat rose up her cheeks. She didn’t want to talk about herself. They didn’t need to go into all the details of their lives for the past seven years.

Jon didn’t need to know that the years before they’d moved into the little house in Grizzly Pass had been lean. Too many times, Charlie had skipped a meal to have enough money to feed Lolly and pay for the babysitter. Working as a waitress during the day kept a roof over their heads and school at night didn’t leave much time for her to be with her daughter. But they’d made their time together special. Now that she worked from home, Charlie was making up for all the times she couldn’t be home.

Her daughter shoved a bite of waffle into her mouth and sighed. “Mmm.”

Charlie almost laughed at the pure satisfaction on Lolly’s face. They hadn’t always eaten this well, and it hadn’t been that long since she’d landed a job paying enough money that she could afford to buy a small house in her hometown.

Jon took a bite of the waffle, closed his eyes and echoed Lolly’s approval. “Mmm. Your mother makes good waffles.”

“You helped,” Lolly pointed out.

“So he did.” Charlie pushed her food around on her plate, her stomach too knotted to handle anything. Not with Jon Caspar sitting at her table.

Hell, Jon Caspar, the man she’d dreamed about for years, was sitting at her table. She pushed her chair back. “If you’ll excuse me, I just remembered something.”

She took her plate to the sink and was about to scrape the waffles into the garbage disposal when Jon’s voice spoke up. “If you aren’t going to eat them, I will.”

She stopped with her fork poised over the sink. Walking back to the table, she set her plate down beside Jon’s and then ran from the room.

So, I’m a big fat chicken. Sue me.

In an attempt to take her mind off the man in the kitchen, Charlie entered the guest bedroom she’d converted into an office. A futon doubled as a couch and a guest bed. The small desk in the corner that she’d purchased from a resale shop was just the right size for her. She spent most of her day in her office, working for a software developer she’d interned with during the pursuit of her second degree in Information Systems.

The shiny new business degree she’d finished right before that summer with Jon had landed her nothing in the way of a decent job. She’d stayed in Grizzly Pass with her parents through Lolly’s birth, making plans and taking online courses.

She’d moved to Bozeman to return to school for a degree in Information Systems, looking for skills that wouldn’t require her to move to a big city to make a living. She’d chosen that degree because of the opportunities available to telecommute. It had been a terrific choice, giving her the flexibility she needed to raise Lolly where she wanted and provide the family support her daughter needed. She had no regrets over her decision and now had the time to dedicate to her work and her small family of two.

She booted up her laptop and waited for the screen to come to life. As she waited, she glanced around the small room, wondering if Jon could fit his six-foot-three-inch frame on the futon. Ha! Fat chance. But he wasn’t going to sleep in her room. Seven years apart changed everything.

Everything but the way her body reacted to his nearness.

Hell, he’d probably had a dozen other women.

Her heart stopped for a moment as another thought occurred. An image of Jon standing beside a woman wearing a wedding dress popped into her head and a led weight settled in her belly. He might have a wife somewhere. He’d said he was there for only a week. He might have someone waiting for him back home.

And kids.

Charlie pressed her hand to her mouth, her heart aching for Lolly. How would she feel about sharing her father with other children? Would she get along with a stepmother?

Her eyes stung and her throat tightened. Lolly’s life had just gotten a lot more complicated.

The screen on her laptop blinked to life. No sooner had she opened her browser than a message popped up on her screen.

You told.

Beware retribution.

“Damn.” She shut the laptop and laid her head on top of it. If only wishing could fix everything, she’d wish her problems away.

“Are you okay?” A large hand descended on her shoulder.

For a moment Charlie let the warmth chase away the chill inside her. Jon had always had a knack for making everything all right. He would help her figure out this problem. In one week, they’d solve the mystery of who was threatening her and possibly a government facility in the state of Wyoming. Just one week. And then she could get back to life as usual.

Who was she kidding? Jon wouldn’t leave for good. He’d be back. For Lolly.

Charlie shrugged Jon’s hand off her shoulder and sat straight, opening her laptop again. “I’ve had another message.” When the screen lit, she leaned back, allowing Jon to read the message.

“Do you think it’s some kid yanking your chain?” Jon asked.

“I wish it was.” Charlie pushed her hair back from her forehead. She clicked the keyboard until she found the URL she’d bookmarked and brought it up. Scrolling through the messages, she searched for the one that had started it all. She backed up through the messages from around the date and time the call to arms had been made. It was gone.

“What the hell?” Charlie scrolled farther back. “It was here last night.”

“Whoever posted it could have come back in and erased the message.”

Charlie snorted. “That’s fine. I saved a screenshot, just in case.” She pulled up the picture and sat back, giving Jon a moment to read and digest the words. “Do you think I was overreacting by reporting it to DHS?”

Jon shook his head. “With everything happening in the country and around the world, you can’t be too cautious.” He reached around her and brought up the social media site and scrolled through the messages again.

“Yesterday, there were a lot more messages expressing dissatisfaction with the way the government was handling the grazing rights and pipeline work.”

“Apparently, someone scrubbed the messages. These all appear to be regular chatter.”

Charlie sighed. “I’m beginning to think I imagined it.”

“You did the right thing by alerting DHS.” He straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. “Let them handle it. They have access to people who can trace sites like this back to the IP address.”

The phone on her desk rang, making Charlie jump. She grabbed the receiver and hit the talk button. “Hello.”

“Charlie, Kevin here. I take it you’ve met Ghost?”

“Ghost?” She glanced up at Jon.

He nodded and whispered, “My call sign.”

Heat rose in her chest and up into her cheeks. “Yes, I’ve met him.” She’d met him a long time ago, but she didn’t want to go into the details with her DHS handler. Kevin wasn’t from Grizzly Pass, and there were certain things he didn’t need to know.

“Is he there now?” Kevin asked.

“Yes.”

“Let me talk to him.”

Charlie handed the phone to Jon. “It’s Kevin.”

Jon took the phone.

When their fingers touched, that same electric shock she’d experienced the first time he’d touched her shot up her arm and into her chest. She couldn’t do this. Being close to him brought up all the same physical reactions she’d felt when she was a young and impressionable twenty-two-year-old.

She pushed back in her chair and rose, putting distance between them. It wasn’t enough. Being in the same room as Jon, aka Ghost, made her ultra aware of him. She wasn’t sure how long she could handle being this close and not touching him.

* * *

“GHOST HERE.” HE HELD the receiver to his ear, unused to using landlines. But then cell phones were practically useless in the remote towns of Wyoming.

“The rest of the team has arrived. I’d like you to meet them and talk through a game plan for the security of the area.”

“I thought you wanted me to stay with Ms. McClain.”

“I wanted you to assess the situation and give me feedback. I think she’ll be okay in broad daylight. For now, you need to come to my digs above the Blue Moose Tavern and meet the rest of the men.”

Ghost glanced at Charlie.

She paced the length of the small office, chewing on her fingernail.

“I’ll bring her and the child with me.” His gaze locked on her.

Charlie’s head shot up and she met his glance with a frown. “Wherever you’re going, you’ll have to go by yourself. I had plans to take Lolly with me to the grocery store and the library. You don’t need to come with me. We can take care of ourselves.”

“Is that Charlie talking?” Kevin asked.

Ghost nodded. “It is.”

“Tell her I only need you for about an hour. Then she can have you back.”

Ghost covered the mouthpiece with his hand. “Garner said he only needs me for an hour. Are you sure you and Lolly will be okay for that time?”

She nodded. “Nobody will attack us in broad daylight.”

Ghost snorted. Too many people assumed that same sentiment and were dead because of it. “Stay out of the open and report in every time you come and go from a location.”

“I really think we might be paranoid, but okay.” She raised her hands. “I’ll stay out of the open, and I’ll report my comings and goings.” Charlie crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head back. “Happy?”

“Not really,” he said, his lips pressing together. “I’d rather drop you where you want to go and pick you up later.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

Ghost decided it was better not to argue while Garner waited on the phone.

“Everything set?” Garner asked.

Ghost stared at Charlie, not sure he was happy with the arrangement, but Charlie wasn’t budging. “Yes. I’ll see you in twenty minutes. That will give me time to take a shower.”

“Will do.” Garner ended the call.

“I have to meet with DHS and the team Garner is assimilating. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

She gave a firm nod. “Positive.”

How she could be so certain was unfathomable to Ghost. He wasn’t sure he was okay. Being near Charlie brought back too many memories and a resurgence of the passion he’d felt for the woman seven years ago.

When he met with Garner, he’d have to tell him that he might not be the right man for the job. They had a huge conflict of interest. He and Charlie had slept together. Hell, they had a child together.

Tired and grungy, he couldn’t think straight. “I need a shower.”

“What do you want me to do about it?” She stood with her arms crossed, a semibelligerent frown on her face.

The corners of his lips twitched. Ghost stepped up to her and tipped her chin with his finger. “There was a time when you would have offered to shower with me.”

“I was young and stupid.”

He chuckled. “And you don’t want to get stupid together? There’s a lot to be said for being stupid. Especially when you do this—” Before he could talk sense into his own head, he bent and touched his lips to her forehead. “And this.” He moved from her forehead to the tip of her nose.

She closed her eyes and her chest rose on a deep, indrawn breath. She unwound her arms and laid her hands on his chest.

At first he thought she would push away, but her fingers curled into his shirt, giving him just enough encouragement.

“And this.” Ghost pressed his lips to hers, tasting what he’d missed for all those years, drinking in her sweetness. Sweet ecstasy, he couldn’t get enough. He slid his hands to her lower back and pressed her closer. Why had he stayed away so long?

He skimmed the seam of her lips with his tongue. When she opened her mouth on a gasp, he dived in, caressing her tongue with his in a long, slick slide, reestablishing his claim on her mouth.

She felt different, her curves fuller, her arms stronger, her hair longer, but she was the same inside. This woman was the only one who’d stayed with him over the years, her image tucked in the recesses of his mind as he prepared for combat. She was the reason he’d dedicated his life to serving his country. To protect her and all the other people who depended on him to secure their freedom. He risked his life so that others could live free and safe.

For a long moment, he pushed every reason he’d had for leaving her out of his mind and reveled in the warm wetness of her kiss, the sweet taste of blueberry syrup on her lips and the heat of her body pressed to his. His groin tightened, the fly of his jeans pressing into her belly.

“Mommy?”

Ghost leaped back as if he’d been splashed with ice water.

“What do you need, Lolly?” Charlie pressed one hand to her swollen lips and the other smoothed her hair before she turned to face her daughter standing in the doorway.

“Why were you kissing Mr. Caspar?”

Ghost half turned away from the child, his lips twitching. He’d leave that answer for Charlie. Although, he’d like to know the answer to that question, too.