"Sort of, but not really." Darcy waggled her hand. "Crusty has … connections. And he knows how to skirt the rules, push some boundaries, but he's careful not to risk his job by stepping over the line."
Apparently, Daniel hadn't changed much after all, merely upped the stakes of his boundary pushing.
Darcy laced her fingers over her stomach. "Sometimes Crusty reminds me of my Max, willing to bypass recognition for the higher good of the mission. Men like those two don't care about pinning on general. And from the shadows they make the world a better place."
A faraway smile played with her face before she turned to Mary Elise. "So? Will you be sticking around here? There's always a market for good teachers, and with your overseas experience—"
"I'm not staying." Enough confiding. She needed to erect some barriers before she slipped into Daniel's world along with those stories. Mary Elise cuddled the warm weight of sleeping Austin closer, her arms already aching at the impending emptiness.
"Does Crusty know that?"
"He will."
Across the chlorine waters, Daniel's eyes met hers. Held. Mesmerizing. Unrelenting.
For all his easygoing ways, Mary Elise knew Danny possessed a steely will. Well, so did she now—at least when it came to keeping herself and those around her safe. She just hoped the battle took place with them both wearing a few more clothes.
Friendship could sure be a mixed blessing.
Walking beside Mary Elise in the late-night surf, Daniel wasn't certain whether to thank or curse his squadron buds. As if Darcy and Spike hadn't already done enough for him, now they insisted on watching Trey and Austin while the boys slept so Daniel and Mary Elise could take a breather. Stroll down the beach. In the moonlight. Alone but for the occasional passerby and dim lights of distant houses.Thanks, pals. He jammed his fists into the pockets of his damp cutoffs. Clammy jean shorts didn't help cool the steam of frustration. The need to act.
Moored sailboats bobbed, wind snapping and pinging slack lines against the masts in an erratic tune. More than a walk, he wanted a solid twenty minutes with Max for feedback on the answering machine message from his father. Could be nothing. Could be something. He should be talking to Max. Or loading new games on his computer for the boys. Or plotting out flight plans to Timbuktu, just in case he got any ridiculous ideas about his new house-guest.
Anything except taking a cornball, romantic, seaside walk with Mary Elise, their shoulders brushing every other step.
He kept his eyes locked on a wooden dock fingering into the ocean. Yeah, he needed to make something happen, take action. Now would be the perfect time to lock in persuading Mary Elise to stay in the area. For the boys. Not for more moonlit walks and shared peanut butter Pop-Tarts, damn it.
Practical, right? He would still manage the boys on his own, but could check in with Mary Elise. Maybe they could find that friendship again. As adults. Wiser adults. Without the messy emotions. He opened his mouth—
"You are loved, Danny."
His jaw slammed shut. He risked a look at moonlit Mary Elise. "Uh, wanna run that by me again?"
She slung her hair over her shoulder, the gentle curves of her br**sts straining against silk as creamy as her skin. "All these people jumping right in to help you. It's amazing to see how quickly they turned out with the perfect presents. More than just liking you, they know you and perceived your needs. That's a rare gift and you have it in abundance."
He might not be the most sensitive guy on the planet, but even he could see the woman had her brain wrapped around something heavy. Upsetting.
Please, Lord, no team. Those made him long for the bottom of a pool more than discussions of "not swimming."
And then the memory hit him. An image of Darcy leaning over the porch rail to shout her announcement of a baby shower, tension promptly rippling up Mary Elise's spine. "Are you okay?"
"What do you mean?"
Hell, even he'd been knocked back a step by the notion of attending a baby shower with Mary Elise eleven years too late. "I gotta admit the whole baby-shower thing blindsided me."
She strolled without speaking, her arms swinging as she splashed through the low sipping surf. Suddenly he found something he feared more than her tears—knowing she might have tears locked inside. The girl who'd been a willing crusader for others had always been reluctant to share her own fears.
Words he hadn't known were within him churned. Wanted out. More of that old connection urged him to fill the silence rife with her hurt. Even if he was eleven years too late in addressing a subject that no amount of backpedaling could fix.
For a man who thrived on logical solutions, that bit.
Once upon a time prior to their sexual marathon days, they'd been able to talk about anything. Surely he could recapture that ease for a short walk.
For Mary Elise, he pushed the churning words free. "I think about him or her sometimes. Wonder what our kid would have looked like. What we'd be doing now, if…" And the question he wondered about most, even if he suspected the answer. "Whether you and I would have made it."
She tipped her face up to his, red hair streaming across skin turned translucent in the moonlight. "Likely not."
Regret dulled her eyes, stirring protector instincts stronger than any he'd felt in a job that had taken him to some of the most twisted hellholes of the world. He wanted to fight a tangible battle to swipe away the stain in her eyes from memories past. Which of course meant taking on himself.>Would Daniel find some hot-tub Hannah woman to share his life with and ease his load? Would the woman love these two precious little boys?