Attached (Coronado Series Book 3) (27 page)

“I didn’t know that. They could be our first ‘family friends’. Sam and I worked together for almost two years on and off when we were in Mark’s platoon together.”

“Maybe when he comes home we can have them over for dinner. Karen said, she hopes it’s going to be in the next week.”

“I think they’re due for a down cycle in the next couple of weeks, so that’s a good idea.”
 

********

Travis sat next to Laird’s computer and listened to him run down the information that he’d gathered on Sofia’s biological father. “Kevin Parker doesn’t have an impressive background. He came from a family that’s had social services in and out of the home for years. He started to get into minor trouble from the age of twelve. It began with small offenses and then escalated as he got older. It looks like the kid was a product of his environment. Who knows who he might’ve been had he been born into a different family.”
 

“Thanks, Laird, for running this all down. The intel is going to be useful for the conversation I’m planning on having with him. He may want just to see Sofia and nothing more, but I’m not going to take any chances with my family.”

“Let me know if you need anything. I live in Ocean Beach, so I can be at your place if you need back-up.”

“We’ve only been there a couple of weeks, and I like the town so far. I miss being on Coronado, but Ocean Beach is turning out to be a decent alternative.”

“Who are you kidding? If your woman said ‘Let’s live in a cave,’ you would.”

“That’s true. What about you, man? Do you have anyone in your life?”

“No. But I may if I can talk her into it.”

“You have to give more than that, man.” He watched Laird shake his head.
 

“I met a woman the other day and I can’t seem to stop thinking about her.”

“Why don’t you just ask her out?”

“She’s a single mom with a child who has special needs. I got a very strong go-away vibe from her.”

“Is she married?”

“Of course not. If she was I would never consider it. I don’t know what it is about her, but she’s got me all twisted up. I ran her plates and have done an in-depth background check on her.”

“I guess you’re interested.” He picked up the big stack of paperwork and raised his eyebrows at his friend. “This is a lot of information that you’ve gathered.”

“I may have gotten a little carried away.”

He flipped through the stack and stopped in the middle. “Yeah, I don’t think you need to know her algebra grade in middle school.”

“I want to call her, but she would probably be creeped out because she never gave me her number or last name.”

“Yeah, probably a good idea. Is there any way that you would run into her again?”

“I doubt it.”

“I think you’re stuck for now unless you can figure out a way to run into her casually.” Looking at the papers, Travis said, “Since you know everything about her that may actually be possible.”

“Yeah, you may be right.”

Zoey walked in and handed Travis a stack of folders. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Laird has been helping me out with some back-ground information. What do you have for me?”

“Since you’re so good at these security analysis projects, I have several more.”
 

“OK, back to work,” Travis said.

“How is your baby?” Zoey asked.

“She’s terrific. Our first weekend together went fairly smoothly.”

Laird turned in his chair and stared at Travis. “You never did tell me how you ended up with a fiancée and a baby all in the same weekend.”

“Cary was approved as a foster parent at the beginning of the summer, and a baby was delivered to our house on Saturday. We may actually have a chance at adopting her, which would make us very happy.”

“How do you feel about having an instant family?”

“Great. Cary wants six children, so the sooner we start, the better. I’m pretty much going to be focusing on that for the next ten years. The more kids we have, the harder it’s going to be for her to get rid of me.”

Zoey laughed, “From what I saw on Saturday, she’s completely in love with you. She looks at you like you’re the answer to every question she’s ever had. I think she’s going to keep you, no matter how many children you have.”

“I hope you’re right, but I wouldn’t mind the insurance.”

Travis walked out of the office, back to his desk. He was going to plow through these reports as quickly as he could. Then he was going to run down the kid, have a conversation with him and make sure that he understood the lay of the land.

********

Travis drove home and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in frustration. The kid had eluded him all afternoon. He had no home, job or regular schedule, so tracking him wasn’t going to be easy. The half-way house where he was supposed to be staying had not seen him in a couple of days. That told Travis that the kid was living in the streets and was probably on a bender. He had no idea what the kid had running through his mind and where his motivation was coming from. He turned onto his own street and noticed that everything was quiet. Cary’s car was parked in the driveway, and he let out a sigh of relief because he knew that his family was safe. He backed into the driveway so his truck was pointing toward the street. He reminded himself to tell Cary to start doing that. It was such a habit to him that he kept forgetting to tell Cary to start backing into the driveway.
 

He got out and heard music coming from the house. He walked through the front door and was greeted with the sight of Cary dancing around the living room with Sofia as she sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Her voice never ceased to amaze him. She sounded like an angel. He stood against the wall and enjoyed listening to her voice. As she hit the chorus, she let her voice go, and he felt chills run down his arms. He could see Sofia’s happy face as she fell under Cary’s spell. As they finished, they twirled around and both saw his face at the same time. He’d never been on the receiving end of such loving looks. They both looked at him like he was everything they were looking for.

“Hi, Ladies. How was your day?” He walked up to them and gave them each a kiss. Sofia held out her arms so Travis would pick her up. He swung her up and over his head and was rewarded with a smile and drool dripping off her chin on to his shirt. He lowered her and took the bottom of his shirt and wiped her mouth. “I guess that means you had a good day with Mommy. What did you girls do today?”

Cary grabbed a cloth, wiped the baby’s face and kissed his cheek. “We were very busy. We went shopping, had lunch and then took Claire for a walk down to the beach. We came home after that and had a nap together. Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes.”

“Did you spot the kid we saw yesterday?”

“No, I didn’t notice anything unusual. Claire was very relaxed when were out for our walk. She didn’t give me any signals that something was up. She did growl at a guy who came up to us when we were having lunch. The guy stepped back and then she relaxed. I think he just got too close to the stroller.”

“What did the guy want?”

“He just wanted to know if I liked the stroller. His sister is having a baby, and he was thinking of giving her one.”

“Are you sure that was it? Maybe he was trying to flirt with you.” He felt Cary give him a disapproving look. “What? It’s possible.”

“Travis, I’m a woman with a large ring on my finger, a baby in a stroller and a guard dog at my side. I have no makeup on, and I’m sure that I have baby goop somewhere on my clothes. I’m not a woman whom a man would want to flirt with. I’ve crossed the line into motherhood, and I’m invisible to the male population.”

“That’s not true. You’re a beautiful woman, and there are plenty of men out there who would want to get at you. I don’t think any of those things are going to stop someone who’s interested. The best I can hope for is that it’s going to slow them down.”

“You have crossed the line of sanity, so we’re going to go in the backyard and water the new flowers that the gardener put in. When you feel like your sanity has returned, please feel free to join us.” With that she took Sofia out of his arms, turned on her heel and strutted her way into the backyard.
 

Travis looked at Claire as she got up to the follow girls. He swore the dog gave him a disapproving glance as he made his way outside. “I didn’t say anything so crazy.”

He walked into the kitchen, looked out the window and watched as Cary watered the flowers with Sofia on her hip. She must have been singing to her, because Sofia looked enchanted by Cary’s face. He decided to set the table for dinner because he didn’t want Cary to feel like she was doing all of the work. He looked in the fridge and decided to make a salad as well. Once he was done, he poured a glass of wine for Cary and pulled out a bottle for Sofia and went to and join his women. It wasn’t his fault that they didn’t understand how desirable they were. Maybe it was better that way. He didn’t want either of them thinking that there was a better deal out there.

He walked into the backyard and noticed that they had new patio furniture. “When did we get new patio furniture?”

“Today. It was delivered this afternoon. I ordered a lot of things at the beginning of the summer and they have started to show up. I need to take some time and go through my files and see what else is coming. I went a little crazy, and I don’t remember all the things that I bought. I have to start checking my email in the morning so I know who’s going to show up. I’ve been a little distracted since we moved in, and I haven’t gotten myself organized.”
 

He handed her the glass of wine, took the baby and sat down on their new glider. He pushed off and let it gently go back and forth and gave Sofia her milk. Cary joined him, and they relaxed against the comfortable seat and looked out over the backyard. “I think this is a great way to spend the evening,” he said.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and they moved back and forth in the glider as their new family enjoying the summer evening. “I agree.”

********

Cary stepped out the tub and dried off and noticed that the light was on in the bedroom. Travis must have come upstairs after doing the dishes. She went to get her robe and noticed that there was a new one hanging on the back of the door. “What a nice surprise.” She slipped it on and walked into their bedroom and admired the man lying in bed. “Thanks for the new robe. What’s the occasion?”

“Your old robe has been causing trouble since the beginning, so I decided to get you a new one. I don’t want any more men to get a free show the next time you answer the door.”

“So, are you telling me that you would prefer I wore this robe all the time?”

“No, I’m saying that if you answer the door, I want you to wear that one. Right now you can get rid of it.”

She smiled at him as she slowly untied the sash. She watched him lean forward slightly as his eyes focused on her. She took her time as she let the robe fall away and slowly lifted it off her shoulders as she kept the front closed. “So, you don’t think I need it right now?”

He huffed out a breath. “No, baby. You don’t need it right now. Go ahead and take it off.”

“You want me to take it off right now?”

“Yes, please. Baby, it’s past my ten-hour limit. I haven’t been inside you since five this morning and I need to get my mouth on you.”

She gave him a satisfied smile as she let the robe fall away from her body. Standing in front of him, she enjoyed the look of heat that passed over his face. His reaction to her was always going to have the same effect on her. She felt her body start to prepare itself for him. He was across the room, and it felt like he had his hands on her, not just his eyes. She stepped toward the bed, and he moved like a flash and grabbed her and flipped her over. She laughed as she looked up at him. “I guess you still find me attractive even though we’re parents.”

“Baby, I’m never going to stop wanting you, even when we have the house filled with a bunch of children. We are always going to make time for us and for this.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Travis thought he was in combat again and every instinct he had went into motion without him realizing it. He flew out of the bed and made a visual check for Cary and gave her a command to stay put. He grabbed his gun out of the drawer and flew into Sofia’s room and grabbed her out of the crib. She wasn’t happy about what was going on and was crying loudly at the noise. He quickly kissed her head. “I’m taking you to Mommy.”

He handed the baby to Cary. “Get in the bathroom and lock the door.” He threw her his phone. “Speed- dial one and two and give them a sit rep. Don’t open the door until you hear my voice.”

Cary followed directions without question as Travis nodded and made his way downstairs. The house alarm continued to shriek and Claire was barking downstairs like the world was about to end. He moved quietly as he checked the rooms and made his way downstairs. Everything had slowed down and his instincts were sharp. The only difference was that this time someone was threatening his family. He cleared the rooms as he made his way toward the kitchen. Someone had attempted to break in through the back door and had smashed the window. The alarm and the dog must have scared them, because there was no sign of anyone. He turned off the alarm and went through the back door and threw on the floodlights, so the whole backyard was illuminated. He noticed a small trail of blood and figured that the person cut his hand up when he broke the window. Must be an amateur, because a professional would never leave DNA at the scene. One they got it analyzed they were going to have their suspect stone cold, if he was in the system. That would make his life a lot easier.