The Daddy Salute

by Maureen Child

  “Yes, Gunnery Sergeant,” he said, snapping to attention.

  Fuming, Brian looked away from the kid for a moment, hoping to get a grip on his rapidly rising temper. His gaze snaked across the open, brushy, beach land that surrounded Camp Pendleton. Rolling hills, dusted with the fading glow of the sun, jeeps and tanks dotted the landscape, with marines hovering near their machinery like anxious parents. Seagulls swooped down from the sky, looking for any discarded tidbit of food as they dodged helicopter blades thwapping the air with a rhythmic pulse.

  Day over. Time to wrap everything up and head for home. And this idiot kid loses a pair of night-vision goggles.

  Slowly he swiveled his head back to glare at the fool in question. “Private,” he said in a tight, low growl, “the U.S. Government loaned you those goggles. The U.S. Marine Corps trusted you to have enough sense to hold on to them.”

  The kid stiffened further and a muscle in his jaw began to twitch.

  Brian leaned in close until he was looking eyeball to eyeball with the impossibly young marine. Geez…was he really getting that much older, or were the recruiting officers going to junior high these days? Nose to nose, he went on in a snarl, “Those goggles cost more than you did, boy.”

  “Yes, Sergeant.”

  “And you’re gonna find ’em.”

  “I am, Sergeant?”

  “Do you expect me to find ’em for you?”

  “No, Sergeant,” he said quickly, and swallowed hard enough to send his Adam’s apple bobbing like a cork on a fishing line.

  “You think maybe we ought to call your mommy out here to find ’em for you?”

  The kid stiffened further. “No, Sergeant.”

  “Well, good,” Brian snapped. If there’s one thing his marines had to learn, it was responsibility. He wasn’t about to fill out a report stating that one of his kids had lost an expensive piece of equipment. Hell, if he let this go by, the next thing you know, the damn fools would be losing their guns.

  These kids had to figure out that they’d better take damn good care of their equipment or one day they might find themselves surrounded by the enemy with only rocks to throw in their own defense.

  “Private Henry,” he said, his voice a low, dangerous weapon in its own right, “you’re gonna be the most popular man in your squad tonight.”

  The kid blinked.

  “Everybody stays right here, combing every inch of this place until we find the goggles you lost.”

  A wave of murmured complaints reached him, but Brian ignored it. Not only would the squad hate Private Henry, but they wouldn’t be too damned fond of their sergeant, either. But then, he wasn’t in the corps to win popularity contests. Hell, did they think he wanted to stay out here all night going up and down marsh hills? He had a life, too. Okay, at the moment it was a pretty confusing life, what with the baby and his reaction to kissing Kathy last week.

  But it was his.

  “All right, you bunch,” he ordered, turning his head until he could spear each of the waiting marines with a glare as cold and sharp as a bayonet. “Get busy. You climb every hill, you slink into every valley. Look behind every damned blade of grass. Pick up every rock, and brush the sand away by hand if you have to, but find those goggles. Nobody leaves until you do.”

  As the men moved off, giving Private Henry a few well-chosen insults, Brian stared out at the ocean and the sun about to sink into the horizon. A cold wind swept off the water and surged across the land as though it could plough a road for the waves to follow.

  Ordinarily he liked being out here, running exercises. He enjoyed watching a new crop of marines learn to do what the corps had been doing for more than two hundred years…protecting this country and its citizens. He reveled in showing the new guys what they could find in the corps. Duty. Honor. Comradeship. And hell, he always got a kick out of seeing some young devil dog drive a tank into the ocean by mistake.

  A half smile dusted across his mouth and was gone again. But today he didn’t even find enjoyment in testing out the weapons.

  He watched the unceasing line of waves pound against the shore and retreat again. The roar of the ocean rumbled beneath the overlying noise and hustle surrounding him, and he realized that today he didn’t even feel the usual sense of satisfaction in being a part of such a community of warriors.

  Because today, like every other day for the past week, he was thinking about Kathy Tate and what she was doing to him. For almost two weeks, now, he’d been a father. And though he was beginning to reach a sort of truce with the blue-eyed heartbreaker who’d invaded his life, her baby-sitter was a different story altogether.

  He sucked in a gulp of sea-flavored air, jammed his hands on his hips and asked himself why in the hell he was letting her get to him this way. Damn it, no woman had ever come as close as she had. Always before, he’d managed to keep his lady friends in a specific sort of “comfort zone.”

  Close, but not too close. Intimate, but not really. Lovers, but not love. And in that one, unbelievable kiss, Kathy had breached way too many barriers for comfort. If he was a man to whom running came easy, now would be the time to head for the hills.

  Thankfully, that line of thought died out quickly when a jeep roared up behind him. As the engine was cut off, Brian turned to watch Jack Harris clamber out of the driver’s seat and walk toward him.

  “What’s goin’ on, Brian?” he asked as he turned his gaze to watch the men moving off slowly across the field.

  Shaking his head, he replied, “Henry lost a pair of night-vision goggles.”

  “Oh, perfect.” Jack snorted and kicked at the low grasses at his feet.

  “Gonna be a long night, if we don’t get lucky.”

  “We don’t have that kind of luck.”

  “No kidding.”

  “Think I’ll call Donna and tell her what’s going on,” Jack said and pulled a cell phone out of his uniform pocket. “If I don’t warn her that her dinner might be ruined, I’m a dead man.” He moved off a couple of paces to make his call.

  Brian snorted a choked-off laugh at his old friend checking in with the little woman, then acknowledged Donna would have his hide if she ever heard him refer to her like that. His smile faded completely when he realized that he had a call of his own to make.

  Gone were the days when he answered only to himself. In fact, he could hardly remember a time when he’d had his apartment…and his life to himself. He wasn’t the free-wheeling gunnery sergeant anymore. Now there was a baby to consider, not to mention the woman who was taking care of that baby. And what if Kathy had a date tonight? He scowled fiercely at the thought. She’d gone out three times in the past week, and each time she left, it had driven him to distraction. He’d tried a couple of times to get a look at her mystery man, but the guy never walked her to her door.

  Which sure as hell didn’t say much for him.

  Jack walked up beside him again, and Brian said, “Can I use your phone?”

  Jack’s eyebrows went straight up. “What is the world coming to? Hands-on Haley needs to report in?”

  “Shut up and give me the phone.”

  Jack held it just out of reach. “Still at strike one, or has there been another development I haven’t heard about yet?”

  Instantly that kiss and the resulting week-long silence ran through Brian’s mind, and his expression must have mirrored his thoughts. Jack’s laugh boomed out over the sound of the helicopters, and a couple of nearby marines turned to stare. Brian ignored them. “What’s so damned funny?”

  “You, man,” Jack told him. “Strike two!”

  Brian lunged for the phone. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I gotta see this woman,” Jack went on as he gave up the phone. Slapping Brian on the back, he added, “Bring her and the baby over for dinner, huh? Donna wants to look at her, too.”

  “Surrounded by friends,” Brian muttered, and turned his back to the other man. Hell, if he could get her to go out with hi
m, he wouldn’t be striking out, now would he?

  Then, as if he could read minds, Jack spoke up again. “Or maybe,” he mused as Brian dialed, “she’s still refusing to go out with you?”

  Brian inhaled sharply and muttered a curse that would have started a fight if Jack had heard it.

  “That’s it,” Jack crowed. “Oh, man, the money in the pool is going to really pile up when the guys hear this.”

  Great. Perfect. His life had turned into the hottest gambling pool on base.

  He tuned his “friend” out and listened to Kathy’s phone ringing. She picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”

  “Kathy, it’s me.”

  “Hi,” she said, and he wondered if he was imagining a smile in her voice.

  “Look,” Brian went on, lifting his gaze to where the squad was just climbing over the first hill in their search. “I’ve got a problem on base.”

  “What’s up?”

  Did she sound worried?

  “A private lost some equipment, and I’m keeping them out here until they find it.”

  “Oh,” she said, and this time he knew he heard disappointment in her voice. Had she been looking forward to seeing him at the usual time?

  “I was wondering,” he went on, “would you mind watching Maegan a few more hours?”

  “It’s no problem,” she said.

  He lowered his voice in case Jack was listening. “No date tonight?”

  “Uh…no. Not tonight.”

  Brian didn’t know if he was relieved that she wasn’t seeing the guy or disappointed that she wouldn’t have to cancel on the man.

  “How late do you think you’ll be?”

  Hmm. Could be half an hour or two days.

  “No telling,” he said with a sigh. “Until these yahoos find what they lost.”

  “Boy,” she said, “I’m glad you’re not my boss.”

  He was, too, because if she worked for him, he’d be in serious danger of a sexual harassment suit.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said, reluctant to hang up and lose the sound of her voice.

  “Oh!” She sounded surprised, shocked.

  “What?” he demanded and took a step forward, as though he could just leap into her apartment. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong,” she said quickly, and then in a sweet, singsong voice, added, “Maegan, what a big girl you are.”

  “What’d she do?” he wanted to know, and suddenly felt light-years away from the cozy apartment and his baby girl.

  “She let go of the couch and almost took a step. Oh, Brian, she looks so proud of herself!”

  “A step?” He grinned and tried to picture the little girl wobbling back and forth on chubby legs. Briefly he considered how a month ago he couldn’t have imagined being so excited over what should be a natural process. But in the next instant he realized that his life was not only different now, but better. “That’s great,” he said, wishing he was there to share in the triumph. “Give her a kiss for me.”

  “I will,” Kathy said, and her voice dropped huskily.

  “And, Kathy,” he continued, staring out over the marsh grass.

  “Yes?”

  What was he going to say? Kiss yourself for me, too? No. Any kissing that was going to be done, he wanted to be in on it personally.

  “Nothing,” he said softly.

  “Oh. Okay, then,” Kathy said. “I’ll see you…whenever.”

  “Okay. And thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He pushed End and shut the power off. Half turning, he held the phone out to Jack, and when the other man took it without a word, Brian wanted to thank him. He didn’t think he was up to any more jokes at the moment.

  “Couldn’t help overhearing,” Jack said.

  He should have known the guy couldn’t be quiet for long. “Yeah?”

  “Maegan’s walking?”

  Surprised that his comment hadn’t been about Kathy, Brian turned around to look at his friend. An understanding smile creased Jack’s features, and Brian nodded.

  “Almost a whole step,” he said, and heard the pride in his voice. Amazing. Three weeks ago, he’d have laughed at anyone who would have told him that he would be a doting father in less than a month.

  “Boy, when Angela first took off a couple of months ago,” Jack was saying, “I was prouder than three generals.”

  Brian nodded thoughtfully. He used to smile indulgently while Jack gushed about his gorgeous wife and brilliant daughter, all the while telling himself that Jack didn’t even know he was a trapped man.

  Now he was practically in the same boat and only just beginning to realize that trapped wasn’t really the word for it. Who would have guessed that Brian Haley, king of the short-term relationship, would fall so much in love with his daughter and so much in lust with a woman who was unlike any he’d ever dated.

  “So,” Jack asked, keeping his voice neutral, “getting back to the main subject, was strike two a swing and a miss?”

  Scowling, Brian thought about it a moment. That kiss had surely not been a miss. But it hadn’t gotten him anywhere but deeper into the frustration that had been clawing at him since moving in across the hall from Kathy. So if the kiss was strike two… Finally, he said, “Foul ball, high and away.”

  Nodding sagely, Jack told him, “Then all you have to do is straighten it out.”

  Brian shook his head in disgust. “First, I have to get up to bat again.”

  “You will,” Jack said, and turned toward the squad slowly making their way over the marsh hill. “But first, you have to get off this field and back into the playing field.”

  True enough. He wouldn’t get anywhere until those blasted goggles were found. Sighing, he led the way across the brush grass. “Damn privates,” he muttered.

  Jack laughed.

  A gentle knock on her door woke Kathy at 2:00 a.m.

  Jumping up from the chair where she’d been dozing, she shook her head to clear away sleep-induced cobwebs and hurried to the door. She opened it and looked up into Brian’s crystal-blue eyes. He looked exhausted…and entirely too good. “Sorry it’s so late,” he started to say.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Kathy said, cutting him off as she reached for his hand and drew him into the apartment. “But it’s so late now, why don’t you just leave Maegan with me for the night? She’s sleeping soundly, and it just doesn’t make sense to move her.”

  He inhaled sharply and blew the air out in a rush. Nodding, he said, “That’s fine. Thanks.”

  He scraped one hand across his face, and Kathy felt for him. She could just imagine wandering around in the darkness for hours on end. “C’mon,” she said, and led him into her small kitchen. Pushing him down into one of the two chairs at the tiny table, she said, “Just relax. I’ll get you something to eat.”

  His smile warmed her through and she told herself she was being ridiculous to be so touched by such a small thing.

  “Food sounds great,” he said, and leaned both elbows on the table to cradle his head in his hands.

  While she bustled around the kitchen, she asked questions about what he’d been up to and let him talk about his night. By the time she had a sandwich made and a bowl of steaming soup in front of him, his story was winding down.

  “Anyway, we found the goggles in a ditch the idiot had been sitting in.” He shook his head. “For some reason he set them down, then just walked off without them when the squad was called in.”

  Kathy took the seat opposite him. “I’ll bet he won’t be doing that again anytime soon.”

  “Lord, I hope not.” He tucked into the rich tomato soup, and in seconds the bowl was empty. “I didn’t even realize how hungry I was,” he said as he started on the sandwich.

  “Would you like something to drink?” she asked as she picked up his bowl to refill it.

  “If you have a beer,” Brian said, “I might have to worship you.”

  She laughed
, enjoying the feel of the late-night quiet and the man watching her every move. “Then get ready to hit your knees, Sergeant.” Opening the fridge, she pulled out a can of beer and carried it and the soup back to the table.

  “A man could get used to this, oh goddess of all things good and tasty.”

  Her toes curled, but she kept her voice light.

  “And every woman deserves to be worshipped occasionally.”

  He opened the beer, took a long drink and practically purred in pleasure. “Baby, consider yourself worshipped.”

  His voice seemed to scrape along her nerve endings, leaving her insides trembling. While she struggled for breath, she told him, “Finish your dinner, and I’ll go check on Maegan.”

  Brian nodded and dug into his second bowl of soup. Logically he knew it was canned, but it tasted like homemade. The sandwich was thick, and the beer went down like fine wine. After the night he’d had, this all seemed too good to be true. Just a month ago, he’d have gone into his empty apartment, collapsed atop his bed and gone to sleep hungry.

  Of course, staring across the table at Kathy’s sleep-ruffled hair and slumberous eyes, not to mention the pale-blue nightgown she wore, was stirring up a completely different type of hunger. One that had been slowly devouring him from the inside out for more than a month.

  Grumbling to himself, he finished his sandwich just as she came back into the room.

  “Sleeping like a baby,” she said with a smile.

  “Good,” he said, and heard the exhaustion in his voice. God, he felt as though he was nailed to the chair, and he didn’t know how he would work up the energy to cross the hall into his own place.

  “Come with me,” she said quietly, and Brian looked up to see her holding one hand out to him. He took it and let her pull him up, then lead him into the living room where she practically pushed him down onto her overstuffed love-seat sofa. “Now just sit there for a minute and relax.”

  He smiled at her and noticed how the dim lamplight seemed to cloud around her in a golden haze. Was his vision blurry or did she really seem to shine?

  She curled up in the chair across from him, braced one elbow on the arm of the chair and cupped her chin in her palm. “Feeling better?” she asked.