Hero of Mine

by Codi Gary

  “Come on, you can run faster than that. Pick up the pace; as soon as you finish this lap, you can take a water break.” As they came around another lap, Tyler glanced down at his phone for the time and saw a text message from Dani. They hadn’t seen each other since Sunday, but he was hoping her text meant she was available for dinner. He was dying to get her alone.

  “You have just over fifty minutes left! I hope you aren’t getting tired,” he said cruelly.

  The boys ran to grab a drink at the fountain, and Harlow was the first to quench his thirst and start running again.

  Sliding his finger over the phone screen, he read her message. My babysitter is sick, and my mom and dad are out of town visiting my aunt. I’m homebound, I’m afraid.

  Damn, this whole keeping Noah and him separate was harder than he thought.

  What if I bring pizza and a movie over after Noah goes to bed? Then we aren’t breaking any rules, and if he wakes up, I can always hide in the closet.

  Raised voices by the fountain pulled him away from his phone, and he looked up in time to see Platt push Meyers against the wall. The bigger boy was radiating anger even from a hundred yards away, but it was the shouting that made Tyler rush to intercede.

  Tyler caught every word as he neared the fountain, confirming what he’d already known.

  “I’m not running anymore for you, asshole! You’re going to tell Sarge it was you talking shit, or you’re going to have bigger problems.”

  Meyers might have been the smaller of the two, but he wasn’t backing down. He shoved Platt back. “Fuck you, fat ass, what are you going to do, sit on me? Mind your business!”

  Tyler sped up, hollering, “Hey, hey! Knock it off. Platt, get back to running.”

  Platt did as he was told, glaring at Meyers until he finally turned away.

  Tyler held his hand up as Meyers started to take off, too. “You want to come clean now or keep torturing your friends?”

  Meyers’s face turned an ugly shade of red as he snarled, “They aren’t my friends. I’m out of here in a few weeks anyway.”

  “That’s true. You can spend that time getting shipped to juvie and losing all the goodwill you’ve earned from me and the rest of the instructors. That would be the easy way out of this. To just pretend that you didn’t do anything wrong.” He hoped his tone was conveying that was the wrong choice. “Or, you could show that you’ve actually learned something in your time here and deal with your mistake. Apologize to your team and especially to Jeremiah. I don’t know what happened between the two of you before you got here, but I know you’re better than this.”

  “I was just being funny, Sarge. Why do I need to apologize because the kid can’t take a joke?”

  “Because calling someone that isn’t a joke. Words like that cut deep and can scar a person.” Tyler’s eyes bored into Meyers’s until the kid’s brown ones darted away. “You’ve been someone the other guys look up to and have earned their trust and respect. I’d hate to see you lose that.”

  “If I kiss that kid’s ass, none of them will respect me.”

  “Now, I’m pretty sure you’re wrong. Did you see Platt’s face when you called him fat? That was hurt, which means he thinks you’re friends. You shouldn’t treat your friends like that.”

  Despite the kid’s tough attitude, Tyler noticed Meyers’s cheeks and ears were red with a blush. “I wasn’t trying to start anything. I was just having a laugh.”

  “At other people’s expense. How is making someone else feel like shit funny? Does that actually make you feel better?”

  Meyers shrugged and answered honestly. “Sometimes.”

  “Then it sounds like you need to spend an hour a day with Dr. Stabler if you plan to stay. See if she can help you work through healthier ways to boost your self-esteem.”

  That seemed to be the kid’s breaking point. “Oh, come on, I don’t need a shrink!”

  “Part of your probation, Meyers, if you accept my terms. You can talk to her and work out your shit or not—it’s up to you—but you will show up to every appointment. And if anything else comes up, you’re out of here.”

  Meyers stared mutinously at him, but Tyler wasn’t going to cave, not on this. After everything his little brother had been through, with dick bags hassling him and calling him every shitty name in the book, it wasn’t going to fly here.

  “So, what’s it going to be? Accept the consequences and apologize? Or do I need to make a phone call?” Tyler prodded.

  Meyers’s Adam’s apple bobbed hard. “Okay.”

  “Good. First, you’ll apologize to Platt and all of the other guys. Then, you’re going to have extra cleanup duty this week after meals.” Meyers nodded, not arguing. “And until you’re discharged, I wanna hear that you’re going to every counseling appointment. Are we clear?”

  “Yes, sir, we’re clear.”

  “Good. Hang out while I call your cohorts in.” Cupping his hands over his mouth, he shouted, “All right, you’re done. Get over here.”

  While they waited, Meyers said, “I know it’s none of my business, Sarge, but I heard the black eye Sergeant Sparks has is from you. Why’d you hit him?”

  Well, hell, the kid had him now.

  “Honestly? He was being a dick.”

  Meyers laughed and with a definite twinkle in his eyes chided, “Now, you shouldn’t hit your friends, sir.”

  Tyler grinned sheepishly. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have. I don’t recommend throwing punches at your friends when they piss you off. It’s something I gotta learn not to do, too. The point is, you need to learn from the mistakes of your elders and strive to be better. Which means we don’t bully people just because we need to feel better about ourselves.”

  As the other boys gathered around, Platt shot Meyers a dark scowl. Meyers’s jaw clenched, and for a second, Tyler wasn’t sure Meyers would follow through, but he surprised him.

  “I’m sorry I was a jerk, Platt. I didn’t mean it; I was just pissed,” Meyers said, relaxing.

  Tyler thought Platt was going to draw it out, but instead he nodded, a small smile on his face as he held his hand out to Meyers. “All right, but the next time you try to dis all of this, I am going to sit on you.”

  The other boys laughed, and Meyers grinned as they shook hands.

  “Let’s go inside, and we’ll find Jeremiah, who will receive an apology from each of you. No exceptions, got it?” No one argued. “After you.”

  Tyler fell into step behind them, pulling out his phone once more, and saw a new text from Dani.

  Okay. You bring a pizza and movie, and I’ll make cookies.

  Here’s hoping you get more than a cookie. The thought popped unbidden into his head, and he couldn’t help laughing at himself. As much as he’d changed over the last few weeks, he still had a bit of the old Tyler in him. The one who hadn’t gotten laid in a while—had barely been kissed, actually—and he was starting to feel the withdrawal.

  I wouldn’t expect too much tonight. The last thing you want to do is be getting it on and have Noah walk in on you. Scar the kid for life.

  But it wasn’t just about the sex. They had hardly had time to figure out how they’d work without drama, parents, or friends getting in the way. Noah was one thing, he and Dani were a package deal, but it seemed like every time Dani and Tyler started to grow closer, something would put distance between them. It wasn’t them; he had the feeling with no interruptions, they’d have a really good time together, as he’d experienced the few times they’d been alone.

  Building something real was new territory, though, and he just hoped he wasn’t going to royally fuck it up.

  THAT NIGHT, JUST as Dani was closing the door to Noah’s room, there was a knock at her front door. Bella and Shasta barked and howled, and she shushed them sternly as she ran past. She had been looking forward to going out with Tyler all week, and when she’d almost had to cancel, she’d been really disappointed. She hadn’t wanted to be the one to ask him to come over
, especially when she had been the one to suggest keeping him and Noah separate.

  She hadn’t needed to, though. And even if Noah woke up, she wasn’t worried. Her son adored Tyler already, but as someone who introduced him to puppies, not as a potential dad.

  No, it’s you having all the fantasies about the three of you living happily ever after.

  The thought wasn’t completely off base. She had to admit, the big Marine holding her baby in his arms as he cut up a stack of pancakes for him was one of her favorite images. The ease with which Tyler fit in, even briefly, left her nearly floating with hope, and it was exhilarating but terrifying at the same time.

  Especially since she was pretty sure she’d already fallen for him.

  She opened the door without looking through the peephole, excitement radiating through her body as she expected to find Tyler and Duke on the other side.

  Instead, Angel stood on her porch step, his red-rimmed, watery eyes looking back at her under the pale porch light.

  Shasta stood behind her; she could tell by the dog’s guttural growl.

  “Hey, Dani. You miss me?” he asked.

  “What are you doing here?” Panic made her voice squeakier than usual. “How did you get my address?”

  “Oh, I got a buddy who can find just about anyone. Relax, why are you so tense?”

  “Maybe because you’re showing up at my house unannounced?” A thousand thoughts ran through her head, but the one that was truly alarming was that this wasn’t the Angel she’d known three years ago. He’d been a jerk, no doubt, and had smoked a little weed and drank, but she’d never been afraid of him.

  After recalling his explosion at the theater, though, she started inching the door shut.

  He laid his hand against it, stalling her movement. Shasta’s rumblings intensified, and Angel’s gaze narrowed on the dog for a second before returning to her. “Now, why are you trying to close the door? I just want to have a talk with you.”

  “Fine, talk.” Giving Shasta an “okay,” she wasn’t surprised that the dog quieted but refused to leave her post.

  “Is my kid here? Can I meet him? Or her?” Angel was craning his neck to look past her, but she stepped back into his line of vision.

  “No, he’s at my parents’ house,” she lied smoothly. “They take him for me every other weekend.”

  “Him, huh? So I got a son? Well, that’s really nice. You know, my mom has been so excited to meet him ever since I told her I saw you. Maybe sometime we could come over—”

  “No, Angel, I don’t want you coming back here. If you want visitation, you’re going to have to go through legal channels to get it, because the way you are now . . . showing up here, obviously high, there’s no way I’m letting you around my son.”

  His face screwed up in a menacing glare, and he pressed harder on the door, widening the opening. Shasta lunged past her legs, snarling and snapping at him until he stumbled back. She caught Shasta’s collar just as Bella flew out the door, circling Angel with a series of high-pitched barks.

  He kicked out at the fat pug, who was surprisingly fast for her size, and Dani, afraid he wouldn’t miss again, snapped, “Bella, inside. Now.”

  The dog hesitated before bouncing back in. Probably not the brightest move in the world, Dani stepped outside and shut the door on both dogs. The last thing she wanted was Shasta to bite him while protecting Dani. She didn’t need to give him any leverage against her, like saying that she owned a dangerous animal.

  Angel, who’d seemed to get his bearings back, got in her face. “Who are you to judge me, huh? You were nothing but a little slut who was willing to spread her legs for anyone who’d buy you a drink. Yet you’re going to stand there and preach to me? You’re looking down your nose at me and telling me you’re gonna keep me from what’s mine?”

  And like that, Dani’s temper snapped in two, all common sense and fear fleeing with every insult, every dig. “You didn’t want him! Don’t you remember that?” She hissed the words angrily, stepping into him so he either needed to move or she’d run over him. “Don’t you remember telling me to get rid of ‘it’? That I shouldn’t count on you to help because you were leaving? And I kept up my end. I never tried to find you. Never pressured you or sued you for child support. Nothing. Because I don’t want your money, Angel. I want nothing from you.”

  “You’ve got a real brass set on you. Especially since you’ve all but admitted you’re alone here.”

  “Except she’s not alone.” Tyler’s deep, angry voice made them both jump, and she glanced toward the top of the driveway with relief. He seemed larger in the shadows, taking up the entire entrance to the walkway with his broad shoulders, and she watched Angel visibly swallow.

  Whatever apprehension he’d felt was obviously fleeting, because the next second he sneered, “Well, if it isn’t the hero.”

  Tyler had a pizza box in one hand with a plastic bag on top. Duke sat by his side calmly, watching the humans as if they were discussing tea and crumpets.

  “It’s Mr. Hero to you.” Tyler’s tone was devoid of his usual good-natured humor as he approached. Handing her the pizza box and movies with a kiss on her cheek, he whispered in her ear, “I want you to take this and Duke inside. I’ll come in a few minutes.”

  Dani didn’t like leaving Tyler alone with Angel. As she gripped Duke’s leash, she warned, “Thirty seconds, and then I’m calling the cops.”

  As Tyler opened the door to let her back inside, Angel’s cheerful good-bye sent a shiver down her spine. “I’ll see you soon, sweet pea.”

  Please, Tyler, make those thirty seconds count.

  Chapter Eighteen

  TYLER TURNED TO face Dani’s ex, trying to appear casual when all he wanted to do was pound the guy’s head into the wall of the house. He’d parked at the end of the drive, noticing the Chevelle next to Dani’s car, but he’d figured it was a friend or that the babysitter had come through after all. But when he’d heard Angel practically threaten her, he’d been about to drop everything, including Duke’s leash, and tear the guy apart.

  What really pissed him off was that the arrogant little fuck was either too high or too stupid to realize the danger he was in.

  “Here’s the deal. You’re going to get into that piece of shit car, and you’re going to drive away. And you aren’t going to come back here ever again. You got it?”

  Angel sniffed at him. “You think you can tell me what to do? She’s got my kid, and I want to see him.”

  “Then I suggest you hire a lawyer. But if you show up here again, it’s not going to end well for you.”

  “What, are you threatening me now? Ain’t you a cop or something? You got that look that screams pig. I’ll report you.”

  Tyler smiled coldly, and he knew it’d had the right effect on Angel when some of the puff went out of his chest. Stepping into the shorter man, Tyler said, “I’m not a cop. I’m a Marine.”

  The door swung open behind him.

  “I said thirty seconds, and I gave you forty. I’m calling the cops.”

  Angel glared between the two of them a few times and finally turned away with a noise filled with anger. Tyler didn’t take his eyes off his retreating form until he’d climbed into his car and started it up.

  While Angel was backing out of the driveway, Tyler suddenly found his arms full of a trembling Dani.

  “Oh my God, I have never been so glad to see anyone in my entire life.”

  Wrapping her up tight against him, he resisted the urge to shake her. “What the hell were you doing on the porch with him? Actually, why did you answer the door in the first place?”

  “Because I thought he was you. I didn’t even look out the peephole because I . . . I was so excited to see you.”

  Well, how could he be mad at that? “When I came up the walk and heard what he was saying, I wanted to pound him. But now, all I really want is to get you inside and give you a proper hello.”

  She looked up at him from the circle
of his arms, and damn, nothing had ever seemed so right. “I like the sound of that.”

  Unable to wait, Tyler took her lips, coaxing them open with a slow sweep of his tongue. This had been what he’d been missing. Even if he’d kissed another girl, it wouldn’t have been like this, sweetly fulfilling.

  Because the only one who made him want like this was Dani.

  “Mmm.” She was the one to break away, taking hold of his hand from her waist and bringing it to her mouth. “Come on.”

  Tyler followed her in, and as she closed and locked the door, he asked, “Are you hungry?”

  She turned to face him, her back against the door, dogs sniffing around her legs and feet.

  “No. You?”

  He didn’t answer. Instead he stepped into her, moving the dogs out of the way and burying his fingers in her hair.

  “I’m not much for pouring my feelings out, but this, what’s happening with us, is something . . . ” Special.

  She leaned up on tiptoe, her mouth so close he could feel the warmth of her breath mingling with his. “I know exactly what you mean.”

  “Oh yeah?” His words were soft, pressing her to say more even though he couldn’t find the words.

  “Like you just . . . fit. It’s effortless, like you belong with us, and I . . . shit.” She pulled back a little, her eyes heavy with worry. “I shouldn’t have said that. Now you’re freaking out, afraid I’m thinking about marriage, and I swear I’m not. I just like spending time with you, and you’re nice to my son and—”

  “I’m not freaking out.” And weirdly, he wasn’t. Because ever since the day at the park, he’d been feeling the same way. They fit together, as if Dani and Noah had been placed on Earth just for him. They were his . . . his to protect and care for. What he had been waiting for; what he needed to make a change.

  Although the hard-on in his jeans was proof he wasn’t completely changed. With Dani so close, he could see the rise of her breasts beneath her shirt, the valley of her cleavage making his mouth water.