Page 14 of The Cold Ride

“Why don’t you bring it into the kitchen. I think there’s some room in the fridge. Guys, I want to introduce you to my daughter, Amelia. Amelia, these are my friends. This is Aiden, Wyatt, and at the end of the table is Lucas.” And then her gaze landed on me. “And sitting beside you is James.”

“We’ve met, Mom,” Amelia replied.

“Yes, well, why don’t you come help me get the garlic bread?” Rory told her with a nod toward the kitchen.

I gritted my teeth at her request. She couldn’t possibly be trying to keep us separated still, was she? If so, we were going to have a massive blow out the likes of which would make the big bang look tame by comparison.

“Okay.” Amelia bounded up out of her chair and into the kitchen like it was no big deal. And Wyatt followed them into the kitchen with the rest of the twelve-pack.

They returned a few minutes later, with Wyatt carrying the main dish for Rory. Amelia held a basket full of piping hot garlic bread.

My mouth watered at the scent of the lasagna. It looked amazing and was a far cry from the MREs we ate on missions. It took a few minutes to get the meal dished out.

Aiden leaned in. “It smells delicious.”

Lucas held out his plate. “I’d like as big a piece as you can make it, because that looks divine.”

“Mom makes the best lasagna.”

“Oh yeah? Is lasagna your favorite dinner?”

“Um, well, Mom is a really great cook. But I think my favorite is her pizza,” Amelia said, garnering a bunch of chuckles from the guys.

When it was my turn, I pegged Rory with a hard stare. Without a word, she filled my plate and handed it over. Our gazes clashed, and she almost dropped my plate. If I hadn’t been holding it, it would have fallen and created a mess. Rory was skittish and worried.

Did she think I’d try to take Amelia away from her? Because that’s not the kind of man I was, and she should know better. But then, we’d only had one night together. How much did we really know about the other?

Not enough to make snap decisions.

No matter how angry I was over her failure to contact me, she’d given me a daughter. There was a part of me that was relieved that should something happen while I was deployed and I didn’t make it back, a part of me would live on in her. The moment I made it back to base at the end of my leave time before I was deployed again, I would update everything in my will. Everything would go to Amelia now, instead of my parents. They’d understand that I would want my kid to be taken care of in the event of my death.

“This is fantastic,” Aiden proclaimed with a groan.

“What grade are you in?” I asked Amelia.

“Third grade, but only for another few months, and then I’ll be in fourth grade.”

She was so eager to grow up. But I wanted time with her while she was this age. “And do you like school?”

After she finished chewing, she replied with a thoughtful expression. “It’s okay, I guess. I like learning things. I just wish I didn’t have to go every day. But at least I get to see Molly.”

“Is that your best friend?” I realized I was controlling the conversation at the table, but I didn’t care. And the guys were only too happy to focus on their food and let me lead.

Even Rory smiled at my question.

“It’s the class turtle. She’s super cool. We each get a week where we get to take care of her and bring her home for the weekend to take care of her,” Amelia explained, brimming with excitement.

Fuck, this kid was slaying me. “She sounds amazing.”

“She is. Are you guys like a biker gang?” Amelia asked, tilting her head.

There were a few chuckles around the table, myself included. “No. Far from it. We’re Navy SEALs. The Navy’s special forces division. Right now we’re on leave and taking a road trip across the country.”

“My dad is in the military overseas, fighting for our country. It’s why he’s not here with me,” Amelia stated, her eyes bright, talking about her dad.

Holy shit, she meant me. She was talking about me.

I opened my mouth to tell her I was her dad, but caught Rory’s expression. She mouthed,not yet.

---