Page 26 of Stolen Hearts

She looked away. “I didn’t know how to tell you. I was going to tell you in the morning. You always said you were going to leave…then you always stayed.”

I never could walk away from you.

Her eyes shimmered. “But I got up, and you were gone. You were dead on paper, off the grid. Even if I could have found your ghost ops team, I wouldn’t have wrecked your life by telling you that you had a child. Your team and the job were everything to you.”

He exhaled slowly, the weight of her words settling over him. He couldn’t be angry. She had shouldered all of it on her own, and the realization clawed at him with guilt. “I get it. I do.”

At that moment, Navy stiffened in his hold, and an explosion burst out of the little girl.

He jerked and almost dropped her like a grenade, while Rhae doubled over, laughing her head off.

He looked at the baby in horror. “That came from her?”

“Who else?”

“She’s so tiny.”

“But she’s mighty.” Rhae’s eyes leaked with amusement and probably some emotion too. “I guess it’s time for your first daddy duties—changing a poopy diaper.”

He stared at Rhae for a long beat. Maybe for the first time in his life, he was a little out of his element.

“I don’t know where you keep the supplies. I’ve never changed a diaper before.”

She chuckled and reached for Navy. “I’m joking. I’ll handle this one.”

He followed her to the dresser that had a pad on the top. She laid the baby down and Navy kicked her legs and flapped her arms in excitement while Rhae worked the row of snaps on her pajamas.

“Well, she looks lighter.” His comment made Rhae laugh again.

He watched her quickly change her daughter—theirdaughter. He cradled the baby’s head in his palm. “I want you to know,” he whispered, “I’m in this.”

Navy’s gray eyes stared up at him unblinking. When he met Rhae’s gaze, tears made her eyes glisten. “Oh, Denver…”

His heart squeezed as he felt its space grow too small to fit the size it had become. Looking on, he took in everything as Rhae stripped off the baby’s pajamas and dressed her in a white layer that snapped at the bottom. He marveled at how she squeezed Navy’s chubby arms and legs into a pair of pants and a matching top.

Across the room, her abandoned watch chimed.

She scooped up the baby and held her out to Denver. “I’m running late. I have to get ready.”

She rushed into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving him alone with Navy.

He bounced the little girl against him, testing her weight. Her little hand landed on his cheek in a surprising smack. A laugh burst out of him.

“I guess I deserve that for waiting so long to meet you. Navy…” The name fit her so well. Rhae had chosen perfectly.

A knock at the door pulled his focus from the small world he was rapidly sinking into. He shifted her in his arms and went to answer it.

A tall guy in a worn baseball cap stood there, hands shoved in his pockets. “Just checkin’ to see if Rhae needs any help with Navy this morning.”

Denver’s spine straightened. “I’ve got Navy.” His voice left no room for argument.

The guy backed off with a duck of his head in acknowledgement, and Denver closed the door, hand resting protectively on the wood for a moment longer.

Navy had her fist in her mouth, wet with drool.

“I’m here for you, Navy. You and your momma.”

The words came out quiet, but it was an oath. A claiming of his child and her mother.

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