Page 1 of Kent's Honor
1
Kent Carter glanced at his watch. Going out with the guys often became a challenge of how often he’d check the time every thirty minutes. So, for the last half hour, it was six. Being a single father hadn’t been easy. It was worse when he’d been in the military, leaving his precious little girl for weeks on end, worrying she’d forget who he was by the time he returned.
But now, the stress had become something entirely different.
“Hey.” Rex nudged his arm. “Are you seriously worried about Elle while she’s at my house with Tilly and Maren?”
“I’m not concerned about her well-being.” Kent arched a brow. “I know she’s having a ridiculous amount of fun playing mommy to Annabelle, Lucas, and Justice.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Rex arched a brow.
“My nanny has a family issue that came up last minute. She’s sending her niece over tomorrow to fill in.”
“Oh, I see.” Rex nodded, tipping his beer. “How old is this girl?”
“An adult, but not the point. I don’t know her or anything about her. I literally got the text an hour ago and we havetraining at the station and shit to do at the Aegis Network office all week.”
“You have to relax, man.” Rex slapped him on the shoulder. “Elle’s what, ten now?”
“Don’t remind me. She’s growing up too fast and she wants to find me the perfect wife like yesterday.”
Rex laughed. “She’s been like that since she was two.” He waggled his fingers. “Not to add any fuel to this fire, but she asked our next-door neighbor if she knew any young, nice-looking single women for her hot firefighter daddy.”
“Sweet, Jesus. She didn’t?” Kent shook his head.
Arthur leaned across the table. “Are we talking about cute, not so little anymore, Elle?”
“And how she wants to fix up her old man,” Rex said.
“Hey, I know a dozen girls who wouldn’t mind dating him,” Buddy said, waving a chicken wing in the air. “But every time I ask him to go on a double date with me, he gives me some song and dance he doesn’t have the sitter or doesn’t want to leave Elle, which I totally respect. But, dude, you need to get out sometimes.”
“What the hell do you think this is?” Kent glared.
“What I meant to say is you need to get laid.” Buddy lowered his chin.
“You’re an ass.” Kent tossed a napkin in his direction.
“That might be the case, but everyone at this table doesn’t disagree with him,” Hawke said. “I mean, not to get too personal, but how long has it been?”
“None of your fucking business,” Kent muttered. Hooking up with women had been a little easier when he'd been in the military. He could do it while deployed. It was meaningless sex and he’d never see them again.
Although, that did cause a bit of turmoil and guilt, for other reasons.
Now that he was a civilian, that part of his life was a little harder. He’d made a few friends that came withbenefitsover the years.
However, he’d also become bored with that kind of emotionless entanglement. None of them were the right person to introduce to his little girl. It wasn’t that they weren’t good enough. That wasn’t even the point.
“You know, you’ve got a room full of guys absolutely willing to babysit so you can find yourself a woman.” Garth raised his beer to his lips.
“I second that idea.” Duncan nodded.
“Why don’t you two idiots find your own ladies and let me worry about my love life, thank you very much.” Kent lifted his wrist.
Rex pushed his arm down and glared. “Is something else besides the new nanny issue bothering you?”
“Honestly, it’s just a combination of the new sitter situation and some things that Elle’s going through that I’m not sure how to handle.” Kent fiddled with the food on his plate. Becoming a father had been the best thing that had ever happened to him, even if it had also been the scariest. He loved Elle with every fiber of his being. She was the air that he breathed. Life didn’t matter without her.
“I can’t imagine my sweet little Annabelle becoming a young lady. I want to lock her up and throw away the key,” Rex said.
