Page 7 of Kent's Honor
“He still ride?”
She shook her head. “He was killed in action when I was sixteen.”
His heart clenched. One of his biggest fears was leaving his daughter alone in this world. One of the reasons he left the military. But service was in his blood. His father had been aSEAL, and he’d seen some serious action. No matter the danger, the world needed men and women like his father—like her father.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“Nicky was named after my dad. I just wish he could have met his grandson.” She peered around the corner at the porch. “Nicky never sits still that long unless it’s on the front of a motorcycle.”
“So you have a motorcycle?” he asked.
“I wish but I can barely afford my car. My dad’s Navy buddies show up every once in a while and take me and Nicky out on theirs.”
“I’ve got a ton of kid helmets. When I get back from work, I’d happily take him for a ride.” He told himself he was only offering to make a little boy happy.
“I don’t know. I don’t think I can trust you with my kid,” she said with a smirk and an arched brow.
“Again, point taken,” he said. “Buttercup, Dad’s leaving. Come give me a hug and a kiss.”
“Stop calling me that,” Elle said. “It’s so embarrassing.”
He laughed, pushing his bike onto the driveway.
“Mommy! I want a ride!” Nicky held on to the railing with one hand and Elle’s hand with the other as his tiny little legs navigated the lopsided steps.
“Sorry, buddy. Mr. Carter has to go to work.” Dixie scooped up her kid, smacking her lips against his cheek as he scrunched his face, wiggling his body, trying to get down. “And if we don’t kick his butt to the curb now, he’ll never leave.”
That caught a chuckle from Elle. “Don’t give him a reason to stay. He’s weird that way.”
“But, Mommy, I want to go now,” Nicky wailed.
“When I get back, little man. Deal?” Kent held out his fist.
Nicky immediately clenched his hand and pounded Kent. “Deal.”
“Bye, Dad.” Elle wrapped her arms around his middle.
He tugged her close as he kissed the top of her head, holding on for as long as she’d let him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said, backing away. “And please don’t call and text me twenty times. We’ll be fine.”
“He seriously does that?” Dixie asked.
“I would never.” He kicked his leg over the seat. One of the reasons he’d bought this particular luxury bike over a roadster had been the backrest for him and a safer back seat for his daughter. “But I’m still going to try to get someone to cover my shift.”
“Suit yourself.” Dixie turned on a dime, her son on her hip, taking Elle by the hand. “I thought my aunt was kidding when she said your dad was overprotective, but he’s like from another planet.”
“I heard that,” he said before turning over the engine and revving it for effect. “It only makes me want to come home sooner.”
But he wasn’t sure if it was because he was that concerned or he liked the banter.
Or both.
3
Dixie settled on a bench in the neighborhood park just three blocks away from the sexy firefighter’s home. Kent exemplified pure, raw human sexuality at its finest. His dark hair, while cut short, still showed off thick, soft waves. His eyes, the color of the best bottle of bourbon, cast a sense of honor wherever his gaze landed. His body, the way it filled out his dark T-shirt and loose-fitting jeans, was more like a temple needing to be worshipped.
Her breath had gotten stuck in her throat when she’d touched his arm, feeling his thick muscles twitch.
