Ranger's Baby Surprise (Special Forces Elite 2)

It was the first time our eyes really met since I walked through the door. In that look more was spoken then could ever be put into words.

“Yeah, we use to be good friends too.”

“So what happened?” Emma asked.

“Man, you like to ask a lot of questions,” I said with a soft laugh as I rubbed my beard.

“That’s my Em. Never satisfied with just one answer,” Julie said looking lovingly at her little girl.

“Well, I joined the Navy. It’s part of the military. I was a doctor for a group of guys that traveled all over and had special missions to capture the very worst bad guys. We were called Navy SEALs.”

I pulled out the dog tags I still had around my neck. I probably shouldn’t have worn them anymore, but it was still second nature to me. Emma got up and came over to inspect them. I took them off so she could hold them in her hand.

“Are you still a SEAL?” Emma asked trying the word out for the first time.

“No. I got hurt pretty bad. When you get hurt bad enough it's not safe for you to still be apart of the team.”

“Do you have a bionic leg?” Emma asked suddenly excited.

I looked at Julie surprised at this five-year old’s vocabulary. Instead, I saw pure shock staring back at me. I guess Julie didn’t know what had brought me to retire.

“No,” I said looking back at the little girl. “I still have all my arms and legs.”

“Oh,” she said sitting back down to her doughnut. Apparently not losing a leg was a big let down.

“Mr. Henderson has a bionic leg.”

“He is the third-grade teacher at her school,” Julie explained to me. “Sometimes he comes over for dinner.”

I looked over at Julie with a raised brow. She gave me her own penetrating look back, daring me to ask.

I struggled to hide the crazy amount of jealousy that was boiling between my skin. Of course, I shouldn’t have expected Julie never to have another relationship. At the same time, I wasn’t ready to hear about it either.

“He is in his late sixties and lost it to diabetes,” Julie finally said by way of explanation. “He lives all alone and in our complex.”

I smiled at the wave of relief that washed over me. I couldn’t help but notice the satisfying blush my smile brought to Julie’s cheeks. She may have been pissed as hell with me, may have hated my guts, but she was still just as attracted to me as I was to her.

“How bout you go brush your teeth real quick and then time for medicine,” Julie said to Emma as she licked the last sugary crumbs from her fingers.

The little girl obediently got up and walked down the hall.

“Still got a fever?” I asked as I watched her walk down.

“It’s a little better, but not much.”

“Has she been keeping hydrated?” I asked.

“Yes, Dr. Smith, she has been drinking Gatorade to keep hydrated.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I can see you know what you are doing.”

She softened her hard exterior at my words.

“I’m actually a little glad that she finally ate something, even if it was a doughnut.”

“Not eating? Is it because her throat is too sore. I could give another exam real quick if it would make you feel better.”

Julie gave me a soft smile before shaking her head no. Emma came back into the room, and we dropped the conversation.