Delta's Baby Surprise (Special Forces Elite 1)

Damn I sounded like I was in high school. I knew I was rusty, but I needed to get my game back faster than that. I had to have her. And clearly, I was willing to fucking embarrass myself to make that happen. I thought I saw a smile form on the corners of her lips.

“Are you asking me out Captain Jackson?” She tilted her head sideways.

“Brett,” I corrected. “And what if I am? Don’t give me that doctor-patient excuse. You are not my doctor.”

“I don’t know.” She hesitated. “I don’t think we went over this in the volunteer training.”

“Really?” I eyed her. “You’re kidding with me right now.”

She twisted her lips together. “Would you say this is part of your re-entry practice?”

I chuckled. “Most definitely.”

“Well, I can’t let you do that alone can I? Not after I just gave you that whole speech about reaching out.”

“That’s what I was thinking.” I winked. “You’re basically obligated to have dinner with me after that exam.”

She slid behind the driver’s seat. A second later she handed me a piece of paper. “Here’s my address. Pick me up at seven.”

I shoved the note in my pocket. “See you then, doc.”

I watched as she backed out of the driveway and her car disappeared in the wooded drive. I turned to face my cousin. I wanted to slug him for showing up when he did, but I hadn’t seen him in two years. That wasn’t exactly the best way to say hello under the circumstances.

“Who in the hell told you I was back?” I barked. I knew my cousins, aunts, and uncles would eventually figure it out, but I had kept a low profile on purpose. I didn’t intend to be absorbed in the family drama just because I was home.

“Good to see you too.” Cane grinned. “Looks like you aren’t wasting any time with the women. Don’t blame you. Two years is a long time. You picked a good one.”

I shot him a look. I had only met the doctor half an hour ago. It was too new for my moronic cousin to screw it up. I already didn’t like the way he was talking about her. As if she was a prize or a trinket to pass around. The doc was anything but that.

“That was nothing,” I grumbled, trying to make him drop Gretchen as a topic. “Who told you I was home?”

“Randy said he saw your lights on last night when he was out with his dogs. Told him I’d swing by to make sure it wasn’t a vagrant who had broken in. Had a feeling you might be here though.”

“Yeah. Not a vagrant.” My family was so damn nosey. Why couldn’t they leave me out of their problems?

“Since I’m here I should bring you up to date on family business.”

I sat on the top step, pulling the knife from my leg. I reached for a piece of kindling and began to whittle long clean strokes against the wood.

“Not interested in the family right now. Can’t it wait?”

Cane sat next to me. “Look, I know you’ve been out of country, but now that you are home, you can’t ignore the family. It’s your responsibility.”

I huffed. “I’m not going to be home long. Not long enough to do anything to help out. I’m not done over there. You’ve been doing a good job filling in for me. Just keep it up. One day, when I’m back for good, I’ll do my job.”

Cane laughed. “I’m not you, man. The family’s not going to keep listening to me since they know you’re back. You need to get everyone together. There are things that need to be addressed.”

I shook my head. I wasn’t going to organize anything. “Negative. I’m only going to be here another week or so and then I’m right back where I was. I’m sure you can handle whatever is going on. I need to be brought in on anything.”

Cane gripped my arm. I stopped whittling the wood. “No. I can’t. Not again. You’re the one who left us when we needed you most.”

I set my eyes on my cousin and curled my lip. “I wasn't the one who caused all the trouble. You can’t pin this on me.”

I rose from the step and walked in the cabin, slamming the door behind me.

The last thing I wanted was to get involved in family business. I walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer. I needed something to calm down. But I knew beer wasn’t the answer. The answer was to get out of town. To leave the cabin. Head back to the desert where the turbulence and the chaos was something I could navigate. Survival boiled in my blood.

Cane followed me into the cabin. “Sorry, man. I shouldn’t have said that.”