When Trey didn't snap a ready comeback, Daniel glanced over his shoulder. Wren was long gone, Trey and Austin now standing with some businessman, tie flapping in the breeze over his shoulder.
Alarms jangled in his head. Not the work instincts he'd come to expect and trust, but a strange new protectiveness. Didn't schools teach kids not to talk to strangers?
Daniel charged forward. "Come on, boys. Now."
Trey jogged toward him, dragging Austin by one hand. "That man was just asking about the condos, said he's thinking about moving here."
"Yeah, well, the guy's outta luck, then." He knew damned well there weren't any condos available since he'd already called to check that out for himself in the midst of a stupid whim thinking maybe he could coerce Mary Elise into staying a few doors down.
Just to be close to the boys, of course. And because he wanted to help her as much as she'd helped him. Not because he damn well couldn't stomach the thought of her long-legged stride walking out of his life.
Daniel scooped Austin up under one arm and "flew" him to the truck. "We'll talk about staying away from strangers some more over your milk, kid."
Austin stretched his arms out, airplane-style. "Man's got funny birds on his tie."
"Yeah, yeah." Daniel swung Austin upright and snapped him into the car seat with a newfound skill.
Tucking behind the wheel, Daniel watched the man cross the parking lot to the main office. Okay, that seemed to support his claim of condo hunting. Instincts were there for a reason, however.
He popped open the glove compartment and snagged a pad and pencil, jotting the license plate number on the guy's Mercedes. He'd get Spike to run the number when he checked in about the answering machine tape.
Daniel shifted the truck into reverse and glanced over his shoulder. Two pairs of brown eyes stared back at him.
Those eyes filled with trust, albeit begrudging on Trey's part, until something twisted inside Daniel. He'd been so damned busy thinking about how he would do his duty and take care of them, he'd never even seen it coming.
These weren't trump cards.
They were his brothers, his blood, not just some burdensome responsibility. They needed more from him than a set of bunk beds and a ride to school. God, if he felt this much for the two runts after only a week…
As much as he wanted to break through whatever walls Mary Elise had erected between them, if he screwed up again—a likely scenario—two sets of trusting brown eyes would pay as well. A prospect a helluva lot more daunting than the addition of a neon-green training seat to his bachelor condo.
Chapter 10
Mary Elise tugged the T-shirt over her knees, chin resting on her folded arms, and listened to the door slam as Daniel and the boys headed out for breakfast. The scent of bay rum—of Danny—drifted up from the rumpled sheets where she'd lain awake, too aware of him with every breath.
As if sleeping in the soft warmth of his shirt wasn't tempting enough. Almost as tempting as the fading echo of his laughter mingled with Austin's giggles and a repeat hoo-ya from Trey.She was so damned proud of Danny.
He'd pulled it together with his brothers. Sure, they'd only been together about a week, and no doubt more bumps would jostle them in the future. Trey was still prickly, but Daniel had his number. Austin would adjust faster because of his youth. The rest would sort out, now that they'd begun to forge a family unit.
They didn't need her anymore. Her suitcase waited in a corner, calling to he packed.
She'd known he could manage—smart, determined, with a heart bigger and softer than he realized. She worried more about him submerging his own needs. The boys would be fine. But what about Daniel? The friend inside her wanted to be the one to take care of him in what would still be an ungodly stressful time.
The woman within her just flat-out wanted to take him. Her gaze gravitated toward the half-open closet to Daniel's uniforms dangling across two-thirds of the space. How such neatly hung clothes could end up wrinkled within seconds of hitting his body defied logic.
But then, Daniel was as complex a puzzle as the artwork and toys he favored.
From the closet rod, the deep blue of a formal uniform gave way to the lighter blue shirts, shifted to splotchy green military camouflage, desert-tan cammo, then flight suits in both green and beige. All shapes of hats. Vests with canteens dangling and a scary-looking knife attached but sheathed in black leather. The Daniel who'd streaked grease paint on his face to jump a fence had turned his hobby into a profession.
Or perhaps it hadn't been a hobby, just a sense of direction from the cradle.
Pride hummed through her anew over the man he'd become. And, oh, my, was he ever a man. The heat of his kiss from the beach still tingled along her nerves. Tough not to think about it while she sat in his bed. Wanting him.
Mary Elise thunked her forehead against her hands folded over her knees. She could laze around feeling sorry for herself. Ick! Or she could shake off the blahs and get her butt in gear. Be satisfied that she had helped Danny build a strong foundation for a future with the boys in a few short days.
Get up, get a move on. And pretend her heart wasn't breaking in two.
Snick. The click of the front door opening echoed through the condo. Daniel must have forgotten something. Facing him now when sleep still mussed her defenses seemed a reckless move. Time to hit the shower.