Simon heard crying when it felt like he’d closed his eyes for no more than five minutes. But it was light outside, and Merlin was tugging on the covers. “Okay. Okay. I’m up.”

He slipped on a pair of jeans but couldn’t find his shirt. Meantime the crying continued, and Merlin became more agitated.

He followed the dog, padding across the wood-planked floor into the living room before crossing over to Delaney’s room. The smell of poop hit him before he laid eyes on the crib or its occupant.

“Oh no. No. No. No. Not this. What kind of baby girl gets poop everywhere? Oh. No. It’s in your hair? We need to get you into the shower. Now.” He started peeling off her pajamas with the disgusting poop interspersed in the fabric. He weighed whether to toss the clothes in the garbage or try to wash the mess out, but he’d deal with that later.

For now, he broke the tabs on the disgusting diaper and wadded up the offending material, tossing it in the wastebasket, the one Nick had set out and placed in its most conspicuous spot. Simon now realized the value of location next to the crib.

Once he got Delaney down to bare skin he picked her up, then darted into the tiny bathroom and turned on the shower to let the water heat up. After testing the spray, he stepped under the stream, jeans and all, holding her away from his body until most of the stuff had dissolved.

With one hand, he soaped her from head to toe, a fragrant lavender smell taking over the poopy odor. After making sure her bottom was clean, he washed her hair. And when she giggled, it warmed his heart. “Look at us, we’re all wet, but at least we smell like flowers.”

Delaney mumbled something that sounded like “all wet” but he wasn’t up on his baby jargon. Simon dried her off first and set her down on the floor. He was toweling his hair dry when she took off running down the hallway, naked.

Realizing the chase was on, Merlin took off after her. Simon was able to catch them both, and scooped her up, blowing raspberries on her belly as he toted her back into her room to get dressed. Five little outfits were all she had to choose from, something he’d remedy later. “What to wear on a Wednesday, Delaney? How about the pale blue overalls with a nice white top? Yes?”

The toddler clapped her hands. “Jes.”

“Did you just say yes? That’s affirmative.”

“Ma-ma.”

“Not here, baby. Diaper first.”

She obliged by sitting down on the rug and falling backward, grabbing her toes.

Surprised that she knew the drill, he grinned. “Now we’re cookin’.” He got her diaper on and then pulled the Tee over her head. The overalls were next and then socks. Her pink tennis shoes slid over her feet.

“All done,” Simon announced.

“Done,” Delaney repeated.

“You’re like a parrot,” he gauged, stripping the bedding from the crib and gathering it all up in a ball, doing his best not to get any of the disgusting matter on him. He carried the soiled bundle out to the laundry room where he stuffed everything into the washer. Using the sanitize setting, he hoped it was enough to sterilize the smell out.

While Delaney ate her cereal, Simon dialed his mother’s number. “Hey, Mom, hi.”

On the other end of the line Gretchen Bremmer grinned into the phone. “Simon. What a wonderful surprise and it isn’t even Sunday. To what do I owe this middle of the week call?” Like a mother’s radar she went on alert. “Is everything okay?”

“I can call my mother on a Wednesday.”

“Certainly, but your usual routine is check in on Sunday afternoons. So, what’s wrong?”

“Depends on your definition of wrong. Remember that woman I told you about a couple of years ago. We met on Nauset Beach the summer I decided to leave the Army. We spent almost three months together.”

“Amelia something, wasn’t it? What about her?”

He walked her through the entire story or at least the last twenty-four hours. “Delaney’s her name. And she’s a spitfire. I have to say, she has my eyes.”

“Goodness, I have a granddaughter. Oh, Simon, when can I see her? Are you bringing her out?”

“We could Skype, like we did when I was overseas. And I’ll send you plenty of photos, starting this afternoon, maybe make a couple of videos of her running around. How’s that for starters?”

“But I want to hold her. Can’t you bring her here?”

“Mom, the truth is I’m barely beyond learning how to change a diaper. I’m not up for getting on a plane and flying across the country with a toddler who might cry the entire way. She just got here off a plane ride. Give me a few months to get it all down. Give me time to adjust. Maybe by Christmas I’ll be better at this, enough to travel anyway. You could come out for a visit, though. That’s what I’m hoping for. Get a home health nurse to take care of Lorraine for a week. That’s all I’m asking.”

“I could certainly use a break. I’ll make the arrangements as soon as we hang up.”

“That’s flying into Santa Cruz. I’m pretty sure Delta and United offer a nonstop direct flight from Newport. I realize it’ll be a long flight for you. But I’ll pick you up. Well, we’ll pick you up. No need to take a cab.”

“Okay. I’m making notes. I haven’t been out of Rhode Island in years, let alone on a plane. Simon, did you ever think this would happen?”

“Not in a million years. It wasn’t even on my radar. Just come for a visit. Take the leap and leave the 401 behind for a week. You’ll love it here. Look, I gotta go. There are a dozen things I have to get done today. The least of which is buying a vehicle that can haul around a kid.”

His mother tittered with laughter. “Give up your motorcycle? Now I know you’re serious. I also know you’re dangling that child right in front of me as enticement.”

“Is it working?”

“What do you think?”

“Good. Because I’m getting a kick out of your reaction. Are you worried about me taking care of a baby?”

Gretchen snickered again. “Oh, Simon. The one thing I’m absolutely certain of is that with you around that baby, she couldn’t be in better hands.”

“Thanks for that. But you’re supposed to say stuff like that.”

“Simon, you’re the most capable man I know to protect anyone from anything. You always have been.”

He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I needed that. Thanks, Mom. Send me an email with your flight itinerary. Let me know if you have difficulty finding a nurse for Lorraine.”

“And what will you do about it from three thousand miles away?”

“I’ll pull some strings with the home health care place. I went to school with the guy who runs it. Remember?”

“I won’t have a problem. Stop worrying. I’ll make my flight arrangements and send you a copy.”

They hung up and Simon began to tidy up the kitchen while Delaney slugged it out with one of the stuffed bears Jordan had sent over with Nick.

“How am I supposed to shower while you’re awake?” Simon wondered aloud as he headed into the bedroom to get dressed.

The active toddler roamed each room with Merlin, inspecting her new surroundings before finally following Simon into the bedroom. She held up her hands to be picked up.

“Let’s go, doodle-bug. We have to buy a car.”

Their first stop of the day was Radcliff Motors.

“I need new wheels, something I can get a car seat into, something safe, something…you know, dads drive.”

“I have a minivan that has only thirty-five thousand miles on it,” Brad said, beginning his sales pitch. “New tires and a good used…”

“Anything but that. What about that SUV over there?”

Brad shook his head. “That SUV is on its way to the junk heap. Bad mistake on my part. Either Wally is going to take it for parts or out it goes. What about that sleek, black GMC Sierra pickup I have in the corner? It’s a four-door model. Back seat has room enough for a car seat. Has less than thirty-five thousand miles on it. I can make you a good deal.”

“I don’t know. A pickup?”

“It is what dads drive,” Brad pointed out. “And, if you get rear-ended the bed’s gonna suffer the most damage buffering the back seat.”

“Hmm. I’ll take it for a test drive and see how it handles. But first I have to make sure the car seat fits in the back. If it doesn’t that’s a deal breaker.”

“No problem. I’ll put it in there myself.”

Once Brad finished installing the car seat, Simon settled Delaney into the back and slid behind the wheel. The engine started right up. They were blasted by the sound of Abba and “Dancing Queen” coming from the speakers. Simon reached over and lowered the volume. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Delaney bouncing to the music and clapping her hands to the song.

“Like that, do you?” He wasn’t sure how or why anyone would’ve left behind an Abba CD loaded in the player of a pickup truck, but it might just be the key to calming her down when she was in fussy mode.

The two of them took the truck for a spin through town. “So what do you think, doodle-bug? Is this the vehicle for us? Yes? No? Should we keep looking?”

Delaney clapped her hands again.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

After signing the papers, he put a call in to Nick. “Your beautiful wife can have her SUV back. I just bought a set of wheels.”

“You didn’t mess around.”

“What would be the point of that? I left her SUV at Brad’s. He promised to take good care of it.”

“No problem. I’ll drop Jordan off there at lunch. How’d it go last night with the baby?”

“Last night was okay. It was the morning after that started out a mess.” Simon recapped the story of what happened before breakfast.

Nick burst out laughing. “I wish I could tell you it gets better, but the truth is, you could wake up tomorrow and have the same situation on your hands.”

“Go through that every morning? You’re just messing with me, right?”

“Some mornings are better than others,” Nick assured him. “What’s next on your agenda?”

“I’ve got a list of things she needs. She didn’t come with a lot of clothes. I thought maybe Jordan could help me pick out some stuff online and get it delivered…fast.”

“I’ll mention that to her. Don’t forget to childproof your cabinets. Now that I think about it, childproof your entire house.”

“I wanted to talk to you about that. The house. I know you own Taggert Farms and everything on it, but is there any way you’d ever think about selling the house to me?”

“Aren’t you making an awful lot of decisions since yesterday? It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet. Give yourself a little time to adjust to daddyhood. Consider what you want for the long term before making that kind of leap. And if you’re in the market for a house, why not buy one in town? Delaney would be closer to school. That’s been an issue for us living so far out of town.”

“Because I kind of like being away from people. Remember when you and I were doing all that work to the house after I got here, we decided the remodeling job was for the best. You paid to replace a lot of rotted wood and bad plumbing and I got to live on the farm. If I stick with the caretaker’s cottage, at least I know what I’m getting. Any other house on the market might have issues.”

“Just think about it before you make a permanent leap like that. I’m not trying to talk you out of it. If it’s what you want, I could sell it to you. But I don’t have to tell you that a house is a huge investment. I think you need to take some time and make sure it’s what’s best for you and Delaney. Talk to Troy or maybe even Logan. They could help you find exactly what you’re looking for. They both know every house in town and all the problems that go with each one. These houses around here are all old and will need some tweaking to update wiring and plumbing, though.”

“But I’ve already done all that to the caretaker’s cottage.”

“Simon, that house isn’t perfect. There’s no garage, no storage to speak of, and no place for a kid to play outside. I suppose you could fence in the backyard to some degree, but it wouldn’t be an ideal location for a kid down the road. Not only that, it’s a working farm. The noise from tractors and those huge harvesters might be an issue for a toddler. And what about the dust the machines kick up?”

Simon scratched the side of his jaw where he hadn’t taken the time to shave. “I hadn’t thought of that. I guess I’m so used to the noise and the dirt it didn’t occur to me it might be a problem for Delaney. Okay, you’re right. I’ll see what other property is available out there. Thanks, Nick.”

Kinsey had set up an appointment for him to talk to a woman named Ophelia Moore who headed up the child care program at the Community Church. Ophelia was a recent graduate of UC Santa Cruz with a degree in early childhood education. According to Kinsey, the woman loved working with preschoolers, jumpstarting their classroom experience, hoping they’d succeed early on and continue through elementary school.

Simon liked the young woman’s enthusiasm, he just wasn’t sure about her approach. “Do you have a spot for Delaney for short-term day care? Because my days off are sometimes in the middle of the week. I sometimes don’t work a regular nine-to-five gig. The only time I’ll need a full day of care is when I take a tour out for eight hours. Most of the trips, though, usually last for five. Kinsey Donnelly seemed to think I’d have to put her on a waiting list even for a drop-in situation.”

“Since I’ve taken over the program, I’ve discovered there’s been quite the baby boom in Pelican Pointe recently. Because of that, everyone needs us at different times. We’re very flexible except for weekends. Our hours don’t extend to Saturday and Sunday. We have so many use the program during the week that we’re almost full up in every age group. I’m sure that’s what Kinsey meant. To prevent overcrowding, I’ve tried to maintain very small groups for better one on one, adding here and there, shifting when the kids move into a new group or when I think the classroom warrants a change. Right now, I can offer three very different programs. One for babies from newborn to one year. That’s my smallest group. Then there are the toddlers from thirteen months through twenty-four months, and then preschoolers up to the age of four. Obviously, Delaney would fit into the middle group. That’s Susan Hollenbeck’s classroom.”

“But a classroom? She’s only fifteen months old. How much space could she take up? And like I said, she wouldn’t be in here every day.”

Ophelia smiled, patient as a nun. “Even toddlers that young learn at a rapid rate whenever they’re in the right surroundings. Each age group uses one of the Sunday school classrooms. It’s out of necessity and space. We don’t make them sit at desks if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

“Oh. Okay. That makes more sense. So I just drop her off when the situation warrants it and this Susan will make room for her?”

“It’d be nice if you could give us a heads up. But we realize situations change on a dime and we try to be flexible as much as possible.” She handed him a business card. “You can also text us as soon as you know your plans so we can adjust accordingly.”

Simon left trying to calculate how he could take Delaney to work with him without putting her in such a structured environment. He didn’t object to school or learning new things. But he did think fifteen months was a little too early for even part of the day spent in a rigid setting.

From the church, he and Delaney stopped in to see Brent Cody, the chief of police. The lobby was empty, no one sitting behind the reception area, but Brent appeared in his office doorway right away.

“Hey, Simon. I already met the infamous munchkin yesterday. Delaney, right?”

“Yep. Then you also met Cruella de Vil, the Boston lawyer.”

“Not the warm and fuzzy type, huh?”

“Hey, she dumped a kid on a total stranger and seemed just fine with it. In case you or anyone else wondered, Delaney survived the night just fine. I’m here to ask a favor. Can you do a background check on a deceased person?”

“Sure. Come on in and have a seat. Got a name in mind?”

Simon plopped down in one of the chairs and adjusted Delaney on his lap. “Amelia Langston. Boston.” He reached in his jeans pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “This was the last known address on the paperwork Cruella gave me. I want to know everything you can get on Amelia.”

“Okay. You want to sit there while I pull up a snapshot summary or do you want a full-blown, in-depth…?”

He didn’t let him finish. “I want to know where she worked, who her parents were, if she had siblings. I want to know what she ate for breakfast when she was ten.”

Brent bobbed his head. “For that to happen, give me three days. What do you know about her…exactly?”

“When I met her, she claimed to be a photographer, claimed to have sold her pictures to National Geographic. But after she left, I checked on that, found out the magazine had no record of her. So I already know that was a lie. If she lied about that, what else was she hiding? Then last night, I remembered that every time I pressed her for more information, she was purposely vague. I recall asking about her family. Again, ambiguous answers, like she was making it up on the fly. You need to understand that until yesterday afternoon I hadn’t given Amelia Langston another thought since that August she up and left. But when I think back to that summer, I realize now I knew very few facts or details about her that made any sense. I suspect she wasn’t completely honest with me over the course of that summer. We’re talking about a brief affair that didn’t have much of a shelf life to it. She didn’t make demands or anything like that. It was just the opposite. I woke up one morning the week before Labor Day and she’d packed up, left without so much as a goodbye. I thought it was odd then but shortly afterward Nick and Cord contacted me. And here I am. I never looked back.”

“What is it you suspect exactly?”

Simon rubbed the stubble on his chin. “This is gonna sound a little paranoid. But I think she wanted a child and was on the hunt for a sperm donor. I was it. Don’t get me wrong. The circumstances of how Delaney got here don’t matter to me. She’s here and I’m fine with that. But I need to know the truth. One day, she’ll ask about her mother and I won’t know what to say to her. I want something tangible.”

“All right. I’ll let you know as soon as I’m done with the criminal aspect of it. That’s what’ll take the longest, searching the different jurisdictions. Unless you just want the info that I find out from Massachusetts.”

“Nope. I want the entire U.S. Approach this like you’re hunting for a thief who just stole five million in diamonds.”

“I figured as much.”

“Something else. You were in the service, right?”

“An MP in Iraq.”

“Is there a way to locate a soldier without the Army knowing about it?”

“Is he still on active duty?”

Simon shook his head. “No, but I heard through the grapevine that the Army doesn’t much like civilians poking around in their databases. And I’ve lost track of him. From what I understand he’s been having a rough time. He may even be homeless. I tried finding anyone remotely related to him but got nowhere.”

“Give me a name. I still have a few contacts over there who can be trusted.”

Simon took another piece of paper out of his pants pocket and slid it across the desk. “I wrote down the information I need. Could you let me know when you hear back?”

“You bet.”

Simon made a few more stops, but Murphy’s Market had to be the last one so that he could pick up groceries. They got a few stares from people who knew him when he plopped Delaney into the cart. He could see it in their eyes. Were they wondering if he’d kidnapped a baby overnight?

The idea made him chuckle as he pushed the cart toward the produce aisle. Murphy, who was also the town’s mayor, stood in front of a large bin of honeycrisp apples, setting them in the display just so.

“Hey there, Simon. Who’s the midget?”

“Delaney.” He waited a beat before adding, “My daughter. We’re out of food.”

Unruffled, Murphy nodded. “You came to the right place. Toddler food is on aisle 6 along with Pampers. We carry the economy size in sensitive.” When he saw Simon’s blank stare, he added, “Most requested kind.”

“Thanks for the heads-up. Might as well start there.” He headed that way, stocking up on boxes of diapers and baby wipes. In the produce section, he tossed in bananas and apples, picking up jars of applesauce, just in case. After getting eggs, frozen waffles, yogurt, and of course, Cheerios, he was loading up on Graham crackers when the cute nurse approached from the opposite direction, a little boy sitting in the child seat.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Gilly said, amused at the sight of father and daughter. “I see you survived the night. How’s my patient doing?”

Simon grinned, the wheels turning in his head to come up with the nurse’s name. “She’s fine. I’m a little embarrassed at how I overreacted. This must be your boy.”

“Jayden, say hi to Delaney and Simon.”

Jayden stuck his finger in his mouth, turning bashful. Delaney reached over and patted the boy’s face.

“Aren’t you a friendly girl?” Gilly remarked. “Jayden can be shy on Wednesdays.”

“You have a knack with kids,” Simon commented, stalling until the woman’s name popped into his head. “Gilly.”

Even more amused at his demeanor, Gilly tipped up Delaney’s chin. “You look a lot better than the last time I saw you. I have an idea. I have to be at work soon, but I’m off tomorrow. Why don’t you guys come to my house for dinner tomorrow night?”

“I’d like that. What time?”

“Oh, sevenish or so is fine. If you get hung up with the doodle-bug, I’m flexible with the time.”

Delaney yawned.

“Now see, Daddy. That’s a sure signal right there it’s nap time,” Gilly pointed out with a wink. “I’ve gotta run anyway. I just came in here to pick up some milk and cereal, and maybe something for lunch.”

“Before you go, would you happen to know where I could get a baby monitor?”

“Ferguson’s Hardware stocks them.”

“They do? I’ve been in there dozens of times before and never once noticed that.”

Gilly snickered. “Now why would you go down the aisle with the baby stuff. If you’re going, though, don’t forget to pick up the childproof locks for cabinets and drawers.”

“Good idea. One-stop shopping.”

“I really do have to run. See you and Delaney Thursday night.”

“What can we bring?” Simon asked as she darted down the aisle.

“Just bring yourselves.”

She’d taken off like a spitfire, leaving him wondering where she got her energy. She had a marathon shift ahead of her. If she could endure twelve long hours on her feet, Simon could take care of one small bundle.

 Nap time came and went for both of them. After catching up on sleep, he took Delaney out to his boat, getting her used to the sway of the water. He’d slathered layers of sunscreen on anything exposed to the sun or the wind and stuck a hat on her head that he’d picked up at Reclaimed Treasures, a little pink thing that tied under her chin to keep the sun out.

That’s where Jordan found them, sitting together on the dock, looking out over the cove.

“This is a pretty spot for thinking,” Jordan said as she plopped down beside them. “Nick said you might need help picking out a few outfits for Delaney.”

The baby wanted down to run around with Merlin, but Simon held firm. “I’d really appreciate it. No idea what she needs as far as clothes. She didn’t come with a lot.”

Jordan nodded. “We’ll wade through the choices together.”

“I don’t mean to bring this up, but before I went to bed last night I could’ve sworn I saw Scott. I know I was tired, but I even thought I had a conversation with him. I’m pretty sure it never happened. I’m certain it was all in my head.”

“But it did,” Jordan stated matter-of-factly as she took the squirming child out of his arms. “You weren’t dreaming.”

“How is that possible?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. Scott…he just refuses to leave. He loves it here. He watches over Hutton every day of her life.”

“Hutton is Scott’s?”

“I thought you knew.”

“No, I didn’t. It never occurred to me.”

“You and Nick never talk about what happened over there. You’re both so much alike in that regard. While you may think you know everything about Nick, I bet there’s one thing you don’t know. When Nick first came here, when he first got out of the Guard, he was all messed up in his head for reasons I didn’t understand. It took a few weeks before I realized he was suffering from guilt, PTSD, you name it. I think you have a lot of that inside you, too. Am I right? Nick mentioned to me once right after he got in touch with you that you’d been an Army sniper assigned to protect convoys. I can’t even imagine what you’ve seen and the things you’ll never be able to forget. I suppose those kinds of memories never quite go away.”

Simon gave her the faintest of smiles. “Not when people keep bringing it up.”

“Sorry. But you’re so like Nick, unwilling to talk about what your life was like over there. Almost haunted. Is it really that surprising when any of you see Scott?”

“When you put it that way, I guess not. Wait. What do you mean? Has Nick seen him, too?” But he already knew the answer. “Cord. Ryder. Eastlyn.”

“Notice a pattern?”

“It’s eerie that we all ended up here.”

“Not really. Not when you consider you all have super-bad memories from war. You all looked out for each other while you were over there. Why is it so out of the norm you’d still be doing it? You ended up here because Nick thought you might benefit from living in a town where people care about each other. Do you like living here, Simon?”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“Like you said, people here seem to care. Just look at what happened yesterday. I was overwhelmed, knocked on my ass over the news. I was scared. But you guys rallied, stepped in, stepped up, and got me through the shock. I mean, I’m still in shock just looking at Delaney, but you guys were there for me. Nick and Cord putting up the crib. You sending over food for a toddler, knowing I had no clue what I needed to do for her. Where else would people do that?”

“Pelican Pointe hasn’t always been like that, Simon. The day Nick drove up on that motorcycle of his, I was ready to give up, pack the house up that Scott had loved so much, and go back to the Bay Area to be with my family. I was that unhappy. I hated it here. I’d given up, so much so that I might’ve been on the verge of a mental breakdown. Living out here all alone, I suffered from a combination of depression and anger. I didn’t know it at the time but some of the rage was aimed at Scott. I felt like he’d dumped me here, pregnant, and taken off to be with his Guard unit. I wasn’t exactly the perfect military wife back home. I tried to be, but I was too miserable living out here in an unfriendly environment. The town was a huge disappointment for me. Scott had built this place up to be Paradise, which it definitely was not. But I couldn’t afford to break down or give up because at the time Hutton was Delaney’s age. What would’ve happened to her if I’d just buckled?”

“Then you know how I feel.”

“I do. Nick’s showing up when he did turned all that around, turned me around. He saved me, Simon. Do you understand what I’m saying? Nick came here because he was haunted by memories of Scott, by some stupid promise he made the day Scott died. That one decision saved my life. Because of him this Bed and Breakfast exists. And because it exists, you’re here. We’re all somehow an integral part of a dream Scott had for his hometown. And we’re making it happen after his death, one person at a time. You’re here for a reason. Don’t ever forget that.”

“I had no idea.”

“Why would you know any of it? You’ve been here two years, had dinner with us at least a dozen times. And afterward, you play with the kids, build Lego sets, do puzzles, you laugh and carry on with them like you were their great-uncle, but you always hold something of yourself back. You’re never totally, completely engaged. I see it in your eyes. You never say much about yourself, making sure to keep anything of a personal nature to yourself.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was so distant. Maybe I have my reasons. Maybe I didn’t want to bring my troubles into a house that’s so…filled…with so much love. It seemed out of place. I seemed out of place being here, like I didn’t belong.”

Jordan reached over and laid her hand on top of his. “You’re not out of place. Not here. Not ever. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.” She took a shaky breath, thinking maybe she’d said too much, gone too far. “I’m not trying to interfere in your life, Simon. But something’s bothering you deep inside. Don’t let it get in the way of enjoying Delaney. That’s all I’m saying. And if you want me to babysit tomorrow while you do your Treasure Island run, I will.”

“I thought about taking her with me. I found her a lifejacket at the bait shop. They sell all kinds of boating supplies. And I picked up one of those backpack things for a kid. You know the ones that let you carry a toddler on your back.”

She smiled. “You bought a carrier?”

“That’s it, like a sling you put on your back.” He shifted to face her. “Thanks for telling me all that stuff. I guess you never know what’s truly going on in a person’s life, even when things look so perfect from the outside.”

“Things are rarely perfect, Simon. Why don’t you think about forgiving yourself for whatever it is that’s eating you up inside?” She handed off Delaney and stood up to go. “Think about it. And if you change your mind about me babysitting, give me a heads-up first, okay? Even though I only have four guests, they can be demanding.”

“I know. You do a great job here. I couldn’t do what you guys do.”

“Sure you could.” Jordan turned to Delaney and waved. “Bye-bye.”

Simon picked up the girl’s hand and waved. “Bye-bye, Jordan.”

“Bye-bye,” Delaney uttered and reached for the dog, trying to wrap her arms around his middle.

Simon sat there another half hour watching Delaney and Merlin bond with each other until the sun went down. “Come on, kids, time to head home for supper.”

While he fixed dinner he put on music, beginning with the found Abba CD that Delaney seemed to like so much. “Dancing Queen” might’ve been her favorite, but he got a kick out of watching her move to the beat of “Super Trouper” with Merlin as her dance partner. And when Simon joined in, it became a party. “We’re number one, Delaney! Number one.” He showed her how to point, and all three rocked around the room in time to the music.

The menu tonight was macaroni and cheese and chicken. Surprisingly more went into her belly this time and less on the floor than the night before.

When it came time to get ready for bed, he put on a Donovan playlist and they listened to “Catch the Wind” during bath time. Afterward, he dressed her in a new pair of pajamas with pink and purple dinosaurs. The tunes seemed to soothe her and settle her down enough to sit still for a bedtime story. He’d checked out some kid books from the new Ocean Street Library and decided on the one about a dragon. Delaney didn’t make it to the end, falling asleep in his arms before the finale.

He watched her sleep until he realized he needed to play catch up and do all the things he couldn’t do while she was awake. Like install all those childproof locks and take a shower.

He worked till almost midnight putting latches on every drawer and cabinet throughout the house. Thinking it would make too much noise, he didn’t even use the drill, which is why it took him so long.

With the house quiet, and Merlin curled up in the corner snuggled in his dog bed, Simon took a quick shower before falling into bed. Within five minutes he was out like a light.

 

 

His day started out exactly like all the other days that came before it, days spent in this flea-infested sandbox with no way out, no escape.

Every sniper had a spotter and his was a guy known as Eagle Eye. The man had a warped sense of humor and would burst into his tent before dawn, shake him awake with the same tune that never changed. Eagle Eye loved Steppenwolf and somewhere in his civilian background someone had told him he could sing. God only knew why.

Eagle Eye sang at the top of his lungs the lyrics to “Born to be Wild.” He heard that damn song so often it would eat into his brain all day long even as they trekked to the mess hall for some grub. It stayed with him as they headed to the motor pool where they’d pick up their ride, a Humvee so layered in dust that it was hard to tell what color it really was.

Eagle Eye would crawl behind the wheel, roaring out through the gates of the compound before the rest of the camp began to stir, still singing at the top of his lungs.

Sometimes they would drive to an abandoned house that had a clear view of the main supply route, the one used for transporting everything to all the advance units. Convoys came and went, but they all at one time or another passed this way, on this route, located near the only oasis within fifty miles of anything.

It was their job to ID any potential threat and eradicate it. Period. Anything out of the ordinary spotted approaching the encampment or the convoy transports was dealt with by eliminating it.

As far as Simon was concerned, every day was like a repeat of the day before. Every day seemed hotter than the last one. All he thought about was swimming in a cool ocean, sitting with a beer in his hand as the breeze hit his face instead of this blast furnace.

Some days nothing moved. They’d sit and bake until the sand fleas tried to eat at their faces. Other days, only a small herd of goats could be seen trotting toward the water, the herd driven back and forth by a twelve-year-old boy.

But it was the other days that were burned into his mind forever, the days when Eagle Eye would nudge him. That’s when Simon would zero in on a target, a threat. Once he had the person in his crosshairs, he would assess the situation, and if need be, eliminate the threat.

Faces. There were a lot of faces that kept him up at night. Head shots. Young. Old. Male. Female. All had at one time or another tried to approach with some type of IED strapped to their bodies. When he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, he could still see their faces, sometimes blurred together, but always there. He tried to block the images by focusing on all the lives he’d saved with one flex of his index finger. His spotter always kept count. But Simon had instructed him to keep it to himself. He never wanted to know the actual number. He didn’t need to know because he saw them in flashbacks almost every night.

When he got back stateside he never wanted to look at another human being through the crosshairs of a rifle scope.

He wanted a normal life, one where he could forget about every bad thing he’d ever done, one where death didn’t visit quite so often.