Chapter Two

“When did you start flying helicopters?” Autumn asked, frowning in concentration as she glued a plastic googly eye on the ball of fluff in her hand.

Half a dozen pom-pom puppies sat perched in a row in the middle of the table amidst a mess of crafting supplies. Tess had no idea how the company had managed to fit it all into the box in the first place.

“I was twenty-two. Just after I finished college.”

Autumn looked up at her from across the table. “You learned to fly there?” She didn’t have an accent like her dad. Her mom must be from up north.

“No, I got my bachelor’s degree in science there. I learned to fly after that, once I was in the army. But my science degree made it a lot easier because of the math, and because I already understood the physics of flight.”

The little girl looked impressed. “Wow, that’s neat.” She went back to placing the puppy’s eye. “I’ve thought about joining the military when I graduate from high school.”

Tess paused in the act of winding yarn into a ball, surprised. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “That way I could get my college paid for, like my dad did. And it would be pretty neat to learn how to fly a Blackhawk. My parents and grandparents told me they’d pay for my school if they can, but that’s a lot of money. I’d feel bad.”

Tess frowned at her, momentarily at a loss for words. “How old are you?”

“Nine. I’ll be ten this December.”

Holy shit. When Tess had been nine, she’d only been interested in My Little Pony and what kinds of candy she could afford to buy with her weekly allowance. Never had it crossed her mind to think about going to college someday, let alone how she was going to pay for it. “Wow, that’s… You’re looking ahead. That’s great.”

Autumn shrugged. “I want to have a nice house and be able to travel when I grow up. So I need to have a good job and earn lots of money.”

Jeez, this kid was starting to give her an inferiority complex. “Where would you like to travel to?”

“Europe, for sure. Maybe Antarctica, because I like penguins. Dad and I just went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter a few weeks ago. It was my Christmas present.”

“Just the two of you?”

“Yeah. My parents are divorced.” Her tone was matter-of-fact.

“Oh.” She squelched the leap of excitement inside her. Divorced didn’t necessarily mean he was single. Or available. “And did you have a good time there?”

Autumn’s face lit up and she stopped working on her pom-pom puppy. “The best. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan. Have you read the books?”

“No.”

Autumn looked scandalized. “None of them?”

Tess bit back a laugh. “Not a single one.”

“But you’ve seen the movies,” she said with a frown. “Or at least some of them.”

“Nope, afraid not.”

Autumn sat back, an expression of disbelief on her little face. “What? I thought you said you have three nieces.”

“I do, but they’re a lot older than you, mostly all grown up now, and into different stuff.” And they sure as hell hadn’t been this mature at age nine. Autumn was scaring her a little.

She gave Tess a dubious look and returned to her crafting. “Well, if you don’t like to read you should at least watch the movies, they’re awesome. Anyway, Dad took me to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.” She sighed, shook her head, her eyes wistful. “It was just like being in the movies.”

“That good, huh?”

“Amazing. Even Dad liked it.”

Tess didn’t know the man, but she thought it was incredibly sweet that Reid had planned the trip and taken his daughter to a place that clearly meant so much to her. “Sounds like fun.”

“Yeah. I don’t get to see him all that much, so it was cool to have a trip with him. He’s a good dad. Even if my mom doesn’t think so,” she added.

Tess’s ears perked up. “She doesn’t?”

“Nah. They don’t get along. My mom’s always mad at him, no matter how hard he tries.”

Interesting, that Autumn would defend him. And it sounded to Tess like she got caught in the middle a lot. “I’m sorry. That must be hard.”

She shrugged. “I’m used to it. I just don’t like it when my mom says bad stuff about him. He loves me and he’s doing the best he can.”

He had a sweet little protector, that was for sure. “That’s good. I know he has to be away a lot, for work.”

Autumn nodded. “Do you go away a lot too?”

“Yes.” The Aviation Division was based out of Fort Worth, but she moved around wherever she was needed, including overseas. And she was glad for the ever-changing scenery, because keeping busy had saved her sanity in the years since Brian died. “I go home to Nevada when I can to visit my parents and my sister and her family, but I don’t get to see them as much as I’d like.”

Autumn gave a solemn nod. “It’s a sacrifice families like ours have to make so that the world can be a better place.”

The little girl’s maturity was astounding, although that last bit sounded exactly like something a parent would say to their child to explain their situation. Tess didn’t quite know what to make of it. Maybe Autumn just had a crazy high IQ or something.

“Hey, how’d you guys make out?” a familiar male voice drawled from the doorway.

Tess looked over her shoulder just as Special Agent Prentiss entered the kitchen, a half-smile on his ruggedly handsome face. Her heart beat faster at the sight of him. He was a little over six feet, and broad through the chest and shoulders, his arms well-muscled below the short sleeves of his T-shirt. “Good. We’ve been busy making a pack of pom-pom puppies.”

“I see that.” He went straight to Autumn, set his big hands on her little shoulders and bent to kiss the top of her head as he took in their efforts. “They’re pretty cute.”

“Yes, and I made you this one,” she told him, picking up a floppy brown-and-black one with ears that stuck straight out of its head, a little pink felt tongue lolling out of its mouth. “It’s a German Shepherd.”

“My favorite,” he said, cradling it in his palm.

“I know,” Autumn said, her voice full of pride. “So are you done now?”

His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, and the obvious warmth between the two of them made him even hotter to Tess. “All done.”

Autumn turned to her. “We’re going to dinner and a movie now. Or maybe a movie and then dinner. You wanna come with us?”

Taken aback by the offer, it took Tess a moment to respond. “Oh, I couldn’t—”

“Please? You told me you like Pixar movies.”

“And you told me it’s a special father-daughter date,” she pointed out.

Autumn waved the protest away with one hand. “That was before.” She turned those dark blue eyes on Tess, eyes exactly like her father’s. Oh yeah, this kid knew how to work it. “Puleeeze? It’ll be so much fun.”

Unsure what to say, Tess glanced at Prentiss for help. She expected him to maybe clear his throat awkwardly or look away, but instead he raised his eyebrows at her in question and waited.

Wait. Did he want her to come? Or was he just being polite and hoping she’d say no? God knew she had no plans, other than a hot bath and curling up to watch a movie in her hotel room. “I…guess I could.”

“Yay!” Now that she’d gotten the answer she wanted, Autumn hopped down from her chair and began cramming all the crafting supplies back into the box. “Dad, can you find an open box for the puppies? I don’t wanna squish them.”

“I’ll take a look around.”

“I’ll help,” Tess said, and jumped up to follow him across the kitchen. His scent trailed back to her, citrus and spice. Damn delicious. Autumn hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend in the picture. Was he seeing anyone? It would be weird to go to the movie with them if he was, and a guy like him wouldn’t have a shortage of women to date.

He reached into a cupboard, found a cereal box and began tearing one side off to make a tray for the yarn puppies. He had such strong, capable hands. Hands that could render someone helpless or even kill them, but could also cradle a yarn puppy and touch his daughter with complete gentleness. He was part protector, part nurturer, and part warrior.

Put that together with that rugged face and powerful body, and he was enough to make her ovaries explode.

Yikes! Down, girl. You don’t even know him.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked him quietly. “I don’t want to crash your date.” Plus we don’t even know each other. It was kind of weird to just up and go to dinner and a movie with him and Autumn. Right?

“Nah, it’s fine. I appreciate you hanging with Autumn, and she obviously really likes you.” He paused to look at her, and her pulse increased at seeing that rugged face up close. “But don’t feel like you have to.”

The perfect amount of dark brown stubble covered his jaw and cheeks, giving him an ultra-masculine look. His eyes were a deep, dark blue toward the outside of the iris, then changed to an almost powder blue near the pupils, and surrounded by thick, dark lashes. Gorgeous, arresting eyes she could easily fall into.

Get hold of yourself. “Okay then,” she murmured. “I can have my ride drop me off on her way home. Where’s the theater?”

“Just come with us. I’ll drop you back at your hotel after dinner. Sound okay?”

Ah… “Sure.” Tiny butterfly wings began to flutter in her stomach, something she hadn’t felt in ages. It had been three years since she lost Brian, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t lonely. But she’d never reacted to a man quite this strongly before. This was visceral. Primal. She’d briefly dated a guy for a couple months up until her recent deployment to Afghanistan this past winter, but things had fizzled out pretty fast while they were apart, and within weeks of her being overseas he’d told her he wanted to start seeing someone else.

It had hurt at the time, but it wasn’t like she’d been in love with him, so she’d let him go and focused on work. Lately, though, work, travel, and time with her family back home weren’t enough to fill the void.

Her family worried about her being on her own all the time, so she lied to them and told them she wasn’t lonely. She wasn’t going to settle for just any man who came along just to have someone to hold her in the night. And she’d been alone long enough now that she’d gone through her grieving and was finally ready to find someone to share her life with.

Reid handed Autumn the modified cereal box. Once the yarn menagerie was safely stored in their new home, they all walked out to the parking lot together, Tess texting her friend to say she had a ride. “How long are you in town for?” he asked Tess. He was a full head taller than her, his size and muscular build making her feel small by comparison. As well as intensely, amazingly feminine in a way she hadn’t for so damn long.

“Just another few days, for some meetings prior to our upcoming training op.”

At that he shot her a surprised look. “You doing Emerald Warrior with us?”

“Yes. Well, a week of it, at least.” And she hoped that meant she would see more of him while they were down there. Based on what she’d seen so far, she’d love to get to know him better.

“You like convertibles, Tess?” Autumn asked, holding her dad’s hand. It was adorable, seeing such a big, muscular alpha male holding that little hand.

Tess swore her uterus cramped, but reprimanded herself. He was divorced. So clearly, he wasn’t perfect. She had to remember that and stop being so dazzled by him. “I love them.”

“Good. Wait ‘til you see my dad’s car.”

Tess glanced at him but he just smiled and kept walking. Then she spotted the shiny, vintage black Mustang convertible sitting next to a massive, lifted pickup, and grinned. “That yours?”

“Yup.” The hint of a smile played around the edges of his mouth.

The black paint gleamed under a fresh coat of wax, and because the top was down she could see it was a standard. It was clear he took good care of it. “Nice.” There was something so sexy about a man who could handle a stick shift.

He raised a dark eyebrow at her in surprise. “You like cars?”

There was that little flutter in the pit of her belly again. “I like nice cars.”

At the grin he flashed her, any remaining awkwardness melted away, and she was glad she’d accepted the impromptu invitation to go with them. They were essentially strangers, but this was already promising to be the most enjoyable night she’d had in a long time.