Garcia

I can’t concentrate. I’ve called poor Kimber four times since I got to the base two hours ago. The first time she was glad to hear I made it on time and she was still visiting with Tiana. The second time she was changing Grayson’s diaper and he wasn’t happy about it, we had to hang up. The third time she was about to lie down for a nap with Grayson and she instructed me not to call and wake him up for at least an hour.

Precisely one hour later, I pressed the dial button again. This time she was a little snippy. I blame her lack of sleep on that. Grayson’s a great baby but he’s still up every two hours to eat which means Kimber is up every two hours to feed him.

Her mother arrived before we hung up. She wouldn’t be able to detour my idiot brothers from harassing them but having her there is better than nothing. Knowing that Kimber was sleeping in the house alone and vulnerable with Grayson was making me bonkers.

Grandpa Max’s group hadn’t shown up yet, they were on a mission last night and weren’t available right away so he and Drake were handling things until they arrived. A seventy-year-old man and a blind man, that’s great. Not that I don’t appreciate it, I do, but they wouldn’t be much good in a fight against my brothers.

I don’t see Sebastian and Diego physically harming Kimber or Grayson. What has me all tied up in knots is that Kimber doesn’t know that I’m related to one of the largest criminal families in the country and I’d like to keep it that way.

It’s two o’clock and I’m itching to hear her voice and know things are fine but I refrain from calling again. The Special Agent group showed up at one o’clock and then and only then did the giant anvil of worry lift from my shoulders. Now she’s safe. Now they can’t get to her and fill her head with thoughts that will make her doubt my love for her.

Still, this day can’t be over quick enough. I want to get home and see that they’re safe with my own eyes. The chime of a message on my computer pulls me from my thoughts. Gunnery Sergeant Caleb Johnson is here to see you.

What the fuck does that douche want? I should tell Fran to tell him I’m in a meeting. This day just keeps getting better and better. This is the third piece of shit I’ve had to deal with today and it’s making me tired.

If I turn him away I won’t know what he wants and that will be worse than seeing him right now. I type, send him in, and quickly adjust my mindset to deal with Kimber’s deadbeat baby daddy/ex-husband.

He knocks on the door, “Come in.”

“Good Afternoon, Captain sir.”

“Good Afternoon, Gunnery Sergeant, what do you need?” I’m keeping this simple and to the point. I don’t want to be in the same room as him for too long. My fingers are twitching to strangle him already.

“I wanted to talk to you about my son.”

“Your son, huh?”

“Yes, sir, he is my son and I would like to step up and take responsibility for him and be a part of his life.”

I blow out a long breath and lean back. I prop my elbows on the arms of my chair and steeple my fingers. It’s a power position that comes naturally to me. I don’t try to look intimidating but I’m pretty sure I do.

“What brings this change of heart? You made it pretty clear when you divorced Kimber for being pregnant that you didn’t want your son.”

“I was shocked. Finding out I was going to be a father unexpectedly was… well, like I said, it was a shock.”

A fucking shock, huh? Who isn’t shocked when they find out they’re having a kid? You absorb the shock and move on to happiness like normal husbands do.

“So, you’re not shocked anymore?” I say tilting my head to the side knitting my brows together with fake confusion.

“No, I’ve moved past it and now I want to be a part of his life.”

“His life, not Kimber’s, right?”

He blinks like I just told him he has two heads and six arms until he gets it.

“Oh, no, no. I’m not trying to get Kimber back. I know that’s a hopeless case but she did call me when he was born so I figured I still might have a chance at being his dad.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I sure didn’t want you to take my fiancé away from me, ya know, that would be devastating.” My words drip with sarcasm. The carotid artery in his neck bulges with every beat of his heart.

“Let me ask you this, Gunnery Sergeant, why did it take you three weeks to decide you wanted to be in his life? Why didn’t you come to the hospital when he was born?” He hasn’t called him by his given name yet. I wonder if he even knows it.

“I was nervous.”

“I see. So you were shocked for almost a year and then for three weeks after Grayson’s birth, that’s his name by the way, you were nervous?” This guy is even more pathetic than I originally thought. I can’t even think of a curse or expletive that describes him well enough.

“Yes, sir.”

“So what is it that you’re asking me?”

“I wanted to tell you in person that I’m going to file for shared custody. I thought it might be better for Kimber coming from you than me.”

Custody? Is he fucking out of his mind? Yes, of course he is, he has to be.

“Caleb, I’m not your messenger boy. If you want to file for custody you’re going to have to tell Kimber yourself. I still don’t understand the sudden paternal enthusiasm. How interested can you possibly be when he’s been alive for three weeks and you haven’t seen him and you don’t know his fucking name?”

Inside I’m vibrating with rage. Outside I’m cool calm and collected. It’s taking every bit of discipline I’ve learned in the Corps to keep from jumping over my desk and beating the shit out of this motherfucker.

“I’m a slow learner, what can I say?”

“You can say, sorry to bother you, this was a mistake.”

“I don’t think it’s ever a mistake to want to be a part of your child’s life. If you won’t mention it to her, I’ll have my lawyer call so we can arrange a visitation schedule.”

“Visitation? Obviously you have no idea how to take care of a newborn. If you did you would know he eats like a machine every two hours and he’s breastfed. How do you think that’s going to work? Get a lawyer. Have them contact our lawyer if you’re serious. Until then, stay away from Kimber and my son. Dismissed.”

His jaw tightens and his hands ball into fists but there isn’t anything he can do. I’m his superior and he chose to approach me while I was in my office. We would be throwing punches if we were in a bar or a grocery store.

When he leaves I decide this day has been long enough. I’m going home for lunch and I might stay there. I wouldn’t put it past Caleb to show up unannounced at the house. Kimber isn’t a delicate fragile woman but she still doesn’t need this kind of shit right after having a baby, or ever.

At home, Kimber’s mother’s car is in the driveway so I park in the street in front of the house. They aren’t expecting me so I head across the street to Drake’s house and find him sitting in a rocking chair on the porch with Tango at his feet. Tango raises his head but recognizes me and lays it back down on his paws.

“Hey, Drake, where’s grandpa?”

“He’s in a black SUV a few houses down, it’s too hot for the old man today.” Tango looks up at him and pants as if he agrees with Drake’s assessment of the weather.

“The other guys?”

“Spread around, I can’t see you know.”

“Sorry, I forget…”

“I’m just messing with you. It’s been quiet, no asshole brothers all morning.”

“How about anyone else?”

“Other than her mother, nobody… why?”

I tilt my head back and rub my neck. Maybe coming to North Carolina wasn’t such a great idea after all. I was happy when I found out about the relocation, it would put us close to Kimber’s family and she adores her family, unlike me.

I honestly didn’t think Caleb would ever be a problem and I haven’t had to deal with any shit from my dad or brothers since I moved to California. They’re making up for lost time now it seems.

“Something else going on, Garcia? You seem tense.”

I drop my hand and wonder how he knows I’m tense when he can’t see me. “Yeah, you’re not gonna believe this but Kimber’s ex-husband, you know the one who divorced her because she was pregnant with his own son? He’s going to file for shared custody of Grayson. He came to my office today to ask me to mention it to Kimber. He didn’t even have the balls to tell her himself, figured he would let me do his dirty work.”

“Sounds suspicious, what do you think he really wants?”

“I don’t know, maybe his girlfriend got smart and left him and now he’s lonely? Maybe he misses Kimber and now that she’s back in the same state he wants to try and get her back? Maybe he’s a motherfucker who wants to mess with our lives? I don’t know, I can’t figure him out.”

“I don’t know him at all, do you?”

“Not much other than the little Kimber has told me.”

“You need to find out what makes him tick, what he’s into, what it is that suddenly made him want to have his son in his life. Would it have anything to do with his parents?”

I sit down in the rocker next to his to get out of the sun. What makes Caleb tick? Fuck if I know, he seems like a shallow asshole who likes to have his cake and eat it too.

“Maybe he wants to play house with his little girlfriend but she doesn’t want to have a baby yet?”

“I don’t even know if they’re still together. I guess I could hire somebody to do some detective work for me.”

“Good idea. You know Max is pretty great at digging up dirt, you should have him do it.”

My grandpa is a professional and he would no doubt have the job done in twenty-four hours flat with no mistakes. But, do I want family doing this job? Kimber may not want my grandfather digging into her past. I’m going to have to talk to her about it, which means I’m going to have to tell her about Caleb. I was going to anyway. I can’t let him drop that bomb on her with no warning but Caleb didn’t need to think he was getting his pussy-ass way.

“I’ll think about it. I better get home; I came home for lunch to check on things but I’m not going back. You guys can get out of the heat and enjoy your day. I appreciate you watching out for them.”

“No problem, that’s what friends and neighbors are for.”

I stand up to go and Tango looks up at me with lazy eyes. “See you Saturday,” I pause and then add, “for barbeque.” Tango’s ears perk up and I chuckle.

“Told ya, he knows about food,” Drake says knowing what I’m up to. I give Tango a scratch and make my way home in the blistering heat. I miss California’s mild temperatures but I miss being thousands of miles away from my family and Caleb more.