Darius parked in the Harper’s driveway fifteen minutes before Jon was due to call. He’d stopped by his favorite Italian place for a pan of lasagna, garlic bread and salad, figuring the last thing Ben had on his mind was dinner at this point. Ben was so overwhelmed with taking care of his nieces on top of grieving for his sister, it looked like the man hadn’t been eating lately.

The sight of someone so clearly in need had Darius’ protective tendencies kicking in. It was the reason he’d interrupted Ben’s argument with his mother, Jolene. Stacy had always said her mother was like a pit bull with a bone when it came to Ben. She wanted him completely disowned from the family. The fact that Stacy not only talked to her brother every couple of days but visited him at least twice a year caused a rift between her and her mother. Stacy didn’t care.

Darius had met Stacy when her then boyfriend, Jon had brought her and her daughter, Anya to Killeen to live with him. Jon had told Darius he’d fallen instantly in love with the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and wanted to marry her. It had been Darius’ honor to marry them even though they had known each other for a little over four months. Normally he cautioned couples from jumping into marriage too quickly but with those two, the love was a palpable thing.

After Zoe had been born, Stacy’s mother moved down to be closer to her grandchildren. Jolene’s husband had died of a heart attack nearly ten years earlier. According to Stacy her father had been henpecked to death by her mother. Now that he’d gotten to know Jolene, Darius could understand why Stacy thought that.

Every chance the woman got she tried to get Darius to change how he ran his church. She wanted a more conservative church, but they were Universal, open to all different types of religions. Darius wasn’t about to change his church that accepted everyone, no matter what religion, color or sexual preference. Not wanting to offend Jolene and her suggestions, he instead referred her to other churches who could accommodate her. Eventually she found one but on the few occasions he’d seen her over the years, she never failed to mention the need to convert his church to a more traditional one.

Another car pulled into the driveway next to his. Looking over, he nearly groaned when he saw it was Jolene. This phone call from Jon was going to be hard enough without Jolene adding her two cents. Climbing out of his truck, he grabbed the bags of food before bracing himself for whatever Jolene had up her sleeve.

“Darius? What are you doing here?” Jolene was clearly not happy to see him.

“Good afternoon Jolene,” Darius said cordially. His mama had drilled the need for being polite and would rise from her grave to smack him upside the head if he were anything less than cordial to Jolene. “Jon’s commander asked that I be here in support of Ben and the girls.”

A scowl appeared on her face, letting Darius know just how unhappy Jolene was that he was here. “I don’t think an outsider is needed for this family matter.”

Jolene stood before him with her arms crossed and her foot tapping out a beat against the pavement. What Darius didn’t understand was why she was so unhappy, unless she was planning something. “Unfortunately, that isn’t for you to decide Jolene. I talked with Ben earlier and he seemed to appreciate the offer of support.”

Her scowl turned into a sneer at the mention of her son. “Of course, he would need help,” she said derisively. “It just goes to show he isn’t fit to take care of the girls.”

Not willing to listen to her hate any longer Darius said, “As nice as it is to see you once more Jolene, I really need to let Ben and the girls know I’m here.”

Darius made his way to the door clenching the bags of food tightly in his hands imagining it was Jolene’s neck. Not that he’d ever hurt anyone, but that woman tried his patience like no one else ever had. Inhaling deeply, he felt a measure of calm flow through him. With Jolene there, he knew it wouldn’t last long but he was willing to use all his tricks to remain steadfast during this trying situation.

He refused to let her upset him, especially when he needed to be here for Ben and the girls. Knocking, he was surprised by how quickly the door opened. The blush on Ben’s cheeks told him Ben had known Darius was in the driveway. Ben probably had been hoping Darius would convince his mother to leave. Like that was ever going to happen.

Before he could even say hello, Jolene pushed past him and said, “The fact that you feel the need to have Darius here to help you deal with the girls finding out their father is joining his unit on the front lines, just shows you aren’t able to take care of them.”

The words were bad enough but the fact that Jolene felt the need to practically shout it just made it that much worse. A sharp intake of breath from someone in the living room told Darius at least one of the girls overheard their grandmother. Ben stared daggers at his mother before going to deal with whoever it was that heard Jolene’s words.

“See he can’t even take a little bit of honest criticism without needing to run away,” she told Darius.

This time he counted to ten in hopes of not saying or doing something mean. At ten, he knew he still wasn’t as calm as he should be but with Jolene trying to push him out of the way to go further in the house, Darius didn’t waste time trying counting to twenty.  Even that probably wouldn’t be enough.

“No, what your son,” he emphasized the word just to irritate her, “is doing is consoling the girls who just overheard you saying their father was going to the front lines. Which is exactly what a caregiver, who is responsible, should do.”

“Well they shouldn’t have been eavesdropping.” Jolene didn’t look the least bit ashamed for her blunder.

“Since you were shouting at the time, they had no reason to eavesdrop. I’m pretty sure the neighbors heard you.” Not willing to stand there and argue with her, Darius walked into the living room to find Ben on the couch with Zoe in his lap, her body shaking as she cried. Anya was nowhere in sight.

The prettiest blue eyes framed by stylish golden hair plead with him. “Anya ran out of here. Can you please try and find her?”

Nodding, he set the bags of food on the living room table and went in search of Anya. Since he was a regular at the Harper’s house, he knew exactly where she would be hiding. Going to the back of the house he saw the sliding door was still open from Anya’s hasty departure. In the backyard he went to the treehouse he helped Jon build for Anya right after they moved in.

Since Anya’s biological father had never wanted anything to do with her, Jon had adopted the little girl. The treehouse had been Jon’s way of showing Anya just how much he loved her. In all the time Darius had been around the them, Jon had never once treated Anya as anything other than his daughter. He’d even taken her to dance classes, sitting there for hours just for the opportunity to watch his daughter do what she loved.

Climbing the ladder, Darius knocked on the closed door at the top. He could get in, but he felt it important to give Anya some sense of control. “Go away,” she yelled through the door.

“Anya, it’s Darius. I’d like to talk to you.” His tone was firm with just enough authority to let her know he wasn’t taking no for an answer, yet tender enough to let her know he was here for her.

It took a minute but eventually Anya opened the door.