Chapter 1

Cam

I’d just wrapped up the final lesson of the day with the current batch of sea cadets. I’d served my tours overseas and now had family commitments at home. I put in for the post of extensive SEAL training for the cadets who had taken their two-week placement at the Thirty-Second Street Naval Base.

I headed out of the training quarters and made my way across the base, straight to home. I was lucky that I managed to bag a small home that was on-base which fitted my needs perfectly. I had no need, at all, for a larger home; just something big enough for me and Emmy was sufficient.

I strolled across the concrete, amidst the faint hooyas, and watched as SEALs returned to base after their grueling runs, with backpacks crammed with gear and some asshole physical trainer screaming obscenities at them for being weak maggots and pushing them to their limits.

“Hey Cam, wait up!” Someone called out from behind me.

I turned my head to see Owen jogging toward me with a huge grin on his face.

Smelled like trouble, he was grinning.

“Owen. You done for the day?”

“Done and dusted my friend. So, how's life as a teacher?” he asked as he ruffled my dark cropped hair, annoying the fuck out of me on purpose.

“Jealous! You know damn well it isn’t a desk job. These cadets need some honest instructions; they have some serious decisions to make once they’ve completed their courses.” We carried on walking.

“The same old Cam Cross, always being the protector; always was, and always will be. Damn, this country is lucky to have you on board,” Owen pressed, strolling beside me as we headed towards the day care center.

“You should know; I’ve saved your ass on more than one occasion,” I said, smiling at Owen as I shoved him onto the grass verge.

Owen grinned at me and nodded. “Don’t I know it. And now, it is time for payback.”

I looked at him, confused. “Payback, what do you mean?”

“Mikey is getting hitched, and he's throwing a party off base tonight. It’s about time you got back into the flow of things. You have been AWOL for too long.” Owen nudged my shoulder.

“I don’t know; I have Emmy to think of. I’m just on my way to pick her up from daycare.” I shielded my eyes from the afternoon sun that shone behind Owen, making me blink.

“Come on Cam, it will be cool. Just get a sitter for Emmy, she will be fine. It is only one night or just a couple of hours at least,” Owen said, moving to help shield the sun.

I smiled and laughed. “Who can sit for me? Your soon-to-be ex?”

Owen screwed up his face. “Fuck no! I don’t want her knowing what I’m up to.”

“Come on Owen, she's ideal. She knows Emmy and you can pick her up once the party is over,” I grinned.

“Too God-damned complicated. This divorce is a bitch, with all the lawyers back and forth. And, I will probably end up with nothing,” he said in a low tone.

“Well, you know I have got your six, so just holler if you need anything.”

Owen regained his playful composure. “What I need is for you to come to this damn party, that is what I need.”

As we walked, I thought about life since I had lost Stacey and how she had tragically died nearly two years ago during childbirth. My world had turned upside down. I had dreamt of being the perfect dad in a perfect family, and now I was struggling to be just an ordinary father; I didn’t have enough time on my hands to be perfect.

I had never forgiven myself for not being there the night that Stacey had died. I had been on duty when the call had come in. Fuck, by the time I had reached the hospital, it was too late; she had already gone. I had no final chance of holding her hand or telling her that I loved her and that everything would be all right. The only good thing was that Emmy, my beautiful daughter, had survived and I decided I would rather die first than make that mistake again. I had to become that perfect dad, even if it killed me.

“I will think about the party if I can find a sitter in time, but I’m not gonna promise anything. My concern is only for Emmy,” I replied as I watched Owen head toward the base gates with a sly grin.

Owen saluted and vanished through the security gate. He had his hands full with his divorce and I felt sorry for him. He had not told me the reason for the breakup, but I could see he was torn up inside.

I approached the base’s daycare center and walked into the hallway, pushing my head against the glass of the door. The teacher looked in my direction and gestured to the back of the classroom where Emmy played. She was cute and gorgeous. She had her mom's eyes.

I looked on as the teacher called Emmy and she looked up, her eyes beamed and she smiled. I could see her mouth the word “Daddy” as she toddled toward the door.

When she got to me, I scooped Emmy up into my arms. “How’s my princess?”

She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Daddy!”

She didn’t have a big vocabulary yet, but we tried. I sat and read to her every night, and she would fall asleep by my side on the bed.

I placed Emmy onto my shoulders and she put her hands on my head. We strolled casually toward our small home situated at the far end of North Point Street and had to pass by some of the bigger homes for families based here. I walked up the road toward where the Admiral lived and could see some activity outside their home; it was strange that there’d be someone outside at this time of day, especially washing a car.

As I approached, I could see a petite girl in a very skimpy red bikini, busy covering a VW beetle in massive amounts of soapsuds.

I stood at the bottom of the driveway and called out to her. “Good afternoon.”

I watched as the girl slowly turned toward me. She appeared to be about eighteen or twenty years old, and she looked like the Admiral. Maybe his daughter. Fuck me, she was a bombshell.

“Katherine, is that you?” I called, admiring her slender body and her pale blonde hair.

She stood facing me with a big sponge in her hand. “Katie. Everyone calls me Katie,” she replied, stepping closer.

“You look different; I haven’t seen you since you went away to college. You look grown up now.” Fuck, her eyes looked electric blue and were as wild as the Atlantic ocean.

Katie looked at me with her bright blue, stunning eyes. “Yep, I’m twenty now, and back home for the summer.”

I had heard stories about Katie Elizabeth Cornell and how she had made the Admiral’s life a living hell. She was the epitome of being a wild child and, whatever he had done to try to calm her down, backfired on him.

The Admiral controls forty ships, but he can’t manage one young girl.

I couldn’t help myself. I looked at her slender body. She looked younger than twenty, by at least a couple of years, maybe more. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, but the stories were just too many and I had put my wild days behind. This was the type of girl that would land me in trouble.

“So, what are you doing back on base?” I asked as I watched bubbles slowly slide off her amazingly tanned body.

“I have been grounded; confined to the base for the summer. I upset Daddy a while ago and this is my punishment,” she replied as she threw her sponge at her car in a pissed tone.

“Well, I need to head off and get this little one fed and changed,” I said as I gestured to Emmy who was pulling up shreds of grass on the lawn.

“Cute kid. You are?” she asked, ogling Emmy and then me.

Damn, she’s sexy, but what a troublemaker. Fuck!

“Just call me Cam. That is my daughter, Emmy. It was nice meeting you again,” I said as I started to walk slowly to the end of the street.

“See ya, Cam,” Katie said, dunking her hand in her bucket and soaked her body as much as her car.

Damn!

As I strolled, I thought about Katie washing her car; she looked so gorgeous. Her body was slim and slender, and her breasts were nice and pert. It had been a long time since I had looked at a woman and thought she looked beautiful. I had always blocked this thought and thought of Emmy and her mother, Stacey. But Katie was model material.

We arrived, the small place we called home. It was a Mexican style, one-floor two-bedroomed villa, or that was how they had described it in the brochure when we moved in. It was small, and I was sure the Mexican style just meant the tops of the windows were curved rather than straight. It was small, but not overly cramped, and had everything we needed. And the main thing was, it was clean and safe for Emmy.

I put Emmy in her high chair while I prepared her food. “You hungry Emmy?” I asked as I walked around in the kitchen.

“Daddy!” she replied from her limited vocabulary.

I sat at the table and fed Emmy who lapped up her stewed, apple pudding. I had eaten a few weird things while on tour, but every time I faced baby food, I just had to turn my face up in disgust.

I quickly changed from my uniform and did a few exercises. I found out that I needed to keep in shape at home. Now that I had been chosen for the cadet instruction position, my physical training for duty had somewhat reduced.

I completed my usual routine of fifty pull-ups, fifty pushups, fifty squats, and headed for the shower. I turned on the shower and stood to look at my physique in the mirror. I’d placed Emmy in the ‘safe area’ in the living room. I felt lucky that I had managed to retain my athletic and muscular build even though my training had reduced. A lot could be said for healthy eating and regular exercising.

Even though I considered myself to be “off the market,” mainly for Emmy's sake, I still had my “rockin’ build” and my “piercing green eyes,” according to women who had told me so. Apparently, these key factors still left me looking highly attractive and sexy, according to Tina, Danielle, Maria and my cousin back East.

You're off the market, but you still have it.

“Emmy, you ready for an afternoon nap? Daddy is ready for one,” I said, removing Emmy from her high chair and placed her on the couch.

She smiled at me like I was chocolate.

I laid down beside her and watched her as she closed her eyes and drifted off to that place where all toddlers go. I closed my eyes and thought about the journey that was set out in front of me; I had become a single dad, got based at the Thirty-Second Street Naval Base and had the arduous task of raising a daughter all by myself.

It wouldn’t be easy, and I’d known, since Stacey had passed away, it would be difficult. But, I was prepared for the struggle and would make sure no harm would ever come to Emmy. It was not the life I had envisioned for myself, for sure, but I had Emmy and the honor of protecting American citizens. I would turn out right somehow… I just knew it.

One thing that worried me and crossed my mind was that I would see her in the company of a girl like Katie, who had come to be known as a troublemaker. I would hope there would never be a day when I would see Emmy walking around in a skimpy bikini like the one that Katie had worn.

“Emmy, promise me one thing, be a good girl when you get older. I’m not sure Daddy could take it if he had to discipline you,” I said as I drifted off into a light sleep.

My mind drifted back to Katie and how she looked as she rubbed her car with her sponge, her breasts pushed against the wet glass, and her ass stuck out as she stood on her tip-toes to reach across the roof. I tried not to think of her, but I found my mind going back to the scene again and again.

Stacey, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I stirred from my nap as I heard the phone ring.

“Hello,” I said, rubbing my eyes.

I could hear Owen from the other end of the line. “Well, you coming tonight or what?”

“Damn, Owen! You’re relentless. No wonder you're getting divorced. Even I would divorce you!” I laughed.

“Is Emmy asleep? I hope so. Fuck you Cam, and the horse you rode in on,” he replied, chuckling to himself.

“If I go, it will only be a couple of hours yeah?” I looked at Emmy as she slept like a princess.

“Sure, just a couple of beers with your old buddies, what can be better?” Owen replied.

“I have to find a sitter for the evening first before confirming. So, either way, if I get one, you’ll be the first to know,” I replied as I thought of who to ask.

“Roger. Over and out big guy. I’ll wait for your call, and if I don’t answer, mum’s the word about the party, okay?” Owen asked.

“Sure, I got your six, you know that without asking,” I replied with a grin as I hung up the phone.

I had a couple of options on who I could ask. Mrs. Hyndley was the best bet as she had sat Emmy for other couples on a few occasions, and she only lived a few doors away which would make it more convenient.

I placed Emmy in her cot and turned on her mobile, the jingle of “Old Mcdonald had a farm,” filled the bedroom. Quickly, I headed across the road to ask Mrs. Hyndley for her assistance. She agreed, and I told her to be at my house by seven. Owen had told me the party would start at eight and I should, with a little luck, find myself back home at eleven.

I picked up the phone and called Owen.

“Yo, Cam, what's the news?” he asked, sounding excited.

“I will come for a few hours. I managed to get a sitter,” I replied, trying to think of what to wear.

“Hooyah! Cam Cross is back on the horse; welcome back buddy,” Owen squealed with delight.

It had been a long time since I had been out to a party with any of the people from the base. I knew they would be wild and beer would be flowing like rivers, but I had changed. Emmy had made me calm, and I was nervous about how to react or how I would fit in.

I hope I can do this…