Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

J erico lit the coals on the grill in the backyard. He was starving. Their workout today had only allowed for short pauses to refuel with PowerBars. They held enough nutrition to replenish the men's energy and were light to carry. He was ready to enjoy a thick steak.

Rexy cavorted in the backyard. Jerico had stopped to refuel his truck and found a tennis ball on sale in the discount bin next to the cash register. As he expected, the dog loved it and now played by himself on the grass, tossing it up in the air and chasing it. Rexy seemed to need some glasses. He frequently bonked into the trees that got in his way. He was the perfect comic relief after a tough day.

"Daddy?"

Jerico turned to see Aspen framed in the doorway. A welcoming smile automatically spread his lips. He couldn't believe how much he'd missed her when they were apart. Trained to spot details, he noted the tension lines around her mouth and eyes.

"Hi, baby. Come give me a kiss," he requested, holding out his arms to hug her.

To his delight, she didn't hesitate, but rushed forward into his embrace. He rewarded her with a kiss that revitalized his energy. She's better than a PowerBar. And definitely tastier!

He held her close when the kiss ended. "Did you have a good day, Aspen?"

She shrugged and seemed to hesitate for a fraction of a second more than necessary before answering, "It was okay. Some good and bad."

"Is this new job going to work out?" he asked, watching her face closely. He needed her to trust him enough to confide in him.

"It will. Today… Today had its challenges, but it was okay."

"Want to tell me about it?"

"Maybe later. Right now, I just want to relax."

"Good idea. Let's get you cleaned up and into something comfy. Go check in the nursery. There's a surprise in there," Jerico shared.

"A surprise?"

"It's waiting for you."

He followed her into the house, catching the screen door before it could slam shut. Grinning at her enthusiasm, he walked behind her down the hall. He heard her quick gasp.

"She's so cute!" Aspen exclaimed, as he entered the nursery behind her.

Jerico leaned against the door as she scooped the multicolored caterpillar up in her arms. He'd ordered the stuffie before going to bed that first night that Aspen had arrived. Somehow, he'd known she would love it. "What are you going to name her?"

"Bowbow because she looks like a rainbow," Aspen announced quickly and hugged the stuffie closer.

"That's a perfect name. Set Bowbow on the bed and she can rest while I change your clothes."

"Mmmm," she hummed, holding the stuffie tightly as if she didn't want to set the caterpillar down.

"Bowbow will have to take a nap while you get clean, but I bet you can juggle her a bit while I dress you," he suggested, and Aspen immediately nodded with a radiant smile that touched his heart.

The depth of his feeling for her resonated inside him as Jerico walked forward to hug the two of them tightly. Aspen laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled close.

"Thank you, Daddy."

"You're welcome," he said, kissing the top of her head. Holding her against him, Jerico enjoyed the quiet moment.

"Daddy? Were you grilling something?" she asked a short time later.

"Soon. First, let's get you clean and in comfy clothes." Opening the closet, he grabbed a pair of stretchy leggings and a tunic.

Kneeling at her feet, Jerico stripped off her socks and shoes before he unfastened her jeans and pulled the denim and her cotton panties to her ankles and off. He pressed a kiss to her tummy before standing. "Do you think Bowbow could ride on my shoulder while we get your T-shirt off?"

"I think she'd love that." With a giggle, Aspen hooked the caterpillar's body over his shoulder. It clung in place as he pulled her T-shirt over her head.

"Oops!" When his arms lifted, Bowbow shifted, and Jerico quickly pinned the caterpillar in place by pressing his ear to the squishy stuffie.

"You saved her!" Aspen praised him, quickly assessing the situation as her head popped out of the garment. Rescuing the colorful stuffie, she held her close once again.

"Hey, maybe she could piggyback." Aspen lifted the stuffie and placed her around the back of his neck. "Ta-da!"

"So much better, little girl. Good idea."

Jerico unhooked her bra and stripped the lacy nothing off. "Into the shower with you," he announced, pointing the way.

Laughing, Aspen rushed to the large bathroom off their bedroom, with Jerico trailing close behind. She placed Bowbow carefully on the vanity as Jerico turned on the water and adjusted the temperature.

"In you go. When you're totally wet, come here and I'll suds you up," Jerico directed, grabbing a bath pouf and pouring some sweet-smelling soap on it. When she returned slick with water, he had to steel himself so that he wouldn't back her against the tile and turn shower time into snack time.

"Are you mad, Daddy?" Aspen asked, looking concerned.

"Daddy's cock thinks you'd make a tasty morsel. Trying to convince it not to poke a hole through my jeans is taking concentration."

She stared at him for a second, and then her lips spread in a big smile. "Daddy?" Aspen drew the word out until it sounded like it had three syllables.

"You are a very bad girl," he reprimanded her, giving her a quick swat on her sassy bottom. Her wet flesh made a very loud sound, and he suspected the liquid amplified the sting as well.

"Oh!"

"Go rinse off, temptress."

Drying her with a towel was its own enticement. Jerico gritted his teeth and completed the job. Covering her with an oversized nightshirt was a relief and a disappointment.

"Dinner time. How do you like your steak?" he asked as she scooped up her stuffie.

"Steak? I don't know… Medium? Just so it doesn't moo at me."

Chuckling, he watched her rub her tummy as if she didn't realize what she was doing. Having steak had obviously been a rare treat for his little girl in the past. Jerico didn't eat a lot of red meat to stay in tiptop physical shape, but every once in a while, he craved it.

"Medium it is. The coals should be perfect now. Do you want to play in your nursery or color at the table while I put the steaks on?"

"Nursery!" She hesitated for a moment before adding, "I'll be good."

"I'll trust you learned your lesson. I'll call you when dinner is ready. If you get lonely, come talk to me."

"Okay, Daddy."

When he walked out of the nursery, she, Rexy, and Bowbow were discussing what they should do—a puzzle or read a book. Jerico shook his head, staggered by the difference in his life in the last month. His new position on a new team in a new town had been the best move of his life. He would have missed meeting her and already he couldn't imagine life alone now.

His phone rang as he was finishing the dishes. Crossing his fingers that Zale wasn't calling him to tell him the team had been activated, Jerico answered the phone as Aspen shot to her feet.

"Zale, are we a go?"

"No. I'm not calling for a deployment. I had a feeling she wouldn't tell you," Zale said, and Jerico could hear the regret in his voice.

"Aspen?" Jerico looked at the guilty expression on his Little's face. She knew she was in trouble.

"I was going to tell you, but I wanted to wait until after dinner. He promised he wouldn't call until late," Aspen stammered, plopping back down on the chair where she had been watching a nature documentary about butterflies with Bowbow. At the sound of distress in her voice, Rexy dared to pop up from his doggie bed to race to her side. Aspen tangled her fingers in the dog's fur.

"What happened, Zale?" Jerico listened to his teammate describe the bathroom incident, and the actions taken. "Got it. Thanks for calling. I owe you one."

"Give her a break, Jerico. She was afraid she'd lose her job… And maybe you. There seemed to be something else going on. Some reason she didn't want to report that bastard."

Jerico clicked out of the call, knowing that Zale would understand his abrupt behavior. He turned to see the worried look on Aspen's face and her stiff posture. She hadn't believed that Zale would call.

He stopped at her side to cup her chin and lifted it so that their eyes met. "This is okay. Whatever is going on, we'll deal with it. Okay?"

When she nodded, he turned to look at the dog. "Rexy, Aspen and I need to talk alone. How about if you take a nap in the bedroom?"

Hooking his fingers in Rexy's collar, Jerico walked the large dog to the furthest room in the house—the main bedroom. He petted the dog reassuringly and told him he was a good boy before going to the door. When he turned to close it, Rexy darted into the closet to hide. Not understanding what was going on, the fearful dog's first thought was to hide.

"Rexy's safely hiding in the closet. Tell me what's going on." Jerico walked into the family room and took a seat on the couch next to Aspen.

"Zale's such a tattletale," she accused with tears in her eyes.

"He's a daddy who suspected you wouldn't tell me something important. But you will now, won't you?"

Aspen nodded furiously. "I was going to tell you about the man in the bathroom. I was waiting until you'd eaten your steak and were in a good mood."

"Your day sounds far from how you described it. I think you said okay? That seems like a solid lie now. Tell me what really happened."

"A guy came in and used the men's restroom while I was cleaning in there. That's it."

"That's not it," he denied her statement, knowing Zale wouldn't have called for something minor.

"I had the closed sign up. He came in and peed. You know, out where I could see him. Not in a stall."

He forced himself not to react until he got the entire story. "And…"

"I'm supposed to leave, but I couldn't go around him to get out. I would have seen his thingy."

Jerico didn't allow that term to distract him, no matter the visual image that popped into his mind of the man's micro penis. "What happened then?"

"When he finished, the jerk trapped me in a stall and insisted on getting my name. When I refused to tell him, he got angry. Zale took care of it. They even yelled at him in the hallway with his commander."

"And what else happened?" Jerico forced himself to remain calm and didn't allow his face or voice to reveal his anger.

"Zale didn't know that," she said, staring at him in horror. "How do you know?"

"Tell me."

"The guy at the gate recognized my name. Some guy in a beater car had tried to get inside, telling the guard that he was supposed to meet me on base."

"Eddie," Jerico guessed. "They didn't let him in?"

"No. They told me to report it at the main building so all the gates could be on alert."

"And you did as they suggested?" Jerico continued to press her.

"I went there."

"And…"

"Outside the doors, I decided I didn't want them to think they'd hired a problem, so I went to maintenance and got started on my day," Aspen whispered.

"Come here, Aspen."