One Lucky Hero (20 page)

“Yes. I saw him yesterday. He came by the house—”

“What did he want? Did he ask to see me?” Casey seemed to have gotten over his shock and was now buzzing with excitement.

“Yes, he mentioned wanting to get to know you, all of us again. He says he's been clean for a year in a half—”

“Ha.” Daisy's sarcastic bark earned a cold glare from Violet.

“—and he wants to try to mend fences. What do you think?” Violet asked.

“We should at least give him a chance, right? You're always talking about love and second chances.”

Except that Violet was pretty sure they were well over two chances, and she couldn't imagine what would happen if her dad fucked up again. Actually she could. It would end up just like before, with her picking up the pieces.

“If that's what you want, I can get in touch with him, but I'm concerned about you getting hurt.”

A shadow crossed Casey's face, and he snapped, “I've already been hurt.”

Daisy sprang to her defense with a snarl that sounded like it had come from an angry terrier. “Hey, she's just looking out for you, so stop biting her head off.”

Casey's eyes closed for half a second and opened, meeting Violet's. “I'm sorry. I'm working on some anger issues.”

“That's okay, honey, I get it. You have a lot going on with you.”

“Do you really think Dad's better?”

His expression was so filled with hope that it ate at Violet, and a thread of anger weaved about, knotting in her stomach. “I don't know, but he looked good.” And if he wasn't sober, he was not going to like how she dealt with him this time.

“I want to see him. Can you ask him to come here?”

Her heart squeezed, but she nodded. “Of course, Case.” Knowing if she didn't get out of there, she might lose it, she said, “Hang on, I've got to go to the bathroom.”

“Thanks for announcing,” Daisy teased as Violet headed out the door toward the restrooms.

And bumped smack into Dean.

Violet lost her balance and started to stumble, but he caught her, pulling her close and pinning her hard against his body.

“Hi.” She gazed up into his eyes, not even looking away when she felt a heavy weight leaning against her legs.

“Hey.” His face was just a few inches from hers, and she had the crazy idea that his lips were actually moving closer.

Except something was pushing between them and against the front of her legs, and when she looked down, she found the black and white rear end and tail of Dean's dog. “Either your dog is jealous or he finds being squished between our legs comfortable.”

“Most likely he's trying to get to your feet. He's got a thing for sleeping on them.”

Sure enough, the moment that Dean took a step back, Dilbert flopped down on top of her feet, making her teeter a bit.

“Why is he lying on
my
feet?” she asked.

“Maybe because he knows you're prejudiced and he's trying to win you over?”

Violet tried hard to not be amused by the whole thing, but the dog had actually stretched out onto his side with his back to her legs.

Funny, how uneasy this dog had made her that first night at Dean's place.

“Excuse me?” Violet said, speaking to Dilbert, who lifted his head with a little moan. His brown eyes watched her almost expectantly. “What do you think you're doing?”

To answer her question, Dilbert actually rolled onto his back and started wiggling his entire body over her feet, his mouth open wide as if he was grinning at her.

Violet managed to get one of her feet out from under him with a laugh. “Your dog is a dork.”

“I know. I'm glad to see you warming up to him,” Dean said softly.

Violet's gaze connected with his once more, and she shrugged. “He's not really like the other pit bulls I've met.”

“You shouldn't lump them all together. Any dog can be aggressive, but it doesn't mean that a whole breed is.”

“I'll agree with that.” Realizing that she'd completely forgotten about escaping to the bathroom, she said, “I should get back in there. Casey and Daisy are visiting, and I don't want to miss it.”

“I'm glad he agreed to see you.”

“Well, I got the impression I have you to thank for that,” she said.

“No, I didn't do anything—”

Violet cut off whatever else he was going to say with an impulsive kiss right on his mouth. She pulled back with a jerk and covered her lips, amazed and horrified by what she'd done. In public.

Looking around, she was relieved that the only people she could see were the security guards, and they had their backs to them.

“I just . . . I am so sorry. I wanted to say thank you, and I didn't mean to do that. Not here.”

She noticed the intense burning in Dean's gaze as he smiled down at her.

“Anytime you want to thank me, Violet, you go right ahead.”

Violet groaned and shook her head. “It was just a thank-you. A one off. Don't let it go to your head.”

“I've heard that before.”

Violet stepped over a snoring Dilbert and walked past Dean to the bathroom, intending to escape without any more embarrassing maneuvers.

“Wait a second,” he said behind her.

With a heavy sigh, Violet turned to face him. “You just couldn't let me escape with my dignity, could you?”

“No, actually, I wanted to ask your permission for something. Casey has asked for self-defense lessons, and I've agreed, pending your approval.”

Violet's heart hurt for her brother. She hated that he didn't feel safe anymore, but the reality was that the world was filled with dangers. Not everyone faced them, but he had and he'd come through it.

But if this would help him, would lead him back to the kid he'd been before . . .

“Of course it's fine.”

“I'll need you to sign a waiver.”

Of course, because they couldn't do anything without some kind of legal document these days.

“Sure, I'll sign it.”

“I'll bring it into the visiting room. Safer that way.” He winked at her.

Violet placed her hands on her hips, playing a cockiness she didn't feel. “Why, because you think I can't keep my hands off you?”

“Or maybe I can't keep my hands off you.”

O
NE WEEK LATER
, the other boys in the unit made a circle around Dean and Casey while Dean demonstrated how Casey could throw a man twice his weight over his shoulder. When he'd approached the other instructors about incorporating a self-defense lesson into their daily routine, they had all been for it. Dean had e-mailed a permission and liability waiver to all of the parents, and anyone whose parents hadn't signed off was doing independent study.

Which was how Dean suddenly found himself flipped onto his back, staring up into the clear blue sky. Well, for half a second before Casey's head blocked his view, his smile a flash of white on his shadowed face.

Dean had decided to show the boys one defense move a day and let them practice it for twenty minutes. He'd expected a lot of excitement over it, but he hadn't expected Casey to master the move and take him down like a lumberjack on his second try. Self-defense aimed to use the least amount of strength for the maximum damage, but damn, the kid had skills.

Casey held his hand out to him, and Dean took it. Climbing to his feet, he rolled his shoulder and almost rubbed at it like an old man.

“Good job.” Dean slapped his hand on Casey's back, pleased that the kid just grinned. “All right, listen up,” Dean hollered. “Pick a partner and work on this move, and this move only, for five minutes. Then we'll go collect our dogs and get back to work.”

Jogging over to the fence, Dean leaned back against it and watched, missing a familiar face. Liam had been discharged this morning and released to his new foster family; they were both veterinarians who lived in Folsom. Dean, along with Liam's social worker, had put feelers out to a few of the hospitals and shelters they worked with to get him the placement, although Liam hadn't gotten his hopes up, even after meeting them. But this morning, when he'd learned it was a done deal and they were picking him up, he'd actually cried.

Dean wished that all of these kids would get out of here and find something better waiting for them but knew it wouldn't work out that way for most of them.

Which brought Dean back to thinking about the three questions Rita had given him. If he wasn't here, who would fight for kids like Liam? Would whoever replaced him try to get other kids into a shelter or vet's office or help get them into advanced education? Would they go the extra mile for these kids or just sit behind a desk and wait for the next great advancement to come along?

“What are you thinking about so hard?” Best asked, coming up behind him. As he leaned on the fence next to him, Best waggled his eyebrows “Violet?”

“No, I was thinking about the kids. Things we can do to improve Alpha Dog, you know?”

“Cool, sounds good. Want to discuss it over some beers at Mick's tonight? Martinez bitched out, but Kline is down.”

Normally, Dean would have appreciated the distraction, but he'd actually been planning to text Violet to see if he could bring over pizza and a movie.

“I'm going to pass tonight. I've got a lot of stuff to do—”

“Don't insult me by making up some excuse. If you have plans with your girlfriend, just say so,” Best said.

“She's not my girlfriend, so I can't say that.”
Yet.

“But you want her to be.” Best pretended like he was holding something in his hand and made kissy faces at it. “Oh, Violet, how I want you.”

Quick as the Flash, Dean grabbed Best's arms and twisted them behind his back, pressing him down over the four-foot fence.

“Ow, shit, man, I was just kidding.”

“She's not a punch line, she's someone's sister. Show some fucking respect.” Dean released him and noticed that all of his guys were staring at them.

“Have you mastered it yet?” he yelled.

“No, sir,” they answered in chorus.

“Then get back to it.”

They did. Dean concentrated on what they were doing, ignoring Best, who was grumbling next to him.

“That hurt, man.”

“Stop being a douche bag, and I won't hurt you anymore.”

Dean caught Best's grin from out of his peripheral vision. “You've changed.”

“How so?”

“You're not as dark and gloomy, but you're more intense. Focused.”

“Maybe I'm finally accepting that this is my life.”

“And yet, you don't sound bitter about it. A month ago, you would have been all caustic and surly.”

That was before Violet. And Casey. And Daisy.

It was before he'd really started to appreciate where he was in his life and accept that this might be right where he was needed.

“I seem to recall you saying I was a ‘bucket of dicks.' ”

“Yeah, well, you were. Now you're just an asshole.”

“Thanks, buddy.”

Dean pulled out his phone and started to dial Violet, raising his eyebrow as Best continued to stand there. “You want to watch them for a minute while I step away to make a phone call?”

“Why not? I don't have to leave for a while.”

“Where are you off to?”

“Gotta look at some new dogs at one of the shelters. They've got five for me to temperament test, or they'll be euthanized.”

“I don't know how you do it. How you choose which ones live and die.”

“The test chooses, not me. And if I didn't test them, then they'd all die. We can only do what is within our power.” Still, Best sounded pissed off.

“Sorry, man, I wasn't trying to tick you off.”

Best waved him on. “Never mind. Go make your phone call.”

Dean walked a little ways away and tried calling but got her voicemail. At the beep, he said, “Hey, Violet, I was calling to see if it would be okay for me to bring a pizza by and maybe watch a movie with you. Call or text me.”

Dean came back to stand beside Best, disappointed.

Then he thought of something.

“Would it be creepy to show up at a woman's house with pizza and a movie if you couldn't get ahold of her?”

“Probably.” Then, Best shot him a wink. “Of course, I've never had a woman not answer my phone call.”

V
IOLET WAS EXHAUSTED
. Wiped. Completely sapped of the strength needed to even change her clothes before she flopped down on the couch. She'd ended up working a double shift at the restaurant when one of the other waitresses called in. Although the tips had been excellent tonight, her feet and back were killing her.

On top of that, her phone had taken a dive into the dishwater this morning when she was talking to Tracy. She'd taken it apart and stuffed it in a bag of rice, but all day she'd felt naked without it.

Reaching under the couch for her laptop, she settled into the cushions to watch the fifth season of
Sons of Anarchy
. Just as the episode started, there was a knock at the door.

Groaning, she called, “Who are you?”

“It's Dean.”

Violet's heart did a little leap of excitement, and she would have jumped up from her position if she wasn't so tired. What was he doing here? Since her impromptu kiss at Alpha Dog, they had been texting and he'd sent an e-mail with a permission slip, but other than that, nothing.

“Come on in.”

The door opened, and Dean looked over the back of the couch at her. “You okay?”

“Long day.” With a teasing grin, she added, “Is this dropping by unannounced going to continue to be a thing with you?”

“Ah well, I called, but you didn't answer, so I brought dinner anyway. If that helps make up for the long day and my rudeness.” He held up a pizza box, and the smell was heavenly.

“It helps a lot.” She sat up on the couch with her laptop. “I dropped my phone in dirty dishwater this morning, and it said on the Internet to put it in a bag of rice for twelve hours.”

“Well, glad it wasn't just you avoiding me.”

Violet laughed. “Wait a second. You thought I was avoiding you, and you still came over?”

“What can I say, I'm a risk-taker.” Dean came around the couch, and she saw Dilbert lumbering around beside him, his tail wagging rapidly.

“Why is that dog in my house?”

“He's been feeling a little left out, so I figured I'd bring him with me. After the way you two bonded the other day, I didn't think you'd mind.”

The dog did seem pretty mellow, even a little dorky. “I guess it's all right, but if he shits in this house, you are cleaning it up.”

“Fair enough.”

Violet slid her laptop back under the couch and sat with her feet tucked up underneath her. Dean sat down next to her and put the pizza on the coffee table.

“Go lie down,” Dean said to Dilbert.

Dilbert flopped down on the ground right below where Violet was sitting. “Your dog has some kind of weird obsession with me.”

“It's 'cause he's got good taste.”

Violet's cheeks burned. “Thank you, I think.”

She took a bite of the pizza and debated opening up the
what's-going-on-between-us?
talk. He had said that they could just be friends, but they sure didn't feel like just friends. And if he was still planning on leaving, there was really no point in even being that.

“So, do you know when you're getting reassigned?”

Dean paused midchew and swallowed. “I'm not sure I am.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Nothing, just some things have changed recently, and I'm not sure I want to go back anymore.”

“How come you were taken out of the field?”

“Because when you're the only guy in your unit to walk away from a suicide bomber, they get worried about your mental health.”

Violet nearly choked at his casual delivery. “Oh, my God!
Why
would you want to go back?”

His expression told her she'd asked the wrong question, but geez, she couldn't understand why anyone would make it through something so terrifying and want to jump right back into the fight.

“If every soldier backed down after a near miss, we wouldn't have an army.”

Dean's logic was right on point, and it left her cold thinking about him putting himself in harm's way every day. She'd always known that it was dangerous, she watched the news, but it was different when it was someone you knew.

Someone you care about.

“Point taken.”

They ate in silence for a while as she revved up her follow-up question. “So, your plan is to go back overseas, then?”

“It was. My plan was to move up through the ranks and put in my time until I retire.”

“You said that things have changed, though?” Violet wasn't sure if her heart was pounding with fear or excitement at the thought that he might say he'd changed his mind because of her.

“Yeah. Just recently, I've started to realize that I actually like what I'm doing at Alpha Dog and I'm afraid if I leave, the guy who replaces me might not fight as hard for these kids to have a future.”

He really is such a good guy.
“Can't you rise through the ranks without going back?”

“Me wanting to go back had more to do with my own insecurities as a soldier. Proving to everyone that I can still do my job and that they were wrong to sideline me.”

“This is about wounded pride? Really?”

“At first, maybe a little. Now, I'm just trying to focus on what I really want, and not some kind of misplaced duty.”

Violet didn't want to tell him that things happened for a reason, although she firmly believed that and always had.

“Well, if it were me, I would rather stay here and work with kids. Not get shot at in the desert.”

Dean leaned toward her and brushed his fingers across her cheek. “Are you saying you want me to stay?”

Violet's breathing sped up as those digits glided to the back of her neck and began kneading. And then she melted into a groaning puddle of mush and completely forgot what they were talking about.

“Oh . . . ”

“Sore neck?”

“Sore everywhere.”

“I can fix that,” he said. Turning her around on the couch so that her back was to him, he ran his hand over her, his fingers digging into her muscles. At first it hurt so bad she almost told him to stop, and then slowly the knotted muscles started to unravel. Leaning forward until her forehead rested on the arm of the couch, she groaned as his rough palms slipped up under her white collared shirt, and he worked on her lower back.

And just like that, he stopped. “Violet?”

“Mmmm?” She stretched up and turned on the couch. “That was amazing.”

“I thought for a second you passed out,” he said.

“No, just becoming putty in your hands.” Climbing to her feet, she picked up the pizza box to take it into the kitchen, but his hand caught her wrist.

“Is that right? That's all it takes to make you completely pliable?”

The conversation was quickly heading into a more-than-friends direction, but wasn't that exactly what she wanted to know? If they were really friends or if this was actually some kind of game? Because at this point, she was so confused by their ever-changing status that she wasn't sure what she wanted anymore.

You know you want him, right? Isn't that enough for now? Why does everything need to be figured out tonight?

Because she didn't want to fall for him and have him walk out like everyone else in her life.

“Is that what you want?” She spoke softly, their faces so close that she could lean forward just a bit and brush his lips with hers. “For me to just let you take care of me? To make me feel better?”

“It sounds kind of romantic, right? I swoop in and save the damsel in distress, and despite her efforts to escape, fate keeps throwing us together?”

Did he think she was kidding? She didn't need rescuing, and she didn't want him thinking he was some kind of savior.

He released her wrist, and she set the pizza down. When she faced him once more, her hands were planted firmly on her hips.