Nanny for the Army Rangers by Krista Wolf

 

Thirty-Two

 

 

LIAM

“And there’s been no new intel?” I asked, sliding the back door closed behind me. “Nothing to go on?”

The warmth of the house contrasted starkly with the crisp autumn air outside. Just beyond the glass, a few steps across the deck, the charcoal grill was emitting new puffs of white smoke.

“Only a few rumors,” said Duncan, “and not really verifiable. Something about the LRA rolling through a village with a string of prisoners in tow. A witness claimed one of them matched the description of our guy.”

“How good of a match?” asked Julius

“A young white man who looked miserable,” Duncan replied. “And totally out of place.”

Julius grunted. I couldn’t blame him.

“How good of a witness?” I asked.

Duncan shrugged. “Supposed to be real good, actually. Then again there’s a reward involved, so everyone’s trying to score a piece of it. Doesn’t cost them anything to send us on a dozen or more goose-chases down there. Best case scenario we get lucky, and they get paid.”

“Worst-case scenario we head in the entirely wrong direction,” Julius sneered. “And end up buried in the jungle.”

“Ever dig in the jungle?” I mused. “Roots everywhere.”

“Your point?”

“His point is no one’s going to bury us,” said Duncan. “The animals drag our bones off in different directions.”

It was a pretty grim conversation to be having over a steak and burgers, so we collectively let it lie. Duncan had done well enough in Denver that we had two full teams now. One of them was already en route to Kampala. The other was gearing up to follow this new lead, which could be promising.

By now the beers had been on ice long enough to be cold, and the steak had rested nicely on the decades-old butcher block that had come with the house. I was about to start slicing into it when she walked into the kitchen.

Damn.

Delilah looked amazing all around. She trailed a delicious whiff of vanilla as she glided through the kitchen, an impressive feat considering the spiked heels that made her legs even more shapelier than usual. The hem of a gorgeous red dress trailed behind her, bouncing around mid-thigh. From the waist up it clung to her body, accentuating every wonderful curve, then plunged down again, diving between her breasts.

As she reached for her coat, which was slung over one of the kitchen chairs, she sniffed the air and smiled.

“Smells good in here.”

Duncan let out a long, low whistle. “Sure does.”

It became obvious once she showered and got dressed that she was indeed going out. But now, after all the makeup and high heels and everything else…

“You’ve got a hot date tonight, don’t you?” I dared.

“A date, yes,” she replied. “The hot part remains to be seen.”

A pang of jealousy made my mouth twist into a frown. I quickly untwisted it.

“Looks hot already from where I’m sitting,” said Duncan.

“He asked me out last week,” Delilah added quickly, “and I’d already said yes. You know, earlier. So…”

She looked like she was fishing. Was she fishing?

“Of course,” I said mechanically. “After all, it’s Saturday night. You should go out. Have fun.”

I winced as the conversation died into an awkward silence. In the meantime, Delilah was having a hard time fishing her keys out of her coat pocket. I felt terrible for not including her in our leisure activities this afternoon, as did the others. It was almost like we’d treated her as a second-class citizen. As someone who wasn’t really part of the family.

“You going out with that same guy?” asked Julius.

But Delilah was a part of the family. I mean, wasn’t she? Hell, we’d asked her to move all the way out here to Southold, just to join us.

“Stephen,” she nodded. “His name’s Stephen.”

Another few seconds of silence passed, where no one was really sure what to say. I was hoping for Duncan to step in, or Julius, or even myself. Maybe they had something to dissuade her. Maybe she’d take her coat off, sit down, and I’d serve her some perfectly-cooked, medium-rare strip steak.

Instead she came up with her keys. I just stood there at the butcher block like a dummy, the carving knife in one hand and a two-pronged fork in the other.

“Alright then,” she said awkwardly. “You boys have a good night tonight, okay?”

She walked away in silence, except for the sound of her heels clacking against the floor. Nobody said anything as she crossed the foyer. None of us made a move as the front door closed behind her, and her car started up in the driveway.

“Well… shit,” said Duncan. “We sure fucked that one up.”

His words echoed my sentiments exactly. I set down the knife in disappointment.

“We fucked everything up,” Julius spat. “I mean, what did we expect her to do? Sit down and eat with us? Give up whatever outside life she has left, so we can satisfy our own desperate need for companionship?”

That was always the problem with being a soldier, and especially a specialist: maintaining a girlfriend. It was hard for someone to stay attached once they realized you could be pulled away for a mission with zero notice, or might be called to serve month-long tours of duty on the other side of the planet.

No, Delilah obviously had a life to live outside of us, the house, and the twins. We had to respect that. In the end, what else could we really do?

Nothing, that’s what.

“We could’ve said something,” Duncan reasoned, shattering my rationale. “Anything at all.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” Duncan shrugged. “Something that would’ve kept her here, or—”

“And for what, man?” Julius asked angrily. “What do we have to offer her? A warm bed? A couple nights of casual sex? Look at that girl,” he pointed toward the doorway. “She’s special. She deserves better.”

“Better than us?” asked Duncan.

But Julius was ignoring him. “She deserves someone who can focus solely on her,” he said. “Someone who can give her the safety and security she needs to—”

“We provide safety and security here,” I pointed out.

“Oh yeah?” Julius challenged. “And which one of us is going to give her the love and companionship that’ll eventually win her over? Will it be you?” he pointed. “Will it be me?”

“I— we haven’t really had the chance to talk about—”

“And what happens to the other two, once one of us wins her heart?” he kept going. “Do they just walk away? Disappear for a while, then show back up for the wedding? Clap and pretend to be happy?”

Ugh, I couldn’t even imagine! He was right, of course. The jealousy I’d feel just watching someone end up with her, other than me…

“We should’ve kept this whole thing platonic,” said Julius. “It should’ve been easy. The nanny should’ve been off limits from the beginning. And instead—”

“You’re just as guilty here as we are,” I finally snapped. “Nobody twisted your arm, so don’t act all holier than thou about it.”

“I’m not,” Julius said genuinely. “I’m just pointing out fact. We should count our blessings that she’s still here at all. Delilah’s the perfect roommate and an amazing caretaker. The twins adore her. We can’t lose her over a little casual sex, no matter how lonely we find ourselves.”

“Or…”

Duncan dragged the word out for a long time, probably for effect. When he spoke again it was haltingly, like he was thinking off the top of his head.

“Or instead of going backward, we go forward.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Julius demanded.

“Well we can’t let her date Stephen,” Duncan said, like the conclusion was obvious. “Such a plain name for a plain guy. And we can’t let her slip away with someone else, either.”

“So are we locking her in the basement, or—”

I waved Julius off in frustration, shaking an arm his way. Somehow it halted him mid-sentence.

“Seriously though,” I squinted at Duncan. “What exactly are you suggesting?”

Our friend pulled out a chair, squatted over it, and stared up at us. Then, very slowly, he started talking…

And for once we listened.