Nanny for the Army Rangers by Krista Wolf

 

Five

 

 

DELILAH

The drive through the North Fork of Long Island was as beautiful as always, but things got serious after Mattituck. The road continued eastward, winding through Cutchogue, Peconic, and finally into Southold. I’d intentionally not looked up the address the florist had given me. I wanted to be surprised.

Holy shit…

Surprised wasn’t even the word for it.

“You have to be kidding.”

I breathed the words as I turned onto the long, tree-lined driveway, passing slowly beneath a great, wrought-iron gate. The letter ‘J’ should’ve been centered above me, but was slightly askew. The cherry trees on both sides should’ve been well-manicured, but instead of being perfectly groomed they looked misshapen and inconsistent.

Still, the property was enormous. And with this much acreage, in this exclusive of a Hamptons neighborhood? It could be covered in brambles and still be worth its weight in gold.

The driveway ended in a circular loop, surrounding a beautiful, multi-tiered stone fountain. There was no water though, and hadn’t been in some time. The fountain was filled with leaves, the sides streaked and stained.

Another path led straight up to the house, which towered impressively over everything. At one point it must’ve been magnificent, with dual turrets, reverse gables, and a great wrap-around porch that skirted both sides and disappeared toward the back of the home. Fancy columns held up the overhang, beyond which dozens of long, reaching windows offered incredible views of the surrounding property and the Long Island sound.

Unreal.

Whoever lived here had certainly let the place go, but there were also new signs of hope. I could hear a steady hammering, and the distant sound of what sounded like a chop-saw. Scaffolding covered the whole left side of the house, and two different trucks — both filled with lumber and other building materials — lay parked alongside a sleek black sedan.

I pulled next to the fountain, marched up the walkway, and knocked right on the double doors, which were both propped open. Almost immediately, the hammering from inside stopped.

For some reason the silence made me suddenly nervous. And I never felt nervous.

“Hello?”

The voice that called out from inside was deep, but pleasant. I saw the shifting of shadows, then one of the two men from the aquarium stepped into view.

“It’s you!”

His eyes went wide with immediate recognition. He looked so utterly shocked, I couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“Yes. It’s me.”

The bearded dad of the little blonde girl wore the tightest, dirtiest muscle-shirt I’d ever seen. Two ripped arms sprouted from a pair of gorgeously-muscled shoulders, which were even more covered in grit and grime.

“W—What are you… how did you—”

“I came to thank you for about a million flowers,” I said with a smile. “But mostly to see the boy. I needed to make sure he was alright.”

“Jace,” the man breathed. “You’re talking about Jace.”

“Is that his name?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re…”

“Liam,” he said, turning a shade redder than he already was. He extended one sawdust-covered hand, stopped himself, then wiped it on his leg a few times before extending it again. “Sorry, I’ve been—”

“Working hard,” I finished. “Yeah, I can see that.”

He was bigger than I remembered, taller and leaner and more imposing. His shirt was so tight it was ripped in places, showing off a broad, muscular back that tapered to a trim, tight waist.

Damn.

My eyes bounced upward just as they reached the button of his faded blue jeans. I got a good glimpse of his abs, though. You couldn’t not look at them really, they were that prominent, even through his shirt. Absently I wondered if he were married, or—

“Should I turn around?”

Shit, he’d caught me looking. Nothing to be done but—

“If you don’t mind, sure.”

Liam’s laugh was as cute as he was, and I half expected him to spin around and show me his ass. Instead his eyes dipped downward, taking in my own body unashamedly. If he did have a wife or girlfriend, we were both probably acting like assholes. But if he didn’t…

“Come on in,” he said. “The others are going to flip when they see you.”

I entered the high-reaching foyer of the incredible house, which was covered in sawdust, tools, and broken plaster. Two sets of steps swept left and right, both leading upward to an ornate second floor balcony. One of them was covered in protective brown paper.

“The guys are this way…” he paused beneath an archway, while pulling back a curtain of plastic.

Guys. Plural.My brows crossed.

“Wait, I didn’t even get your name.”

“I didn’t give it,” I smiled. “But it’s Delilah.”

“Delilah?” He said it slowly, like he were tasting it.

“Yes.”

“Never met a Delilah before,” he smiled, still holding the curtain for me. “But the name’s beautiful.”

We walked through another part of the house, which was obviously not under construction yet. The rooms were cavernous, and sparsely decorated. I saw some frames, though. There were medals in one, and what looked to be a few colorful patches in another. An American flag wasn’t just hung on the wall, it was displayed above everything. It all looked neat and utilitarian and…

Military.

The kitchen however, had been modernized and lived in. As we passed through it I inhaled the scent of something fragrant, then saw the pot of sauce on the stove. Liam threw open a pair of french doors on the other side of an elongated kitchen table. I followed him out onto an overgrown patio area.

Almost immediately I saw the little boy who’d done the Superman leap off the bleachers. He was playing in the grass with the little blonde girl, rolling a ball back and forth with a third man I didn’t know.

“Look who I found!” Liam shouted.

The other man from the aquarium — the one with the goatee — was off to my left, in the middle of sawing plywood. He dropped everything when he saw me, including his jaw.

“You!”

Without saying else anything he ran to me, scooped me into his arms, and hugged me until I screamed in pain.