Nanny for the SEALs by Cassie Cole

54

Heather

I stayed in the hospital for another hour until the rest of the bloodwork and scans came back. Everything looked fine—there was no permanent damage from being hit in the temple by the stalker.

I was eager to get home, but my fun was just beginning. A police detective and two officers were waiting outside the hospital room to take my statement. That ended up being a two-hour ordeal, telling them every detail of the kidnapping from start to finish.

“I’m beat,” I said as we finally left the hospital. “I just want to lie down when I get home.”

“Well, you are pregnant,” Asher pointed out as we got into the car. “And you’ve had quite the day. We’ll watch the kids so you can relax.”

“And tomorrow is my day off,” I said. “I’m going to lay on the couch in the man cave and do nothing.”

“You’ve earned it!”

When we got home, each of us did a double-take. I had expected the residence to be a mess of toys and crayons and food stains, but that’s not what we saw. The residence was spotless.

“It looks like a professional maid service came in,” Rogan said. “Did one of you schedule it?”

“Not me,” Brady said. Asher shook his head too.

Maurice came down the hallway. “Oh. You’re all home. Children! Little angels! Come out here and say hi to your handsome daddies.”

Cora, Dustin, and Micah came marching out into the living room in their pajamas. They were calm and orderly, and hugged each of their fathers one by one.

“What’s going on…” Asher muttered.

“It’s like they came back from basic training,” Rogan said.

Brady snickered. “Did you give them my CBD edibles? That’s the only way they’d act this chill.”

Maurice put a hand on his hip and gave us a sassy look. “They’re far more well-behaved than before. Now that they’re manageable, I spent the day teaching them manners. Isn’t that right, little ones?”

“Yes, Uncle Maurice,” the three children said in unison.

“Don’t you have something for your daddies?” Maurice asked.

The children all smiled and calmly walked over to the dining room table, where a stack of drawings stood. Each child took a piece of paper and handed it to their father.

“I had them draw what their fathers were doing,” Maurice explained. “They’re very creative!”

Cora’s drawing was carefully rendered in colored pencils. It showed a blond Asher sitting in a bunker, looking through a pair of binoculars.

Micah had drawn a lush forest in green and brown. Rogan frowned at it and said, “Where am I?”

“You’re wearing camouflage,” Micah said, as if it was obvious. “That’s why you’re invisible.”

“Oh. Very good, son.”

Dustin held up his drawing. “My dad is fighting a monster! He’s winning! Can you tell what the monster is?”

Little kids aren’t good at drawing animals. That’s just a fact. Dustin’s monster looked like a Frankenstein monster of claws, tails, and fur.

“It’s, um… a bear?” I asked.

“Look at the tail,” Brady pointed. “It’s totally a tiger.”

Dustin groaned. “It’s a bearcat. Part bear, part cat. They’re real. June on TV says so.”

“Oh, well, of course it’s a bearcat,” Brady said, giving me a secret wink. “It’s a really big bearcat, too!”

“Actually, it’s a small one,” Dustin said, matter-of-factly. “If it was a big one, you would be losing.”

“I don’t know. I bet I could beat a big bearcat.”

“Trust me, dad,” Dustin said. “It would kick your butt.”

Maurice gave me a hug. “I heard about the kidnapping on the news. Honey, are you okay?”

“I’m all right,” I said. “I, uh… have a lot to tell you.”

“We’ll take over from here,” Asher said while scooping Cora up. “You two can go relax in the man cave if you want. And Maurice, this place looks amazing. Thank you for cleaning up.”

“The children did most of it,” Maurice explained. “They were very well-behaved. I turned it into a game.”

“I can’t believe you got them under control all by yourself,” I said.

An expression crossed Maurice’s face that I knew well. It was how he looked when he hadn’t told the full truth about something.

“Maurice…”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly alone.”

A door opened down the hall and another man emerged into the living room. Like my three men, this guy was absolutely jacked. He was wearing a grey tank-top which showed off the muscles in his shoulders and neck, and he had a flop of perfect blond hair.

“You brought someone over?” I hissed at him. “To watch the children?”

“Jason!” Brady stepped forward and embraced the man. “I told him to swing by if he got a chance. You and Maurice hit it off?”

Jason awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, we’ve had a good time playing house. Your kids are a hoot.”

I grinned at Maurice. His dark skin definitely had a tinge of cherry-red to it.

Asher clapped his hands together. “It’s past your bedtimes. Let’s get in bed and I’ll read you a story.”

“Can Miss Heather read it to us?” Micah asked sweetly. “We missed her.”

Rogan glanced at me. “Another time, buddy. Heather’s really tired…”

“I’d love to,” I replied. “One story won’t hurt.”

Jason hung out in the living room while the rest of us tucked the kids in bed. I read them a quick bedtime story, then kissed each of them goodnight.

“I like Uncle Maurice,” Dustin whispered to me when it was his turn. “But I like you more. Will you be watching us tomorrow?”

I smiled down at him. “Tomorrow is my day off, but I’ll be here to play some. And I’m not going anywhere.”

He grinned and closed his eyes.

Tucking the children in bed always filled me with happiness, but tonight it held a different feeling. It made me wonder about how my own child would be, if it was a boy or a girl, and if it would behave like Cora or the others. I found myself looking forward to finding out the answers.

As we left their rooms and closed the door, Brady whispered to Maurice, “So? What do you think about Jason? Is he, like, your type, or whatever?”

“Sweetie, you did very good. He’s definitely a bear.”

“Is that…” Brady looked at me, then the others. “Is that a good thing?”

“Oh, it’s very good.”

Brady fist-bumped him. “Nice. And let me tell you: he’s working with some serious equipment, if you know what I mean.”

Rogan groaned. “Did you keep notes on the dick sizes of everyone in our unit?”

“No,” Brady said defensively. “But I couldn’t help but noticing when we were in the shower together on base. Jason should need a permit for his junk, it’s so big.”

Maurice grinned. “You had me at equipment.”

We all walked back out into the living room. “Thanks for helping with everything,” Rogan told Jason.

They clasped hands and Jason said, “I love kids. I have seven nieces and nephews. If I could, I’d be a professional nanny too. Much more peaceful than what we did in the SEALs.”

“I don’t know,” Brady said. “You should have seen how Micah and Dustin were just a month ago. You’d rather spend a week in the Al-Hajarah desert than a week with them.”

“Jason and I are going out for drinks,” Maurice told me. “After the day you’ve had, I’m sure you need one. Come join us.”

“Heather can’t, because—” Asher started to say.

“Because I’m exhausted!” I quickly answered. I shot Asher a look. “I’m beat. You two have fun by yourselves. I’ll catch up with you about everything tomorrow.”

“Suit yourself. Come on, Jason. I’m taking you to the New Jalisco.”

“That’s a dance club, right?” Jason asked. “I’m not much of a dancer.”

“Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ll teach you how to move that big, beautiful body.” Maurice turned around, mouthed, “Thank you!” to Brady, and then left with his new date.

“You don’t want to tell your best friend?” Asher asked.

I sank into the couch and sighed. “It would be a whole big thing. I didn’t want to ruin his night with Jason. Who seems nice, by the way.” I looked sideways at Brady. “Is it really that big?”

“It should have its own zip code,” Rogan said dryly.

Brady pointed a finger at him. “Hah! You noticed it too!”

“I really wish I could have a drink,” I said. “I guess it was a mistake to have sex without a condom, huh?”

Asher sat next to me on the couch. “Only if you regret it. Do you? It’s okay, you can tell us.”

I laid my hand across my belly. I didn’t have a bump, but I imagined I could feel the tiny little person growing inside of me. It should have scared me, but it didn’t.

I rested my head on Asher’s shoulder. “I don’t regret a single thing.”