Page 10 of The Story of Danny Rose

He literally had no listed family. No emergency contact.

During some of the therapy sessions, they’d talked about an old social studies teacher who’d let Danny sleep on his couch sometimes. A Mr. Chavez who’d been “real nice.”

How the fuck could I return to the cabin and treat Danny like a soldier?

How could I sit down and eat dinner with him and tell him he should take his ass back to Kentucky and beg them to let him back in the Army?

The armed forces had been a massive part of my life. But I’d also had loving parents, and you needed both. The military wasn’t known for handing out hugs and affirmation. We drilled survival techniques into the minds of our young soldiers so that they could come back home and see their families again. And if they didn’t have a family, well…

I blew out a breath and checked my watch.

Three minutes.

I started the engine and forced myself to put a foot on the gas.

With Danny’s skill sets, he had received his fair share of accolades and honors, but what the semi-suppressed Daddy Dom in me wanted to know was when he’d last received a tight hug or someone telling him they were fucking proud of him.

Scratch that; I didn’t need to be a Daddy Dom to have those thoughts, just a decent bloke.

My heart went out to him. I couldn’t help it. And it made me huff a chuckle to myself when I thought about how he’d react if I went soft on him. Maybe he would curse me out. Take a swing at me. Could he handle affection? I wouldn’t know. He did all right with compliments. I’d seen him beam under praise, even though he kept things brief. Followed by a firm nod.

He was the type of guy who could fist-pump the air and go, “Fuck yeah!” when he’d beaten a record or excelled some other way. But not everything in life was about accomplishments.

Considering his upbringing, I wouldn’t be surprised if Danny felt he had to earn every compliment and reward by working hard. Which was effective in the military. That was how soldiers climbed ranks and stood out.

Unfortunately, up until he’d left, that was all he’d had.

On that note, it was kind of mind-blowing he’d actually left the service.

His one place of stability. He’d walked away from it. For what? To hunt me down and go private? Did he not realize how isolating my life was? That was the first fucking lesson I’d given to the twins.Get ready to be alone, ’cause we don’t travel in units.At most, we’d be two or three men. It all depended on the mission. For the most part, I was on my own.

River and Reese were different because of their relationship. They’d made me promise they would always work together, and I’d confirmed it with Terrance at Hillcroft.

As I got closer to the cabin, I rolled down my window. It’d gotten dark, so it was easy to see the glow from the grill between the trees before I rounded the last bend. I heard music too. Reese must’ve taken out his boom box.

Music and laughter were better than the boys fighting. With Danny, you never knew what would happen.

A motorcycle was parked outside my cabin. Danny’s, I presumed. He must’ve retrieved it from wherever he’d hidden it before.

I parked behind it and killed the engine.

“The Brit is back!” I heard Reese holler.

I assumed it was Reese. It was always Reese.

The twins had put on hoodies, so I wasn’t sure who was who yet.

I headed up the porch steps and took in the scene. Steaks were on the grill, along with foil-wrapped potatoes. They’d turned our cooler into a makeshift table, small as it was. The twins were crafty; they placed their chairs close together so they could use their armrests as a table for their plates. Huh, they’d prepared a salad too.

River looked at ease.

Reese was manning the grill.

Danny watched me in silence. He’d taken the seat on the right end, and he was smoking a cigarette.

“Don’t stop laughing just because I’m back,” I said.

“Danny thinks it’s funny we call you British,” Reese supplied.

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