Page 30 of Daddy, Sir

Before he could introduce himself, Sadie said, “This is Jolene Miller. She’s the landscape architect working for your friends at The Majestic.”

“You know the boys?” Jolene asked.

“I haven’t seen them in years, but yes. I’m Daniel Palmer.”

“Good to meet you.” Jolene swallowed the last of her beer, then grabbed a mozzarella stick from an appetizer tray. “Are you the new hire Sadie was telling me about?”

“Yeah, but only for two weeks. I’m starting a job at the airport soon.”

“And how do you know the Horsemen? You Navy too?”

“No. I was in the Army. We met up in Hawaii several years ago, and lost touch.”

“Are you out for good?” Lourdes asked.

“Mostly. I have a few years left as a reservist.”

“Guys, we don’t need Daniel’s autobiography,” Sadie interrupted. “He’s great about helping where he can, but he’s got a life.”

“Except you didn’t ask those questions when you hired me,” Daniel replied. “For all you know, I could be a serial killer.”

He was mostly teasing, but the more he thought about it, the less he liked it. Daniel appreciated her kindness, and he suspected at least some of the women at the table wouldn’t be working at all if not for her, but Sadie shouldn’t have to worry about her staff being like Jim the asshole. If she wasn’t going to ask the hard questions, it would happen again.

And next time, nobody would be around to paddle her ass for it.

“See?” Lourdes bumped Sadie’s shoulder. “He still might be a serial killer, but even he thinks you should ask more questions when you hire people.”

“Fine!” Sadie scowled, then waved for him to continue. “What did you do in the Army?”

“I worked in communications and transferred to the reserves as a first lieutenant.”

The women went very quiet and simply stared at him until Beatriz finally whispered, “We shouldn’t.”

“We have to,” Lourdes replied.

“It’s a rule,” Jolene said, shaking her head sadly. “Sorry, it just is.”

“What’s a rule?” he asked.

“We don’t have a choice.” Sadie laid a dramatic hand on her forehead and sighed. “We can’t avoid it, so there isn’t any use trying.”

“I’m sorry. I’m really lost. What are you talking about?” Daniel asked, trying to decide whether they were serious or up to something nefarious.

“It’s just too sad.” Sadie’s lips twitched into a smile, and she wiped a faux tear from under her eye. “You should have stayed in the Army long enough for another rank, because now we have to call you Lieutenant Dan.”

The ladies burst into laughter and passed the food over, along with a mostly full pitcher of beer, essentially welcoming him to their group.

Apparently, Sadie was not remotely done with brat shenanigans. He had a feeling she never would be, which suited him perfectly.

Sadie

“You are all brats,” Daniel said, before transferring fried mushrooms and mozzarella sticks to his plate. “Bratty, bratty brats.”

“Sadie is the brattiest,” Jolene replied. “We just follow her lead.”

“Hey!” Sadie sniffed and resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at Jolene. “Remember that time you?—”

“We’re not talking about me, Miss Brat,” Jolene interrupted, her face turning pink.

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