Page 35 of Wild Hearts

"I am." His breath was warm on the side of my face.

I carefully lifted my gaze, lowering my hands so I could see him. "What are you doing? I thought we were enemies?"

Walker grinned. "You take this seriously."

"Shouldn't I? I'm on a team and everything." I tried to get up,but Walker pulled me back down. "Speaking of my team, I'msupposedto be following them."

"Relax. They'll be okay without you."

I looked around but didn't see anyone. From the noise the firefight was farther away from our location. "Where is Dakota?"

"She teamed up with some kids. One of the kids said he works here.”

I looked at him curiously. "Wait, and you're not worried?"

His eyes widened as if he hadn’t thought to be. “I want her to meet other kids in the area.”

"Ah." Then my mind landed on why I was sitting in Walker's lap. "Why did you grab me? Am I some kind of prisoner of war?"

Walker chuckled, and I couldn't help but marvel at how much younger he looked when he let go. "I thought we could take a break. I did enough of this kind of thing in the military."

I tipped my head to the side. "You engaged in snowball fights?"

He touched my hair, tucking it behind my shoulder. "More like training."

I wondered if it brought up bad memories. I was happy to hang out with him to make him feel better. Or at least that was what I was telling myself. I had no interest in leaving. We were seated so close to each other; I could see the flecks of gold in his blue eyes. This reminded me of all the times we cuddled together when we were dating. We were very affectionate with each other. "Does this bring back memories for you?"

Walker let out a breath. "It does. Is this okay? I know you said you didn't want to revisit our relationship."

"This is fine." It was more than fine. My body was overheated despite the cold air, and my nerve endings were live wires. "We can be friends without digging into our history."

"Right."

The way he said the word made it sound like he didn'tunderstand at all, but I wasn't willing to explain. I was fairly sure my reasoning wouldn't stand up to scrutiny. I decided to change the subject instead. "Is Dakota having fun?"

"She's having a blast."

"Coming here was a good idea."

"She's the best thing that ever happened to me," he said quietly. "She's kind of amazing."

I grinned. "She is."

"I keep wondering how I got so lucky, and then I feel bad because her mother had to die for me to meet her."

"Mmm. That's her mother's issue though, isn't it? She could have tried to find you if she wanted to. She made that decision. I wouldn't feel guilty for getting to know my daughter. Have you talked to the therapist?"

"We both went this week. I think it's going to be good for us."

"That's good." I loved when clients took my advice. It didn't always happen, but I knew talking to someone would help.

Footsteps crunched nearby. "Dad? What are you doing?"

I jumped off Walker, not wanting Dakota to think anything was happening between us. I brushed the snow off my clothes, and I hoped my cheeks weren't too red.

That's when I realized she'd called himDad.

"We were taking a break. Couldn't keep up with you."

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