Page 21 of Valiant

“Okay, then. Let’s do this.” She got out of his truck and slung her laptop bag over her shoulder.

“I’ll get Eddy,” he said as he opened the rear door and unbuckled the baby. Eddy gave him a smile and cooed. “You’re a drooly boy this morning.” Cole reached for a burp cloth and wiped up the saliva on Eddy’s chin.

“I think he’s working on cutting his first tooth,” Kelsey said.

“Does that mean he’ll be able to eat real food?” He’d seen baby food in the store but had no idea when kids actually consumed that.

“Not yet, but he’s getting closer.” Kelsey reached between him and Eddy to straighten the baby’s clothing, bringing them in close contact, close enough to smell the floral scent of her shampoo. “I want him to look his best.”

A few minutes later they were ushered into Commander Dobson’s office by his corporal. Cole snapped a salute.

“At ease, lieutenant,” Dobson said. “Kelsey, it’s good to see you again. Is this your son?” Dobson looked at the baby.

“That’s right,” Cole answered, not sure who theyourwas directed at. But the child was undeniably both of theirs. He could no longer think of Eddy any other way.

“Seems like a fine boy.” Dobson gestured to two chairs in front of his desk. “I have a limited amount of time this morning. If you could get to it, I’d appreciate that.”

“Of course,” Kelsey said, pulling out her laptop and opening it. “As Cole told you on the phone, he received an email from my father. When he showed it to me, I discovered that there was a hidden, embedded file attached to it. It turned out to be encrypted. It took me awhile to break the encryption, but here’s what I found once that was done.” Dobson squinted at the laptop that Kelsey had turned so he could see it while she continued to talk, explaining about the program that Edwin had attempted to write and what she believed its purpose was. “I think my father was trying to uncover who was behind the information leak by seeing who had accessed the sensitive data,” she concluded.

After a moment, Dobson leaned back in his chair and looked up at them. “This is…interesting, but I’m not sure it would be enough to exonerate your father. It might even be construed that Commander Reeves had written this program in order to worm into the Navy’s system to access intel more easily for his own benefit.”

“Respectfully, sir,” Cole said, “that theory doesn’t hold up when you consider that Commander Reeves would have no reason to search for who was getting intel if he already had it and was selling it. He’d be better off leaving well enough alone so as not to draw any attention to himself.”

There was a pause following Cole’s statement as Dobson seemed to consider the idea. “That does have some logic to it, but more investigation is needed. I wish you’d brought this to my attention sooner.” His gaze took in both Kelsey and Cole. “I would have preferred if the Navy’s techs had decrypted the file. No offense, Kelsey. I know your skills are up to the task, but it wasn’t a civilian’s place.”

Cole wanted to argue that the email had been sent to his personal email account, and that the message itself had actually beenaboutKelsey, which made it more her business than anyone else’s, but he held his tongue. They’d known as soon she started the decryption process that she was running the risk of accessing something classified. They’d consciously stepped over the line. He wasn’t going to dispute that, but he hoped that Dobson viewed the information they’d shared the same way that he and Kelsey did. So far, Dobson seemed unimpressed.

“I want to give this some additional thought and run it by the investigators who are looking into Commander Reeves’ disappearance,” Dobson said.

“I thought you might.” Kelsey produced a thumb drive from her bag and handed it to Dobson. “You’ll find all the files on this.”

Dobson thanked them and saw them out of his office with a promise to keep in touch. In the truck, Kelsey smoothed her skirt and twirled a strand of hair around her finger, cluing him in that she wasn’t feeling as calm as she appeared.

“That didn’t go as well as I’d hoped,” she said once they were off the base. “He didn’t quite believe us, did he?”

Cole considered that. “I think it was more that he didn’t want to leap to a conclusion.”

“Are you saying we did?” She swung her head to face him.

“Not at all, but it’s a lot to process given the current direction of the investigation. Give him time, and I’m sure he’ll come around.” At least, Cole hoped so. He had to admit that he was also disappointed in the meeting. He’d expected a stronger reaction from Dobson and a more definitive acknowledgement of Edwin’s innocence. He felt that would come, though.

When they arrived home, Cole cleared the house, maintaining the rigid security protocol he’d established. The bad guys were still out there, and he had no idea when they’d make their next move. Kelsey’s discovery about the files hadn’t changed that fact.

“I need to make some work calls,” she said once they were safely in the house. “Can you keep track of Eddy until I’m done?”

“You bet,” he said, taking the boy from her, pleased that she no longer had any qualms about trusting him with the baby. “We’ll have some guy time, and then he can help me make lunch.”

She went upstairs and a few minutes later he heard her talking on the phone. He played with Eddy, fed him a bottle, utterly failed at getting the baby to take a nap, and warmed up white chicken chili he found in the freezer, one-handed. He was getting the hang of holding a baby while accomplishing other tasks and felt proud of himself. Kelsey did it with ease. He wasn’t there yet, but getting closer.

“Let me take it from here,” Kelsey said, coming into the kitchen and reaching for Eddy as Cole gave the chili a final stir. She mopped up the drool on Eddy’s chin before kissing his cheek. “You are a real waterworks. Your daddy’s so smart to have left a bib on you. Good thinking there.”

“I’m trying,” Cole said, happy that she’d noticed he’d found a solution to the dampness of the constant drool. “How long does it take for teeth to come in?” He reached for some bowls and served up lunch.

“Several days or longer for each tooth. He isn’t showing any signs of crankiness yet, so that’s good. It’s got to hurt, though.” Kelsey settled at the table and took a spoonful of chili.

“Poor guy.” Cole felt bad for his son. He’d have to do some research later on how to help ease the pain of cutting teeth. They talked about other milestones that Eddy would make soon as they ate. It was nice having the conversation with her about their child. She talked about accomplishments Eddy would have at six months old and beyond, and Cole felt a twinge of regret that he wouldn’t be around to see his son pull himself up on furniture and learn to crawl. It was the choice he’d made since it had seemed best for all of them, but in the time he’d spent with Eddy, he’d lost some confidence in that decision.

Cole was clearing the dishes from the table when his phone rang. “It’s Raymond,” he said as he answered. “Hey.”

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