Page 39 of Hero of Mine (Men in Uniform 2)

“That’s the spirit.”

TYLER PULLED INTO the Raley’s parking lot alongside Sparks’s truck. If Dani was nervous about meeting his friends, she didn’t show it.

Him? Well, he was wondering what the hell had possessed him to bring her around the bunch of idiots when this was so new. When he wasn’t sure what this was besides . . .

Happiness. Yeah, he could admit that when he was around Dani, it was like he was enjoying a good buzz without the hangover.

He hadn’t told anyone he was bringing Dani, and he couldn’t imagine what they were going to think. He just hoped they’d keep their mouths shut. The last thing he wanted was anyone to screw with him in front of Dani.

“Okay, full disclosure, my friends don’t know you’re coming.”

“Are they going to be mad?” she asked.

“No, but they’ve also never had me bring a woman around them, so they might act a little . . . peculiar. Just ignore them.”

Dani laughed. “Whatever you say.”

Tyler took a deep, nervous breath and climbed out of the car just as Sparks and his girlfriend, Violet, rounded the back of his truck with donuts in hand.

“Hey, you’re here. We’re just waiting on Kline, Bryce, Vincent, Martinez, and Eve to get here, and we can get going.”

“Whoa, Martinez got Eve to come?” Frankly, Tyler couldn’t imagine Eve Reynolds geocaching; she might break a nail or something.

“Yeah, apparently, he made some kind of deal with her . . . ”

Sparks’s voice trailed off as Tyler opened Dani’s door and she stepped out.

In fact, his friend’s jaw seemed to be fixed to his chest, it had fallen so far.

“Sorry, we have a last-minute addition. Dean Sparks and Violet Douglas, meet Dani Hill.”

Violet seemed to recover first, wiping her hand on a napkin before stepping around and offering it to Dani.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Awkward silence followed the introduction, as Sparks still stood there looking dumbfounded. When Violet called his name loudly, Sparks finally shook himself out of it and greeted Dani warmly.

“Sorry, but you’re the first woman Tyler’s ever brought along to geocache with us.”

“So I’ve heard. I’m honored to be included, although I’ll admit, I’m not much of a treasure hunter.”

“Neither am I, but this is only my second time out, so we can be newbies together,” Violet said.

When Kline and Martinez pulled up, Kline glanced toward Dani quizzically as he approached Sparks. Tyler watched with narrow eyes as Kline nodded toward Dani and Sparks replied quietly.

“Shut the fuck up!” Kline shouted in surprise.

Glancing down at Dani in exasperation, Tyler said, “That’s Kline. He’s a dumbass.”

ONCE ALL OF the introductions had been made, they headed up Highway 49 toward the hiking trail Tyler had been telling Dani about. Dani was still floored by his friends’ reaction to her, as if she was some kind of alien life-form they’d never encountered before.

“So, when you said your friends might be surprised, you weren’t joking.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

“Actually, I’m going to take it as a compliment. Being the first woman you’ve introduced to your friends is kind of special.”