Page 2 of Protecting Clove (Loved by the SEAL #5)

C love didn’t like bringing Neo along, but she had no other choice. Babysitters were too expensive, so Clove had to ride in the backseat as she delivered groceries on the weekend. It gave them time to chat about things. They worked on spelling and math and talked about life.

It amazed her how far along Neo was. At first, she hadn’t believed Neo understood math, but then on one of their shopping trips, her daughter had added up all the prices in the cart and stated how much it would be, even factoring in tax.

No one believed her when she told them, so she didn’t even try to prove it because videoing her child and loading it to the internet was out of the question.

Neo’s father had no idea where they were, and she wanted to keep it that way. If Keith had been decent, she would have had no issue allowing him to see Neo, but their daughter wasn’t a pawn for him to use in his manipulation games.

They were almost done with shopping when she spied a man who looked like Keith. She immediately turned from the aisle.

“Mommy, what are you doing? You need the cereal.”

She smiled, trying to think of a good excuse. The problem with having a smart child was they called you on your shit. She couldn’t lie effectively with no time to come up with an excuse, so she leaned in and spoke.

“There’s someone Mommy doesn’t want to see, and I think it is them on the other end of the store.”

Neo thinned her lips, her eyes narrowing like she was thinking hard. “Is this one of those adult things?”

She nodded. “Yes, darling.”

Neo nodded, then looked down at the list. “Get the mac and cheese then, and we can go back before we grab the soup.”

Clove followed Neo’s instructions, glad that this store had the buggy for bigger kids, otherwise doing six grocery runs would be too much for her daughter.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and they arrived home close to three thirty. She wanted a shower, but there wasn’t much time left before Bud arrived. The last thing she wanted was for him to be in her space while she was still drying off from a shower.

Straight up at four, a knock sounded on her door. Neo moved to open it, checking the window before unlocking the door.

Neo stepped back and held out her hand to shake his. “You’re punctual. Punctuality is a hallmark of a gentleman.”

Heat raced up Clove’s neck to her face. It was something she said to Neo a few years ago when she was still trying to date. How had Neo remembered those words that she had said when her daughter was two years old?

“Nice to know you approve,” Bud said. “This is my friend Rider.”

Clove met Rider’s eyes and swallowed, thinking the man could either be a serial killer or a mountain man who would look more at home in Tennessee than here in California. A woman came up behind the guys, her smile wide.

“Hello, I’m Andie. I’m here because we all know Rider is intimidating. He’s my husband, and he’s a cream puff, but he looks scary.

Neo shook her head. “He doesn’t look scary, more like a bear. Mommy said bears are better than men, so it makes sense that he’s a cream puff.”

All three of them stared wide-eyed at Neo. Andie spoke first.

“You’re what, five?”

“Yes, ma’am. I was born in December, which puts me under the sign of Capricorn. I don’t think Ophiuchus and Cetus should be included. But since only twenty-seven percent of people believe in astrology, it really doesn’t matter.”

Andie cocked her head to the side. “I’ve never really thought about it. So are you the pianist?”

Neo nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I love the piano.”

“Let’s get the piano moved if you don’t mind,” Bud said.

Clove nodded. “Sure. I think it would be best in here. That means I need to move the plants.”

“We can take care of that,” Bud said.

She led the men into her bedroom, glad she’d made up the bed, and picked up her underwear. She couldn’t believe she’d told the movers to put the piano on this wall. It had been a huge mistake.

“I’m so sorry I got the wall wrong. I just don’t want Neo playing the piano at four in the morning. I’ll have to just trust she won’t.”

Rider chuckled. “She’s smart. I don’t think I knew what a percentage was until I was in fifth grade.”

Clove chuckled. “Yes, she’s very smart. I have a hard time keeping up. I had to brush up on my math skills, and she already surpassed me. I can’t keep up.”

Bud met her gaze as he picked up one end of the piano and set it on the rolling dolly they’d brought with them. “I know nothing about kids, but she seems challenging.”

Clove’s mouth dropped open. “You just picked that up like it was nothing. The movers had a very hard time with it.”

He shrugged. “It’s heavy. It wasn’t nothing.”

Rider picked up the other end, so it was fully supported and could be rolled. She shook her head.

“What moving company do you two work for?”

They both chuckled, and Bud answered. “We don’t. We’ve just helped friends move stuff too many times. The Navy hires movers, but we’ve had to deal with adjusting heavy furniture too many times.”

“Oh, you’re both in the Navy? You don’t look like Navy men. You know, all the high and tight stuff with the hair and no beards.”

Bud shrugged. “We follow regulations for our unit.”

“I’m sure you do.” She wasn’t going to guess what he meant by that. She hadn’t lived in the area long enough to know what types of sailors there were. She’d met a few officers and a couple of women who were in the Navy, but she didn’t know many military types.

They had the piano in the main room and were moving her plants.

She mostly had herbs because she liked to add them to her cooking, but she had a few other plants, too.

She had a green thumb and always had something growing in her space.

When she’d left Keith, she’d had to leave her plants behind, which had pissed her off more than leaving some of her clothes and dishes behind.

At least she’d gotten out with Neo. If Keith had fought her for custody, she would have never recovered.

Andie went over and picked up her potted basil from the shelf. “This looks nice. Basil?”

She smiled and took the plant, moving it to the windowsill at the front. “Yes.”

“Nice. And it looks like you have some dill and oregano.”

“I do. Do you have any herbs?”

“I just started with basil.”

“That’s good. I love having fresh herbs.”

“Mommy is a good cook. You all should come over for dinner sometime soon. She made coq au vin last week. It was good.”

Bud’s eyebrows shot up. “Really. You eat coq au vin?”

Neo shrugged. “I don’t like it as much as her chicken cordon bleu. It’s really good. You should try it.”

“I haven’t had chicken cordon bleu in about twenty years,” Andie said.

Clove loved her daughter, but she talked about everything.

Here she was, asking these people to dinner, and they weren’t people she intended on seeing ever again.

There wasn’t anything wrong with Bud and his friends, she was just busy working two jobs while trying to raise Neo.

She didn’t have time for herself, much less friends or entertaining those friends.

“Sweetie, I’m sure they’re busy.”

Neo moved to the couch and stood on the arm so she was almost eye level with Bud. “You have to eat dinner. You should come then you could taste her food. It’s really good.”

Bud dipped his knees just a little so he really was at eye level with Neo. “You’re not afraid to speak your mind. That is powerful. I like you, kid.”

Neo shrugged. “I don’t know you well enough to know if I like you. But you don’t seem bad.”

Bud stood and laughter spilled out. He was being very patient with her daughter, and kind.

His smile was sweet, and when he directed it her way, sparks shot through her.

She pushed away the warmth growing inside because she didn’t need feelings for her neighbor.

They shouldn’t spend more time together.

It would only cause problems in the end.

Clove moved to Neo and picked her up, moving her away from the couch and the men. “Honey, let’s not pressure them.”

Bud and Rider finished moving the plants, then placed the piano where she wanted it to go. Bud rolled his shoulders, then turned to her. “I don’t want to make you cook for me.”

“You helped me tremendously. I owe you.” Why had she said that? It was just extending the torture of being in his presence and yet trying not to be affected by him.

He shook his head. “No, you really don’t.”

Andie stood and moved between them. “I have an idea. Why don’t you both come to our house for dinner? We have burgers already prepared. It will be casual, and neither of you have to cook.”

“Yes!” Neo cheered. “I love burgers. Do you know how to do potato fries?”

Andie smiled and nodded her head. “I sure do. We can eat burgers and fries in the back yard and laugh.”

Clove wasn’t sure how her daughter had roped someone else into making dinner for them. Neo kept her on her toes. She came up with a lot of things, but this was the first time her daughter had set up a date for her.

“You don’t?—”

Andie turned to her and took her hands. “Please don’t finish that sentence. Please come over for burgers tonight.”

She had no excuse for tonight. Dinner was going to be cereal and an apple, but the offer of burgers was very tempting.

“Okay, we’ll be there.”

Neo’s cheers of happiness had them all smiling.

It shouldn’t surprise her that Neo had wormed her way into their lives.

She had a way of making people do what she wanted.

It was a blessing, and she didn’t acknowledge the potential downside because she always wanted to think positively about her daughter.