Page 21 of Protecting Clove (Loved by the SEAL #5)

T he next morning, Bud sensed someone close. Thank goodness he remembered where he was, so when he cracked open one eye, he saw Neo watching him sleep. He grunted and sat up. “You’re up.”

She nodded. “Why did you sleep on the couch?”

He sat up, not really sure how much Clove had told Neo about her father. The man wasn’t stable, but Neo didn’t need that hanging over her head.

“Because it was comfortable.”

“Your bed is just steps away.”

He nodded. “It is.”

“You snore, and you have drool on your beard.”

This kid didn’t pull her punches. She would never let him get away with anything. “I do snore, and everyone drools a little at night.”

“Do you like cereal?”

He shrugged. “It’s okay. I like eggs and toast better.”

“I want an egg, but Mom won’t let me cook one yet. I think I could do it if I was taller.”

“You’ll gain some height soon enough. Once you get taller, I’ll teach you how to cook an egg. Right now, how would you like your egg?”

“I don’t like scrambled right now, but I don’t want the yolk to be runny.”

“I can do that. Let me use the bathroom, and I’ll make you an egg.”

He was almost done cooking Neo’s egg when Clove came into the kitchen. She seemed flustered, and her cheeks turned a darker shade of pink when she saw Neo studying her.

“Good morning.” Bud smiled as he remembered watching Clove come for him.

He focused on the eggs before Neo could catch him smiling at Clove.

They didn’t need her to ask questions, and neither of them wanted to answer yet.

Neo was smart, but adult actions and emotions might be too much for her to fully grasp.

He and Clove could end up together, or they could never have sex again.

He plated Neo’s egg and placed it on the table. “Here you go, Neo. I hope it’s cooked well for you.”

“Thank you.”

Clove looked from Neo to Bud. “Oh. You didn’t have to cook her breakfast. She can eat cereal.”

“I don’t mind cooking for her. I was going to make myself some eggs. Would you like eggs?”

Clove shook her head. “Thank you for offering, but I need coffee first.”

“Mom is addicted to coffee.”

Bud chuckled and grabbed himself a mug. “I like coffee, too.”

Neo wrinkled her nose. “It’s gross.”

“Well, it might be, but you also have more taste buds than I do, so it tastes good to me.”

Neo narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean by that? I’ve never heard that before.”

“Yeah, it’s why kids don’t like certain foods.”

“How do you know this?” Neo asked.

Clove poured herself coffee and turned to stare at him. “Yeah, how do you know this?”

“One of the various classes I had to take in training. We were discussing nutrition and MREs, and someone complained about the taste, and the instructor brought it up, saying that the person just needed to get older and the MRE wouldn’t taste so bad because we lose taste buds.”

Neo frowned. “Show me.”

Bud searched for the information on his phone and pushed the device over so Neo could read the article as she ate. After a moment, she looked up, horror showing on her face.

“That means when I’m an adult, I’ll actually like broccoli.”

He busted out laughing. “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. But yes. When you’re older, you might actually like broccoli. I like it now, but when I was younger, the flavor was too sharp.”

Neo closed her eyes and shook her head. “This is terrible.”

“Or maybe it’s good,” Clove said. “You could end up liking a whole new set of foods, and then you could try new recipes and enjoy them.”

Neo huffed. “Some days, I like science and other days, I get tired of it. I just want to enjoy pancakes and cereal for my whole life.”

“Oh, I still like pancakes and syrup,” Bud said.

“But why don’t adults eat them more?”

Clove’s mouth screwed up to the side, and she shrugged. “I guess because our bones aren’t growing. You remember it takes lots of calories to grow, and adults stop growing at a certain age. Like I’ll never get taller, but you’re going to be at least as tall as I am.”

Neo nodded. “I guess it makes sense.”

They finished breakfast, and he headed over to his place to switch to workout clothes. He needed to go for a run and was planning on meeting a few of the guys to work out. They got in some exercise during the week, but he liked doing stuff on the weekends.

The guys met him at a park close to where they lived, and they did a bodyweight workout using the pull-up bars in the park. They were almost done when Kevlar asked him about Clove.

“She’s good. Her ex showed up at her work yesterday, so she’s a little freaked out.”

Trip came up beside him. “Oh shit. Are you for real? Anything happen?”

“The security guard ran him off. From what we can determine, he doesn’t know where she lives.”

Kevlar finished his pushups and stood, hands on hips. “Well, there’s that. Do you need anything?”

“I don’t know. It’s all new right now. We have Tex and Thario trying to keep tabs on the guy, but obviously, he had a way of traveling that we weren’t prepared to track. He either is using fake IDs, or he has a lot of cash and isn’t using his credit cards.”

“If you need something, we’re here for you,” Trip said.

The other guys echoed Trip’s sentiment. He knew the other SEALs were golden, but still, it made his breath catch a little as they voiced their support for him and Clove.

He hadn’t even known Clove when the year started, and now she was an important person in his life.

It was weird how people slipped in and became important.

After the workout, he showered and made a grocery list for the next week. Before heading to the grocery store, he went over to Clove’s place to check in on her. She opened the door and waved him in before rushing over to the kitchen, where Neo was stirring something in a bowl.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

Neo’s lips stretched into a wide smile. “I wanted to make brownies.”

He glanced at the dark brown gloop in the bowl and nodded. “Oh, yum.”

“She talked me into it.”

“Nice. I’m going to the grocery store. Do you need anything?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m good for now. I have to go shopping on Sunday.”

He nodded. “Okay. I’m going to buy a pizza from their deli section. Would you be okay having that for dinner tonight?”

“Yes! Pizza!” Neo cheered.

“I guess you should pick up something for us. Neo likes cheese. Could you buy a personal cheese pizza from the freezer section?”

Neo huffed. “Okay, I’ll try a bite of the other ones, just to see if I like it this time.”

“Sure,” Clove said as she patted her shoulder.

He liked how Clove was with Neo. Hanging out with them made him feel complete.

It was odd how good he felt just from being with a woman and her child.

No way would he have ever thought being with a woman would fulfill him.

And a woman with a child, what was he thinking?

He was hooked, but it was so odd falling for someone, let alone someone with a kid.