Page 35 of SEAL's Angel

“Me and Wilbrr want to go on a hike. Can we Mommy?” Cindy dropped a pile of small sticks near the fire pit and looked at her mother expectantly.

“Chase can’t hike, peanut. He hurt his foot, remember?”

“But I want to go. Can’t we still go? He can stay here.”

“Cindy, do you need a timeout in the tent?”

As Jake watched the exchange, he almost felt bad for Cindy. Dawn could be fierce when she wanted to be.

“Actually,” Rafe said, “I was hoping you and Chase would keep me company while your mom showed Jake around. He’s never been here before. What do you think?”

Cindy pushed her bottom lip out and pouted. “But I wanted to go on a treasure hunt.”

“You can do that right here. I bet you find lots of treasures.” Rafe’s smile won her over, and Cindy nodded.

“Good, all settled. I’ve got things under control here. Have a nice walk.” Rafe winked and then turned back to chatting with Chase and Cindy. She’d plopped herself down next to Rafe to watch as he built the fire.

Dawn blinked, obviously surprised at her brother’s enthusiasm to give them alone time. “Are you sure?”

“If you hang around here much longer, I might change my mind.”

“That’s our cue to get going,” Jake said. “Unless you don’t feel comfortable leaving the kids with your brother. He’sjusta Navy SEAL.” Jake’s lips twitched as he unsuccessfully tried to hold back his smile.

Dawn hit him with her best mommy-stare, and he pretended to shudder. “Fine, but don’t let Cindy wander too far. We’ll be back soon.”

“Unless the old man gets lost,” Rafe said.

“You think I can’t figure out how to get back?” Jake cocked his eyebrow. “You remember who you’re talking to, right?” He was going to make Rafe suffer big time for all this teasing once they got back to base, and Jake would love every minute.

“Sorry, boss. Now who’s getting their tits in a tangle?”

Jake rolled his eyes and picked up his backpack. He’d repacked it for this trip with water, medical supplies, his satellite phone, and whatever else he could think of. He didn’t have any guns, but he’d picked up a couple of knives while they were shopping.

Jake slid his pack over his shoulder and turned toward Dawn. “Ready?”