Page 14 of Secrets We Fight

“What? No. I’m not protecting Finnegan.”

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. “We’re triplets! I look exactly like my brother and sister.” More so my brother, because we were identical.

Agent Davis smirked. “I’m just messing with you, but yes, I wanted to work at the White House. However, my daughter is here, so this works out even better.”

I blinked. “You have a daughter?”

“I do. Her name is Poppy.”

Do you have a wife?I wanted to probe. I didn’t think he was married since he was staying next door, but had he been married before? Instead, I asked, “How old is she?”

“Three.”

“Wow, she’s young. I bet it’ll be nice to have more time with her.”

“For sure, but I work a lot of hours, so I’m not sure how much that will be.”

“We’ll just have to find ways for you to see her.”

“Really?”

“I mean, I’m not going to adopt a kid so mine and yours can have play dates or anything, but I’m sure we can figure something out.”

“Like what?”

We both took sips of our coffees, and it didn’t go unnoticed that we were having a casual conversation in my kitchen over a cup of joe. This open and easygoing guy was definitely the Agent Davis I preferred.

“I don’t know yet.” I thought for a moment. “Does she like hockey? My cousin’s kids like sports, and they are around your daughter’s age.”

“I … I don’t know. She likes purple and unicorns and dolls and all that stuff.”

“Then we’ll have to take her to a Bruins game to find out.”

“I’m not sure we can work it out with your detail.”

“Oh. Right.” My shoulders sagged. How would it work if I wanted to see a game? Would it be like a school thing where I had one agent with me and the rest waiting outside in case something happened? An arena would be much different than on campus.

“I’m not saying you can’t go to games,” Agent Davis said. “I just don’t see it working with my daughter involved, is all.”

“Yeah, that would be weird.”

He reached out with the hand not holding his mug and cupped the side of my arm. “It was a nice thought, though. Thank you.”

“I’d still like to make something work because I know what it’s like to not have a father around much because of his job.” I frowned.

My dad was great, but he worked long hours as an attorney, and I rarely saw him growing up. We had weekends together, but sometimes those would be cut short if he had to prepare for trials. When he became a senator, I saw even less of him. That didn’t mean I didn’t admire him and the work he did as a criminal lawyer. It was partially why I was attending law school. I wanted to follow in his footsteps, but not entirely. I would never run for the Senate or even be president one day. I wanted to forge my own path and my true passion was to become a civil rights attorney and help members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“That’s sweet of you, Fallon. We have time to work out a plan.”

A smirk spread across my face. “First, it was charming. Now you think I’m sweet? What’s next? Sexy?”

“I—” He stopped and placed his fingers over his ear and then spoke into his cuff. “Roger that.”

“What?” I asked as our eyes met.

“Looks like we’re spending the next sixteen hours together. I’m with you until the night shift.”

“Really?” My eyes lit up. “Now I wish I had plans other than studying all day.”