It was a moment he remembered clearly, captured just after the wedding. Just the two of them at the back of the church, his wife’s face turned up to his, and him, gazing down at her with so much love it still made his heart squeeze.
When Matt opened the door, Bob grasped his big hand tightly in his own. “Good to see you, man.”
“You, too. And good to see you still follow orders,” Matt said with a smile and a slap on the back for Loogie.
“You know it.”
Matt had ordered them not to ring the doorbell. Hadn’t thought that one all the way through though because he really wanted to show off the baby. He stepped back to they could come inside and closed the door. “You two staying out of trouble or causing it?”
Bob laughed. “Depends who you ask. And when.”
“You going to keep us standing there or do we get to see that baby?”
“Yeah,” Bob agreed. “Show us the goods. If we wanted to see your ugly mug, we’d come by one of your house projects, help you kick out some walls.”
Matt smiled. His business of flipping houses couldn’t be going better and there was never a shortage of guys who wanted to beat the hell out of something with a sledge hammer. “Follow me, gentleman.”
He led them upstairs and to the small room at the end of the hallway. “Behold,” Matt said softly, then pushed the nursery door open. Doug and Bob moved in slowly, both of them edging closer to the crib so carefully you’d they were canvassing a mine field.
“Damn, man,” Loogie whispered reverently.
“She’s cute,” Bob said. “She’s not going to like…wake up is she?”
“You scared of a baby, Bob–O?”
“No, I just think—”
Mary jerked in her sleep and pursed her tiny rosebud lips for a moment before she stilled.
Bob took two giant steps back from the crib, his hands up in surrender.
“Hey, baby girl,” Matt said, taking Bob’s place at the crib. “Haven’t you had enough shut eye?” He reached in for his littlest princess.
Bob grabbed his arm. “What are you doing?”
Matt glanced back at his old teammates, both standing tense and at the ready. He’d led these men into battle, fought through some damn sticky situations, yet he didn’t think he’d ever seen them look so uneasy. “I’m picking her up.”
“Why would you do that? Where’s the kids mother?” Loogie looked behind him like he expected to see some professional help standing in the doorway.
“I don’t need Abby,” Matt said, offended. “She’s my daughter, idiot. I pick her up all the time.” Matt slipped his big hands under her and as always was struck by her small size, the slight weight of her tiny body. He gently put her to his shoulder. “She won’t bite.”
“I know that,” Loogie said, soundly slightly offended.
When Matt shifted Mary away from his shoulder, Bob threw his hands out at the sudden movement as if Matt might drop her.
“Have I ever dropped anything I shouldn’t drop? Give me some credit here.”
Bob must have caught the look on Matt’s face because he quickly lowered them and stuffed them into his front jeans pockets. Matt settled her in the crook of his arm so his buddies could get a good look He feathered his lips over her cheek. Her tiny mouth opened just a little. Her eyes stayed closed and the guys breathed a sigh of relief.
Matt laughed. “She’s not a damn grenade, Loog.”
At the deep sound of her father’s voice, Mary’s brown eyes blinked open, and she stared up at the faces surrounding her.
Matt could feel the men he’d once commanded holding their breath. Then…
“Oh, my God,” Bob breathed out in wonder and awe. “She smiled.”
“Of course she did. She knows her daddy, don’t you princess?” He lifted her to kiss her cheek again, pressed his nose to her neck and inhaled that sweet baby smell. And another smell. “I should probably change her.”
“Oh, no. No.” Bob shook his head slowly as Matt walked to the changing table.
The men turned to follow Matt, but still kept a safe distance. “You sure you know what you’re doing, McKinney?”
“I’m the father of five,” Matt said, gathering the necessary gear.
“Yeah, but she’s a…a…” Decker motioned at Mary with his hands.
“A baby?” Loogie said. “No shit, Sherlock.”
“You can’t say shit in front of a baby, fuckwad.”
Matt laughed and changed her while the men looked on. It’d taken a few tries, but he was damn good at it. “No harder than wiring up C-4. If you know what you’re doing.” Matt smirked at Loogie, reminding him of a small C-4 mishap back in training.
“That only happened once.”
Bob laughed. “Only takes once to blow your nuts off.”
Mary kicked her feet happily as Matt finished and smoothed her dress down. She kept pumping those legs, one of her new things. He turned, and with Mary went to dispose of the dirty diaper.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You keep the poop in here?” Loogie lifted his head and sniffed.
Matt dropped the diaper, did the twist with the top and closed the lid. “It’s a Diaper Genie. Seals in the odor.”
“You should get one of those for your bathroom,” Bob said to Loog.
“You should,” Loog shot back then took a stroll around the small room, taking it in.
Matt followed the man’s gaze. He loved this room. The walls he’d painted with Jack’s help. The white furniture he and Abby had picked out together. A lamp on a low table that cast a soft glow in the evenings. He’d spent more than one evening watching Abby nurse Mary in that soft light.
“Where’s the rocking chair?” Loogie asked.
Bob stared at him.
“What? I’m not an idiot. Baby rooms are supposed to have rockers.”
“It’s there," Matt said angling his head to the pale blue glider in the corner. “That’s the new thing now. It’s a glider.”
Loogie pushed the back of it, studying the movement.
“It’s comfortable,” Matt said. “You’d be surprised.”
“A glider, huh?” He pushed it again.
“Interested in getting one? Something you want to tell us, Loog?” Bob teased.
“No. Shit. Just planning ahead, you know.” He looked away embarrassed. “Always thought I’d have a couple.”
“I highly recommend it,” Matt said.
“You can practice on McKinney’s, he’s got plenty.”
“No one is practicing here,” Matt said firmly. “Professionals only. How’s everything going?” he asked after a beat. He loved his life, but he did think about the guys. Every day he thought of them. He didn’t always know where they were, and that was weird. Hard.
“It’s good man,” Bob said, meeting Matt’s eyes as if to emphasize the statement.
Before he could say more, there was a sound at Matt’s hip and the guys’ attention flew to the radio Matt had strapped there. Another frightening sound emitted from the monitor he had hooked up to Charlie’s room.