A Navy SEAL's Surprise Baby by Laura Marie Altom

attention.
    “Rain check? I’ve never been on a picnic, so...” As her words trailed off, so did her eye contact. Interesting. What would the nanny be doing on Saturday? Or should that what be replaced by a who?
     

Chapter Five
    Wednesday afternoon, the computers Calder’s team had been using to study the latest Afghanistan satellite-photo-intelligence models were down. Cooper and Heath used the opportunity to nap. Calder and Mason had just finished a five-mile run and sat on a bench, soaking in rays.
    “Damn nice day,” Mason said. “Reminds me why I left Alaska.”
    Calder had tilted his head back and closed his eyes. He opened them to glance sideways at his friend. “Thought you bolted because of Melissa.”
    “Well, that, too. But mainly because of the weather.”
    “Uh-huh. You’ve given me so much crap over the nanny, I’m shoveling it back your way.”
    Resting his arms behind his head, Mason said, “Whatever. Speaking of which, haven’t heard much about her today. Everything all right?”
    Calder sighed. “I guess it’s going good. Both Quinn and the house are freakishly clean, and she’s a great cook.” That said, the beach rejection stung his manly pride. His rational side knew giving the matter a second thought was ridiculous. The part of him used to women falling for his SEAL charm still didn’t get it. What had he done wrong? “Look, I shouldn’t even mention this to you, but after the volleyball game, I found out Pandora had never been to the beach.”
    “What?” Mason scratched his head.
    “I know, right? Anyway, I’ve been meaning to spend more time with the little guy, so I figured we’d do the whole day-at-the-shore thing with him on Saturday, only—”
    Mason laughed. “She turned you down, didn’t she?”
    Lips pressed tight, Calder had never wished more he’d kept his big mouth shut.
    Still laughing, Mason said, “Mr. Professional Working Relationship who yelled at us for asking if Pandora was a sex-kitten nanny broke his own rule, huh?”
    “Forget it. Sorry I brought it up.” Calder had honestly thought it would be a good idea to spend time with Quinn. The beach was always fun. The whole thing shouldn’t have been a big deal.
    Standing, Calder headed back to the building housing their classroom.
    “Aw, come on....” Mason trailed after him. “Don’t go getting your panties in a wad. I’m sure the nanny has a perfectly good reason for turning down your date.”
    “It wasn’t a date,” Calder snapped. “I don’t like her that way. Wouldn’t be right.”
    “Might not be right, but if she’s hot and you two share tight quarters, what’s your plan to keep things platonic?”
    Calder tugged open the metal door, welcoming the rush of cool air. “Drop it, okay? I don’t need a plan, because nothing’s going to happen.”
    “Then why are you so pissy over her wanting an afternoon for herself?” Mason stopped off at a vending machine.
    Though his friend asked a valid question, Calder didn’t have an answer. If pressed, he suspected his true problem stemmed from the simple fact he was scared to death of once again being alone with his son.
    *
    C ALDER RODE STRAIGHT home from the base only to find Quinn and Pandora heading down the block. He parked his bike in the garage, then hollered in their direction, “Wait up!”
    After closing the door, he pocketed the opener, jogging to meet them.
    “Hey.” She veered the stroller against the sidewalk’s edge to make room for him. “How was your day?”
    He shrugged. Now that he’d caught up with the duo, he wasn’t sure why he’d even tried. All smiles, Quinn kicked and made baby noises. Pandora had been smiling. However, since his arrival, she’d pressed her lips into a telling line of tension. “You two headed for the park?”
    She nodded. “They have great baby swings—you know? The one’s that are safety seats?”
    “Guess I’ve never much noticed.”
    “Quinn loves them.”
    Another dig at