The Navy Dad's Return
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Julianna Morris
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PROLOGUE
WYATT MAXWELL STARED at the orders he’d received earlier in the day, saying he was being transferred to Rota, Spain, to begin training for deployment on a navy destroyer.
Deployed.
He’d served twice on an aircraft carrier during his marriage, but now Amy was gone and he was raising their daughter alone. His brothers and their wives would undoubtedly offer to look after Christie, but how could he leave his child like that? A deployment usually lasted six or seven months and could easily go longer.
Christie was only three. She’d never understand.
His commanding officer didn’t have children and his unconcerned remark that “kids are resilient” had infuriated Wyatt. Kids might be resilient, but his daughter had already lost her mother and gone through two moves in her short life, which meant new people, new day-care centers and a new home.
“Daddy, Daddy,” Christie cried from her bedroom, almost as if in response to his thoughts.
Wyatt hurried to her. “I’m here.”
“The monster is mad.” She pointed to the closet.
“Sweetheart, there aren’t any monsters. It’s just a dream.”
Christie put up her hands and pushed her palms together. “He squishes so big people can’t see him.”
“I’ll check.” Wyatt made a big show of turning on the light inside the closet, then shaking out her small clothes and shoes. “Nope, it’s all okay. No monster.”
His daughter sniffed and didn’t look convinced. “He took Fluffy Bob.”
“Nobody took Fluffy Bob. He fell on the floor.”
Wyatt gave her the large teddy bear and she clutched it close as he sat on the bed and stroked her hair. It was another hour before she fell asleep again. He spent the time evaluating what he needed to do. The navy had been good to him, but he didn’t see any options.
He would have to resign his commission.
Sighing, Wyatt went to his office for the conference call he’d scheduled with Jordan and Dakota. He opened the program and saw his two brothers drop into the electronic meeting. Wyatt pressed a button and their faces soon appeared on the screen.
“What’s up?” Jordan asked immediately. “Is Christie all right?”
“She’s okay, except she’s still having nightmares. But now they want to deploy me out of the naval station in Rota, Spain.” Wyatt drew a deep breath. “I’ve decided to resign. I can’t leave Christie for months at a time.”
Both Jordan and Dakota nodded, and he was glad they didn’t argue that he’d lose his twenty-year retirement. What was a pension compared to Christie? She needed him at home, not on a ship.
Dakota leaned toward the camera on his computer. Despite the fading scars on one side of his face from an explosion while serving as a Navy SEAL, he was his old self, the laughter and devilry never far from his eyes.
“Do what I did,” he said. “Come back to Montana and accept Grandpa Saul’s challenge to work on the Soaring Hawk for a year in exchange for a share of the ranch. He’s mellowed. You won’t have any trouble with him. And Dad is here.”
Wyatt stiffened. “I don’t want to talk about him.”
“Wyatt—”
“No. You aren’t in my shoes. It hurt more than I could have imagined when I lost Amy, but I would never dive into a whiskey bottle and neglect my daughter. Yet that’s exactly what Evan did after Mom died.”
“Wouldn’t you rather call him Dad?”
“No.”
“We shouldn’t argue about this,” Jordan said firmly. “Wyatt, whatever you decide to do, Paige and I will help with Christie.”
“So will we,” called a voice in the background.
Dakota laughed. “That’s Noelle. She was passing by in the hallway. Count on us, too.”
Wyatt’s seven-year-old niece suddenly appeared on the screen in front of Jordan, her expression excited and happy. “Hi, Uncle Wyatt,” she exclaimed.
“Hey, kiddo. I can’t believe how much you’ve grown.”
Mishka giggled. “Grandpa Scott says I grow like prairie grass in the spring.”
“He’s right.”
Grandpa Scott was Scott Bannerman from the Blue Banner Ranch, father of both of Wyatt’s sisters-in-law. His brothers had each formed a good relationship with the lanky rancher and his wife.
“Say good-night,” Jordan told his daughter. “You can talk to Uncle Wyatt another time.”
She scrunched her nose. “You want to have a grown-up talk.”
“Yup.”
“Oookay.” Mishka blew a kiss at the screen. She was a true child of the twenty-first century, completely at ease with communicating online. “Good night, Uncle Wyatt.”
“Good night. Sweet dreams.”
“So what about accepting Saul’s challenge?” Jordan asked when Mishka was gone. “We all expected to go back into ranching after leaving the navy. It would be great to have the three Maxwell brothers together again.
“I’ve been considering it for a while. Dakota, is the original ranch house available yet?” Wyatt asked. While ranching required long periods of work, at least he’d be able to see his daughter every day.
“It will be soon. Noelle and I should be moving into our new place before Thanksgiving. The navy will take longer than that to process your resignation. I’d be surprised if you were here before January.”
“About the old house. I never asked—if you love it so much, why aren’t you staying?”
“We decided our living space needed to be on a single level, rather than two floors. Better for my leg.”
“Oh. How is your leg?” Wyatt asked, uncertain how Dakota would react to the question.
“Much stronger than before. I can work all day without any trouble, but my knee still doesn’t appreciate staircases. Climbing slopes is no problem, it’s just steps.” He’d been so angry about the injuries that ended his career as a SEAL, it was amazing he could discuss them this calmly.
“That’s great,” Wyatt said. “All right, I’ll put everything in motion. I have to act before the permanent change of station goes through or they might not let me go.”
His brothers looked pleased. It would be great to spend real time with them. They’d always been stationed in different parts of the world while in the navy. Besides, this way Christie would get to know her family and have a safety net she didn’t have now. And maybe if she felt more secure, her nightmares would go away.
Or that’s what Wyatt hoped.
