Her Daring SEAL (Midnight Delta Book 5) (26 page)

Rylie told him everything in a monotone voice.  It was clear it was a story she had relived many times in her head.

“But you saved them,” he said, gesturing to the girls on the patio.  “And Ursula was one of the girls on the island.”

“She was?” Rylie’s eyes gleamed with happiness.

“She was.”  Darius hugged Rylie even closer.  “I hope that can give you some sense of peace.”

“It helps, Dare, it really helps.”

A beautiful brunette ran to Rylie and threw her arms around her. 

“You saved us!”

Rylie looked at him helplessly.  “How could they know it was me?” she asked.

“They’re like me; they know a good person when they see one.”

They heard the sound of a helicopter.  Mason came running up to them.

“It’s the Canadian police and military,” he said.  He looked at Rylie.  “Do you want to be part of the debrief?”

“Oh God, I’ve got to get out of here!” she exclaimed.

“I can help,” Mason said.

That was when it all started to unwind for Darius.

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D
arius was relieved to have the two-hour drive from the airport to her house in Oklahoma.  He needed the time to get all of his thoughts arranged.  He had actually typed everything out.  It had been seven weeks since he left Vancouver.  Rylie had begged him not to keep in touch.  She said a clean break was best. 

Darius had Lydia keeping track of all of Rylie’s online activities.  She was doing nothing except working her old job.  The only things that seemed to capture Rylie’s attention were her kids and the girls.  Lydia kept her informed of their whereabouts.  Unfortunately, many of them could not go home.  Some, like Penelope, had actually been sold into slavery by their families.  Others were orphans.  Rylie was using the money stolen from Liu to help the girls get a start at new lives in the United States

The Midnight Delta team had taken heat for all of twenty-four hours before the brass had spun things to make them heroes.  Because Rylie wanted her involvement to remain anonymous, his SEAL team was considered responsible for taking down Liu’s entire operation single-handedly.  More medals for them.  Darius couldn’t give less of a shit.  The only thing on his mind for the last seven weeks was a petite blonde with a southern accent.  A woman who thought she wasn’t meant for a happily ever after.

He continued driving through the flat brown landscape and thought back to the first Skype session he had with Sawyer Jones.  The young man had reached out to Lydia and basically asked what the hell had gone on with his sister.  Darius had already been chomping at the bit to talk to him, but hadn’t known how to do it without Rylie knowing, so this had been the perfect opportunity.  Lydia had coordinated a time for the two of them to talk. 

As soon as Sawyer realized Darius wanted a relationship with Rylie, he was grilled to within an inch of his life.  Darius loved the kid already.  He explained his plan, and Sawyer immediately got onboard, explained the obstacles, and Darius got to work on his end in San Diego, which is what took him so damn long.  Plus, Mason was getting married, and he needed his soon to be wife’s help to accomplish the project he wanted to put in place.

Sophia was a fucking Godsend.  She knew the school district because of her little brother Billy, and she figured out everything he would require for a special needs child in San Diego.  Like he had told Rylie, he was a saver, so after he figured out the school district, he rented a house.  He would have bought a house, but he wanted Rylie to decide what she wanted.  Sawyer said Charlotte really didn’t have a lot of ties to the kids in her school, so moving would be easy for her, that the only real problem would be Georgie’s connection to Mrs. Whitehawk.  Oh yeah, then there was the fact Rylie could tell him to piss up a rope.  Darius’ hands were sweaty on the steering wheel as he pulled up to the small house.  Sawyer was on the porch.

Darius got out of the car.

“Rylie, you have a visitor,” Sawyer shouted.  “I’m taking Georgie for ice cream.”  Sawyer went inside and came out carrying a young boy who stared at Darius.  The boy was holding a tyrannosaurus rex. 

“I like your dinosaur,” Darius said to the boy, who didn’t meet his eyes.

“His name is Rylie.  He’s pretty and strong.”  He then tucked his face into Sawyer’s chest.

“Charlotte isn’t home.”  Sawyer went to a dilapidated station wagon in the front driveway and drove off.

“Sawyer, who is it?”  Rylie came out and stopped short.  She stared at Darius.

***

“H
i baby,” he said.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her eyes filling with tears.  “I told you to stay away from me.”

“Why?  Rylie, why did you say that?  You broke my heart.”  He walked up the stairs and tugged her into his arms.  “Did you really want me to stay away?”

She pulled away and walked into the house, it was a struggle to put one foot in front of the other.  In the back of her head she realized Sawyer had known about this, he was in on this.  She took a deep breath.  She walked through the living room, into the kitchen.  It was where all things in the Jones household were handled.  She heard Darius following her.

“Do you want coffee?” she asked as she poured herself a cup.

“You’ve lost weight.”

“I’ll take that as a no.”  She sat at the table.  He sat across from her.  She didn’t say anything; this was his show.

“You didn’t answer my question.  Did you mean it when you asked me to stay away from you, Rylie?”

“Yes.”  His brown eyes darkened with pain. 
God, she had the ability to cause him pain?

“Did you mean it when you said you loved me?”  She couldn’t lie.  Not to this man.

“Yes.”  She saw his eyes soften, and he sighed.  “But you have no idea about the complications of my life.”  She rocked her coffee cup between her hands.

Darius reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out two printed pieces of paper and handed them to her.  Rylie read them three times.  First, there was information about school districts.  Then there was after care information for Georgie that included special programs for children with autism.  She had no idea services like that were even available.  There was even information about the community colleges available for Sawyer, and how he could transfer those credits to the California University Systems. 

“What have you done?” she whispered.

“I’ve researched.  I’ve planned.  I’ve hoped.”

“What if I told you I wanted to stay in Oklahoma?”

“I’ve checked into getting certified as an EMT.”

“You can’t stop being a SEAL,” Rylie cried.

“Eventually, I’ll have to, but I’ll always want to be with you.”  Rylie got up from the table and put her untouched cup of coffee in the sink. 

“You have to meet my family.  We’re a package deal.  They get a vote too.” 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I was a foster kid, things were done to me, I wasn’t asked, and I didn’t have choices.  I would want to be part of the decision making process.”  They both chuckled when they heard the station wagon pull up.

“I think you’ve already stacked the deck when it comes to Sawyer,” Rylie accused.

“He’s a good kid.”  The backdoor slammed and in walked not just Sawyer and Georgie, but Charlotte as well.  Rylie shook her head at Sawyer, who gave her an innocent look.

“Family meeting,” Rylie said gesturing towards the table.  All of the little Jones family sat.  Rylie looked at him, and he sat down as well.

“This is Darius Stanton.”

Charlotte reached out and clasped his big hand in one of her tiny ones.  “Welcome.  Are you the man my sister loves?”

“I pray I am.”  Charlotte beamed.

“You got that in one, Ace.  You said ‘pray.'” Sawyer grinned.

“Shut up, Sawyer.  I just want Rylie to be happy.  Look at her right now, she might not be smiling on the outside, but she is finally shining again, and it’s because he’s here.”

“Dare is talking about all of us moving to California with him.”

“Do you want that?” Sawyer asked.

“I want what’s best for this family,” she said firmly.

“Bullshit.  I’m sick of you putting this family over your happiness,” Sawyer’s tone was loud, and Georgie whimpered.

“Hey, there little guy.  Sawyer isn’t mad at you.  He’s just talking loud so Rylie can hear.  Sometimes she only hears loud voices,” Darius said to Georgie with a soft smile.

Georgie didn’t look at him, but he didn’t move away from him either.

“Sorry little man, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Sawyer said. 

“Not scared.  Say sorry to Rylie.”  Georgie thrust out his lip.

“Sorry, Rylie.” Sawyer laughed at his sister.  She laughed too.

“No, this Rylie.”  Georgie thrust his dinosaur at Sawyer.  Sawyer bent down and looked at the stuffed animal and apologized.  Then Georgie pushed the animal towards Darius.  “Say hi to Rylie.”  Everyone at the table stilled.  Apparently this was a big deal.

“Hi Rylie, it’s nice to meet you, my name is Dare.”  Georgie nodded his head, then got up and went and sat on Sawyer’s lap.

“Well, I guess you have your answer, Rylie,” Charlotte said as she got up.

“Yep,” Sawyer agreed, as he got up holding Georgie.  “Char, want to go with me over to Mrs. Whitehawk’s for a bit?”

“Sounds like a good idea.”  Rylie watched as they all left the kitchen in seconds.  She was overwhelmed.  Darius came around the table, and pulled her off her chair and held her in his arms.  “I like your family.”

“They like you.”

“Will you come with me?  Please don’t break my heart again.”

“That’s not possible.”  She felt the tears start.  “You can’t mean to keep me.  Nobody keeps me.”

He pulled back the slightest bit and tilted her chin.  “You are my dream come true.  You know how you said you don’t get a happily ever after?”  She gave a tiny nod.

“Well, I want mine.  You’re it.”  He knelt on his knees.  “Rylie Jones, I want to keep you forever.  I want to shelter you in my heart.  I want to marry you.”  He pulled the ring out of the front pocket of his jeans and watched as her eyes widened. 

“Please, be mine forever,” he begged.

“Forever?” she whispered.

“And ever, and ever, and ever.”

“God, yes.”

He stood up and took her into his arms, knowing he would never let her go.

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THE END

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C
aitlyn O'Leary is an avid reader, and considers herself a fan first and an author second. She reads a wide variety of genres, but finds herself going back to happily-ever-afters. Getting a chance to write, after years in corporate America, is a dream come true. She hopes her stories provide the kind of entertainment and escape she has found from some of her favorite authors.

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The Found Series

Revealed
, Book One

Forsaken
, Book Two

Healed
, Book Three

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Midnight Delta Series

Her Vigilant SEAL,
Book One

Her Loyal SEAL,
Book Two

Her Adoring SEAL,
Book Three

SEALed with a Kiss
, Book Four, Novella

Her Daring SEAL,
Book Five

A SEALs Vigilant Heart
, Book Six), Novella (Summer 2016)

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Fate Harbor Series
Published by Siren/Bookstrand

Trusting Chance
, Book One

Protecting Olivia
, Book Two

Claiming Kara
, Book Three

Isabella’s Submission
, Book Four

Cherishing Brianna
, Book Five