Page 60 of Operation Protector
By the time Ali got there, Grace was up in her father’s arms, both of them all smiles. She hesitated in the doorway, thinking that now she knew the child was safely with him she should leave them be. But then Colby turned to look, and the smile on his handsome face left her seemingly unable to move.
She’d never seen him like this, in work mode. It was warmer in the hangar than she would have expected, so he was down to just jeans and a T-shirt. A T-shirt tucked in, showing her just how built he really was. Not an ounce on him that didn’t look fit and muscled.
“Come on in,” he said.
“I… You two need alone time.”
“Come in, Ali,” Grace insisted. “Look at what Daddy’s building.”
She was curious, so with a silent promise she wouldn’t stay, she walked over to them.
“Quinn said he needed shelves and a rack for the tools, for all the equipment they store in here. He doesn’t like the metal ones. Too noisy, he said.”
She looked around at the tools stacked up along the far wall. “Wow. That’s a lot of stuff.”
Colby nodded, still smiling widely. As if having his little girl with him and work to do was all he needed to be happy.
“With the helicopter, a couple of generators, an ATV and three extra vehicles for various purposes, they need a lot of different tools.”
Ali gave a slow shake of her head as she looked around at everything he’d mentioned. Colby set Grace back down, and the girl proceeded to dart off to explore those same things.
“Sometimes,” Ali said, “I have to remind myself what a big deal they are, they seem so…normal.”
He nodded. “I didn’t realize they have five different locations. Here, down in Southern California, one each in the Northeast and Southeast. Then what used to be their main headquarters in St. Louis.”
“Used to be?”
He was smiling again. “Quinn said everybody seems to be migrating here. He started out in St. Louis, but fell in love with this region, then when he met Hayley decided to stay. His sister started there too—she’s the financial genius who funds it all—but she’s in love with the guy who keeps all this running.” He glanced over to where Grace was looking at the ATV, as if to be sure she was out of earshot before adding, “Who also happens to be an extremely lethal sniper.”
That made her blink. “What?”
“Former Marine. Famous for it, apparently.”
“Wow.”
He glanced over again, clearly keeping track of his girl. Which prompted Ali to say, “Is Hayley here?”
He looked back and nodded in answer. “She’s over in the office, pulling strings, I think.”
“Good. I want to go say hello.”And leave you two to enjoy this precious time.
“Okay. Thanks for getting Grace here.”
She smiled. “You don’t have to thank me every time.”
“Yes, I do.”
“You don’t. Besides, Grace already thanked me in the best way.”
She told him about the child’s declaration of trust as they’d started their walk, and how she’d been so moved she’d nearly crushed her with a hug. She couldn’t quite put a name to his expression then, but it was happy and that was enough.
Colby watched Ali go. He found himself more than a little fascinated by the way she moved, that female way. When he caught himself utterly focused on the back pockets of her snug jeans, he tore his gaze away. He shouldn’t be looking at her that way, shouldn’t be feeling this way. He should be focused on being grateful, not on her backside. After all, the woman had rearranged her entire life to do this, to help them, and she would barely let him thank her for it.
He heard the rapid patter of running steps and spun around to see Grace headed for him at a trot, apparently finding the vehicles other than the ATV just boring everyday cars. Personally, when he’d seen them parked here, he’d realized fairly quickly they could help Foxworth present any image they wanted, from the worn truck Liam had driven to the sleek, expensive import that he had a sneaking suspicion might be put to use impressing people like Liz.
Quinn’s sister must be quite the financial genius. Liam had told him she’d used the insurance payout from their parents’ deaths in a terrorist attack to build Foxworth, and she’d clearly done an amazing job of it.
“Did Ali leave?” Grace asked.
