“Just remembering the last time we were together and I saw everyone so eager,” he replied.
“Yeah.” Dex snorted. “To head to the nearest bar and get shit-faced.”
Cooper nodded. “Or our rocks off.”
More laughter echoed through the locker room.
Dante sobered. “Man, our priorities sure have changed.”
And he was okay with that.
“Holden aptly told us a few months back we’re domesticated.” Dex snickered.
“And loving it,” Hunter added.
“Now we get to enjoy the very side of life we fought for,” Mac wisely pointed out.
Dante nodded. “Amen.”
“Hooah.”
“Hooya.”
Dex and Cooper spouted simultaneously.
“And now you know why I won’t send any of you on an overnight job unless it calls for more hands on deck,” Mac said. “The others might not be single, but they don’t currently have children. They understand that and are okay with taking those jobs.”
“Appreciate it, boss,” Dex said, with a salute. “And since my girls are home, I’ll be heading there. See you tomorrow.”
Ten minutes later, Dante pulled into the daycare parking lot, as did Hunter, Cooper, and Mac. Several people were already leaving the building with their children. He noted each of the kids were smiling and some were even skipping. Dante took their carefree demeanor as a good sign.
Even though his friends sent their kids here and recommended the place, he still worried about his son liking it and fitting in.
Hoping for the best, he parked and joined his buddies in line to sign their children out. Dante was impressed with the tight security at the academy and their strict procedure for releasing each child. He had to use a keypad inside an entrance that would unlock the inside door when he signed Noah in and out of the building. And once inside, he also manually signed him in and out in a logbook on a table.
“Was Noah’s daycare in Phoenix like this?” Mac asked after he filled out the daycare logbook and moved aside for Dante.
He shook his head. “No. It was at a YMCA. It was nice, but there were no locked doors or keypads.” He found his son’s name and signed him out. “I much prefer this.”
“I don’t blame you,” Hunter said, going through the same motions with the preschool logbook.
“Yeah,” Cooper said, filling out the book. “Pretty sure if they hadn’t had these measures in place, we would’vesuggestedit.”
He chuckled. “Suggested, huh?”
“Yep. Nicely, of course, and at our expense.”
“Roger that,” Hunter said before he disappeared into the preschool wing.
The pretty face of a light-haired, green-eyed preschool teacher flashed through Dante’s mind. Amanda was in that wing.
Good thing he was headed in the opposite direction.
Shaking her image from his head, he followed Mac and Cooper into the daycare wing. Dante had been given a tour that morning when he brought Noah. Again, he was impressed with the operation. The large area was made up of half walls, sectioning off the one-year-olds from the two-year-olds. A door on the right led to a separate room for infants.
Mac headed in that direction while he and Cooper walked toward the opposite corner.
“I like to stand here and wait for Mindy to spot me,” Cooper said with a grin. Pretty sure the people in the parking lot can hear her when it happens. Watch.”
