A response to the McKeller Flash Fiction challenge posed by Koinekid and Dani Wilder. 294 words.
McKeller Flash Fiction:
A Close One
Karl Keller fidgeted at the steady stream of passengers pouring from the gate. A short man, Karl had to stand on tiptoes to scope out the crowd. His eyes moved past the businessmen and vacationers and settled unbidden on a tall man sporting heavy dreadlocks and a thick beard. Everything about him exuded "Alpha Male," a type Karl instinctively distrusted, and one he hoped his beloved daughter had sense enough to avoid.
"Where are you, Jennifer?" he wondered. Then he spotted her exiting the gate. His heart sank as she gripped the alpha's arm, who smiled and patted her small hand.
Karl was too far away to hear their conversation, but the implication was clear. His darling had been hoodwinked by a love-em-and-leave-em Lothario. Working closely with the Air Force, surrounded by their type, it was bound to happen.
Karl wanted to storm over and deck the man, but one look at Jennifer's eyes and the happiness there stayed his fist. He breathed deeply and resigned himself to making nice with the man bedding his baby girl.
Then a miracle happened. The alpha walked away, and another man strode up beside Jennifer. The cross expression covering his face suggested annoyance that she'd wasted so much attention on the other. Karl recognized the expression. It had graced his own face whenever another man spoke to his darling wife.
The man's cross expression melted into one of bliss as Jennifer gave him a kiss and laid her head against his shoulder. Karl recognized that expression too.
He took in the man at a glance, noting with approval his slight paunch, short hair and clean shaven face. He was stable. More importantly, Jennifer looked incredibly happy on his arm.
Karl grinned. This guy he could work with.
End