He drapes a green towel on the bar beside the shower and then backs up so I can get a closer look.

MONTGOMERY, CALEB J

990001212USN O NEG

CHRISTIAN

US CITIZEN

“What is it?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“It’s exactly what’s on my dog tags, in case I was ever…”

“I get it,” I interrupt him, not wanting to even contemplate the what-ifs. He looks over his shoulder at me and then frowns when he sees the look on my face.

“What’s wrong?” He asks.

I shake my head and sink farther down into the water. “Thank God you’re safe.”

He bends down to kiss my head and whispers, “I’m fine, baby.” Then he walks into the shower.

Dear God, what if he’d ever been captured? Tortured?

Killed?

A shudder wracks through my body, despite the hot water. I reach over to grab the soap, but it slips out of my hand, falling to the floor with a loud thunk.

“Are you okay?” Caleb shouts and throws the shower door open, his eyes wild and chest heaving as he pants.

“I’m fine. I just dropped the soap.” He closes his eyes and shakes his head, and without a word, closes the shower door and finishes cleaning himself.

When he leaves the shower, he won’t meet my eyes. He dries himself off, tying the towel around his hips and helps me out of the bath. When I reach for a towel, he takes it from me and dries me himself.

“Are you okay?” I whisper.

“Fine.”

He continues to dry me off, then takes my hand in his and pulls me into the bedroom where he helps me into my pajamas and pulls on his own underwear and black basketball shorts.

“I’ll sleep on the couch.”

He starts to leave the room, but I stop him.

“Bullshit. You’ll sleep in this bed with me, Caleb Montgomery.”

He stops in the doorway and drops his head, as if in defeat and then turns to me, his eyes sad. “I shouldn’t, Bryn. The girls are here.”

“We’re not naked. The girls will be fine. We’ll probably be up before them anyway.”

He props his hands on his hips and lowers his gaze.

“I’m afraid of hurting you in my sleep,” he admits, his voice a hoarse whisper.

“What?” I ask and instinctively move to him, wrap my arms around his waist and pull him against me. “You’d never hurt me.”

“Not intentionally, not ever.” He cradles my face in his palms and gazes down at me intently. “But when the nightmares come, I get pretty violent, Bryn.”

“I’ll be fine.”

He shakes his head but I hold on tight.

“If you abandon me now, after the battle we just went through together? I’ll kick your ass.”

His lips twitch before he rests them on my forehead and takes a deep breath.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

He laces his fingers with mine and leads me over to the bed, tucks us both in, and pulls me against him, my back to his front.

“Thank you, Caleb. For everything.”

I hear him sigh before he leans over and kisses the sensitive skin beneath my ear.

“Goodnight, Legs.”

Chapter Seven

“Good morning!” Nat announces and kisses my cheek as she moves past me into my living room.

“Morning, sunshine,” Meg grins and kisses my other cheek.

“You two are entirely too chipper for eight thirty in the morning.” I shut and lock the door, as Caleb has instructed over and over again, and lead the girls into the kitchen.

“Oh good, you have creamer,” Meg murmurs as she digs in my fridge.

“I bought it just for you.” I grin over at the pretty auburn-haired woman and then hug Natalie, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and holding her tight. “How are you, little mama?”

“Good,” she grins and hugs me back. “I’m hardly sick at all with this one.” She covers her still flat belly with her hand and rubs in a clockwise circle.

“You could have brought Livie with you,” I mention as we all fill our mugs and sit at the table. This is our weekly coffee date. I don’t have to be to work until ten, so we usually meet for a quick cup of something hot and gossip. “Jules stuck at work?”

“Luke loves his mornings with Liv, so they’re good,” Nat waves me off. “And yes, Jules is in early morning meetings.”

“Stacy is home with two sick kids.” I grimace and take a sip of hot coffee, leaning my elbows on the table.

“How are yours?” Meg asks and joins us.

“Much better, thank God. They finally went back to school this morning.” It’s been a week since the girls were sick. “As much as I love them, I was about to put them up for adoption if they didn’t go back to school soon.”

“Good morning, ladies.” Caleb saunters into the kitchen, wearing a dark blue Navy t-shirt and black shorts. He smiles at the girls and then turns that smile at me, his eyes warm and tender, as though he’s remembering every little amazingly sexy thing he did to me this morning.

“Good morning,” we all respond in unison.

“What are you up to?” Meg asks.

“I’m gonna work out for a while out back,” he grins at Natalie. “Thanks for letting me install the equipment.”

Natalie smiles and shrugs. “No problem.”

Nat offered her Alki Beach house to the girls and me right after Jules moved out to live with Nate and I couldn’t love her more for it. It meant that I didn’t have to put my name on a lease anywhere and the girls and I don’t have to live with my folks.