“You know, I can take you to jail for lying to a police officer,” Matt informs them with a grin.
“Nuh uh!” Josie exclaims and giggles.
“Yep.” He nods.
“We’ll eat the banana,” Maddie concedes and takes a big bite out of hers.
“That’s better.” Matt slides his hand down her ponytail from across the breakfast bar. “No jail for you today.”
He’s so good with kids.
All of the Montgomerys are.
Caleb is leaning against my kitchen counter, watching me carefully, his arms crossed over his chest. His hair has grown out a bit from his usual supershort military cut, and his chin is covered in light strawberry-blond stubble.
Those trademark Montgomery blue eyes follow me as I move about the kitchen, setting up the coffee and making sure the girls are set.
Just like every time I see him, electricity shoots down my spine and out my limbs, and I just want to attach myself to him and devour him.
But, instead, I just smile and rub his bicep as I walk past.
“Coffee?” I ask him. His muscles flex at my touch, and my stomach clenches. Jesus, his arms are the size of my thigh.
“Please.” He nods.
“Me, too,” Matt agrees and steals a bite of Maddie’s banana, making her laugh.
“So, what’s up, guys?” I ask as I hand them their mugs of fresh coffee.
“Girls, you finish breakfast, and we’re gonna take your mom into the living room to talk, okay?” Caleb grins at the girls and kisses their cheeks. “Just yell if you need us.”
“Okay!” Josie agrees and slurps up some Cocoa Puffs, dribbling now-chocolate milk all over the breakfast bar.
Maddie nods and takes another bite of banana.
I follow the guys into the living room, enjoying the view of their rear ends as I follow.
“Have a seat.” Matt gestures to one of the chairs, but I just cross my arms over my chest and stay standing.
Have a seat, my ass.
“Just tell me what this is about.”
“Brynna, please sit down,” Caleb murmurs softly and sits on the couch next to the chair they want me to occupy.
I look back and forth between them, and realizing this is a losing battle, I sink down and sit on the edge of the chair.
“Okay, I’m sitting. Why are you both at my house at barely six in the morning, scaring the crap out of me?”
“I got a call yesterday at work,” Matt begins and sighs deeply.
“At the precinct?” I ask.
“Yeah. It was a PI, and he asked a bunch of questions about the family.” He looks up at me, his eyes sober. “The whole family.”
“Meaning, he asked questions about me,” I murmur and feel a light sweat break out on my skin. “And if they’ve linked me to your family, I have to go—”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Caleb interrupts and takes my hand in his, holding it tightly.
“The investigator didn’t specifically ask about you, but it raised some flags for me. I didn’t like it.” Matt shakes his head and stands to pace around the living room.
“It’s been more than a year, Matt. Why now?” I try to keep my voice low so the girls can’t hear me.
“I don’t know.” He turns back to us. “It might not have anything to do with what happened in Chicago.”
“I don’t think anyone can find me here,” I tell them. “I don’t own this house. I work for Isaac under the table. I haven’t even switched my driver’s license to Washington from Illinois. There’s no reason for any flags to have gone up.”
“I agree, and we’ll continue to be careful, but we think it’s in your best interests, and the girls’, to move in with either me or Caleb.”
“Absolutely not.” I pull my hand out of Caleb’s and pace the living room.
“Why?” Caleb asks, his voice calm and low.
“Because. The girls have school. I have a job. We have a routine. I’m not disrupting that. They’ve been through enough.” I continue to keep my voice low, but my entire body is taut, and I want to scream. “We’re finally at a place that we don’t jump every time we hear a strange noise.”
“Which is why you answered the door with a fucking screwdriver as a weapon?” Caleb asks with a cocked brow.
“I don’t typically get visitors this early in the morning.”
“We need to know you’re safe,” Matt insists and props his hands on his hips, staring at me.
“We are not moving out of this house.” I cross my arms over my chest and stare Matt down.
“Fine, I’m moving in.” Caleb stands and takes my shoulders in his big hands, his face fierce. “If you’re going to be stubborn, fine, you and the girls will stay here, but I’m moving in.”
“How is that possible?” I ask incredulously. “You get called out on a mission at a moment’s notice. How is that going to help?”
Matt clears his throat, and Caleb clenches his eyes shut for a moment and then pins me in his blue gaze once more. “Not anymore. My last mission was my final one.”
“What?” I ask, my eyes wide, searching his handsome face. “Why?”
“It was time.” He shakes his head and looks down before backing away from me and looking at Matt. “I’ll stay with her.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“What am I supposed to tell the girls?” I ask, still trying to wrap my head around all of this. Caleb is out of the Navy?
“Are you not listening, Brynna?” Caleb asks. “You could be in danger. I’m not willing to take that chance. Until we know for sure what’s going on, I’ll be here. Starting today.”
“Today’s not good for me…” I begin.
“Starting today.” Caleb’s voice is very controlled and very low as he pushes his face close to mine. “This is what we do in this family, Brynna. We protect our own.”
“I’m not…”
“Yes, you are,” Matt responds before I can finish my sentence. “Stop being stubborn and make the best of it.”
I look back and forth between the two formidable men looming over me, and I know I’ve lost this battle. I feel my shoulders droop and my lower lip quiver before I firm my jaw and blink quickly.
“What, you don’t want me to cramp your style?” Caleb asks sarcastically, but his face is soft and his eyes are kind as he watches me carefully.
“No, I just want our lives to go back to normal, and it feels like that’s never going to happen.”
Before I know what’s happening, Caleb has pulled me into his strong embrace. His hands sweep up and down my back, and he murmurs into my ear, “You’re going to be okay. I promise.”
“You’re sleeping on the couch, sailor,” I mumble into his soft gray T-shirt, earning a chuckle from him.
“Deal.”
***
“So what did you learn today?” I ask the girls as I set the table and walk back to the stove to check on the spaghetti sauce.
“I learned that Nelson eats his own boogers,” Josie replies with a grimace. “Boys are gross.”
“Who is Nelson?” I ask with a laugh and empty a package of angel hair pasta into a pot of boiling water.
“He’s in her class,” Maddie answers as she butters the garlic bread.
The front door opens and closes, and seconds later, Caleb walks into the kitchen with a scowl on his face.
“Why was the front door unlocked?”
“Caleb.” I sigh and shake my head, returning to the boiling pasta. “We’re fine.”
“Lock the damn door, Brynna.”
“Caleb! You’re not s’posed to swear.” Josie frowns up at him.
“Why do you have a bag? Are you spending the night?” Maddie asks, looking at the green duffle bag in Caleb’s hand.
“I’m going to stay with you guys for a while,” he responds, and I clench my eyes shut.
Crap, I haven’t talked to the girls yet!
“Why?” Josie asks.
“Because Caleb ha
s some work being done on his place,” I hurry to answer before Caleb can and earn a look of surprise from him. “So he’s going to stay here for a while.”
“Okay.” Maddie shrugs and grins widely at the tall man in my kitchen. “Can you sleep in my room?”
“No, I think I’ll sack out on the couch.”
“Will you read me bedtime stories?” she asks.
“I can do that,” he confirms and grins down at her.
“Cool!”
“Mom usually reads to us,” Josie cuts in with a scowl on her pretty little face.
Josie has always been the more guarded of the girls. She’s not quick to trust, even with the Montgomerys, who have been a part of her life for over a year now.
She’s also the moodier of the two.
“If you’d rather she do it, that’s fine, too.” Caleb shrugs and sets his bag down in the hallway.
“I want Caleb!” Maddie yells.
“I want Mommy!” Josie yells back.
“Enough!” I yell. “This is not a big deal, girls. Stop arguing and go wash your hands. Dinner is ready.”
Both girls pout, their bottom lips sticking out and faces long, as they file out of the kitchen and into the small half bath in the hallway to wash their hands.
“If you keep your face like that for too long, it’ll stick that way!” I call out to them and smile when I hear them giggle.
Caleb smiles as he approaches me, pulls the lid on the sauce off so he can smell the aromas of tomato and thyme, and then replaces it.
“Looks like I’m right on time.”
“If you like spaghetti, yes, you are.” I pour the pasta into a colander and pull the garlic toast out of the oven. “I already set you a place at the table.”
“Thank you.”
I nod and turn away, but he grips my arm and pulls me back around to face him.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
“Having work done on my house, am I?” The dimples in his cheeks wink at me as he smiles.
“I didn’t know what else to say. I don’t want to scare them.”
“My hands are clean!” Maddie announces as she dances back into the room.
“We’ll talk later,” Caleb whispers and helps me get the rest of the dinner on the table. “This smells great.”
“It’s my favorite,” Maddie tells him proudly. “I got to pick tonight because I got all the words right on my spelling test.”
“Good job,” Caleb commends her and holds their chairs out for them.
“Why are you doing that?” Josie asks with a scrunched-up nose.
“Because that’s what a gentleman does. He holds the chair out for a lady when she sits.”
“I’m not a lady.” Maddie giggles. “I’m a little girl.”
“You’re little ladies then.” Caleb winks at them and stands patiently by my chair, waiting for me to set the large bowl of spaghetti on the table and take my seat.
“Thank you, sir,” I say primly and sit in the chair.
When was the last time a man sat at our dinner table with us? Besides holidays with the family, never.
Never.
Caleb helps the girls dish up and then waits for me to fill my own plate before digging in himself. As he and the girls eat heartily, I sit back and watch the three of them, laughing and talking, and my heart catches.
Is this what normal is?
“Right, Mom?” Josie looks at me expectantly.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“We get ice cream for dessert tonight.”
“Oh, sure.” I nod and take a sip of my red wine.
For the rest of the meal, I watch Caleb interact easily with my kids. He is quick to laugh at their antics, and even Josie thaws to him, fighting Maddie to talk about her day.
God, he’s so damn handsome. Like all of the Montgomery men, he’s tall and broad. His hair is a dark blond, but his eyes are ice blue, and when he pins me in his stare, I swear he can see right into the heart of me.
He’s in a gray T-shirt tucked into faded blue jeans.
I can’t help but wonder what he looks like naked. For more than a year now, I’ve wanted to feel him over me, holding me.
Inside me.
And there have been moments when I know he felt the same way, but he’s never crossed the line of friendship.
Damn him.
“Whose job is it to clean up?” Caleb asks when we’ve all finished our dinners.
I’ve barely touched mine, but who can eat when Caleb “Hot Navy SEAL” Montgomery is sitting next to them?
Not me.
“We all help,” Josie tells him. “You can sweep the floor.”
“That’s your job,” I remind her. “It’s her least-favorite thing,” I tell Caleb with a smile.
“Darn,” she whispers and takes her plate to the sink.
“We all get KP duty,” Caleb informs the girls.
“What’s cape duty?” Maddie asks.
“KP.” Caleb scrapes the leftovers into a plastic bowl. “It means kitchen patrol.”
“We have to do it before we get ice cream.” Josie scowls.
“Sounds fair to me.” I laugh and begin to load the dishwasher as Caleb and the girls clear the table and wipe down the countertops.
Before long, the kitchen is clean and I’ve scooped up ice cream for everyone, with chocolate sauce and sprinkles for the girls.
“Can we sit outside on the patio?” Maddie asks.
“No, Mads, it’s winter,” I remind her.
“I want summer. When will it be summer?” she asks.
“A few more months yet,” Caleb answers and kisses her head as we all sit at the dining room table to eat our sweet treat.
“It’s not raining,” Josie points out.
“No, but the patio furniture is put away, and it’s cold outside.”
“Dumb winter.” Josie pouts and takes a bite of her ice cream.
***
“Are they in bed?” Caleb asks as I descend the stairs to the living room.
“Yes.” I sigh and sit heavily on the couch next to him. “I love them, but dear God, they’re exhausting.”
“They’re beautiful,” Caleb murmurs as he hands me a beer.
“We’re drinking?” I ask with raised eyebrows.
“We’re sharing this one.”
“Okay.” I take a pull on the brown bottle and then hand it back to him. “You know, you don’t have to stay, Caleb. The girls and I are safe.”
“Brynna, do you understand why I’m here?”
“Because someone asked a bunch of questions that weren’t even about me. Caleb, we don’t even know that anyone is looking for me.”
“Look.” Caleb scoots closer to me and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “I know we have the police keeping an eye out in Chicago, and we don’t know for sure that anyone is looking for you, but Brynna, if there is even the slightest chance that you could be in danger, I need to be here.” He kisses my temple, inhaling deeply. “If Matt’s gut tells him something is off, then something is off.”
“I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to.” He takes my chin in his fingers and pulls my gaze to meet his own. “Keep telling the girls I need a place to stay. I’ll stay out of your way as much as possible. Just keep the damn doors locked and your eyes open.”
“I don’t want our routine to be interrupted.”
“Jesus, you’re stubborn.”
“You already know this about me,” I remind him with a smile.
“You work for Isaac three days a week, right?”
“Right.”
“Okay, you should be safe when you’re there, with Isaac there, and all the other guys always coming in and out. I’ll cut my workweek down to three days a week so I’m here when you are.”
“You’re working already?” I ask, surprised.
“Yeah, I’m training civilian mercenaries just outside of Seattle.” He shifts, as though he’s uncomfortable talking
about his new job, but I want to know more.
“What kind of training?” I ask.
“Weapons, mostly. Weapons were my specialty.”
“What kind of weapons?” I ask, settling closer to him, leaning against his hard torso, enjoying the sound of his voice.
“You name it, I know about it.”
“Hmm.”
“In fact, I think I’ll take you to learn to shoot tomorrow.”
“Me?” I ask and sit up straight. “Why?”
“Because you need to know how to protect yourself. You’ll need a concealed-weapons permit, too.”
“I already…”
“Stop.” He places his fingers over my mouth, earning a vehement glare from me. “Let me teach you this, Bryn.”
His arm is still around me, pulling me against his side, and his other hand is over my mouth, and all I can think about is the fact that his lips are inches away from my own.
Inches.
I drop my gaze to them and take a deep breath.
“No,” he whispers and gently pulls his fingers away.
“What?” I whisper back, still looking at his lips, and my stomach flutters when he licks them.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
My eyes rise to his. “Like what?”
“Like you want me to kiss you.”
“I do want you to kiss me.”
There, I said it.
He sighs deeply, runs his thumb across my bottom lip and then gently wraps his arms around me, hugging me tightly.
“I can’t do that. Go to bed, Brynna.”
“But…”
He abruptly stands, pulls the beer bottle from my hand and walks away from me. “Go to bed.”
Chapter Two
~Caleb~
What the fuck am I doing here?
The look on Brynna’s gorgeous face as I told her I couldn’t kiss her replays over and over in my head. It’s two in the morning, and sleep is still far away. If it comes at all.
I don’t sleep much these days.
The woman sleeping upstairs has been in my mind more than not for the better part of the last year. She and her two amazing daughters have me wrapped around their little fingers. Brynna is perhaps the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, with her long dark hair and deep brown eyes, and those lips of hers were made for kissing. Her legs go on for days, and her ass is round and would be perfect for my hands.