“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 screw driver as 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 Caleb.

“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 has 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 full 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.”