Page 11 of Dear John

He saw that? I blew out a breath and brushed my hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. “I will be okay.”

I told myself that, but it was only when I saw the sincerity in IKE’s eyes that I believed it. “I know you will.”

The momentI got the call, I was running down the stairs, hoping I didn’t trip and break my neck. I didn’t even tell Riley and Bowie what was going on as I flung open the front door and raced down the steps. Kavanaugh was just getting out of his truck when I threw myself into his arms and held on for dear life.

I told myself I was just glad he was home, but the truth was, I was so grateful I wouldn’t have to be alone tonight. And an added bonus, if he was here, I wouldn’t get that annoying check-in call from Dash.

“Hey,” he chuckled, wrapping his arms around me. “It’s good to see you, too.”

“I never get greetings like that,” Eli muttered.

“That’s because your wife is a thief,” Red retorted.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I don’t know, but it has to mean something. Maybe she doesn’t throw herself into your arms because it’s no longer fun to steal from you.”

“Are you suggesting I make it more difficult?”

Red chuckled in amusement. “Actually, I’m guessing it’s because no matter how hard you try to stump her, she still manages to get you every time. You’ve become a boring target in your predictability.”

I finally released Kavanaugh, chuckling at his friends’ banter. “How did everything go?”

He tried to hide the tension behind his eyes, but failed miserably. Still, I didn’t want him to tell me anything he wasn’t ready to. Trust needed to work both ways. “The job went fine. We got what we needed.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, taking my hand. “Is it alright if I stay here?”

“I assumed you would,” I said a little too quickly.

He faced me, his brows furrowing slightly. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course,” I smiled brightly. I didn’t want him to know how hard it had been while he was gone. The last thing he needed to worry about when he left for a job was how I was doing. Besides, it would be nice if we could just get back on the right footing as a couple. “Bowie is staying here also. You’ll have to deal with them having sex like rabbits.”

“I think I can handle that,” he laughed.

Red caught up to us, slinging his arm around my shoulder. “Any chance you have any food in the house?”

I smiled, shaking my head at him. “Don’t you have a wife that cooks for you?”

He winced. “Yes, but she’s been busy with the kids and—well, Fox has been cooking for her. I’m kind of terrified of what I’ll find when I go home.”

“Sarah is an amazing cook,” Eli declared, though it sounded a little forced.

“Is she?” I asked.

Eli quirked an eyebrow at me. “Not convincing enough? I’ve been working on it for a few weeks now.”

We walked up the steps to the porch and my eyes slid across the front window. Everything was patched up, but I could swear I still saw the holes and my curtains billowing in the breeze. I swallowed hard, ducking my head as I walked inside, doing my best to ignore the way my body reacted.

While Eli and Red immediately walked over to Bowie and sat in the living room, Kavanaugh pulled me into the kitchen, his face laced with concern. When his hand cupped my cheek, I nearly broke. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course,” I smiled at him.

“You know, nothing happened on this trip. I swear, I haven’t talked to Olivia or the senator in weeks.”

I was taken aback for a moment. I thought he could read my thoughts so well, but he assumed I was off because of what happened with the senator, not the fact that I was nearly killed. Maybe it was better that way. If he knew how terrified I was to sleep in my own bed, he might put men around my house again, which was completely unnecessary. Just because I was scared didn’t mean I needed bodyguards. And we were already too close to that with Dash calling me every morning.

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