Page 39 of Dear John

She turned to me, her eyebrows raised slightly. “So, we’re agreed. If someone breaks in, whoever sees the intruder first will run around screaming, alerting the other sister so she can get away.”

“Agreed. Although, if Kavanaugh and Bowie are with us, that definitely changes how we would respond,” I said thoughtfully.

“Totally. If anything, I would sound the alarm and then run to Kavanaugh where he could defend me. Not sure if Bowie would do the same for you after you got him hit by a car.”

“That’s true,” she sighed. “I guess I’ll be fucked either way.”

“Then again, if he’s not going to defend you, what good is he? Maybe you should just throw him out.”

She snorted. “Don’t be silly. I’ll just tell the intruders to take him first. Gotta have bait.”

“It’s nice to know I threw myself in front of a car for you, and you’re going to toss me to intruders,” Bowie said from behind us, hobbling into the room.

We both turned and watched Bowie use his crutches to wobble over to the couch. Even after all these weeks, he hadn’t quite figured out how to use them properly, and it was quite funny to watch. He fell onto the couch, sighing when he was finally comfortable.

“You know, come to think of it, you don’t need bait,” I told her. “It’s not like he’ll move fast enough to get away, anyway.”

“I hate the both of you,” he grumbled.

“Maybe me,” I shrugged, “but if the sounds coming from your bedroom are any indication, you’re in love with Riley.”

She smacked me, giving me the stink eye, but Bowie just shrugged. “Maybe.”

The look of shock on Riley’s face was enough to make me choke on my laughter. Chuckling, I walked away, heading into the kitchen for a much-needed reprieve from the chaos of the past few hours. Leaning against the counter, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I would be fine. Plenty of people didn’t have security systems. And Shawn was still recovering from his accident.

I hated to admit it, but now that the system was gone, I was more grateful than I wanted to admit that IKE had done what he had to Shawn. Whether I agreed or not with his actions, it gave me a little bit of peace, knowing he couldn’t come after me.

The screen door on the front of the house slammed shut and I straightened, grabbing a glass to distract myself from Kavanaugh. I knew he was coming for me, to reassure me he would keep me safe. I didn’t want to be seen as weak. I’d never been that way in all my life, and I wasn’t about to be now. The last few weeks had really shaken me up, and I had to find a way to drag my head above the surface and thrive.

And that had to start now.

Smiling, I turned to Kavanaugh as he walked straight into my arms and wrapped them around me, burying his face in my neck. His breath fogged over my skin as he released what felt like the weight of the world.

I slid my fingers through his hair, hoping to calm him. Yes, I was scared, but Kavanaugh just lost everything, and he’d given it up for me. “Are you okay?”

“I will be.”

“I know you will. So, what now?” I asked as he pulled back from my arms.

“Now…I need to find another job.” He looked uneasy as he stepped further away, running his hand over the back of his neck. “What would you think about moving to Pennsylvania?”

His words threw me for a loop. I hadn’t been expecting him to ask me to leave this place with him. “Um…”

He huffed out a laugh, looking even more uncomfortable by the second. “Too much?”

“I’m thinking. Processing,” I said, my voice stilted.

“Forget it,” he said, turning to walk away.

I grabbed him by the arm, forcing him to stay and talk with me about this. “You can’t say something like that and then walk away.”

“Sure I can. I dropped the bomb. Now it’s time for me to slink off and pretend this never happened,” he grinned. I’d never seen him look so vulnerable. Then again, Kavanaugh had taken quite the hit today. “Especially after you thought I was going to propose to you.”

“I don’t want you to pretend it never happened, but…are you sure about this? I mean, my divorce still hasn’t gone through and you just lost your job. This hardly seems like the time to make life-altering decisions.”

“That’s why I’m asking,” he sighed. “Because I’m pretty sure Reed Security would take me, but they’re in Pennsylvania.”

“And Reed Security is…”

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