Page 65 of Coming Home

“Stop worrying. The boys and I are going to be fine as long as you don’t ghost us.”

That was still my biggest fear: Ben would leave and I wouldn’t hear from him again for another nine years. I knew in my heart things were different this time and I was just being ridiculous, but that didn’t stop the fears and memories from surfacing.

“That’s not going to happen. I promise you. We’ll video chat every day I’m gone. And it’s not like when I left for boot camp and couldn’t communicate. I will have my cell phone on me nearly all the time. Chances of me getting called to service will be very slim, and that is the only reason I wouldn’t be available.”

“Is it going to be hard to walk away?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Maybe a little. I mean, sure, a part of me feels like I’m letting my team down, but they already have me benched indefinitely, so I doubt they’ll even be all that surprised. Besides, it will be a lot harder walking away from you tomorrow, than it will be to leave them.”

I smiled. “Good answer,” I told him.

“When you’re with Westin Force will you be gone a lot?” I asked. It was something I’d been wanting to ask for a while but wasn’t a hundred percent certain I wanted to know the answer.

“I don’t know, sport, but if it keeps me away from you too much, then we’ll reassess. It’s only a trial,” he reminded me.

I nodded and snuggled closer to him. Looking at the clock on the wall, I knew Thomas would be home with the twins soon. They needed a little time alone with their brother, too.

“When the boys get back, I’m going to go and hang out with Peyton for a few hours and give you some time with them.”

“That’s not necessary, Shelbs. It’s us now, now just me,” he said.

“I know that, Ben, but it’s not going to be easy on them with you leaving either, especially right now, and it will mean everything to them to get a few brotherly hours in before saying goodbye. Trust me on this.”

He nodded, but I could tell he didn’t like it. I bit back a smile, not wanting him to know how much I liked it that he didn’t like it, because they meant he wanted to spend his last moments with me too. We would, but I knew this was too important for his little brothers.

“You could go home and pack the rest of you stuff,” he suggested. I knew there wasn’t much love there between him and Peyton, but I also wanted to smooth some things over with her. It was really my fault for how much she resented him.

“I would, but Maddie and Liam left yesterday and that means Mom will be in a funk today. I just don’t want to deal with it,” I confessed.

“Fine,” he said. “But can you stay at least until they get back?”

I loved that he didn’t want me to leave and I readily agreed. We made slow, lazy love one last time, taking our time, knowing it may be our last opportunity to be alone together for a while.

Thomas called when the wheels on the plane touched down and I reluctantly got dressed while Ben jumped in the shower. I considered joining him, but that had the potential to lead to a very awkward start for me and the twins.

I did poke my head in long enough to give him a quick kiss before heading out.

When I got to Peyton’s, I let myself in without even knocking.

“Hey, Shelby,” Kenneth said. “Peyton’s putting Eve down for her nap right now. She’ll be down in a few minutes. I’m heading out to work on the greenhouse over at the diner.”

“Thanks, Kenneth. See you later,” I said.

I waited around downstairs for about fifteen minutes with no sign of Peyton. I climbed the stairs quietly, wondering if it really took that long to put the baby down. The nursery door was closed, but I knew there was a second entrance through the back of the closet in my sister’s room, so I tried there next. Instead, I found Peyton passed out and snoring in her bed.

With a frown, I climbed in beside her and lay down next to her. I had been doing that since we were children, so I really didn’t think anything of it.

The snoring stopped and she smiled before opening her eyes.

“Are you still mad at me?” she asked.

“What? What would I be mad at you?”

“Because I’ve been a bitch to your mate, and I blabbed your secrets, making me the world’s worst sister ever.”

She rolled to her side to look at me.

“I’m not mad. I needed to talk about those things. You just gave me the uncomfortable push to do it.”

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