Page 68 of Keeping Kara

“I can’t wait for my girls to be born, but at the same time, it makes me sad that I’ll have to take time off. It’s a weird thing, to want to stay home but also be at work,” she lamented at one point.

“I get it,” Penny told her. “I felt the same way with Bowie. Every time I had to leave her with a neighbor to go to work, it killed me, but I also felt so proud of what I was doing. Educating other women on their bodies and how to take care of themselves and their babies.”

“Bowie is awesome. You’re doing such a great job raising her,” Mandy said.

“She’s not just awesome, she’s kick-ass!” Jen exclaimed. “Brave as hell and has more courage in her little finger than I think I do in my entire body.”

“She’s a firecracker, for sure,” Penny agreed with a big smile.

“I’m gonna need you to raise my girls exactly the same way, m’kay?” Laryn told her.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Kara knew all about how Penny would be the babies’ nanny when and if the team got deployed. Laryn didn’t want to give up her spot on the mechanical team, because she felt she was the most-qualified person to keep the choppers in the best working condition…and to keep not only Casper, but the entire team safe. Which Kara appreciated more than she could say.

As the night progressed, after going over last-minute details about the reception—which wasn’t a huge deal, since it was so low-key—talk turned to other topics. And inevitably, Kara found herself in the spotlight.

“So…no word from the detective on fuckface?” Laryn asked.

Kara almost spit out the sip of the wine she’d just taken. Not at the swearword, but at how casual Laryn sounded when she said it. As if that truly was his name. “No. But considering how long it’s been, I’m more and more hopeful that he’s really gone.”

“You still need to be careful,” Zita warned.

“Oh, I am,” Kara said quickly. “I don’t go anywhere by myself. I spend most days in Arrow’s house with the security system on and a baseball bat nearby. Because I know if he finds me, he could break a window and get to me even with the system armed.”

“You seem pretty calm about it all,” Mandy observed.

“I’m not. Not really. But I also don’t want to spend the rest of my life being scared. It’s bad enough that I have panic attacks at random times and my anxiety will go through the roof if I let it. I hate that he has even that amount of power over me. At least I can sleep now without a light on.” She couldn’t help smiling at that last bit.

“Let me guess…because of Chaos?”

Her smile grew. “Yeah. Being in his arms at night…it’s the best kind of therapy.”

“I bet,” Laryn said. “But seriously, cut yourself some slack. I still sometimes have nightmares of my time in captivity. It’s okay to not be all right all the time.”

“I know. Arrow says the same thing.”

“I still feel guilty that I left you that first night,” Jen said quietly.

Kara shook her head. “Don’t. It would’ve happened eventually. And things have worked out. I mean, you have Asher now, and I’ve got Arrow.”

“Yeah, please tell us we’re going to meet the mysterious Asher at some point! Are you bringing him to the reception?” Laryn asked.

“That’s the plan,” Jen said with a huge smile.

“Good. Because I’m getting a complex, thinking he doesn’t want to meet us.”

“That’s not true,” Jen said quickly. “He’s just really busy. If it makes you feel any better, it’s hard for us to find time to get together too. Between of his job and mine, we don’t have a ton of free time.”

“But he’s good to you?” Mandy asked, looking worried.

“Yeah. He’s great. Charming, pulls my seat out at restaurants, has even brought Fred dog bones, trying to win him over.”

“Fred doesn’t like him?” Laryn asked sharply.

“He’s still getting used to him,” Jen replied, a little defensively.

Kara kept what she was thinking off her face…but inside, she was a little worried. Jen’s black lab liked everyone. He was happy and outgoing and treated most people like long-lost friends. What was it about Asher that the dog was picking up on?