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“For all they know what?” Her posture became defensive again, like it had been when she’d answered the door earlier. “What are you thinking?”
“The whole story probably sounds farfetched to the police,” Cole said. “Think about it. Your Navy SEAL father is missing, and you’ve been threatened by an anonymous letter. It’s the plot of a movie.”
“It so happens to be my life at the moment.” She picked up an accent pillow that had fallen to the floor and punched it back into shape before putting it on the sofa. He could almost see her analytical mind looking at the situation from the police’s perspective, though. “They think I’m a drama queen seeking attention. Is that what you’re saying? Is that what you’d assume, if you were in their shoes?”
“They don’t know you. I do,” he said. She wasn’t into histrionics. If anything, she was overly calm in tough moments. Like during the conversation when she’d told him she was pregnant, and their relationship had to change. She’d been completely rational and composed. Other women might have cried or tried to manipulate him, but she hadn’t. She’d been perfectly confident in her assurances that she would and could raise the child on her own. “They’ll talk to the MPs and verify who your dad is. That’ll add credibility to what you’ve told them, but even if they believed you completely, I still don’t see that they can do much. They’re not equipped for something like this.”
“Fine.” She began moving around the room again, picking up baby items and storing them away in a basket beside the sofa. “So what arewegoing to do, then? We only have ten days to locate Dad. You know him almost as well as I do. Where could he have gone?”
“Tough to say. Without more intel, I’m not sure where to start looking. That’s why I want you to analyze the email I received. See where it originated and any other details it yields. That might tell us something. I’m going to focus on doing what Edwin asked me to. Keeping you and Eddy safe. That starts with improving your security here. You don’t even have a doorbell camera.” He’d noted that when he’d first arrived.
“I have a window,” she said, “so I can see who’s out there before I open the door.”
He snorted. “By that time, whoever is on the outside has already seen you. And for a sniper, someone you can see is someone you can attack. Not safe. You’ll need at least a smart doorbell system and alarms on the windows and doors. That’s easily done with a trip to any electronics store.”
Her lips were pressed together again. “I guess that makes sense,” she conceded. “I’ve just never had to worry about security before.”
“It might be better to find someplace else to live temporarily,” he said. He could reach out to some friends. Someone might know of a place where they could stay.
“I’mnot going anywhere.” Her tone was stubborn, but he knew that was just masking the fear running like an undercurrent through her. She was frightened for her father, herself, and her child. “All of Eddy’s things are here, and it’s where he’s comfortable. I don’t want to disrupt him. It’s also set up for my work. I can’t just decide to not do my job until all this is over—freelancers don’t get paid vacation days.” She’d been bent over, straightening magazines in a bin. She rose and turned to face him. “I’m sure I’ll be fine here. Maybe you could just check in periodically once I get some extra security in place.”
His stomach sank. Was that what she thought, that protecting her meant just stopping by now and then? If so, she wasn’t going to like it when he made it clear that he wasn’t going to leave. With the history between them, she might not be comfortable with having him around all the time, but there was no way he was budging. And it wasn’t just because Edwin had commanded him to keep Kelsey and Eddy safe. He was staying because they needed him, whether Kelsey would admit it or not. “If you want to stay here, I’ll make that work, but I’m going to be your live-in bodyguard until your father comes home.”
“Won’t you need to apply for leave?” She was looking for an excuse.
“I’ll get it,” he said. “My first priority is keeping you and the baby safe. And doing that means I need to be right here, the whole time. Not a drive away, not a phone call away.Here.”
The silence became heavy in the room as she processed his words. She was too smart not to recognize the danger to her and Eddy. The solution he was offering was the only logical one given the circumstances. And Kelsey was a logical woman, so he waited, watching her expression as she weighed the options.
“You’re right. Dammit,” she said after a few minutes. “If it was just me in the equation, I’d risk staying here on my own. My dad taught me self-defense moves starting when I was a kid. But if someone shows up, I can’t fight off an attacker and protect Eddy at the same time.”
He appreciated that she wasn’t going to fight him on it. Letting him in couldn’t be easy for her, but she’d made the right call. The only call. And at least she could enjoy some schadenfreude knowing that it wasn’t going to be easy for him, either, to live in the same house as her and the son who he’d planned not to have contact with. A soft cooing followed by a rustling came through the baby monitor that sat on an end table. He and Kelsey both waited, listening, but the sound wasn’t repeated. The child might be sleeping, but the noise was a reminder of what was between them.
Try as he might, Cole couldn’t ignore what he’d felt the moment he’d laid eyes on his son for the first time. He’d struggled to control his reaction to the shock of seeing his own flesh and blood blinking back at him, nestled in his mother’s arms, but the flood of emotions had nearly overtaken him. He’d leaned on his training to keep his feelings from registering on his face, hoping that he looked more stoic than he felt. Cole didn’t see himself reflected in the baby’s features, but he’d still felt an instinctive awareness of Eddy. That washisboy, his to protect, even if he couldn’t be the child’s fulltime father.
Cole cleared his throat and forced himself to focus on the work he had to do to keep Kelsey and Eddy safe. He took a moment to review a mental list. When he had it set in his head, he began laying things out for Kelsey. “You’ll need a go bag for you and the baby. Everything you’d need for two or three days in case we have to leave here in a hurry. Pack it and keep it by the door.”
“It’ll be a big bag. Babies don’t travel light,” she said with the hint of a smile. “What else, Cole?” Her question told him that she’d chosen to put her faith in him, to follow his lead when it came to her safety and Eddy’s. That was a good sign.
“I have to report for duty at 0700 tomorrow morning, but I should get there earlier so I have a chance to talk to my CO and request emergency leave. There shouldn’t be any problem getting it, but you and Eddy will have to come with me. I’m not leaving you here alone. Whoever is after your father isn’t afraid to walk up to your door and drop a letter in your box.” He didn’t need to say more. They both knew that the perpetrators could turn violent at any time. It was a chance he wasn’t taking.
“That’s fine,” she said. “Eddy’s usually up early, or he’ll sleep in the car. I’ll get the guest room ready for you.”
“Thanks.” He watched her go up the stairs, fully aware of how challenging the coming days would be for them both.
FOUR
Kelsey smelled coffee as she woke early the next morning. Had she set the timer on the machine? For a moment, she was confused, and then it all came back. Cole was living with her. He must have made the coffee. She sat up, shaking her head to wake herself. Eddy had been up at three and reluctant to resettle. She’d paced the floor with him for an hour, trying not to disturb her houseguest.
When parents talked about sleep deprivation for the first year, they weren’t exaggerating, but she’d found she could function, more or less. Coffee helped. She got out of bed, dressed in jeans and a sweater, pulled her hair back with a headband, and applied lip gloss. The look was her current definition of dressed up. In the hall, she paused outside Eddy’s room to listen. Hearing nothing, she went downstairs to the kitchen.
“I smelled coffee,” she said, entering the room. Cole leaned against the counter, looking well rested and handsome in his uniform.
“Morning, hope you don’t mind that I helped myself.”
“I’m thrilled,” Kelsey replied. “One less thing for me to have to do.”
“Well then, have a seat. I’ll get you a cup,” Cole said and poured her coffee, adding two sugars and one cream. Just how she liked it. She smiled at him when he handed her the mug. He’d always been sweet like that when they were together. She missed it more than she was willing to let herself admit. Missed him. “I heard you up in the night and figured you’d need it.”
