“I hope that means that you’ll stay. Not as my tenant. I want you here as mine. No more paying rent and no more sleeping in your room. I want you in my bed next to me every night.”
I watch her closely as she absorbs my words. Her eyes well with tears, and she shakes her head. “I never thought I would find someone here. I thought I would lay low until he had a chance to forget about me and move on with my life. I didn’t expect to meet a little boy who stole my heart. I couldn’t love him more if he were my own.” She whispers her confession.
“I love that about you. I love how good you are with him. How much you care. That’s all I could ask for. Someone who will be there for both of us.” It’s true. I’ve never really thought much about finding a mother for Milo. I was thrust into this single-parent gig, and leaving the Army, buying this house, and finding a tenant to help lighten the load, it was a lot to take on in a short amount of time. Worrying about my dating life, falling in love, that wasn’t even on my radar.
“They say that you find love when you least expect it.”
“I didn’t expect you,” I whisper. Leaning in, I press my lips to hers. “I love you, Hollis Taylor. We’re in this together, and I promise you that I won’t let him near you.”
“Milo.” My son’s name is said with so much reverence.
“It’s all going to work out.” I say the words and will them to be true. I do have some connections, favors I can call in, but will they be enough? We don’t even know this guy’s name, just the general location, and that he’s on the force. We’re going to have to lure him to us, and that has danger written all over it. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe there is another way.
She nods. “I love you too. So much that if I think for one minute that you or that precious little boy is in harm’s way, I’ll leave. I would never risk either of you.”
“Hey, now. None of that. You said that you trusted me.”
“I do trust you, Colt. I also know that if something ever happened to either of you, I would never forgive myself.”
“It’s not going to come to that,” I assure her.
“So, what do we do now?”
“It’s late. We should get to bed. Milo will be up bright and early, and we need to get some sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll take what I know and make some calls. We’ll see where that leads us and take it from there.” Tapping her leg, I smile as she climbs off my lap, and I follow her. In my room, we strip out of our clothes, and she grabs a T-shirt from my drawer to sleep in. Together, we climb under the covers, and she snuggles up to my side.
“I love you,” I say, kissing the top of her head. It feels good to say those words to her. I’ve never felt this way about a woman, and I’ll be damned if some crooked fucking cop is going to take her away from me.
“I love you too,” she says over a yawn.
I hold her until her breathing changes, and I know she’s asleep before I let myself drift off too.* * *It’s been four days since Hollis told me her story. Four days since I told her I was in love with her. Four days of restless nights as I analyze every angle and every option to keep her safe. I made a few calls to a few military connections, but there is mandatory training for them through this weekend. So, really all we can do is wait. I want to go to the local police, but this is Missouri, not California, and so far, there have been no real threats made. I’ve replayed the story over and over in my mind, and I don’t understand why they didn’t have someone watching the shelter. They obviously knew she slept there that night. Something is not adding up. Do they know where she is? Is he just trying to scare her to keep her away? Are they just biding their time? I have so many questions. I’ve been on high alert, making sure the alarm is set at night when we sleep, and all the doors and windows are secure. Not that I didn’t do that before, but I’m vigilant about double and triple-checking.
“You know, you don’t have to do this,” I tell Hollis as she puts on her coat.
“Do what? Spend the day with Milo, Gabby, and your mom? That’s not exactly a hardship, Colton.”
“I know, but you could come with me. Both of you.”