Page 50 of Guarding Truth

She kept working on the dinner prep, adding the chopped vegetables to a bowl, saying nothing. She flung a fistful of onions into the container. “All I’m saying is that sometimes the rewards are worth the risk.”

She blew out a breath of frustration and turned her attention to laying taco shells on a tray. She was the only woman he’d ever let get this close to him, physically or emotionally. Expressing his feelings didn’t come easily, because most women didn’t want sentimental things dictated to them in the form of an algorithm.

Three years ago, she’d left him. Broken his heart. Could he take a risk now that she was back in his life?

“I—ah—” Sizzling caught his attention. “The meat is burning.”

“Way to dodge the tough stuff, Styles.”

He busied himself with cooking the meat but wasn’t able to shake Juliette’s words. His whole life, he’d calculated everything. It gave order to the chaos, and he never took risks where the odds weren’t in his favor. But if he trusted God instead of his own logic, he might not be devastated in the end. In fact, he’d possibly gain more than he could even imagine. But without letting go, he’d never find out.

Maybe it was time for him to loosen his grip on Ivy’s safety and Juliette’s desertion. Rely on a God that was bigger than his circumstances.

Was loving Juliette worth the risk?

Maybe he should start by telling her how he really felt.

Sucking in a deep breath, he spun around to face her, but instead he knocked into her with a tray full of hard taco shells in her hands. The tray flipped through the air, raining corn shells all around the kitchen. She lost her balance, and Caleb grabbed her around the waist to steady her.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered. She threw her arms around his neck, and he wound up dipping her like they were dance partners.

Breathe, Caleb.

He was millimeters from her face. The logical part of his brain was screaming for him to put her down, run away. Flee. But his pounding heartbeat drowned out his thoughts, and he leaned into their embrace. Before logic kicked in, his lips covered hers. Her eyes widened, and then she closed her eyes and sank into the kiss with total abandon, tangling her fingers through his hair.

Time froze. Juliette was in his arms. The taste of her lips was sweeter than he’d ever imagined. This was where he belonged. They were better together.

A voice from behind him shattered the moment.

“What are you two doing?” Ivy asked as she entered the kitchen.

Juliette righted herself out of Caleb’s grip and let go of his neck. “We kind of collided over the tacos,” she said. A beautiful red hue crept up her neck and colored her cheeks.

Ivy surveyed the taco shell carnage on the floor and sized both of them up. “Do they deliver pizza to FBI safe houses?”

“Not to worry, Ivy,” Juliette said. “There’s another box of taco shells in the cabinet.”

Caleb turned back to the meat, which had turned into charcoal.

Had he just made the biggest mistake of his life, kissing the woman that had walked out on him three years ago?

Safe or not, his heart was there already. He loved Juliette Montgomery.

* * *

FRIDAY, 2:00 A.M.

Ivy never went to bed. She lay awake, staring at the ceiling.

She’d stayed up all night, watching the two FBI agents on patrol, memorizing the patterns they took in their paths. Noelle and Juliette would take turns staying up and watching inside. But if she got past whoever was on guard duty, and disabled the alarm, she could head back to the bedroom and go out the window.

All she needed to do was get far enough from the house to avoid the signal blockers. She’d watch the signal and trust her gut as far as deciding whether to walk to the playground up the street or stick close to the neighbor’s house for Wi-Fi.

She needed to get a message to Layna. If she arranged the meeting, she’d let the FBI know the time and place. She’d calculated the risks. Of course, this haddangerwritten all over it. But Uncle Caleb had been in the Army. How could he not want her to use her skills to defend and protect others? Juliette understood.

And what was up with the two of them embracing in the kitchen? It’d seemed like she’d interrupted a kiss. On the one hand, Uncle Caleb needed to find someone to fall in love with. He’d been alone too long, and she liked Juliette.

But it had been her and her uncle for so long. What if he spent more of his time with Juliette? Would she lose him?

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