Page 94 of Saving You

I nod, and she settles on the floor, her attention fully on me.

“Dad was deployed overseas, working in a joint operation with American forces. He was stationed in a remote village that was being used as a small base when he was killed. They were tasked with developing a relationship with the locals in the hopes they could obtain information from them that could be useful.” I swallow as I try to continue. “Dad had thought one of the guys was paying a little too much attention to some of the local young women. One night, he followed him and saw him going into a house. It wasn’t long before he heard a woman scream. He entered the house, weapon drawn, and found the soldier attempting to rape her. Before Dad could do anything, the guy shot him. He must have thought the woman was too scared of him, because he left her alive. She ended up at the base where she told them everything. They decided their mission was too important to tell the family it was friendly fire, but with the mission well over now, they released the information at my request.”

Bailey’s eyes are wide as she stares at me. Reaching forward, she grabs my hand and squeezes it. “I’m sorry, Caleb. Truly. I’m sorry that happened to your father, and I’m sorry you had to read it.”

She places the stack of papers on the coffee table as she moves to stand. Her eyes catch on something, and she pulls out one of the house listings I must have grabbed with the report when I came in here.

“What are you doing with these?” she asks. Her voice doesn’t sound accusatory, rather, she sounds worried.

“I was looking for something in the junk drawer and found those stuffed in the back. I must have grabbed them when I grabbed the others.” My voice sounds dull and emotionless, even to me, and I can tell Bailey notices it too.

“I can explain,” she starts.

She settles back on her heels as she scratches at her jeans. I watch her nails scratch over the material, leaving little lines of changed colour in their wake.

“So, at some point after we moved in here, I decided I want to sell my place. The good memories of my childhood have been taken over by the bad ones, and most of Charlie’s memories there aren’t good ones. So, I thought we need a fresh start. And I know that living with you wasn’t a permanent invite, but I figured I could list it and we could find a small place to rent until my place sold and I found a place I could afford. I don’t want us to overstay our welcome. And I know Charlie has said some big things the last few days, and she didn’t say anything to me about it, so I was just as surprised as you.” Her words are rushed, and her cheeks pinken as she avoids my eyes.

“Overstay your welcome?” I ask.

Her gaze shoots up to mine, and her mouth opens and closes a few times before she takes a breath and pulls her shoulders back. “I know you only brought us here because of Derek showing up at my place, and I want you to know how much I appreciate that.”

“Did I do something wrong? Was it the nightmare?” I ask.

Her brows pull together in confusion. “No. Why would you ask that?”

“You packed a bag.”

Her brows drop, and her shoulders sag. “We had a girls’ night planned with Lily. Every year, we pick a day during Charlie’s winter break to watch movies, play games, and do a sleepover at Lily’s. It was just an overnight bag.” Her words don’t completely relax me.

“You didn’t wait for me to come down and say goodbye this morning.”

“I thought you wanted to stay in bed. I didn’t want to drag you out of bed on your day off,” she says.

“The way you rushed out of bed this morning.”

She blushes slightly. “I wasn’t ready to have the conversation about Charlie calling you Dad, not once, but several times. I wimped out and decided to run.” Her gaze darts around the room everywhere, but my face.

“I like it.”

My words have her head snapping to me so quickly, I’m surprised I don’t hear it pop.

“What?” Her words are breathy and quiet.

I slide onto the floor in front of her, my hand grasping her chin. “I like it.”

Her eyes widen.

“I never thought I’d hear someone call me that. I love that Charlie was the first one to. And you’re not overstaying your welcome. Why do you think I helped Charlie paint and decorate her room? That room is hers. I want her to be comfortable in it and down the road when she grows up and wants to change it, we’ll change it.”

A tear falls down her cheek, and I release my grip on her jaw to use my thumb to wipe it away.

“You weren’t leaving me?” I ask softly.

“What? No!” she practically yells. “Why would I leave you?”

I lean forward, our breaths mingling. “Can I kiss you?”

“You never have to ask,” she says as she leans forward, her lips finding mine.

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