“One thing’s for damn sure,” I tell Holly. “We’re not sleeping here tonight. It’s not safe.”
“Where will we sleep then?”
I hit the little green call button, press the phone to my ear, and wait.
Jonah picks up after the third ring.
“Hey, brother,” he says in his deep baritone. “What’s up?”
“I need a favor, man,” I tell him. “And I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important.”
“Anything you need, just ask.”
“You still got that guestroom?”
“Sure do.”
“Great,” I say. “How about your Glock?”
Chapter Nineteen
Caleb
“You’re gonna be okay, baby.” I reach across the center console to squeeze Holly’s thigh above the knee. “Teagan and Jonah are real nice people.”
“I believe you.” She tightens her grip on the white kitten in her arms. We ran into my apartment just long enough to each pack an overnight bag, and for Holly to fix her makeup. “The shitty thing about social anxiety is that it doesn’t matter what I know or believe. My body still freaks out.”
“I promise you can retreat to our room as soon as we get there if you’re feeling overwhelmed.”
She nods, eyes closed. I hate seeing her so unsettled. Every time I quit drinking, I have to contend with my own brand of anxiety, but I know it’s not the same as what she’s been going through her whole life.
“Just so I have everyone straight,” she says, “Jonah is your old partner?"
"Correct,” I say.
"And Teagan is his wife."
"She is."
"And Joey, their son, is...a year old?"
"Plus some pocket change.” I glance in the rearview mirror one last time to make sure we weren’t followed before I turn onto Jonah’s street. “He’ll be tottering around the place. Watch out for your earrings, he’s at that age where he wants to put everything in his mouth.”
“Some people never grow out of that phase.” Her mouth quirks into a small smile. I’m thrilled to see she still has her sense of humor. “He sounds like a happy kid.”
“He’s lucky,” I say. “He’s got good family around him.”
I pull into the driveway and park next to Jonah’s truck. I grab our bags from the back seat as Holly steps down onto the blacktop.
“Wow,” she says, taking in the impressive size and aesthetic details of the slate-blue house with stained-glass windows above the garage.
“Jonah co-runs a construction firm with his buddy, Austin. He built this house to reflect the sort of craftsmanship his company’s capable of.”
I take Holly’s hand. She shoulders her bag and clings to her kitten as she follows me into the garage. I knock twice on the interior door and then open it.
“Howdy, Parkes family,” I call out as we step inside.
A loud bark cuts through the quiet as an enormous German Shepherd comes bounding through the kitchen toward us.
Holly’s hand tightens around mine.
“I forgot to mention Burger,” I say, stepping in front of Holly so I bear the brunt of his sloppy-dog kisses. “Hey, boy. Easy, now.”
“Burger, off!” Teagan snaps her fingers and the dog immediately drops to his haunches, panting, his tongue lolling out the side of his massive jaw.
“Sorry about him,” Teagan says. “He’s still a puppy.”
“A massive puppy.” I pet his head. “Holly, this is Teagan.”
“Great to meet you, Holly.” Teagan smiles warmly. Since the last time I saw her, she’s dyed the tips of her honey-blonde hair bright pink, and filled in a few more spots on her tattoo sleeve. Her gaze flickers to the kitten in Holly’s arms.
Holly waves nervously. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“That you, brother?” Jonah strides into the kitchen with little Joey on his heels.
“Goddamn.” I gesture to his wavy mane. “When’s the last time you got a haircut, man?”
“My girl won’t let me cut it any shorter,” he says, flashing Teagan a grin.
I clap shoulders with my former partner, a beast of a man. The guy’s got three inches on me, and I’m already a generous six-foot-one. He offers his bear paw to Holly.
“Glad to have you, Holly,” he says, engulfing her small hand in his.
“Thank you.” Holly’s brow knits as she glances between Jonah the Giant and his much younger wife. Teagan’s barely clinging to nineteen, and Jonah hit the big four-oh earlier this year.
Teagan catches Joey on his lap around the kitchen island and lifts him into her arms. “You going to say hi to Uncle Cal and his friend?”
Joey tilts his head back so he’s looking at me upside down.
“Unca-Caw,” he says.
I tap his nose gently. “Hey, little man.”
Joey giggles. Holly smiles at the toddler and holds out her finger.
“Hey there, buddy,” she says. Joey tries to pull her finger into his mouth. Holly chuckles. “I don’t think I taste very good.”
I’d beg to differ. I’m struck all the sudden by an image of Holly with a baby in her arms, and not just any baby. But my baby. Our baby.
For a man who gave up on that dream a long time ago, it’s hell of a head trip.