“Okay.”
She blinked in surprise but tamped it down quickly, though I noted how she bit her bottom lip as if holding off a smile.
After setting her glass in the dishwasher, she moved out ofthe kitchen and headed toward the bedroom. Once I ensured the security system was properly armed, I followed along, shutting the lights off as we went.
The master was situated in the back corner of the house and had its own set of French doors that led out onto the back deck. I’d positioned the bed to face the fields and hills beyond, which were bathed in moonlight, glowing silver and faintly illuminating the room.
My own master was set up similarly, because honestly, nothing beat the sight of this land, the tall country grasses and the distant snow-capped peaks of the mountains first thing in the morning.
Reagan crawled into bed, which I noted was a tangled mess of sheets. She curled up on the side closest to the door and patted the other one.
I shook my head. “Move over, belle.”
“Why?”
Leaning close so she could see the seriousness of my expression, I said, “If someone breaks in, they’ll have to go through me to get to you. And I won’t make it easy. Now move, please.”
Her eyes widened at the command in my tone, but she wisely did as I asked, mumbling a breathy little, “Yes, soldier,” before doing so.
Setting the gun on the bedside table, I shucked my sweatpants, leaving myself in only my tee and boxer briefs, before getting in next to her. I settled in, tugging the sheets as far as my waist and tucking one arm behind my head.
After years in the Army, I could fall asleep on command, anywhere, at any time.
Tonight was different. I was wired, tightly wound, as if waiting for some other shoe to drop.
I didn’t know how long we lay there, me waiting for Reagan’s breathing to even out as she dropped into sleep, before sheshifted to face me and said, “Can I tell you about my nightmare?”
I turned my head toward her in surprise. “I—if you want to?”
She nodded. “It’s going to sound crazy, but I think you’re maybe the only person in the world besides Lainey who would understand it.”
Her voice cracked on her sister’s name, and without thinking, I reached for her, gathering her up and tugging her to my side. Reagan came willingly, tucking her face against my chest, one hand coming to rest on my stomach, her thigh hooking over mine. My arm came around her instinctively, rubbing soothing circles on her back.
This, I thought.This is how I should be falling asleep every night and waking up every morning.
“There was this old farmhouse,” she started. “Somewhere in the woods.”
“Just any old woods?” I asked.
There was a reason she was telling me this, and something told me we both needed her to be as specific as possible, some gut instinct leading me through this conversation.
Shaking her head against my chest, she said, “No. There were mountains in the distance. But not Tennessee mountains,” she continued before I could ask. “Like…”
“Idaho mountains?” I guessed.
“Yeah. Idaho mountains.” Absently, her fingers drew nonsensical patterns on my stomach. My abdomen tightened beneath her touch, and goosebumps raised along my skin. “I had no idea why I was there,” she continued. “Only that I felt like I was…searching for something.”
“What was it?”
Reagan gave my stomach a little slap. “I’m getting there.”
She explained how she went inside, how this old, ramblingfarmhouse which seemed to have not been updated since the seventies, was completely empty.
“And then I found the basement.”
Unease trickled down my spine. I knew it had only been a dream, but it had terrified her enough to wake up screaming bloody murder, and had this been a real-life scenario—well, it seemed like the kind of place I would’ve done whatever possible to prevent her from entering.
Still, I admired her bravery, even if she was perfectly safe.
