He tipped her chin up, his fingers warm on her skin. “Don’t hide. You did nothing wrong. I promise. You reacted like anyone who has never been in this life would have.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Do you want to change into your own clothes? And I’ll grab blankets, and we can chill on the couch for a while. If we run out of ice cream, I’ll have Kace bring us more.”
“Yeah, that sounds awesome.” She might feel better if she was wearing her own clothes. She’d left her bags in the spare room when Kacey had brought them to her yesterday.
Someone else went through your stuff.
She pushed the errant thought out of her head as she shut the door behind her. She unzipped her case and fished inside for her favorite yoga pants and her Kris Michaels slogan hoodie. It had been a crappy morning, and she needed every bit of comfort she could get. After adding a pair of fluffy socks, she padded back into the living room to find Caleb waiting for her.
“Hey.”
Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of the couch. “You went all out.” Fluffy blanket, check. Ice cream, check. He’d even produced a bunch of paperback books. A plate of cookies and candy… so much candy. “Have you been asking Dr. Google again?”
“Does it show?”
She nodded and climbed under the blanket. “Just a little.” She scanned the titles on the books as he sat on the other end of the couch and pulled her feet onto his lap.
“It’s mostly thrillers, but I have some other options coming.”
Did he order stuff from Amazon?
“You don’t have to buy me stuff.”
“I didn’t.” He shook his head and stood up when the doorbell sounded. “That’s your books now.”
Books don’t freaking knock on the door.
Confused, she watched him padding across the room. While she’d been changing into her comfy clothes, he’d swapped out Rexar’s shorts for a pair of faded blue jeans and a t-shirt that showcased his massive shoulders.
“Thanks for coming.”
Rose wasn’t sure what to think when Caleb stepped aside to allow the women into his house. They came loaded down with bags, baby gear, and a baby.
“We brought wine,” Lily chirped. She turned and glared at Caleb. “And if you say it’s too early in the morning for wine, then tough luck. Your girl is having a bad day, and we’re going to help you fix it.”
“Damn, Google was correct for once.”
Lina and another of the women started moving armchairs, bringing them closer to the couch. Rose winced when one of them produced a staple gun, but it made sense when another produced a blanket, which they stapled to the back of the chair.
“That’s my chair, Eedana,” Caleb growled. “What the hel—” he glanced at the baby, “—heck are you doing?”
“What does it look like we’re doing? We’re making a blanket fort for girl time.” Eedana made a shooing motion in Caleb’s direction. “Now go get me a couple of brooms or something so I can prop this up in the middle.”
“But my chairs. You get to fix any freaking holes when you are done.”
Rose noticed that despite his grumbling, Caleb left the room and reappeared a moment later with a broom and a mop.
“I don’t have two brooms, so a mop will have to do.” He handed them to the girls. “Are you serious about the wine?”
“Damn straight we are,” Lina replied. “It doesn’t matter that it’s ten am. Wine is needed when it comes to discussing the shit show that was this morning.” She made a shooing motion toward the door. “Now shoo. Leave us to look after your girl. Nem wants you in the war-room, stat. There’s a disciplinary meeting you need to attend.”
Rose froze. “You got in trouble for me acting like a fool this morning?”
“It’s not for me. I promise.” He shook his head. “We need to figure out if the new guy was sent by the organization or someone else.”
“The organization?” Was it not Janek who was behind the alarms and problems earlier? She got to her feet and followed him to the coat rack inside the door. “Caleb?”
“The organization is a bunch of assholes we’ve been dealing with for a while.” He strapped on his holster and shoved a handgun into it before shrugging into a hoodie. “Do you want me to stay? I can call Nemesis; he’ll understand.”
She shook her head. She’d caused enough problems for him. “No, it’s okay.” She still wasn’t entirely sure what she felt about the invasion of the wives and partners of the men. But she figured she’d figure it out as she went. She peered up at him and read the uncertainty in his gaze. She wasn’t exactly giving off ‘I got this’ vibes. “I’ll have someone call you if that changes.”
