Page 95 of The Scars We Heal

“Cait baby. Darlin’,” he murmured. “You’re enough. You’re more than enough. I don’t care how long it takes for you to believe it. I’m going to prove it to you.” His lips pressed against my shoulder, the kisses stitching up the wounds I didn’t know I had.

The power came on shortly after, so I took Jake’s wet clothes and threw them on a quick drying cycle. Once that was done and we were both fully clothed again, we sat next to each other on the couch with two mugs of hot chocolate. Mine had a huge pile of whipped cream on top and a candy cane, and Jake’s had remnants of the whipped cream he’d immediately inhaled.

A small bit of it was stuck in his mustache, and I reached out with my thumb to wipe it away. “You look like one of those Got Milk? advertisements from when we were in elementary school.” I giggled.

“Man, those were the days.” He chuckled.

A light pitter-patter from the hallway caught my attention, and my gaze swung to Whitley coming out of her room, rubbing her eyes with her knuckles.

“What are you doing awake, bug?” I asked, brows pinching in concern.

“I can’t go to sleep.” Whitley climbed into my lap, clinging to me like superglue. “There’s monsters.”

Jake tapped his lips. “Well, what if the monsters can’t get to you?”

“How can they not get to me?” Though she was still cowering, her brows shot up.

“Monsters can’t get inside a fortress, right?” He stood, setting his mug on the coffee table.

She shook her head.

“Then we’ll just have to build you one. Come on, I’ll show you.” He reached out for her, and she got off my lap to lunge for his hand, clutching it tight.

Warmth spread in my chest as I followed them to my daughter’s bedroom.

“How do we build a fortress?” she asked.

“Wait here. I’ll be right back. Protect Mama, okay?” Shooting me a wink, he ducked out of her bedroom. A few minutes later, he came back with every blanket and pillow in the house.

Whitley cocked her head. “Pillows and blankets?”

Jake nodded. “We’re going to build a castle around your bed that will protect you from the monsters. Watch.”

Tears pricked at my eyes as Jake and Whitley began to build her pillow fort, hanging the blankets above her bed like a canopy and stacking the pillow wall to guard her safely.

I helped tuck the corner of blankets into the mattress and her headboard, securing them so they wouldn’t collapse in the middle of the night.

“It’s dark.” Whitley whimpered once the pillow fort was complete. “I don’t like the dark.”

“That’s what I have this for, bug.” Jake pulled a flashlight out from behind his back. “This is your light tower, okay? It’ll keep you safe from the monsters.” He tucked it between her pillows, and the makeshift castle lit up inside. “One more thing. I’ll be right back.”

He planted a kiss on my lips then headed out again. It wasn’t until I heard the front door shut that my brows furrowed in confusion.

“Where is he going?” Whitley asked.

“Good question, bug. I have no idea.”

Ten minutes later, he came back, his T-shirt darkened from the rain still pouring outside. He carried something in his hand, but I couldn’t quite tell what it was.

“Close your eyes, girls,” he instructed.

Whitley giggled as she covered her face with her hands, spreading her fingers so there were gaps that she could see out of.

“No cheating. I see you, Whitley Rose.” He tutted. “You too, Cait.”

Shaking my head, I obliged. The springs under the mattress squeaked, and Jake grunted once or twice before the thud of his feet hitting the floor filled the room.

“You can look now.”