He hated talking about this, but that wasn’t Delilah’s fault and Maria’s death wasn’t a big secret or anything, just a terrible tragedy that he didn’t like thinking about if he could help it. That wasn’t fair to Delilah, though, so he took a breath as he responded. “She started to hemorrhage after the birth. They gave her some stuff to stop it and it slowed down, so they put her in her room with the baby. I sat with her until about midnight. She was pretty weak and tired from the blood loss, so the nurses took Elias to the nursery for the night so she could rest, and I went home. I got the call about five hours later. She’d started to bleed again and this time they couldn’t stop it.”
“Oh my god, how awful.” Delilah reached for his hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks.” He looked away, absently wiping some syrup off Elias’s mouth. “But that’s why I’m a little hesitant to think about having more. I’d probably be a wreck going through that again.”
“Well, that’s nowhere on our radar,” she said quickly. “So we don’t have to talk about it.” She turned to Elias. “You told me you wanted to learn how to surf. Do you still want to?”
“Yes!” He nodded emphatically. “I’ll become one with the waves—like you.”
Eric snorted out a laugh. “Did you teach him that?”
She nodded. “Sorry… I love to surf and I probably talked about it a little too much when we met.”
“I’m interested in seeing you on a board,” he admitted.
She laughed. “I probably love it more than my skills should allow, but it’s good exercise and a ton of fun.”
“I’m game.”
They finished breakfast and headed to the base to take care of a million details she hadn’t even thought about. The keys to the house, I.D. cards, and so many other things, Delilah was mentally exhausted before lunch. By the time they actually got into the house itself, she needed a nap, but there was too much to do and nowhere to sit.
“I don’t like it here,” Elias announced, sitting on the floor in a huff.
“It’ll be fine once we get some furniture in here and all your toys,” Delilah said softly. “You’ll see.”
“Okay, I’m going to go get a load from the storage unit,” Eric told her. “You should probably stay here with Elias since I can fit more in the truck without you guys in it.”
“Yeah, but how will you lift all the big stuff? You’re strong, but you can’t maneuver a couch or a king-sized mattress by yourself.”
“That’s why we’re here.” A fairly tall man with short, cropped hair and a friendly smile stuck his head through the doorway.
“Ron!” Eric got up and the men did a complicated handshake thing that made Delilah grin right along with them.
“Uncle Ron!” Elias was on his feet running to the man and jumping into his arms.
“Hey, buddy.” Ron hugged him and ruffled his hair.
“What are you doing here?” Eric asked, shaking his hand.
“I knew which house you were getting so I grabbed a couple of buddies and came over.” He motioned with his hand. “This is Sam Reed, whom we call Mozart, and Matt Steel, also known as Wolf.”
“Nice to meet you.” Eric shook each of their hands and introduced Delilah and Elias.
“We’ve all got trucks,” Wolf said, “so we should be able to knock this out in one trip.”
“A couple of the guys from our unit were going to come but Cheeto’s wife has the flu and Jag’s mom is in town for a visit, so they had to beg off,” Ron said. “But I think the four of us got this.”
“I’ll start cleaning,” Delilah told Eric. “So when you get here we’ll be ready.”
“Great.” He leaned over and brushed his lips across her cheek, suddenly unwilling to tell these men that his marriage was only one of convenience. Letting them think that babysitting was the only reason this gorgeous woman was married to him was a little embarrassing.
“S-see you later.” Delilah’s eyes had momentarily widened in surprise but she’d quickly masked it.
“Be good, buddy.” He nodded at Elias and followed his friends outside. He was going to have to explain his behavior to both Delilah and Ron, whom he’d told the details about their marriage. He just hoped he didn’t look like too much of a jerk for making such a unilateral decision.
Delilah was on her hands and knees scrubbing a mysterious stain out of the carpet when there was a knock on the door. She’d been about to get up but Elias had thrown it open before she could move.
“Elias!” she called out in dismay. “You can’t just open the door. You have to wait for Daddy or me to do it.”
“Sorry.” He looked down sheepishly. “I thought it was Daddy.”
“Daddy wouldn’t knock, silly.” She got to her feet to see who was at the door.
“Hi, I’m Bobbi.” A very pregnant woman probably in her early thirties approached Delilah with a friendly smile and warmth in her blue eyes.
“Delilah.” Delilah smiled back. “You must be Ron’s wife?”
“Yes, I am. I came by to see if there was anything you needed, and you look overwhelmed. What can I do to help?”
“Looks like you already have your hands full,” Delilah said softly, motioning to her stomach.
“I’ve also already got two others at home—well, they’re at camp this week—and frankly, anything I can do to pass the time until this baby comes would be a welcome distraction.”
“Oh.” Delilah hesitated. There was still nowhere to sit and it felt weird asking a pregnant stranger to help her clean.
“Really, I’m healthy as a horse. I can’t lift anything heavy and if I get on the floor someone will have to help me up, but I’m fine to help. You want me to wipe down cabinets and counters in the kitchen? Clean the inside of the refrigerator? If I can do it standing, I’m golden.”
“Wiping down cabinets and counters would be amazing. I bought a disinfectant spray and there’s a case of paper towels.”
“I’m on it.” She turned to Elias. “You want to help me? You can tear off paper towels and hand them to me as I need them.”
“Okay!” Elias seemed thrilled at the idea of helping and bounded after her, already talking a mile a minute.
Once again, Delilah was caught up in a strange sense of belonging. Eric’s friends had all been amazingly helpful and accepting so far. She was still reeling from him kissing her on the cheek, but some sixth sense told her he didn’t want those other men, the ones he hadn’t known until an hour ago, to find out about their arrangement. Things were happening so fast it was hard to keep up, but there was so much work to do she didn’t have a lot of time to think.
Bobbi and Elias were laughing about something in the kitchen and it made Delilah smile too. Was it really possible for her to have found something real here in San Diego? A ready-made family, with a good man, and the potential for love again? She didn’t believe in love at first sight, but it seemed plausible with a guy like Eric.
Humming to herself, she finished scrubbing the stain and then got to her feet, stretching her back and neck. The bathrooms were next and she trudged in that direction reluctantly. Bathrooms were her least favorite thing when it came to cleaning, and the Carsons had a cleaning service, so it had been a long time since she’d had to do it. It occurred to her this was her new reality and she sighed. She didn’t mind cleaning that much, except for the bathrooms, but she was going to have to suck it up. Eric had done so much for her already, it would be childish to whine about something so small.
Donning the gloves she’d bought in anticipation, she dug in, scrubbing the tub, wiping down the shower walls, and finally cleaning the toilet. By the time she finished the sink and cabinets, she was tired. This had already been a long day and it was dinnertime but the guys hadn’t even come back yet with the furniture. She was definitely going to sleep well tonight.
“Delilah?” Eric’s voice startled her back to the present and she stepped into the hallway.
“Hi.”
; “Hey.” There was something different in his eyes and she frowned.
“Is everything okay?”
“We need to talk.”
“Okay.” Uh-oh, what was this about?
“The unit’s been called up,” he said when they’d retreated into the privacy of the master bedroom.
Chapter 7
Delilah had no idea what he was talking about. “What?”
“A mission.” He paused. “Technically, I don’t have to go because I have another day of leave, but I’m new and it would earn me points with my new commander. And if I go, that means Ron can stay. With Bobbi.”
She blinked. “You mean…you’re going on a mission today?”
He nodded. “I know, the timing couldn’t be worse, but Ron said he’ll stay around and help—Wolf and Mozart will too. I just…I have to let the commander know right away.”
“I don’t understand,” she said helplessly. “When would you leave?”
“Immediately.” He took her hands in his. “We haven’t had time to talk about any of this and I’m so sorry. I honestly thought I had a few more days, but this is the gist of it. When something comes up, we have anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of hours to go. This time it’s the couple of hours range. The guy I’m replacing on the team doesn’t retire for another week, so technically, I would stay on leave and Ron would go like usual. But with Bobbi due any day, and me already here, we have the option of me subbing in for Ron so he can stay with her. If this really freaks you out, I’ll say no, but…” His voice trailed off as he looked at her.
“But with Bobbi nine months pregnant, that would be shitty,” she acknowledged, everything beginning to fall into place.
“Kinda.”
“Okay, but… Eric, I literally don’t even know what to do with myself. I don’t know where anything is or where to go or what to do.”
“You’ll have my truck and Ron said unless Bobbi goes into labor, he’ll be here every day to make sure you have help with everything.”
She nodded even though her heart was screaming in protest. “Yes, okay. You do what you have to do.”
“You’re freaking out, aren’t you?”
She nodded again. “Yes, but I’ll be okay. I’ve been through much worse, trust me.”
He gently cupped the side of her face with his palm. “I have faith in you, and Ron is like a brother to me. If he says he’ll take care of things, he will.”
She unwittingly nestled her face into his warm hand, looking up at him with the strongest urge to kiss him. Damn, she wanted to, and when their eyes locked, she saw his desire too.
Their lips were almost touching. Hers parted slightly, glistening as she moistened them with her tongue. Holy hell, he was going to kiss her.
“Delilah…” He reached for her.
“You can kiss me,” she whispered softly, somehow understanding he needed permission first.
“Fuck yeah.” He bent his head and gently touched his lips to hers, teasing, probing, until her mouth opened of its own volition. The minute their tongues touched, it was all over and she fell into his arms as if she’d always been there. Sweetness like she hadn’t felt in years washed over her, through her, around her, until she was completely engulfed in the flames of his touch. Nothing had prepared her for this and she made a tiny squeak of protest when he finally pulled away.
“I have to go,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. “But we’re going to pick up where we left off when I get back.”
“Okay.” Their gazes remained locked for a few more seconds until he finally stepped back.
“So here’s my debit card.” He pulled out his wallet and handed it to her. “I’ll write down my PIN and you can use it to get cash. There’s about twelve hundred dollars in there right now so keep that in mind as you spend. Get groceries, things for the house, take Elias to do fun stuff, whatever you need to get through while I’m gone. I don’t know when I’ll be back or if I can call, but don’t worry if you don’t hear from me. Sometimes we’re just in a dead zone and I can’t get service.”
“What’s the average time you’re gone when you’re on a mission?” she asked softly.
“Four days?” He shrugged. “It varies. When I was in training, missions were anywhere from two to twenty days, so keep that in mind.”
“I will.”
“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered. “I promise.”
“I know.” She smiled into his warm eyes.
“Okay, I need to talk to Elias and grab my go-bag. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I have no idea, but I’ll muddle through. Don’t worry about me. Elias and I might spend every day at the beach, though.”
“That’s fine with me.” He took her hand and they walked back into the living room.
Ron and Wolf had just carried in the couch and they looked at Delilah questioningly. “Where do you want this?”
“Uh, there, by the window. I don’t know how much furniture there is, but I can rearrange it if you get it in the right room.”
“Delilah’s good,” Eric said to Ron once they’d placed the couch where Delilah had indicated. “I just have to talk with Elias and then I’m out of here.”
“You’re going to go in Ron’s place?” Bobbi’s eyes widened and then she burst into tears. “Thank you, Eric, you don’t know how much this means to me!”
“No problem.” Eric smiled at her as Ron hugged her tightly.
Eric was gone within thirty minutes but Delilah didn’t have time to miss him because Ron, Wolf and Mozart were still carrying in furniture and boxes. They set up Eric’s king-sized bed in the master bedroom, Elias’s toddler bed in his room, and had stacked boxes in corners of the living room and kitchen.
“That’s everything,” Ron said an hour after Eric had left. “What else can we do?”
“I need to know where there’s a Laundromat. We don’t have a washer or dryer yet and I have to do all the bedding.”
“Why don’t you come over to our house?” Ron suggested. “You can use ours and have dinner since you don’t have much here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” Bobbi got up. “I put stroganoff in the Crock-Pot this morning so I just have to boil noodles and we’re ready to go.”
“Oh, that sounds heavenly. Thank you.”
The next few days were exhausting, but with Ron and Bobbi’s help, the house came together quickly. Delilah washed all the bedding and linens she could find and made up the beds while Bobbi unpacked dishes and kitchen items. Ron hung a fifty-five-inch flat-screen TV even though they had no cable yet, and hooked up a Blu-ray DVD player so they could at least watch movies. He moved boxes, threw out the trash and even washed Eric’s truck. At the end of three days, the house looked livable but she had a huge list of things they needed to buy.
Until Eric came home, she wouldn’t buy anything but groceries, toiletries and cleaning supplies, but they desperately needed a washer and dryer. Elias wore three outfits a day sometimes, and with all the cleaning she was doing, towels and rags were constantly in need of refreshing. Ron and Bobbi were great about letting her use theirs, but going out to do laundry would become a hassle very quickly.
On the fifth day after Eric left, he called.
“Hi!” It was after eleven in the evening and she was in bed reading, but she was so excited to hear his voice.
“Hey, beautiful.”
“How are you?”
“Good. Not sure when I’ll be home, but I had a few minutes and wanted to say hello.”
“Well, the house is up and running for the most part. No cable, no washer and dryer, and the garbage disposal doesn’t work, but Ron is going to look at it tomorrow.”
“That’s great. I’m sorry I had to leave you to do everything on your own, but I’ll get back those leave days so I’ll take them at some point to make up for it.”
“You don’t have to keep apologizing. It’s your job.”
“Tell Elias I�
��m sorry I missed him and that I love him.”
“I will.” She hated having to say goodbye.
“I have to run, babe.”
Babe. He’d called her babe and it made her insides feel all squishy and warm.
“I…miss you.”
He paused. “I miss you too. We’ll talk soon. Good night.”
She’d just put the phone down when it rang again. She was surprised to see Ron’s name on the screen and hurriedly picked it up. “Hello? Ron?”
“Hey, I need a favor.”
“Of course. What’s going on?”
“Bobbi’s in labor.”
Chapter 8
Elias was beyond excited to wake up in the morning and find two kids in the house to play with. Ron had dropped off Julian and Sam the night before on his way to the hospital with Bobbi, so Delilah hadn’t gotten much sleep worrying about everyone. The kids seemed fine today, though. She’d put in a movie after breakfast and all three of them seemed enthralled with it, so she washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen as she wondered how to entertain them for the day.
The beach was an option, but Sam was little and Delilah wasn’t sure she could effectively watch all three of them. She also didn’t have a car seat for Sam, which meant they could only walk places. There was supposedly a park here on base, but she didn’t know where it was and the only person to ask was Ron, but he was understandably busy. She was going to have to make due with movies and maybe a board game later on. She’d seen Monopoly and a few others in Elias’s room so she’d have to check them out.
Ron called a little after ten in the morning. “It’s a boy!” he said when she answered. “Born about an hour ago. We named him Justin. Mom and baby are doing well, so I thought I’d update you. I’m going to go home and take a nap and then I’ll pick up the kids around dinnertime to meet their new brother. Is that okay?”
“Of course. Whatever you need from me.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Delilah.”
“Ditto.”
The days seemed to fly past. Delilah had a thousand things to do every day, especially now that she was helping Bobbi as often as possible, but she spent a lot of time daydreaming about Eric too. He hadn’t called again, but she’d gotten a text from him late last night with three simple words:
Protecting Delilah - Kat Mizera Page 4
