He thought about the question, staring out into the distance for several moments. With a little intake of breath, he turned back to her and admitted, “I can’t even remember.”

She snorted. “Right. You’re just pretending to be all fearless and manly. But I’m sure you were scared of something. But, even as a boy, I bet you didn’t admit it.”

“I didn’t.” He smiled and repositioned himself, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer. “I’ve probably blocked any childhood fears out now, along with any other trace of weakness. I know as a boy I never admitted to being scared of anything.”

“Or as a man either.”

He thought about that. Recognized it as true.

“Or as a man.”

“What were your parents like?”

“They were—were busy a lot.”

“Were you close to them?”

“I don’t even know. I was never conscious of not being close to them, but sometimes I would watch other families—that were affectionate with each other—and I’d wonder what that would be like. My dad was a classic workaholic. He started a tech company and made a fortune purely because he was brilliant. I always assumed he loved me, but he didn’t have time for us to hang out. And my mom was always trying to climb the social ladder. They were”—he paused, trying to sort through the years of memories from his childhood, most of the milder memories overwhelmed by the one year of hell he’d lived through—“they were fine.”

A silence followed his conclusion, making Caleb suddenly self-conscious. He never spilled like that. He never revealed himself in any real way. And he didn’t know what Kelly was thinking now.

When he looked over, he saw she wasn’t even focused on him. She was staring off in the distance. But her hand was still stroking his chest, and the touch felt comforting somehow.

“What were your parents like?” he asked, wanting to change the subject.

She lifted one shoulder. “I was adopted. My adoptive parents were very nice. They did everything they could for me. They were older, and we never really bonded the way other kids do with their parents. But I liked them and appreciated them. I tried to be good to them.”

“That doesn’t sound much like a family.”

“I don’t know. It was better than nothing.”

She felt small and fragile for some reason, so he tightened his arm around her. “Do you remember your biological parents?”

After a pause, she breathed out, “Yeah.”

“What were they like?”

Kelly didn’t answer immediately, and the tension in her body made Caleb think she was hiding something devastating.

“Were they that bad?” he asked, softly, like he might speak to a trapped animal.

“No. They weren’t bad. My mom was always distant. She worked as a—she worked all the time and didn’t seem to care about me much. But my dad”—something shuddered through her briefly before she whispered—“I loved him.”

“He died?”

She nodded mutely.

“He’s the one who was taken away from you?”

She ducked her head, hiding her face against his shirt.

He wrapped his other arm around her too and hugged her against him for a minute. Feeling this way was entirely new to him—like he was both giving and taking comfort—but he felt like he needed it, so he didn’t try to pull away.

—

Caleb was working in his office several days later when his phone rang.

He picked it up to glance at the screen, preparing to ignore it, but when he saw it was Wes, he connected the call after all.

“Hey, are you in town?”

“Not yet,” Wes said, sounding unusually serious.

“Did something happen?”

“No. I was planning to fly in yesterday, but I couldn’t get away from work. I’ll come in next week now. But I was wondering if you’d do me a favor.”

“Sure.” Caleb replied automatically, but he was starting to feel a sinking in his gut, intuition telling him he wasn’t going to like this favor.

“Shit, I hate to ask, but Dad is sick as a dog with the flu, and my mom needs to get in for a blood transfusion.”

“Don’t you have someone there to help them?”

“Of course. There’s always a nurse, but Mom’s gotten really”—Wes cleared his throat—“she needs someone she knows with her.”

“I haven’t seen her for years.”

“I know that. But she knows you. I know it’s a lot to ask, but they’re falling apart on me, and I’m on a different continent.”

Caleb couldn’t remember ever hearing Wes so stretched, almost helpless. All of his well-practiced instincts at self-preservation were screaming at him to hang up, to get away. But he heard himself saying, “I’ll do it. When does she need to go in?”

“This afternoon. Can you get away?”

Caleb glanced at his afternoon, most of which was scheduled with meetings or calls, a sick weight churning in his gut.

“I’ll do it.”

As soon as he said the words, he knew this was the last thing he should have agreed to.

—

Three hours later, he dropped Wes’s mother back at their townhouse and could finally let out his breath.

He felt ill and exhausted in a way he hadn’t for years, and so many memories were bombarding him now that—if he didn’t distract himself soon—he might just go home and drink himself into a stupor.

He should probably get back to work, since he’d had to reschedule his whole afternoon, but a headache was pounding at his temples, and he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He didn’t want to work. He wanted to see Kelly.

He called Breah to tell her he was coming home early, and he was surprised and displeased when she told him that Kelly wasn’t there. She’d evidently gone shopping this afternoon.

So he called up Pete, who was the man he’d assigned to her, and was told they were at an upscale mall.

It was on his way home, so Caleb headed over there. At least it would be a distraction. Make him forget what the hospital had smelled like, the memories it had brought with it.

It took a while to get there, and then more time to get parked, call Pete, and then find the dress store he’d indicated. But finally Caleb entered the boutique and saw Pete standing next to what was obviously the dressing room door.

“She’s trying shit on,” Pete said, straightening up when Caleb approached.

Caleb rubbed a hand through his hair, wondering what he was even doing here. He could have gone back to work. Or gone back home. He didn’t need to rush here to just wait around while Kelly shopped.

He wanted to see her.

“How long has she been in there?” he asked.

Pete shrugged. “A while. Twenty minutes.”

“How long does it take to try on clothes?” Feeling frustrated by the whole day, Caleb pushed through the door. There obviously weren’t separate men’s and women’s dressing areas in this shop, so it wasn’t like he wasn’t allowed.

He stopped short as soon as he entered.

His eyes had landed unerringly on Kelly, who was standing behind the partly opened door of the farthest cubicle.

She was talking to a man.

The man was around forty, with a strong build and a slightly rumpled appearance. He was smiling down at Kelly in a way that made Caleb stiffen.

What the hell was she doing in here with this guy?

He paced toward them, a surge of possessive resentment coursing through him. They weren’t touching, but Kelly was smiling back at him and it felt private, secretive somehow.

The man noticed him first, his expression changing as he processed Caleb’s appearance.

Kelly turned, jerking visibly in obvious surprise.

Or guilt. Maybe guilt.

Caleb was bristling with irrational jealousy as he reached them.

“I guess this means you’re already taken,” the man said, giving Kelly another smile. “Too bad.”

“Nice try,” Kelly said, smiling distractedly and giving the stranger a little wave. She turned to Caleb. “What are you doing here?”

“Who was that?” he demanded.