Page 82 of Silver Linings

“Yeah, she’s been sleeping a lot today.”

“I’m going to head in and see her for a minute before I have to leave.”

“Leave?”

“The guys and I have a job we need to do tonight,” he said as he walked down the hallway.

Lily pulled the chicken and vegetables out from the oven, loading food onto two plates along with the rice she’d been cooking on the stove. It wasn’t the best meal to put together, but with her current mental state, he was lucky she’d managed to cook anything at all. Could she start her job with Sloane earlier than planned? Maybe she could ask her for an advancement on her paycheck in case Gunner asked her to leave. Then she’d be able to get her and Sage into someplace safe. Shit, the same feeling of dread overwhelmed her as when she was trying to get away from James. She needed to calm down. Gunner would never do something that could hurt Sage.

“You okay?”

His hand landed on her shoulder just as she jumped, dropping the plates onto the table.

“Good lord, you scared the hell out of me.”

“I’m sorry.” His eyebrows were drawn together with concern.

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. I should have told you I wouldn’t be here for dinner tonight.”

“It’s not a big deal, Gunner,” her voice came out snippier than she meant it to as she grabbed his plate and brought it to the counter to pack up. “I’ll just wrap it and put it in the fridge. You can take it for lunch tomorrow.”

“Okay. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone for tonight. It’s a surveillance job on a target.”

Her eyes snapped up from the plate. “That sounds dangerous. How close are you going to be to them?”

“Not close, Lil. It’s a long range surveillance outside Dallas, and those are about as boring as assignments come. Hawk and I will just be getting a feel for the target’s involvement in something.”

“Dallas. Gunner, that’s over an hour away.”

“I know, Lil. I’m sorry. The entire team needs to go, otherwise I would have volunteered to stay here.”

“No, I get it. I’m sure you’re ready to get back to the more exciting part of your job. I don’t expect you to always sit behind a desk. Just…will you let me know when it’s over and you’re on your way home?”

“I can do that.”

“Thank you. Please be careful.”

“Always.”

“Good. Because we want you to come home. I’ve gotten used to you handling her early morning feedings. You know I’d be a beast without those few extra minutes of sleep.”

“Never a beast, Lil. You’re a great mom, rested or not.” Gunner’s smile could have melted her heart into a giant puddle if it wasn’t so damn painful to hear him compliment her, with all the weird mixed signals he’d been sending her. “Listen, I’ll have to have my phone on silent, but I’ll check it as often as I can if you need anything.”

“We’ll be fine. I’m just going to give Sprout a bath when she wakes up, and then we’ll both just tuck into our bed for the night.”

“Man, now I’m pissed about missing baby bath time.”

“There will be plenty of time to play with her in the bath some other day. Go. Save the world. We’ll just be here waiting for you to come back.”

She shouldn’t have let Gunner leave. Sage woke up an hour after he’d left, screaming at the top of her lungs. She was so worked up, her little face had gone beet red, and stayed that way. When she was that far gone, Gunner was the only person who could settle her.

Lily took her temperature and immediately got her into a lukewarm bath, but her beautiful baby just screamed even louder. There was something really wrong, and Lily hadn’t realized it.

Sage wailed as she bounced her up and down while walking around the living room, trying to will Gunner into picking up his phone.

“Shh, it’s okay, baby. I know you don’t feel well, but it’s going to be okay. Daddy is going to pick up and get us to the doctor. I promise.” Lily tried not to let the tears stinging her eyes fall. It was the third time she’d called him in the last twenty minutes. Sage’s fever was getting worse, and she was panicking. Things could go from scary to horrific with newborns, and she wasn’t prepared to handle any of it on her own. He’d promised she wouldn’t be alone, and yet there she was.