“Respect? No, not much respect, that would be correct.”
He bit his tongue on the desire to ask why. Again, he had a feeling that was all related to what Sarah promised to tell him. “But you love her.”
“She’s my child. Of course I do.” He sighed and threw up a hand. “You sound like Caden.” Gavin raised a brow and the man’s jaw tightened. “I’m just trying to protect her.”
“I understand that, but you might want to go about it a little differently.”
“You and Caden decided to gang up on me about this, didn’t you?”
“No sir. I don’t suppose it’s really my business, so you can forget I said anything.”
The man grunted. “You think she’ll ever forgive me?”
“I can’t say. But you and I both know forgiveness comes easier when it’s asked for, so you might want to rethink that apology.” Gavin reached for the door handle. “Then again, I have a feeling Sarah doesn’t do things the easy way, so you might be off the hook. Eventually. On that note, I’m going to scope the perimeter and get back inside before she wakes up.” He hesitated. “I really think we ought to tell her the truth about what I’m doing.”
“No. Not yet. If she kicks you to the curb, she’ll be a sitting duck for whoever’s after her. I’d rather have her hate me forever than have her get killed because of her stubborn, bullheaded . . .” He stopped and drew in a breath. “Never mind. Just keep her safe. That’s all that matters.”
“Yes sir, we can agree on that.”
Gavin stepped out of the vehicle and headed back toward the house, his nerves twitching. Before he had a chance to figure out why he was so on edge, Caden drove up and parked in the drive. He climbed out of the vehicle.
When he spotted his father’s car, his eyes narrowed and he frowned. “Everything all right?”
“Sarah’s sleeping. The general and I were having a little meeting.”
“She’s going to kill you—both of you—when she finds out about this, you know.”
Gavin grimaced. “I know.”
The general rolled his window up, shook his head, and drove off.
“I’d take over being the watchdog if I could,” Caden said, leaning against his car.
“You don’t have the time,” Gavin said. “And besides, this is what I do. It’s my job.”
“But she’s my sister.”
“Which is why it’s probably better that I’m the lead on this one.”
“The lead, huh?”
“Come on, man, like you said, she’s your sister. You want to encase her in bubble wrap and lock her away until it’s safe to come out.” That actually sounded like a good idea to him too.
Caden smiled. “Yeah, but I don’t think that’d go over very well.”
“Exactly. Which is why I’m here.”
“You care for her, don’t you?”
“Sure, the more I get to know her, the more I can see us being friends.”
Caden chuckled.
“What?” Gavin asked.
“You might want to be friends, but you want more than that. When I say you care for her, I mean you care for her.”
Gavin met his eyes. “What makes you say that?”
“Because of the way you look at her when you think no one’s watching. And the fact that you were here before my father asked you to be here.”
“Hmm.” He’d have to work on hiding his emotions a little better.
“Hmm,” Caden echoed.
“Shut up, man.”
Caden laughed, then sobered. “Just so you know, I approve.”
“Well, I’m afraid Sarah doesn’t.” Yet.
“Why not? What’d you do?”
“You want the list?”
“There’s a list?”
Gavin grimaced.
“But she’s let you stay around since . . . everything. So that’s good, right?”
“It’s very good.” Odd, actually. Then again, he hadn’t really given her a choice. He’d just . . . stayed.
“She thinks you’re too much like our dad, doesn’t she?”
Gavin blinked. “So, you’re a mind reader?”
“No, a sister reader.” His brows drew together over the bridge of his nose. “She had it tough in high school. Made a lot of lousy choices that resulted in consequences she can’t shake to this day.”
“She said something about that. Said she’d tell me about it soon.”
Caden’s brow reached record heights. “She did? Well, then you’re more special than you think you are.” He paused. “She hasn’t dated many guys. Really dated. Like longer than one date. There was one guy in college she decided to let her guard down with who was a jerk. Another guy in the Army dumped her when he got promoted—so I guess make that two jerks.”
“Dumped her? Was he crazy?”
“Greedy. The general had a hand in the promotion. Thought