Not daring to peek, even a little, Christie stayed as still as she could, hoping that the thumping of her heart didn’t give away the fact she was awake.

The intruder moved to her dresser and opened a drawer. The telltale sound of the drawer scraping as he pulled it open told her what was going on. She tried to control her breathing; sure that he could hear her.

Rummaging in the drawer, he then moved on to the next one, doing the same.

Then the sounds stopped. She heard nothing but silence and her own breathing.

Oh my God. Where was he?

Her heart thumped doubly loud in her chest, and she prayed he didn’t hear it and guess she was awake.

Then she heard him breathing. He was standing at the foot of her bed, breathing. Not moving.

Oh my God. He’s looking at me.

She felt it. Pinpricks of fear spread across her body, raising goose bumps.

He stood watching and listening for what felt like forever. And then he moved toward the door.

Still praying, she waited. And waited. Until her bladder felt like it would burst.

She dared to look at her phone. Thirty minutes had gone by. His voice mailbox had cut her off at some point. He hadn’t called her back or texted. She laid the phone down again and waited, listening for sounds of the intruder.

When the house seemed as if it had been silent long enough, and she couldn’t wait any longer, she quietly got up and moved through her house, tiptoeing as she went.

The house was empty.

She ran to the bathroom, feeling like she might burst, and once inside, locked the door before she could pee. Shaking, she did her business and then wrapped her arms around herself, feeling much like she had the night of the theater shooting.

A bad guy was in my house. How did he get in?

She needed to find out, but she didn’t want to leave the safety of the bathroom. Dialing 911, she decided to wait until the police arrived before coming out.

Soon, the police arrived and she came out of the bathroom to answer the door. No bad guy would stick around if the police were there. She let the officers in, and a kind officer took her statement.

They found an open window, with the lock and the glass broken. “I don’t know how I slept through that,” she said.

“From the pattern of the break and the glass, it may not have made much noise,” the officer said. “Don’t beat yourself up over this. Can you look around and see what’s missing?”

“Oh, yes,” she said. They went into her bedroom and looked through the drawers. All of her jewelry was gone. It appeared he’d grabbed everything in the jewelry box, costume jewelry and good jewelry.

She made a list of everything she could remember being in there, and then once the police were done taking her statement and writing down everything she’d told them, they left.

She went back to bed and tried to sleep, but it was impossible.

By morning, she’d already looked up places that could come out and repair the glass, and she started calling them as soon as they opened. The sooner she could get the window repaired the better. After she’d found a man who could come out that day to fix it, she hung up and called her best friend.

“Hey, you’re up early,” Tanya said.

“Yes. Well, I may never sleep again.”

“Oh no. Why not?”

“A burglar broke in last night and stole all my jewelry while I was in bed.”

“Oh, my God. You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Not kidding. I stayed in bed, not moving, while he robbed me, and then waited until he left and called the police.”

“Oh, girl, you must’ve been terrified.”

“I was. Literally could not move. Frozen like an ice sculpture under the covers. And the creepiest scariest part? He stopped at the foot of my bed and watched me.”

Tanya gasped.

“I thought he might kill me then. But he watched, probably to make sure I was asleep, and then he left.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Tanya said.

“Me, too.”

“I’m coming over,” Tanya said. “No arguing with me. It’s what I should’ve done last time. I’ll bring donuts and a great big hug. You make the coffee.”

“Okay. That sounds good.” Christie wasn’t going to argue with Tanya. She really needed that hug.

Saturday the window was repaired, and Sunday was just a quiet day, when she stayed in her pajamas and watched old movies. She didn’t feel like going anywhere, but also no longer felt safe in her own home.

Her phone rang, but it wasn’t Reed, who never had called her back. Something she was trying not to think about because she didn’t understand why he’d gone so silent.

It was Tanya.

Christie answered. “Hello?”

“If you still want a German Shepard puppy, you’d better move fast. I just called the breeders this morning to ask about puppies for you. They have four eight-week-old puppies, and one has already been sold. They sell fast. So, we’d need to go today. Are you ready?”

“Well, yes,” Christie said.

“Good. I’ll call them back and tell them we’ll be there in an hour. Throw your shoes on and be ready to go,” Tanya said.

“Okay.” Christie thought about her plans for the day and mentally went down her list. There was nothing that couldn’t be rescheduled.

“Bye.”

“Bye.” Christie hung up the phone and started looking for her shoes as excitement started to run through her.

I’m going to get a puppy! This is better than Christmas.

She found her shoes, her purse, and her car keys. Though it sounded like Tanya was driving.

Christie could hardly wait. She loved animals, dogs especially, and now she’d have one of her own.

Two hours later, they were home with eight-week-old Lacey. Tanya had put one of her dog crates in the back seat of her car, and the puppy had ridden in it. They’d stopped at the pet store to get food and water bowls, a new collar and leash, doggie shampoo, treats, and several toys. The pet store was one where you could take you dog inside with you. Lacey had wagged her tail at everyone and sniffed nearly everything in the store. Her excitement was contagious.

Now at home, puppy was free to sniff everything in the house, and the tail wagging and sniffing commenced. Tanya went into the kitchen and came back out with paper towels and cleaning spray. “She’s going to pee all over the place until you get her trained and she settles down. With all this excitement, she’s going to have accidents.”

“Oh, I know puppies do that.” Christie nodded. “We had a couple of dogs when I was growing up and got them both as puppies. I remember. Oh and I remember they don’t sleep much at night.”

“No, they don’t. I hope you’re prepared for that tonight.”

“Well it can’t be any worse than when the burglar broke in. That was nearly as terrifying as the shooting at the theater.”

“I’ll bet. I’m so glad you decided to get Lacey. She’ll bark and scare any burglars away.”

“Yes, she will.” Christie smiled. “And she’ll be my constant companion. Except when I’m at work.”

“Remember what I said about crating her. If you let her have the run of the house, she’ll chew up things while you’re gone. Puppies love to chew.”

“Yes, I will. Do you think I should look for a pet sitter or a doggie day care? She’ll be home by herself.”

“Can you come home for lunch to let her out?”

“I’m pretty sure Mrs. Brown will let me go a few minutes over if I explain what I’m doing. I often stay late when we have big orders, and she knows the work will get done.”

“Okay, good. Then I don’t think you need a sitter.”

They played with Lacey for a while, and then Tanya left.

Christie couldn’t wait to get settled into her new routine, just her and Lacey. Who needed a man, anyway? The two of them would be just fine.

Reed turned his phone back on after retrieving it from his locker. He saw Christie had left a message for him and smiled. It was the first time she’d called him. Before, it was always him calling and setting up their dates or just chatting with her. Did she miss him?

He pushed the button to listen to her message, and then frowned. The frown grew deeper the longer he listened.

Immediately, he dialed her number.

No answer.

“Christie are you all right? I just got your message. Damn, I hope you’re okay. Call me.”

He hung up the phone and scowled. It had been two days since she’d called. Terrified that someone had broken into her house. And then the long pause, and the breathing, and the hang up. Anything could’ve happened. This was not good.

He was going to find her as soon as he left the base. If she wasn’t at home, he’d try the shop.

It was dark when he pulled up to her house, and he saw that her lights on. Why hadn’t she called him back?

He got out, walked to the front door, and knocked.

Inside, a dog started to bark.

She opened the door with a German Shepard pup at her feet who was furiously barking.

Relief flooded through him. She appeared safe. But then she went pale. Was she all right?

“Come in,” she said, without smiling, her voice brittle, an unspoken anger in her tone. “Meet Lacey.”

His stomach tightened. This wasn’t the greeting he’d expected. So few words. Not even the trace of a smile. And she was angry.

They hadn’t seen each other in weeks. Was she even glad he was back? Frustration coursed through him.

Damn it. He had to fix this.

“Lacey,” he said as he stepped through the doorway. The puppy barked and jumped around their feet. “Nice dog. When did you get her?”

“After the break-in.”

“So you did have an intruder.”

He closed his eyes for a second. When he looked at her again, he noted that she was watching his face.

She was so reserved. Had she moved on? Could she see his regret?

“I got your phone message a couple of hours ago,” he said.

“Yeah, and I heard yours when I got home from the pet store.”

He shook his head. “Why didn’t you call me back?”

She shrugged. “I was going to—after Lacey went out to potty and play. She has to stay in her crate when I’m at work, and it’s not fair to make her wait.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “I was worried.”

Her tone brittle, she said, “Well, you’re a little late to be worried. The break-in was days ago.”

His shoulders fell. “I was deployed.”

“And you couldn’t say, ‘Hey Christie, I’ll be away’?”

“No, this time I couldn’t.” He has to make her understand this. Explain it. “Sometimes…we can’t. The order comes, and there’s no time. We have to go that minute.” He wanted to reach for her, to hold her, but this was important. If she couldn’t accept this part of his life, there wasn’t any point trying. “That’s a SEAL’s life, Christie,” he said, his voice roughening. “Not every woman can handle that. It’s especially hard on wives and children.”

She was silent for a moment, her narrowed gaze still studying his face. But then she squared her shoulders. “I can handle it. I have a dog now, and I’m going to get a gun. I don’t need a man to protect me.”

Is she saying she doesn’t need me? Doesn’t want me around? Is it over between us? No. What we have is good. Worth fighting for. He watched her, assessing.

The defiant way she’d spoken, made him wonder. She wasn’t exactly the fighting type, and she’d had no training, just one visit to a gun range. He noted the way her jaw jutted just a little. Despite what she’d said, it didn’t look like she was handling being a SEAL’s girlfriend very well. She had that ‘my feelings are hurt’ look some women got.

“Tell me about the break in,” he said, wanting to know and also wanting to straighten this out between them. “You sounded terrified, being in the house with an intruder.”

“I was. I stayed very still under the covers and hoped he didn’t know I was awake.”

Froze, he thought. What she did was freeze. He’d seen how she reacted to danger. He could train the freeze out of her… “So you stayed real still. Then what happened?”

“He stopped at the foot of my bed and watched me.”

He sucked in a breath. Fought the surge of anger that rose swiftly inside him. “How do you know it was a he? Did you get a good look at him?”

“No, but most burglars are men.”

“Don’t be so sure. It could’ve been a woman.”

She crossed her arms. “Well, this burglar, whatever it was, stared at me.”

Damn. She had to have been terrified.

“Then what happened?”

“He left. With all my jewelry. Most of it was costume, but he got a few nice pieces that could bring money.”

“I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”

“He got in through a window, but I got it replaced. And then I got Lacey.”

“Good. Sounds like you handled things well, and she’s a great pup.” He held out his hand to Lacey.

Lacey, done with sniffing Reed’s shoes and barking at him, came near to sniff the hand he held down for her.

When she started licking his hand, Christie uncrossed her arms and chuckled softly. “She likes you.”

“Dogs always do.”

Christie smiled, some of her hurt feelings over his desertion soothed, now that she understood the cause. And he seemed genuinely regretful over the fact he hadn’t been able to warn her. He hadn’t been playing mind games, he really had a job which didn’t allow him to tell people where he was going and what he was doing. She believed him and trusted him. With her life. And he’d been nothing but honorable since she’d met him.

Reed sat on the couch, playing with the puppy while she watched. If she’d thought he was sexy before, watching him play with the puppy was even sexier. Then it hit her.

I am head over heels in love with this man. Everything about him.

“I’m glad you have a guard dog now,” he said. “You’ll need to train her.”

“Oh, I plan to. I already signed up for obedience lessons on Saturdays. Mrs. Brown was nice enough to agree to give me Saturdays off, several weeks in a row, which is a lot in the florist business. I’ll be working late on some Friday nights when she needs me though.”

“How late?”

“However long it takes to get the arrangements done.”

“Babe, it’s time to get serious about getting the handgun you were thinking about. Since you can’t take your guard dog everywhere you go. And since I am often called away out of the country, I’d feel better knowing you were taking measures for your safety.”

Oh, he’s worried about my safety? He must care for me, too.

The thought made her feel warm inside. “I was pretty scared when the guy broke into my house. I froze. What if I do that when I have a gun? He might take it from me, and then I’d be even worse off.”

“That’s true, you would. This is why we train. So we don’t freeze, and instead go into the moves we’ve practiced. I can train you past the freeze point--if you’re willing.”

“I’m willing.”

“Good. Now let’s talk about getting you set up with a security system. I could install it for you.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea. Thank you. My friend Tanya needs one too. She has a crazy neighbor.”

“I could put one in for her, after I set yours up.”

“That would be great.”

“Turn on your laptop and we’ll look at some different set ups for security.”

They spent the rest of the evening looking at things she could do to be more secure and talking late into the night.

It was good to have him back in her life and to know that he’d never really left. He’d just been deployed. And that made a big difference.

After two months of dog training, firearms training, and self defense training, the woman Reed picked up for their Saturday night date looked the same and yet different.

Christie still walked out the door in one of those sexy retro outfits, after punching in the code on the new alarm on her house, but instead of stepping tentatively on those heels, she strode.

She strode like a woman who had confidence, who would look a man in the eye, instead of blushing and looking down. She was a perfect mix of very feminine and very aware. Not the first female a predator would target. And that gave Reed great satisfaction.

This was his girl. And no one else’s. She didn’t mind if he had to disappear on a mission and trusted he’d tell her what he could, if and when he could. She didn’t play games and didn’t have a victim’s mindset. After what had happened in the theater, she could have so easily gone the other way. He was glad she hadn’t, and he was proud of her.

She stepped into his car, and he waited until she was settled before closing the door. He could envision doing this for the rest of their lives, and soon, he would tell her so.

Driving to the restaurant for dinner, he asked, “Did the police ever find your jewelry at any of the pawn shops?”

“No, they didn’t recover a thing.” Christie shook her head. “It’s just gone.”

“That’s a shame,” he said. “Have you thought about replacing things?”

“Yes, but I just haven’t yet.”

So she wasn’t a big shopper.

“Do you prefer gold, silver, white gold, or platinum?”

She turned her head to face him fully, watching him, and he kept his features neutral and unreadable.

“I prefer gold, and sometimes, I wear silver, if it suits my clothing better.”

He nodded. “Hungry? I am.” He changed the subject, and they chatted until they arrived at the restaurant. He didn’t want her to guess what was up for their date tonight.

When dessert was finally served, he took her hand in his and said, “Christie, you’re a very special woman, and you mean more to me than I can say. I enjoy your company in more ways than I can count. At dinner, on the range, in bed, driving in the car, just sitting and talking with you. I’ve fallen in love with you. I’d like us to take things slowly, but if you’d consider spending the rest of your life with me, marriage is what I see in our future. What I’m hoping for. Before you say yes, let me assure you, I don’t want a fast answer. Marrying a SEAL comes with many challenges. So, I’d like to do something different. If you want this, too, I want to take you shopping for a ring. A pre-engagement ring. Which you’ll keep forever whether this works out between us or not. A ring which simply says, I love you and I believe in our future.”

Christie, who’d sat gazing at him with starry, then wet, and now eyes which were leaking tears all over her beautiful glowing smile, said, “Yes, Reed. I can see a future with you. I’d love to go shopping for that ring.”

“The store I had in mind is open late tonight,” he said. “We’d best hurry and eat this piece of pie.”

Christie took a quick bite with her fork, and then Reed took another. It became a race, until the last bite was gone, and they were laughing. He raised his hand and called for the check. When it came, he took bills from his wallet and left them on the table saying, “Keep the change.”

The waitress’s jaw dropped. “Thank you, sir.”

Reed was already out of his chair and helping Christie with her coat. “Enjoy,” he said. “We’re off to pick out a ring.”

“Oh, congratulations,” she said.

“Thanks,” Reed and Christie said in unison, both of them feeling like the luckiest people in the world. And to think it all began with one split screen scream.