I caught her before she tumbled down the stairs. My hands snaked around her waist, pulling her against me.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t why I was here.

I set Olivia back on her feet.

“E-Elliot?” She looked in my eyes. She had beautiful brown eyes full of warmth and light. Something I had forgotten existed in this world.

I nodded. “I’m here to see his younger sister.”

I tried to sound official. But right now my blood was pumping. I felt the energy in my body surging at an all-time new level. My insides were now wide awake. This beautiful curvy vision had just changed the entire game.

“Are you with the insurance company?” She took a step back.

“No. Nothing like that. But I need to meet with his sister. Is she here?”

She raised her eyebrows and attempted a half smile. “That’s me. I’m Elliot’s sister.”

I looked at her. Fuck. She was Elliot’s sister? I had always envisioned Elliot’s little sister with freckles, braces, and glasses. Not curves and lips so full I had to remember to blink.

“Can we talk?” I motioned toward the front door.

“Would you like to come in?”

Hell yeah I wanted to come in. The mission had changed. Everything had changed. The minute she landed in my hands and I looked in her eyes, I knew she was mean to be mine. In what felt like a second, my whole world had changed. Shit like that didn’t happen. Especially to men like me.

Men who had to stay hardened. Men who had to serve and protect. Men whose only commitment to be to their country.

“That would be nice.”

I followed her inside, noticing the boxes stacked along the walls.

“Sorry it’s a mess. I’m packing up Elliot’s stuff, and trying to sort through what I can sell.”

I led him to a living room and I sat across from her. “What are you doing with all of it?”

“I have some boxes to donate. Some to try to sell online. The rest can just go with the house.”

My eyes shot to hers. “Sell the house?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’m going to sell it.”

I tried to remember all the stories Elliot had told me about the house, but I was having trouble remembering all the details. Sometimes they talked just to try to keep each other awake. They would be out in the field for days with no sleep. It passed the time.

“Anyway.” She smiled. “You said you needed to talk.”

“Does Elliot’s sister have a name?” I smiled, already knowing it, but desperate to hear her name pass over her lips. Lips that were so lush and soft. I had to physically stop myself from grabbing her waist again and pushing her up against the wall.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s Olivia. Olivia Flynn.”

She was perfect.

I reached into my pocket, retrieving the letter I had guarded for the past month. I held it toward her.

“This is from your brother. He asked me to deliver it.”

She reached forward, her hand trembling. She took the envelope and stared at it, blinking rapidly.

“I don’t think I can read it.” Her eyes lifted to me.

I shook my head. “Whenever you’re ready,” I offered. I didn’t know when Elliot had written the letter. The only time stamp I had was that it had to be a few weeks before the mission that took his life. I had no idea what was on the pages, but I swore I would get it to Olivia.

It wasn’t the only promise Elliot got out of me.

“Thank you for bringing it to me.” She placed it in her lap. “Were you in his unit?” she asked.

“Yes. We were in the Ranger unit.”

“So you’re like him, then?”

“Depends on what you mean by that.”

“Reckless. Fearless. Determined.”

I noticed how her eyes blazed when she talked. “Yeah, important Ranger qualities.”

“I left out idiot.” She rose from the couch, clutching the letter in her fist.

“Your brother wasn’t an idiot.” I wanted to steady her and calm the emotion surfacing.

“Really? Then why is he dead?” Her eyes narrowed.

I wanted to pull her toward him. The need was almost unbearable. I didn’t know it could feel like this when I actually found a woman worth everything I had been through.

“I can’t talk about what happened on the mission. It’s classified. But I can assure you, your brother was not an idiot.” I stared in her warm eyes, but all I saw was anger.

“Well, thanks for dropping this off. You can check it off your list.”

She walked across the room toward the front door. “It was nice to meet you, Jake.”

None of this was going right. She was ready to toss me out.

“I can’t leave.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I swore to Elliot I would help his family. And I can’t leave until I know you’re ok. That you don’t need me, I mean-need anything.”

“I doubt Elliot took it that seriously.”

Elliot’s instructions were very clear. I would never forget the look in his eyes or what he said. His family was in my hands now. It appeared that meant Olivia.

She crossed her arms, still standing in front of me. “I’m fine. Really.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Really? Your steps are falling apart. You got locked out of your gate. If you lean over that porch railing you’ll fall down a hundred foot cliff. You’ve got a leak in the hallway and…”

“Ok. Stop. I know the house is falling apart, but that’s not your responsibility.”

I looked at her. “It is now.”