On Sunday morning, Walker rose early and readied himself for church. He woke Ashleigh up as soon as he was showered. He told her that they were expected to make an appearance at church today.

She seemed strangely excited as she nervously smoothed her dress and her hair. She kept asking him if she was wearing an appropriate amount of makeup.

He assured her that she looked perfect. Her cheeks flushed at the compliment.

She hooked her arm into the crook of his as he escorted her to the Escalade. He was feeling vaguely nervous for some reason, but he needn’t have been. He realized as he watched her at the luncheon picnic afterward that he was being crazy.

She’d listened to Pastor Jim’s message with rapt attention during the service, despite the way he’d treated her. Later, she had fallen into an easy rhythm with Remy and Rose at the picnic. She helped the women set out the food, promising to bring her newly discovered spin on an apple pie to next week’s picnic.

“The secret is so simple, you’d weep,” she joked with one of the older ladies in the community who’d started speaking to her around the pie table.

His eyes never left her as she played with Shiloh and Harper and the other children at the picnic. Or when she’d talked quietly to Rose while they refilled their juice glasses. Or when she’d been chatting to Remy about possible wedding venues and local vendors.

As it turned out, he liked watching her with his family and the other members of his community. The realization nearly floored him, but he couldn’t deny it. She looked like she belonged there, something he’d never thought of himself, even if he had been born here. 

Jenny had been an outsider as well. He’d chosen her because she’d been troubled and never quite seemed to know where she belonged. He’d always felt much the same way.

Ashleigh’s eyes found his in the crowd every so often. She favored him with a wide smile every time their eyes met. She seemed to be in her element amongst the family. She was handing out slices of pie and carrying juice to the elder and younger members of the community.

Pastor Jim appeared at the edge of his vision. Walker heaved himself off of his chair, making a beeline for the good pastor. The man had put the fear of God in his fiancée far too recently for the rage to have dissipated quite yet.

“Pastor, may I have a minute?” he said as he reached Jim’s elbow. 

Jim started at the sound of his voice, but followed him away from the crowd.

“How are ya, Roman?” Jim asked as they walked. “Haven’t seen you at a service for a minute there since you arrived in town with that fiancée of yours in tow.”

“Speaking of my lovely bride, Jimmy, I heard you had a bit of a run-in with her the other day.”

Jim faltered at his tone, but squared his shoulders nonetheless. He’d known Walker for long enough to know that if he was going to get punched over his ill-advised words to Ashleigh, it would’ve happened by now. Walker was not the kind of guy to deck the town pastor at a church picnic more than a week after an incident had occurred.

“Just giving her fair warnin’ not to hurt you, my friend.” He shrugged.

“Let me worry about who hurts me in the future, Jim. You’d best be kind to my beautiful bride. She doesn’t know anyone in town, and it’s not her fault what happened in the past. She’s not Jenny. Doesn’t even know too much about what happened back then.” Walker’s tone was colder than ice as he spoke to the pastor, who recoiled as he listened.

Jim surveyed Walker for a long minute before nodding his agreement.

“If you’ll excuse me, Roman, I need to get back to my less hostile parishioners.” He flitted away before Walker could answer.

Yeah... That could’ve gone better. He made a snap decision to talk to his brothers immediately. Something told him they had to know to be ready to protect Ashleigh at the drop of a hat. He knew they would anyway, but he felt like he owed it to them to give them a heads-up.

He wouldn’t tell them everything, of course. He’d never betray her trust that way, but they deserved something, at least. And he knew that he needed them looking out for her.

Remy, Rose, and Ashleigh were huddled with some of the women from the assisted living home as he approached his brothers. Sawyer’s children were playing with some others nearby, but Sawyer and Colt were spread out on a blanket by themselves. As he approached, he folded his long legs as he lowered himself onto the blanket with them.

“Hey bro! Feels like it’s been a while!” Colt exclaimed, slamming a fist on his shoulder. “I get it though, man. Do you remember when Rose and I first started out?” He chuckled at his own memory.

Sawyer was, as always, more subdued than their exuberant younger brother. He swept Walker’s expression, and his eyes widened. Colt was there not a second later.

“What’s going on, Walker?” Sawyer asked in a low voice, his eyes scanning their surroundings in a subconscious habit.

Colt’s eyes narrowed and he focused his gaze on Walker, who silently thanked God for his brothers and their unwavering loyalty. Of course, he’d been there for them when they’d needed him, but it was more than that. They’d been bonded by more than blood from what they’d seen as SEALs, the brotherhood that had existed there.

“It’s Ashleigh. I don’t have any concrete reason to be right now, but I’m worried. She didn’t come from a good home. Her parents died when she was young, and she didn’t have any family to go to.”

She’d shared almost as much with The Colonel and Marilee earlier in the week, so he didn’t think he was saying anything that was a betrayal of her trust.

“The point being, she doesn’t come from good circumstances. A time may come when she’ll need some protecting...” He trailed off.

Sawyer and Colt nodded without hesitation. Sawyer placed his hand on Walker’s arm and gave it a quick squeeze.

“If you care about her, she’s family, bro. No questions asked.” His eyes were dark with concern and Colt wore a similar expression, but true to their word, neither asked questions or pushed him for more.

Walker was exhausted by the time they buckled up and headed home. Church luncheons never failed to drain him.

He tried his level best to ignore it, but he felt a strong connection to Ashleigh as he drove her home. She seemed oblivious though as she chatted excitedly all the way home. She told him about Rose’s ideas for her veterinary practice. She talked about Remy’s plans for Shiloh’s next birthday party. She also mentioned the invitation she’d received from some ladies at the assisted living home to join the book club Remy was part of.

He pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine before he turned to her, placing a hand on her knee. She immediately grew silent as she sucked in a breath at the contact and focused her emerald eyes on his. They were wide and bright as she regarded him, darting between his mouth and his eyes.

He leaned over and pressed his mouth lightly to hers, grasping the hair at the nape of her neck gently, with far more restraint than he felt in that moment.

Her body came alive under his touch. She responded to him, leaning into the kiss, one hand grasping at his bicep while the other cradled his cheek.

He pulled away, his body cursing at him and feeling cold as her hands slipped away. “I wanted to thank you for today, Ashleigh. You were incredible,” he said as he gathered his thoughts and gave her knee a final squeeze.