Chapter 7
chapter
seven
Caleb made general chitchat through breakfast. Max joined them about halfway through, and they discussed the tasks and schedules of the day. It was important that their meals feel normal. That was one of their rules here.
Every moment couldn’t be occupied with talks about the past or filled with fear-laden conversations.
Caleb waited until everyone had finished eating before shifting the subject. “Millie, can we talk for a few minutes? We still need to finish intake.”
“I’ll handle the dishes,” Naomi said.
Millie nodded, though there was a touch of hesitation in her gaze. “Sure thing.”
He led her down the hall to a small office tucked beside the stairs. Just like every room in the house, Sarah had given this space her special touch. Instead of looking utilitarian, the office appeared warm and inviting.
A solid wood desk anchored the room, paired with two upholstered chairs. Open shelving lined one wall, holding neatly labeled binders and woven baskets instead of clutter. A framed print of the Blue Ridge Mountains hung above the desk, flanked by simple black-and-white photographs.
Everything felt intentional. Just like Sarah had been—purposeful.
Millie stopped near a bookshelf displaying family photos.
Caleb watched as she scanned the pictures.
She picked up a shot of Naomi seated at a sidewalk café in New York City with a coffee in front of her. She looked sophisticated and serious. Smart but reserved.
“She hasn’t changed much since I met her,” Millie said.
Caleb nodded. “Naomi’s always been the steady one.”
Her attention shifted to the next frame, and Caleb’s gaze followed. This photo was of a man crouched beside a chestnut-colored search-and-rescue retriever. Snow clung to both of them as his arm wrapped easily around the animal’s shoulders.
“That must be Wyatt,” Millie murmured. “He looks like he belongs out in nature with his dog.”
Wyatt was the youngest brother in the family, and he’d known since he was a kid that he wanted to work with dogs.
“He lives the next county over and does K9 search and rescue. He leads camping trips, works with scouts, does some mountain climbing—anything outdoors.”
Millie moved on to the next photo. Recognition softened her voice. “This has to be Rowan. You always said the camera loved her. You were right.”
Caleb chuckled softly as he stared at the picture of his youngest sister. “The camera still loves her. She never gave up on her dreams and moved to Hollywood. Acting was the one thing she never wavered on.”
“I saw A Love So Sweet when it came on TV. She did a really great job, and I know she had to be thrilled to get the lead role.”
“She was. We’re all very proud of her. We just want her to come home more often.” Since Rowan had left for California to pursue her dreams, she’d rarely had time to visit. Part of Caleb understood, but the other part wished he could have his little sister back. He missed having her around.
The next photo was of a broad-shouldered man standing next to a half-built structure, tool belt slung low on his hips, sleeves rolled up as if he’d stepped away mid-job.
“That’s our oldest brother, Luke,” Caleb added. “He’s a contractor outside of Charlottesville. He’s the one who turns ideas into something that actually stands.”
Millie smiled faintly. “I remember you saying your family never did anything small.”
Caleb’s mouth curved, just barely. “We don’t.”
Then she picked up Sarah’s photo. Sarah with her long brown hair, tanned skin, and wide smile. In the photo, she stood in front of the house right after she’d moved in. She’d seemed so happy.
Then her gaze skimmed Caleb’s photo—one of him wearing military garb.
There were other photos also—older photos that were faded at the edges.
His mother smiled back in those images, her arms looped around Caleb and his siblings when they’d been younger. Her expression seemed to indicate that she held the world together—because in many ways, she did. Beside her, Caleb’s father stood tall in hunting gear, his presence solid and unassuming.
His father had died in a hunting accident when Caleb was twelve.
Caleb gestured to the chair across from his desk. “You’ll probably see most of my siblings at some point. This started as a family effort—the idea, the work. Naomi and I are just the ones here full-time right now.”
She sank into the chair he indicated, Biscuit at her feet. “I never pictured you doing something like this.”
He leaned back slightly, curious about her thoughts. “What did you picture?”
She hesitated, then shrugged. “I thought you’d stay in the military. Make a career of it.”
Caleb thought of the plans he’d once been certain of. The future that had felt locked in. “I did too. Until Sarah died. That changed everything.”
Their eyes held for a moment—long enough for familiarity to surface, long enough for regret to brush close.
He couldn’t afford to revisit that past right now—now when so much was riding on what was happening in the present.
Caleb cleared his throat before reaching for the folder on his desk and opening it. “I guess we should get started. I need to ask you a few questions. Everything we talk about will stay confidential. We only need this information so we’ll know how best to keep you safe while you’re here.”
Millie nodded, hands folded in her lap. “I understand.”
Caleb would start with the basics—safe territory.
He almost didn’t want to move beyond that.
Because Caleb knew if he’d stayed in Millie’s life, there was a good chance that she wouldn’t be sitting here now—carrying heartache she never should’ve had to shoulder and running from an unfair danger.
He kept going anyway.
Because this was where she was.
And this—this place, this moment—was where Caleb would protect her.
The questions started simply, Millie mused.
Name. Date of birth. Medical concerns. Biscuit’s vaccination records. Where she’d been staying before she arrived.
With Biscuit at her feet, Millie answered each one.
She’d expected the questions.
But she also knew what was coming. Soon, she’d have to talk about how she’d fallen for Garrick. Why she’d let him treat her so horribly. Why she hadn’t been strong enough to leave earlier or smart enough to see the signs.
A moment of quiet filled the room, and Caleb set his pen down. He didn’t lean back or soften his posture. His attention stayed on her, complete and unflinching.
“Tell me about the man you’re running from,” he finally said. “We need to know—not because we’re nosy. But because it helps us protect you.”
There it was . . . the question she dreaded most.
She stared at the edge of the desk until the room steadied again. “His name is Garrick Anderson. He’s a lawyer in DC, and he has lots of powerful connections and a sparkling-clean reputation that he likes to protect at all costs.”
“Did you bring a photo of him? We’d like to know what he looks like, just in case.”
She nodded and reached into her pocket. She pulled out their wedding photo and slid it across the desk.
The image caught Garrick mid-laugh, dark hair neatly styled, a tailored linen suit crisp against sun-bright water. He was handsome in an effortless, calculated way—clean-cut, confident, every detail considered. He was the kind of man people trusted on sight.
In the photo, she and Garrick stood barefoot on pale sand, turquoise water glittering behind them. Their wedding had been an elopement in the Caribbean—just a handful of friends, warm air, and no obligations.
Millie barely recognized herself in the photo. She wore a simple, strappy white dress, her hair loose, her smile wide and unguarded. She looked . . . happy. Certain.
And wrong. She’d been so wrong about Garrick. About their future together.
Only she’d been blissfully unaware at that moment.
If only Millie could go back in time and warn the na?ve woman who’d been so full of hope.
Caleb didn’t react to the photo.
She took a breath and kept going. “I know you probably hear this all the time, but he swept me off my feet at first. He was charming. Attentive. He filled spaces in my life I didn’t even realize were empty.”
“And then?”
“Everything was a whirlwind. We were inseparable. Six months after we met, he proposed, and I said yes.” She didn’t mention that she’d met Garrick while she was rebounding and still nursing her broken heart after Caleb had broken up with her.
If she’d been in a better state of mind, maybe she would have done things differently.
It wasn’t Caleb’s fault. But the situation with him certainly hadn’t helped either.
“The first couple of months of marriage were perfect.” She paused, her fingers curling together in her lap. “Then I started to see the cracks.”
“What do you mean?” Caleb went still.
“I was cooking dinner one night, and I accidentally ruined one of our pots. Burned it, and I knew it wouldn’t be usable again. When Garrick realized what I did, he got angry. Not just annoyed—he was absolutely furious.”
She paused, the memory pressing close, and shame filling her.
“I didn’t know what to do. I told myself he was having a bad day.
Everyone has bad days, right? I should give him some grace—because there would be times in my life when I also needed grace.
” Her mouth curved, humorless. “He apologized later that night and said all the right things. I believed him. Thought he was sincere.”
She lifted her eyes to Caleb. His gaze had gone hard, like something inside him had locked into place.
She recognize the look. It was all determination and conviction.
At one time, she’d admired those attributes.
But not after he’d broken her heart. Then they began to feel more like a liability.
“Then it happened again. And again, not just with the pots but with anything that didn’t fit in Garrick’s idea of perfection, including how towels were folded or how tight the bedsheets were. It escalated from yelling to . . .” The words caught in her throat. “Something much more painful.”
Caleb didn’t interrupt, but his gaze turned stormy.
“Three years into our marriage, I finally realized I had to leave.” She paused.
“I realized Garrick was never going to change for the better. That he would lie about anything to get what he wanted, and his apologies were nothing but another way to manipulate me into staying. But when I had that realization, I also recognized I didn’t have anywhere to go or anyone to turn to.
I have no close family. No friends who wouldn’t be easy for him to find. ”
“You don’t have to keep going.” Caleb’s words came out low and soft. “I know this is probably a lot for you.”
“No, I need to get this out.” Millie swallowed hard. “I ended up at the hospital after he got mad at me for not making the bed properly. He shoved me to the floor and began to kick me repeatedly. Broke two ribs.”
Caleb’s gaze hardened, and Millie knew he was having a hard time hearing this. But he said nothing, just waited for her to continue.
“A nurse noticed the pattern of my injuries. She didn’t push me for information.
She just . . . asked if I had somewhere safe to go.
I told her I’d thought about maybe going to a women’s shelter, but I couldn’t possibly leave my dog behind.
She told me about a place in the mountains that took in women and their pets. ”
Biscuit shifted at her feet, almost as if he knew she was talking about him.
“I wasn’t sure what I should do. My confidence had worn down, and I questioned every choice I made.
I went back home knowing something had to change.
So I started making plans. Stowing cash away.
When Garrick when out of town on a trip, I moved out.
I had enough money saved to rent an apartment.
I hired a lawyer. Told Garrick if he tried to get me back, I had evidence that I’d make public and everyone would know what a monster he truly was. ”
“That’s bold.”
She nodded. “It was. And for a while, it worked. He gave me space. He signed the divorce papers. I thought things were really going to change.”
Caleb’s gaze darkened. “I take it there’s a ‘but’ in there.”
She frowned and continued. “Unfortunately, there was. I went on my computer one day and discovered all the evidence I had against him had been deleted. That’s when I knew I was in trouble. I didn’t have any leverage to hold against him.”
She drew in a shaky breath, taking a moment to compose herself before continuing.
“Then I noticed someone watching me. I noticed things in my apartment had been moved. It had to be either him or someone he hired. And I knew it was just a matter of time until he struck. But I didn’t have that much money, and I knew I had to go somewhere he wouldn’t find me.
And I knew I had to take Biscuit with me, but so many hotels won’t take animals.
I felt lost . . . until I remembered that nurse from the hospital. ”
He shifted but kept eye contact.
“Based on what she told me, I was able to find the contact information for this place,” Millie continued.
“I knew coming here was my only chance to get away and keep my dog. So I turned the tables on Garrick. I followed him. Made sure he was at work. Then I packed a couple bags and left. I drove straight through. Made sure I wasn’t followed. ”
Caleb nodded. “Then he shouldn’t know you’re here.”
“I ditched my phone, just like you guys told me when I texted. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going either.
I couldn’t risk it.” She paused and licked her lips as her thoughts rose to a crescendo inside her.
“I have to figure out a way to finally be free from him, Caleb. Free from him for good. I’m so tired of living in fear. ”
Silence settled between them.
Millie met Caleb’s eyes, and she felt the weight of the question she’d been circling since the night before. “You really think you can keep me safe here?”
The question hung in the air.
Everything depended on what Caleb said next.