Owen wiped away more tears. “I’ll tell her.”

“Take care, son.” And then he was gone, having dropped an emotional bomb into Owen’s lap, changing everything he knew to be true in one ten-minute conversation.

He ended the call and took a deep breath, trying to regain control of his emotions. “Sure as shit wasn’t expecting that.”

“Oh my God, Owen.”

That was when he realized Laura was crying, too. He reached for her, and they held each other as they tried to comprehend what his father had told him.

“What’re you thinking and feeling?” she asked after a long silence. “I can’t even begin to know.” She raised a hand to his face to wipe away his tears.

“I… I don’t know either. All I’ve ever done is hate him. I don’t know how to think of him as anything other than a monster. But hearing that…”

“You believe him?”

“I do, and you want to know why? Because General Mark Lawry would never, ever admit to anything that smacked of weakness, even to further his own agenda. There’s no way he would’ve told me something like that if it wasn’t true.”

“Come lie down with me.”

They crawled into bed and came together in the middle, arms and legs intertwined, her head on his chest.

“Now I have to tell everyone else about this. How do I do that?”

“The same way he told you. He came to you with this because he knew you’d be strong enough to handle it the same way you’ve handled everything else for your family all these years.”

“I guess.”

“It’s true, Owen. He chose you, despite your differences, because he has faith in you to take care of the others.”

“Will you take care of me while I take care of them?”

“Always.” She pushed herself up on one elbow so she could kiss him.

Needing her desperately, Owen grasped handfuls of her long hair and held her close to him, losing himself in the sweetness and heat of a kiss that became desperate and needy in no time at all. Whenever he was drowning, she was there to save him, to anchor him, and he loved her more with every passing day.

Without her, the bomb his father had just dropped in his lap would’ve blown the lid off his life. With her, it was shocking but manageable. They’d figure out the way forward together, and knowing that made it possible for him to cope.

“Let me,” she whispered against his lips, rising to straddle him. Her baby belly made this the most comfortable position for her, which was fine with him. She groaned as she took him in.

“Don’t say it.”

“Why not? Did you or did you not get more than your share?”