Gonzo rushed home to change before court. His nerves were already raw with the hearing bearing down on him, but the added pressure of running the investigation into the murdered teenagers only added to the weight of the world sitting on his shoulders. While he was pumped to have the opportunity to run his first major investigation, all he could think about was the custody hearing that had been scheduled for a rare Saturday morning session due to the backlog in family court.

As he went through the motions of showering and shaving, he downed a cup of coffee to wake himself up after the sleepless night. He was standing at the bathroom sink running a razor over his face when Christina came in and slipped her arms around him.

“Hey, baby,” he said, fortified by the press of her body against his. “Is Alex still sleeping?”

“Uh-huh. He was up around five, but I told him he had to go back to sleep for a while.”

“And that actually worked?”

“For once, thank goodness.” She let out a big yawn. “I was so not done sleeping yet.”

Gonzo rinsed the leftover suds off his face and turned to her, drying his face as he moved. “I know you love him and me, and I know you don’t mind being here with him when I’m at work. Just the same, I hope you also know how very much I always appreciate it and never take it for granted.”

“Of course I do.” She ran her hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders. “How could I not when you tell me all the time?”

He bent his head to kiss her, lingering on the sweet taste of her lips.

“I need to tell you something that might help today.”

Keeping his arms around her and his lips against her neck, he said, “What’s that?”

“I’ve made a somewhat major decision.”

Gonzo raised his head to meet her gaze, afraid he wasn’t going to like her somewhat major decision. He lived in perpetual fear of the day she’d wake up and realize she could do a hell of a lot better than him.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s nothing bad.” She cupped his cheeks, her palms soft against his freshly shaven skin. “I’m going to leave my job to stay home with Alex full-time. For now anyway.”

Gonzo shook his head, uncertain that he’d heard her correctly. “You’re going to do what?”

“Hear me out. This isn’t something I decided overnight. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.”

“I can’t let you do this, Christina. Your career is important to you.”

“My family is too. I’m not leaving my career permanently. I’m taking a break.”

“I don’t understand where this is coming from.”