“I love you too, baby. I’m so worried something will happen and I won’t be able to do anything about it. I know her words are just threats, but what if she actually harms one of you guys? We don’t know how the fire started or who broke in, so then my mind wanders to her being the culprit. And if she is, what else is she capable of doing? What if she escalates next time? I want to protect all of you, but I can’t. Maybe driving me insane with threats is what she wants. I’m just rambling at this point,” I breathe out in irritation.

“Concerned and protective Archer is hot.”

That makes me chuckle. “And somehow throughout all of this, you always make me laugh.”

Everleigh crawls onto my lap, pushing me back on the bed. She hovers above me, grinding against me and teasing the hell out of me.

“I was thinking about something,” she says with a devious smirk.

“Hmm?” I say, lifting up to capture her lips again.

“That we should get a dog.”

I make a face. “We have Sassy.”

“Yeah, but Sassy totally needs a brother or sister, plus it’s what couples do, ya know? They get pets until they’re ready to have babies.”

I wrap my arms around her, kissing her again. “I’d love that.”

She squeals, then rolls off me and stands. “Are you hungry?”

“Not really.” I shake my head. We had breakfast less than two hours ago.

“Did you tell Annie?”

I nod, then replay the conversation.

“I don’t blame her, you know,” Everleigh admits. “I have an overbearing brother who gets concerned a lot too. It can be a bit much.”

“But at least you know our intentions are sincere.”

“Yes, I do.” She flashes a sweet smile. “So what kind of dog do you want to get?”

“A Doberman,” I say without having to think about it. “We need a guard dog. One that can rip heads off intruders.”

She snorts. “They’re big babies. Trust me. A friend of mine had one growing up, and let's just say, Sassy is more ferocious.”

I chuckle. “Ours would be different.”

“Yeah, right! What about a chocolate lab?”

“You said Sassy needs a friend. What about a husky?” I suggest.

“Hmm. Can we get more than one?” She blinks up at me.

“No way! We can’t have three dogs. We wouldn’t have enough time for that. We’ll just have to take some time thinking it over since it’ll be our first baby together.”

Everleigh beams. “Or we could just make a real baby?”

I lean over and kiss her. “You’re the only woman in the world I’d have kids with, but not yet.”

“Alright, I can live with that.” Everleigh paints her lips across mine. “Wanna practice?”

I groan, wishing we could. “I have to go back for my afternoon sessions…”