Every Night, Gifts Appeared at My Door—When I Finally Saw Who Was Behind Them, My World Stopped

I grabbed the sleeve of his jacket before he could step off. He turned quickly.

My breath caught.

“You? How is this even possible?!”

It was Doug. Noah’s commanding officer.

My legs nearly gave out.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. Doug looked stunned, as if he hadn’t planned for this moment.

He glanced at my hand gripping his sleeve, then back at me. “I didn’t want to wake anyone.”

My heart pounded. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he picked up the package he’d just placed and held it out. “Take it.”

I hesitated, then took it. It was light, carefully wrapped, different from the others.

“You’ve been doing this?” I asked.

Doug exhaled. “Yeah.”

We spoke in hushed tones, careful not to wake the kids. But I switched on the porch light.

Doug looked tired, as if he’d been carrying something heavy for a long time.

“Start talking,” I said.