Page 47 of Return By Fire

I slow my steps, unable to believe what I’m seeing. Convinced I’m hallucinating after three days on, I scrub my fists against my eyes.

But Jed’s still standing there in those fucking flamingo shorts and nothing else. Next to his side are the same suitcases I helped him pack and later unload from my truck at Jacksonville International Airport three weeks ago.

My head is telling me I should care what the hell is happening, but my heart is telling it to shut the fuck up.

He hears my footsteps and that’s when I know I’m not dreaming. Everything I ever wanted to see is on his face.

Foolish fear.

Burning desire.

Endless love.

All for me.

My pace increases. Jed starts in my direction. We don’t stop until we’re both pounding down the dock. Even then, until our bodies collide, until we sweep each other up in the other’s arms, I’m still not entirely sure it’s true. Then the fit of his body, the scent of his cologne, the way his hands skim up my back in such a proprietary manner cause me to blurt out the first thing that pops into my mind. “What are you doing here?”

Jed tugs my face close until I can feel the tears as they run down his face. “I never should have left.”

I fist his hair and pull his head back so I can align our lips. “You won’t get an argument from me.”

His eyes—those incredible blue eyes—darken. “Then I’m hoping you won’t mind if I tell you I plan on staying.”

I stutter, “F-f-for good?”

“If you’ll have me. I want to build a home with the man I love.” He holds his breath while I process his words.

My answer is to kiss him with all the emotions I’ve felt in the last three weeks. When we finally come up for air, I murmur, “Welcome home, Jed.”

I know later there will be difficulties for him, but as long as he wants to call my home his, it will be.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

I lift my phone to my ear and wait for the call to connect.

“Northern Star Flights,” comes a familiar harried voice.

“Hey, Lou,” I greet Jennings’s office manager, a retired military drill sergeant who’s now his operations manager. “Is he in?”

“Hey, Jed. For you, sure. He’s just wrapping up a call.”

“I can wait. How’s Seattle?”

“Wet, you jerk. How’s life in the land of sun?”

I lean back in my lounge chair, thinking about the way Dean’s strong hands rubbed me down with sunscreen leaving me with much more than a lingering kiss before he went inside to get ready for work. Between that and the conference call I had with my new business partners— two local NFL players who decided to invest in Hook and Ladder—it’s an easy answer. “Pretty damn fantastic.”

“Stop talking. I don’t want to hear about how perfect Florida is. Hey, Jennings never said, so why Florida?”

I certainly can’t give her the reason without sharing that with my best friend. Instead, I give her a partial truth—but still the truth nonetheless. “Probably because I vacation here every year on my boat?”

“Yeah, but I heard Hawaii was in the running.”

“It was.”

“You awful man.”

“Thanks, Lou.”

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