Page 17 of Just One Kiss

"Well…" She found herself without any words.

"Well," he echoed. "It's not often you can't think of something to say."

"I'm going to bed." She got up and moved around the couch, then turned back to face him. "Don't do that again, Jake."

"I won't. Unless you ask me to."

Her stomach flipped over at that comment. "That will not happen."

"We'll see."

"You know one thing that hasn't changed, Jake? You're still cocky."

"And you still like it."

She really wished she could have had the last word, but escape was a bigger priority. She walked into the bedroom and closed the door, her heart still beating out of her chest.

He had surprised her, but she had kissed him back. Maybe they'd both wanted to see if the sparks were still there. Now they knew. The sparks were definitely there, and they were dangerous.

Jake had said he wouldn't kiss her again. It would be up to her. Which meant she was safe—at least from him. She wasn't so sure about herself.

But she needed to stop thinking about Jake and start thinking about the other male currently in her life—the little boy sleeping peacefully in front of her.

She took off her shoes and stretched out on the bed, pulling the heavy blanket over both of them. It was warm and toasty in the cabin despite the storm raging outside.

At her movement, Brett snuggled up against her and she put her arm around him. He immediately quieted, falling back to sleep. He trusted her. And she did not want to let him down.

She might be furious with her sister, but not with this little boy. He was an innocent angel, and she would do everything she could to keep him safe.

As the warmth of Brett's small body seeped into her soul, she closed her eyes, and the exhaustion of the day caught up to her. She didn't want to dream about anything, especially Jake, but there were other images sweeping through her mind.

Kelly with her long blonde braid and laughing smile around the living room using a hairbrush as a microphone, making up games as she watched over Hannah and Tyler. She'd been their babysitter a lot of times, not that she ever should have been. As soon as their parents would leave, Kelly would usually sneak a friend in, or take them on a walk to the corner store, which they were not supposed to do by themselves. And that was before Kelly got a driver's license.

Once Kelly had access to the car, she and Tyler had been Kelly's unwitting chaperones on cruising nights to boys' houses. But even when Kelly was breaking the rules, she was also fun. She made up games and helped them build forts out of pillows, blankets and chairs. She had an imagination that wouldn't quit.

Hannah felt an ache even in her dreamy state. She'd loved Kelly so much. When she'd gotten old enough to know better, she'd realized that sometimes Kelly made mistakes; sometimes her reckless attitude was too much. Sometimes the fights between her mom and Kelly had been so over the top, she couldn't believe what either of them were saying.

She'd tried to mediate between them. She'd loved both of them with all her heart, and Kelly had been her sister…until she wasn't.

It had been much more difficult to hold onto the love, especially as the years passed, as she had to raise Tyler and keep her mom sober. She'd thought how Kelly might come back a million times, but it had never been like this.

Brett moved in her arms. "Mommy?" he questioned.

She tightened her embrace. "Go to sleep. You're safe."

He was instantly reassured and why wouldn't he be? She'd just said the same thing to Brett that Kelly had said so many times to her when she'd gotten scared in the middle of the night, and she'd turned to her big sis for comfort.

Kelly had probably said the same thing to Brett.

He was safe.But was Kelly safe?

She had a terrible feeling that her sister was nowhere close to safe. But she hoped she was wrong.

Chapter Five

Jake couldn't sleep,and the hours of the night seemed impossibly long. The couch was short and narrow with a rock-hard lump in the middle. The wind was shaking the cabin with heavy branches and pinecones pummeling the roof. But it wasn't the couch or the weather that kept him too fired up to doze off. It was Hannah; it was her kiss, her taste, the scent of lavender that he'd always associated with her.

He'd traveled all over the world, and he'd thought he'd put Hannah and Whisper Lake far behind him. But whenever he caught a hint of lavender, it was like she was right next to him again. But it had always been an illusion, a bittersweet memory, until tonight…

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