Page 45 of Family Bonds- Jarrett & Andi

Though it might be the first time she thought her circumstances were lucky.

“Good,” he said. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“No,” she said. “Come in. I was just watching some new medical drama. The first episode wasn’t horrible so I thought I’d give the second a try. How was your day with your family?”

“It was nice,” he said. “I’m stuffed like I normally am. I’m glad I worked out this morning.”

Her eyes roamed over his body. He was wearing jeans and a green cotton shirt with the sleeves pushed up some. His brown eyes had some humor in them as he’d made that statement though there was no smile on his lips.

“I should have worked out, but I went to the beach this morning and sat in the sun with a book for a few hours and listened to the water and the birds.”

“Sounds like a nice relaxing day. Sorry that you were alone. I started to wonder if maybe you were feeling a bit sad about that.”

Andi was touched he cared enough to stop and find out. “I was. I’ve been alone for Thanksgiving before. Times my father was out of town or working, but it didn’t feel like it in a familiar hometown. Last year I cooked for Jack. This year...it was just me and I cooked what I did for my father in the past.”

He pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug that she wasn’t expecting. “I was going to see if you wanted to go tomyparents’today but knew that would put some pressure on you or us. It’d raise a lot of questions too.”

She was glad he hadn’t asked. She wasn’t ready for that.

“It worked out fine this way,” she said. Her arms were around his body and holding him tight still.

She looked up at him and his head dropped down, his mouth landing on hers.

This kiss was as comforting as his hug.

It was more sensual with the way his lips were pressing against hers and moving around some, then nudging her mouth open and his tongue slowly slipping in.

Not fast and urgent, but more of abuild-up. Man,was she buildingup.

They stood by her front door kissing like that for a few minutes. Not a teenage make-out session, but adults getting ready to burn for each other.

Only he stepped back from that and said, “I should go.”

She wanted to stomp her foot and grind her teeth but didn’t. It wasn’t the time yet and she wasn’t sure she was ready to pull him into her bedroom as much as she wanted to.

“I’m glad you stopped over.”

“Me too,” he said. “And you’re working tomorrow.”

“I hope to be done by five,” she said. “Two appointments starting at nine. They are kind of back to back, but I’ll be done with the second one by five.”

“I’m off,” he said. “How about dinner?”

“Dinner sounds good,” she said. “I’ll text you when I’m done and you can come over.”

“I’ll be here,” he said, giving her one more kiss. “Lock up behind me.”

Andi shut the door after him, turned the lock, watched him pull away out the windowandsat back on the couch for her lonely night of watching TV.

Yet she had one hell of a smile on her face and was feeling more energized than she had in weeks.

15

HE FOUND HER

The following Saturday, Jarrett picked Andi up at her house. Unless the island was invaded by zombies, he was going to damn well have the night off.

Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, he’d been at Andi’s. They were cleaning up dinner when he got a call that there was a disturbance on the ferry between passengers coming from Boston. Because it was between the island and Boston, it was state police. And since the ferry was heading to the island, it was on him.

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