Page 12 of Mistlefoes

Jack’s decorations had been inLight Show Spectacularmode, probably visible from space. And from the road, since he’d apparently gotten someone to plow away the snow mounds.

He hadn’t said a word about it when he picked me up that morning, my favorite coffee once again in hand.

“You’re really trying to earn some points, aren’t you?” I teased before taking a sip of the heaven in a cup.

“Depends on what the points get me. Did you sleep well?” he asked after planting a kiss on my cheek. If I shivered, it was purely from the cold. Right?

“Well enough. You?”

He shook his head. “I had nightmares about the Nordic surfer dude cop, Hans, hitting on you. I kept waking up pissed off.”

With restraint, I didn’t point out how I’d felt after what I’d witnessed last December. He was adamant that it hadn’t been him, but I knew what I’d seen. I wasn’t sure what I’d do about that whole thing. Let it slide? I couldn’t see how. “Forgetting” would go against every feminine instinct I had. The way I’d responded to his kiss last night, though… We weren’t over.

And now that he’d spoken to my mom, I was stuck with him for a bit. I wasn’t even sure how to justify my feeling to myself. He hadn’t apologized, downright denying it was him, and I was just so tired of the battle within me, being mad at him but still wanting him, too.

All my feminist sisters should disown me.

“I never went out with Hans,” I told Jack. “Never even thought of it, and he never asked. You don’t need to fantasize about knocking out a cop.”

“Thank God. I’m not much of a fighter. That was always my brother, John. He used to get me in trouble all the time, getting me blamed for stuff he did.”

“He’s the one I’ve never met. He was flying some place when I met Curt and Aimee.”

“Yeah. Lately, he’s had a few charters to the regional airport between here and Adrian Point, but he only started them over the past year. He’s been shuttling some billionaire over here for business with the Anderson and Wellston families.”

“Well, maybe next time he’s around, I can meet him.”

Jack smiled wide and I realized what I’d said.

“I mean—”

He held up a hand. “Nope. You’re committed now. You’re meeting John.”

I groaned, but we’d just stopped outside my shop. He leaned in and brushed his lips over mine. “I’ll see you at lunchtime. We can talk about this place moving in with mine, the trip to your parents’ and our date tonight.”

“I never agreed to a date.” Or anything else for that matter.

He ignored me, and I knew I’d be going with him. He knew it, too.

* * *

“This is…not exactly what I thought you had in mind?” I said as we walked toward the shelter in Adrian Point. Nerves tumbled in my belly because I wasn’t sure what to expect. Was this even safe?

“They’re just people, Jill. Don’t judge.”

“I won’t,” I replied, feeling immediate shame. “I just… It’s out of my element.”

“I come here every Wednesday,” he said as we entered through the double glass doors and were greeted by a vestibule that blasted us with warmth. He pulled open the inner door and held it open for me. “I just help prepare and serve dinner then work with the literacy program. There’s some really good people here who just need a break. Some of them have managed to slip through the system without being able to read.”

“I can do that. Help with that, I mean.” Reading and cooking were in my wheelhouse, and the idea erased a tiny bit of my apprehension.

“I know you can, honey. This place is who I’m doing the Cherish Cove decoration contest for. The prize money and the equivalent of the taxes I’ll save will be donated here. They really need it.”

I looked around the room we entered. Long cafeteria tables and a play area for kids filled the space. Some people sat at a few of tables, talking while they sipped from paper cups. Shame dogged me again. They didn’t look much different from me, just ordinary people.

“That’s so good of you, Jack,” I murmured.

“Gotta win first,” he replied with a half smile. “Come meet Asia. She’s in charge here, and she’ll put you to work.”

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