Page 8 of Jake

“Shit, are you all right?” Aaron asked.

She nodded, then spoke. “I’m okay, just not the brightest sometimes.” She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’d love to go out with you.” She wondered, not for the first time, what any man saw in someone as scattered and ditzy as she was.

“I’m glad to hear that, but now I’m worried about you.” He looked around then led her to a nearby bench. “Here sit down for a minute. Are you really sure you’re okay?”

“I’m sure. I’m just an idiot.” She stared down at her hands as her face heated.

A finger under her chin gently lifted her face until she looked him in the eye.

“Hey, don’t talk about yourself like that.”

“But it’s true.”

“It may have been a long time since I’ve seen you last, but I know better than that. You’re smart. You’re witty and at times, you’re funny as hell. We all have moments of doing stupid things, but I can’t say I’ve seen you do anything like that, not since I found you again.” His voice was soft, gentle in a way she wasn’t sure she’d heard from a man, or at least one she wasn’t related to, in far too long. “So tell me what happened.”

Heather let her eyes drop, it was hard looking someone in the eye while you admitted to something like this. You never knew how they would react. Would he laugh? Would he think she was dumb? Worse, would he be pissed for some reason. She was too close to get away before he had a chance to hit her if it pissed him off. She moistened her lips then let it out. “I forgot to breathe.”

He didn’t move or say anything for long enough, she looked up at his face to gauge his reaction. There was a light in his eye that hadn’t been there before.

“Are you telling me I take your breath away?”

Heather couldn’t help but giggle at the thought. She hadn’t thought if it that way.

“Well, that’s not how I would have put it, but you’re not wrong.”

“There. That’s better.” His voice was still gentle, but he seemed… satisfied somehow.

“What’s better?”

“Seeing laughter in your eyes. I like it a lot more than the anxiety or the fear. Fear’s the worst. I hate seeing any woman afraid, but seeing it on your face is worse. It rips me apart.” His eyes were gentle as his hand slid to one side to cup her jaw. “It makes me want to find whoever hurt you and teach them a lesson. They need to know how to treat a woman, but at the same time, whatever they did sent you here. Back into my life and I can’t be too mad about that.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a wry smile. “Talk about twisted logic, huh?” He watched her for a moment longer, then spoke again. “Better now?”

She frowned. “When did you see me afraid?” She didn’t think she’d felt the usual fear since she’d run into him again, at least not that she could recall.

“When I spoke your name in the museum. Terror flashed across your face. It wasn’t there for long, and gone as soon as you realized who I was, but I didn’t miss it.”

Heather stared at him for a moment as she thought back to the encounter less than two hours before. She remembered the way her entire body had flashed cold, then hot before she’d looked up and seen him. Had she let it show on her face? Why wouldn’t she have? Up until the last few weeks, she’d never had a reason to keep what she was feeling off her face. Even now she wondered what was on her face and what he saw.

“I’m glad it was you.” She forced herself to smile as she met his gaze. She hoped how happy she was to see him, and that he was interested enough to ask her out showed on her face. She didn’t know if she could come out and say it, but he should know. She just didn’t know how to make sure he did.

7

Jakewatchedthestringof emotions play out across Heather’s face. He couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking, but from the smile she finally settled on, he decided not knowing was okay, at least for now.

“I’m glad it was me too.” He found himself smiling down at her. He fought the urge to pick her up, sling her over his shoulder and haul her to his bike and away from here. He wasn’t particular about where they would go as long as it could be just the two of them. He wanted to talk to her without having to worry about what someone else saw, what someone else thought, or having her worry about either of those.

But he wouldn’t. She was having some kind of trouble, he wasn’t sure what yet, but he knew Iceman was watching out for her and he wouldn’t leave her without that safety net, at least not until he was sure she had something in place to replace it.

He ignored the voice in the back of his head screaming that he wanted to be that thing in place to replace the safety net that was her cousin. He hadn’t seen her in too long. He wasn’t in a position to take on what could be a big responsibility, depending on what she was so afraid of.

“How do you like it up here?” he asked, looking to keep the conversation light. He wanted to see her smile again. He liked that far more than the haunted look she wore now.

“So far, I like it. The weather is mild, not the sweltering steamy heat I left behind.” Her cheeks turned pink, and he wasn’t sure if it was because she was happy or because she’d thought of whatever had driven her out of Alabama.

“That’s one thing I never missed about Mobile.”

“The heat?”

“No, the humidity.” He reached down and wrapped one hand around hers, then tugged her up and along as he continued walking along the perimeter of the park. He was afraid if they stood still too long then they’d draw someone’s attention, and he got the feeling Iceman didn’t like him talking to Heather.

---