Page 56 of Promise of a New Beginning
“Good morning, beautiful.” He kissed her cheek and held up a cup of coffee. “I wasn’t sure how you liked it. Cream? Sugar?”
Savannah glanced at the clock.Five thirty.“Both, please. Did you go home and come back already?” She blinked through her sleepy haze.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my Superman cape. That would be impossible with how late we stayed up.” He winked, then fixed her coffee. “I had a backpack on my bike. I went down and got it this morning.”
“You shouldn’t leave stuff out like that in the city. I’m surprised it was still there this morning. Sorry I kept you up so late.” She felt her cheeks flush.
“I’m not.” He handed her the cup and kissed her cheek. “By the way, I’m not naive. I had the bag locked on the bike.”
She couldn’t concentrate on the words he’d just said; she was lost in his clean, fresh scent. Savannah touched his cheek as he drew back. “I love the feel of your whiskers.”
“Then I’ll be sure to skip a day between shaves. Your phone vibrated earlier.” He nodded toward her cell phone on the dining room table.
“This early?” She picked it up and read the text. “It’s my brother Hugh.” She read the text. “Oh my gosh, he’s coming into town. I can’t wait to see him, but I thought his award ceremony was in Washington. I guess I messed that up. It’s here this Saturday. It’s a good thing he called, because I thought it was next weekend, and we’ve been so busy that I hadn’t even made flight arrangements yet.” She hurried across the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Jack’s waist. “Come with me to the ceremony? Please?”
“Whatever you want, angel. What’s he getting an award for? A particular race?”
“I don’t know which race this is for, just that he’s won another award.” She wrinkled her nose. “Does that make me a bad sister? It does, right?”
He wrapped his arms around her. “You’re not a bad sister. Does he know what cases you win?”
“Well, no, but those aren’t awards.”
“They’re accomplishments, and they count just as much.”
“Are you sure you’re the same arrogant guy who flew me into the mountains? Because you’re so sweet that I can’t really see that other part of you anymore.” She felt his body stiffen beside her.
“I’m still the same guy.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Remember when I told you that I didn’t used to be that guy?” He put down the newspaper and coffee and took her cup from her hands, then set it on the counter. He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked down at her. “The real me is starting to emerge, and it’s all because of you.” He kissed the top of her nose. “But don’t be fooled. I worry that the angry bastard is still lingering and that we haven’t seen the last of him yet.”
“Well, if he comes back, we’ll just have to tame him while we work through whatever gets his back up.” She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, listening to the calm beat of his heart, so different from the racing pulses she’d felt only hours before.
“I love when you saywe, angel.” He rested his head on the top of hers.
“I love when you call meangel. Although my brothers will have a field day with that. I’m not really known for being angelic.”
“No. Really?” Jack widened his eyes and covered his mouth, feigning surprise.
“Shut up.” Savannah pushed away from him and laughed. “You can’t grow up with five brothers and not be tough. Being girlie wasn’t an option. My father made sure that I could do anything they could do, and I made sure I could do it just as well.”
Jack pulled her close again. “You are still very feminine.” He kissed her lips. “And very beautiful.” He kissed her cheek. “And you’re my angel because you saw through the smoke and mirrors I had hidden behind and you drew me out. So your brothers can take the name up with me. It’s staying.”
She loved that he’d stand up to anyone for her and that he saw something in her that she didn’t think anyone else ever would. She felt more feminine around him than she ever had in her whole life. Actually, she felt different in too many ways to count when she was with him. She looked at the clock and groaned.
“I have to get ready for work.” She furrowed her brow. “What does a bush pilot and survivalist do when he’s not flying planes or teaching people woodsy stuff?”
“Woodsy stuff? You’re so cute. Didn’t I teach you anything out there?” He took a sip of his coffee.
“More than you’ll ever know.” She smiled. “In extreme conditions a man can live three minutes without air, three weeks without food, and three days without water.”
“You did learn a little something.” He set his coffee on the counter and took her in his arms. “Guess what I did?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer. “You already know that I called Siena. Well, I asked her to try to get everyone together so we could talk. I’m going to try to fix what I’ve ruined.”
“You did? Wow. When you say you’re going to fix things, you don’t waste any time, do you?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not really a middle-of-the-road kind of guy.” He smiled, but Savannah saw worry in his eyes. “I’m afraid this isn’t going to be an easy road, but it’s an important one.”
Savannah went to his side and touched his arm. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Yeah, actually, I do, but I don’t want to make you late for work. It’s almost six.”
