Page 12 of Pick Yourself Up
Ford let her go. “It’s great to meet you in person, Amber. Jolie can finally stop concocting elaborate plans to lure you to the farm. Welcome.”
Amber smiled. “Thank you. It’s good to be here and to meet you, too.”
Jolie hugged her again. “I’m so happy you’re here. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were coming.”
Amber smiled again, not ready to tell her baby sister she hadn’t been sure she’d be brave enough to make it. Although the threat continued in Chicago, the city was the only home she’d known since they’d lived with Fox.
She’d loved Chicago and the people she’d worked with, but living in hotels where she’d worked didn’t make any of those places home.
Now, feeling her sister’s joy and the welcome from Ford had her feeling more at home than she’d felt in a long while.
When they broke apart again, Jolie studied Amber’s eyes seriously. Amber didn’t want her to look too closely, so she turned her attention to her dog. “You haven’t met Boomer yet. Boomer. Heel. Meet Jolie and Ford. Friends”
The dog moved instantly to her left side from where he’d been hanging out with Hemsworth. He studied the two new humans and sniffed them. Learning that theirs were scents he could trust. She repeated the word Friend, knowing the dog understood.
Jolie knelt and hugged the dog. “You’re a beauty, Boomer. And so well-trained. When did you and Amber become friends?”
Amber loved the picture of Jolie hugging Boomer. “I’ve had him for over a month now.”
Jolie grinned up at her. “He’s a big dog for a hotel room. Does this mean you’re moving here for good?”
Amber shrugged, not quite sure how to respond to that.
Ford’s phone beeped with a message, and he laughed. “It’s the day for welcoming new arrivals. Santa Claus is here.”
Amber blinked. “Santa Claus? Isn’t it a bit early in the season for the big guy to make an appearance? It’s autumn and the leaves aren’t even fully turned yet.”
Ford laughed. “Not that Santa. This Claus is a guy we worked with in the Army. He was more of a specialist and moved from team to team, helping with strategic planning.”
Jolie looped her arm through Amber’s. “Come on and meet him. He’ll be helping with the plants and the gardens on the property. Then I’ll show you the farmhouse and help you pick a room.”
Amber went along with the group, the dogs walking at their sides. She’d been prepared to meet Ford and Thea, but she hadn’t built up shields for meeting a new person. Strangers were hard.
Reinforcing her protective shields was something she did automatically before each shift at the hotel or when she walked anywhere in Chicago, but she hadn’t expected to do it here.
Thankfully, it was a skill she’d practiced so often, it was automatic. Even without a command, Boomer moved to walk alongside her, and she wondered if he’d sensed her rising tension.
But the chances of meeting anyone connected to the threat in Chicago on her family’s apple farm in Vermont had to be almost zero.
When they rounded the farmhouse, she spotted a tall man standing beside a shiny black car, studying the gardens. His tall figure was imposing.
Sexy.
Familiar.
Her heart rate thundered.
Then he turned to look at the approaching group, and her steps faltered. The chances were apparently larger than zero.
Dark Eyes was here on the farm.
Gray stretched as he climbed from his car. He enjoyed driving, especially through a place as pretty as Vermont in late September, but he was stiff as hell.
His army buddies had sure lucked into a corner of paradise.
A paradise that could be Gray’s permanent home now.
After the mess at The Sidderlight Hotel, Gray had tendered his resignation at Cassidy Protection. Norm had cajoled him into helping with a few jobs since then, but making the cut had felt right, as had leaving the state.
