Page 44 of Island Homecoming

Why argue when they wanted the same thing? “All right.”

His open invitation made something quiver deep in her belly and turned her knees weak. Nash didn’t say things like that unless he meant them. He wanted her around. The man made too many parts of her fluttery.

She dashed out the door before she did something foolish, like crawl back into that bed and forget all of her responsibilities. And his. Knowing they both had a full schedule today, she headed back home to clean up and change, managing to dodge her parents and any speculation or questions about where she’d spent the night.

As if they didn’t know.

Everyone on the island knew she and Nash were becoming an item again and frankly, Jess appreciated the lack of commentary from her parents. They treated her like the adult she was, but it still felt weird to be living with them again. If she was making this move permanent, she needed to start looking for her own place.

Was she staying?

Yes.

The certainty shook her and a pinch in her lungs left her breathless. She plopped down on the end of the bed, her clean uniform forgotten.

She was staying. Here in Brookwell. To be with Nash, if that worked. But also for herself, separate from her ties to him.

This was where she wanted to be. This was home.

Her alarm chimed, pulling her out of the reverie, and she finished dressing in a hurry. She’d spent too much time in her thoughts and would have to get coffee at the police station.

On the drive to the station, she couldn’t quite make the shift to the all-hands meeting waiting for her there. Her mind was still on Nash.

Whatever was happening between them couldn’t be dismissed as closure. Or just being too comfortable. This was different than anything she could have imagined back when they were kids. And she suddenly wished for a friend to share all these feelings with.

Gabby might be up. Nina was definitely at work already, but that felt awkward, discussing being in love with Nash with his sister.

Probably the wrong thing, especially when she hadn’t yet toldhim.

She was in love with Nash. Again. Maybe for the first time. She wasn’t sure loving him when they were kids counted for much. But they’d cleared the air these last two weeks and to her amazement, they’d clicked in a quiet, unexpected way that made her appreciate him even more. Although she was more confident about some things, being close to him, being in love with him, left her with more uncertainty than ever.

Her job made him nervous. And rightly so. Her resistance to carrying a gun didn’t seem to be easing up at all.

No matter how awesome things were going, it had to be too soon for declarations of this magnitude. Or maybe she was finding new ways to be a coward. But they had time. Nash had said himself that she didn’t need to rush anything.

Had he guessed how badly she wanted to stay? Did it matter?

She was staying.

It felt fantastic to have made the decision, despite the flood of details swamping her. She needed a place to live. She needed to go back to Key West and get the few possessions she didn’t want to leave behind.

And she needed to accept that job offer from Gamble and Swann. Something she should’ve told Nash about. It had just seemed too fragile to share. Like her feelings for him. She hadn’t been sure it was the right move, that she wanted it for herself rather than to be close to him.

Now she was sure.

She sighed as she pulled into the parking lot at the police station. That would be the big trick: finding the right way to tell him about her conclusions, mind and heart. Would he celebrate or would he resist the idea of sharing island life with her again?

She knew which way she hoped it would go, but she also couldn’t just blurt it all out and expect him to be on the same page.

“No rush,” she muttered under her breath. “Just one step at a time.”

Chapter 13

Jessmanagedtogulpdown half a cup of coffee and grab a slice of strudel someone had brought from the Bread Basket bakery before the meeting started. Frasier had gathered everyone in the conference room for the briefing. “Thanks for coming. We’re changing up a few things,” he began. “Chief Caldwell has been working closely with state authorities sifting through new intel. He’ll be here in a minute to give us the latest update.” He paused to look around the room. “That means we’re all on duty for the next forty-eight hours.” He held up a hand. “It’s inconvenient for me too. But in the interest of getting this job across the finish line, I think it’s the right move.”

Jess wasn’t thrilled with the round-the-clock order and she would text Nash as soon as possible so he wouldn’t worry that she’d ghosted him.

Caldwell walked in, trailed by his sergeants, Burrell and Kinney. He gave a brief overview of the intel gathered so far. Jess listened to his remarks, but it was the look on his face that gave her real confidence. The chief had a plan he was excited about.

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