Page 17 of Major Love

I lift the produce from the brown paper bag, followed by the bear spray that I picked up at the hardware store.

Then I twist my lips in contemplation as I set the cannister on the counter.

I mean, it’s unlikely that I’ll be driving so far into the mountains that I’ll actually see a bear, but Casey would rumble my ear off if I told him that I went to the trails without taking precautions.

Although I’ll need to get a car first.

Which reminds me.

I glance out of the front window and tilt my head to the side as I look affectionately at Casey’s Ford truck.

Like, seriously. How hard can it be?

Seeing as the car keys aren’t in his bedroom, I know for sure that he’s hidden them in here. The kitchen, an organised space, that he uses all the time. A place he’s in so frequently that he’d find them again without even looking.

While simultaneously being somewhere thatIwould never think to look.

My gaze flicks up to the cabinet above the stove – the one cabinet that I peeked inside and had absolutely zero interest in.

I open the wooden door and peep up at the giant tub of protein powder.

And a small smile tugs at my lips as I stand up on my tip-toes, carefully hauling the enormous container down from the top shelf. I rebalance and squeal a little as it almost topples me over.

Then I settle it on the counter and twist off the lid.

The one place where Casey looks every day, and the one place where I wouldn’t look, literally ever.

There, sitting on the powder, are the keys to Casey’s truck.

A dimple pops in my cheek and I reach into the cupboard for his little scooper, ready to carefully retrieve the keys from the inside of the tub.

Until the sound of tires skidding up the sidewalk suddenly rumbles through the cabin.

A large vehicle pulling to a stop, followed by a car door slamming beyond the porch.

I turn around to face the front yard and see that the driver has already dismounted, so I push the protein powder to the side and head tentatively out of the kitchen. I pull my robe a little tighter and tuck a loose curl behind my ear.

But I only get halfway to the front door when the whole thing crashes open.

And then my heart stops in my chest.

Because Jason Coleson is staring back at me.

Chapter 4

Jason

I drop the bag of subsoil onto the porch deck, looking unblinkingly at the woman standing in front of me.

Then I slowly recalibrate, heaving the gravel back over my right shoulder, and I walk sideways through the entryway to accommodate the two sacks that I’m carrying.

I stop right on the threshold, my chest heaving as I meet her eyes.

“Sunday?” I ask, disbelief making my voice more gruff than usual.

She’s back from Nashville? And Case didn’t tell me?

As soon as he’s safely back from deployment, I’m gonna murder him with my bare hands.

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