Page 3 of Hard Knock Hero

“Lucky, then,” she murmured. She spun on her heel and went to the kitchen.

Well,thatwas mysterious. But I’d never been a big fan of mysteries. They were demanding of attention and time, and I had other uses for both.

I tried to check the weather and traffic, but my phone had no service. So I sipped the hot brew and focused on the view through the large, plate-glass window. Swirling snow. A few cars went by, carving two long furrows in the growing blanket of white. But nobody else stopped at Jessi’s Diner.

A few minutes later, Jessi came out with a large steaming bowl. “Here you are. Let me know if you need anything else.”

The stew looked and smelled delicious. “This should do it. Thank you.”

She pulled a rolled-up napkin with utensils from her pocket, but her eyes were on the window, where I’d just been looking. A frown sank into her expression. I recognized the signs of deep thought. Jessi seemed like a woman with a lot on her mind.

None of my business.

So I surprised even myself when I asked, “Waiting for someone?”

She startled and looked over. “What?” She set the bundle of utensils on my table with a thunk.

“You keep staring out the window.” I took the spoon and dipped it into my stew, stirring it around. “And you seemed nervous when I first got here. You were spying on me.”

“I wasn’tspying.”

“But youwerenervous. And you still are. Which suggests the person you’re waiting for isn’t welcome. You’re expecting bad news. Or worse.” I took in her mannerisms. Her pupils had dilated. Her hands shook, and she tried to hide it by stuffing them in her apron pockets. “Whoever you’re waiting for might be…dangerous.”

We stared at each other.

Her chin lifted, and she crossed her arms. “You got all that from a few minutes of sitting here?”

Plus four years as a soldier, I thought.And two opinionated siblings in law enforcement who refused to shut up.“Pretty much.”

“I don’t need help from some random guy.”

“I wasn’t offering,” I said matter-of-factly. I was nobody’s hero, least of all hers. “Just being observant. If somebody’s about to barge in here and start trouble while I’m eating my dinner, those are facts I might want to know.”

“I’m sure you can take care of yourself.”

“I’m sure I can, too.”

“Then you have nothing to be concerned about,” she snapped. “Let me know if you want dessert before you head out on the road. Our desserts happen to beexcellent.”

The door to the kitchen slammed the wall as she wrenched it open and vanished inside.

CHAPTERTWO

Jessi

I couldn’t makemy hands stop shaking. Couldn’t get my breathing to slow down.

My shoe crunched in the shattered drinking glass I’d dropped earlier when I’d been… Okay,fine, I’d been spying on him. Because I’d been trying to figure out if my ex had sent him. Just thinking about that bastard made my insides burn with fury. Made old aches rise to the surface, like bruises appearing after the initial trauma has passed.

I grabbed my phone from my stainless-steel prep table. Wi-Fi from my upstairs apartment was still working, but no new messages from Trace. The last one had said,Flight delayed for weather.

If my half-brother didn’t get to Hartley before Jeremy did, then I would have to sort things out on my own. Meanwhile, rent was due, and the burly, observant guy sitting in my diner right now was the only customer I’d had in days.

Nervous? Oh, I was nervous. As he’d so helpfully pointed out.

I peeked around the opening that connected the kitchen to the front of the restaurant. Not spying this time. Just observing, which he had been so eager to do before. I was returning the favor.

He wore dark jeans and a long-sleeved gray Henley. Ample muscles filled out the soft fabric. He had a trimmed beard and tousled light brown hair. Hard to say how old he was. Maybe about thirty. He had a military vibe, which I knew how to recognize from Trace, though I hadn’t seen my brother much in the last several years.

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