Page 45 of Hard Knock Hero

I was worried about her. I wrapped my arm around her and held her tight to my side.

Neither of us had any appetite, but we stayed there on the floor of the kitchen. We were far from any windows here. Out of sight. Hours passed, the shadows lengthening as it started getting dark, and I thought of the conversation we’d had outside the cabin, right before the earth shook. Everything Jessi had shared with me. Her dreams for building a hotel and restaurant on Refuge Mountain. The longing in her eyes when she’d looked at me.

I promised myself I’d go after what I want, she had said.

I wanted to give that to her. And protect her, too. After what we’d been through today, it was a feral instinct, clawing at my insides. Jessi had made me care for her in ways I usually didn’t care for anyone. Like if she got hurt, it would threatenmysurvival, not just hers.

It was a dismaying feeling. I didn’t know what to do with it, except follow it for as long as I was here.

“Where did you learn how to handle a weapon?” I asked.

“My mom taught me. She had a rifle and a shotgun for the times that she didn’t have a man around.”

“Was that often?”

“Not really.” Jessi chuckled, and that sound did a lot to calm the tension that still had me wound as tight as a bowstring.

“Tell me more about your family. How you grew up.”

Jessi recounted stories from her childhood. The brief time that Trace had been around before he and her father moved away. Her mom’s series of husbands and boyfriends that followed, which Jessi agreed could’ve been awful and traumatic, but most of the guys had been harmless and comically nerdy. We both laughed as she told story after story. It was dark in the kitchen, but we didn’t bother with a light.

“And your dad?” I asked. “Is he in Virginia like Trace?”

She stilled. “He passed away. I don’t have any family that I’m close to. Not my mom. Not even Trace.”

I rested my head against hers. Put my hand on her bent knee and rubbed circles into it with my thumb.

I wanted to kiss her right now, but not just because she’d asked me earlier. And not simply to make her feel good, though of course that was important to me. It was more that I wanted to prove to Jessi that she was safe. Safe withme. Prove that I hadn’t made things worse for her just by my presence.

Jessi probably wouldn’t have been on Refuge Mountain today if not for me. But some people said things happened for a reason.

Hell, I didn’t know. My brain was going in circles. I didn’t usually deal with this kind of shit as a chef. Life and death decisions. I had thought my Army days were far behind me, and I had said good riddance. I was no hero.

But if I had to be a warrior for her, I would be.

For the next few days that I was in Hartley, I would be whatever Jessi needed me to be.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

Jessi

Main Street was quiet.Nobody had come for us.

At about two in the morning, we trudged upstairs. We brought the rifle. Aiden locked the door to my apartment and shoved a chair beneath the knob. Then he went to the window and looked out. “Still nothing,” he reported.

“Maybe they know Mitch is dead and there was a fight, but not that it was us.” I tried to reason through it. “We had our beanies on. The camera was above. The angle was more to detect intruders, not capture faces.”

“It’s possible. Even if they suspect us, Dale knows if they come near you again, Owen will be pissed enough to take action. And I’m guessing Owen doesn’t have the slightest clue what they’re up to on that mountainside. Whatever it is.”

“I’d bet not. Like you said, we have leverage. What do we do with it?”

“How about you get some sleep, and we’ll worry about that tomorrow.”

I rubbed my face and stifled a yawn. I had dozed off in the kitchen, my head against Aiden’s shoulder as we sat and he ran his fingers through my hair. Now I was dead on my feet, but also wired, much like last night. How could I sleep?

Aiden’s presence dominated my thoughts. Our conversation earlier, the terrifying moments on the mountain trail when he’d nearly followed Mitch into that ravine… I had seen itall. Aiden had almost gone over the edge, and my heart and lungs had been choking me as I watched.

I could still smell the fear on me. In fact, I stank.

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