Page 25 of Jasper

Sloane’s entire face shifted from angry to shocked to a blank expression in the space of a single heartbeat. Jasper was positive she hadn’t meant to tell him that.

“It’s personal.”

He shrugged. “No worries, but if you decide to talk about it, I’m a good listener.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m good.”

Jasper sighed and looked out the window, surprised to see snow falling in the dimming light. It was cold enough outside for snow, but somehow, he’d thought it would hold off until morning when it didn’t start falling this afternoon.

“It’s snowing.”

Sloane glanced out the window and let out a little squeal. She jumped up from the island and ran outside with no shoes on. Jasper got up and followed her, prepared to haul her in long enough to find shoes and a coat, but he stopped and laughed at her antics. It was the first time he’d seen her really happy since he met her.

She stood on the cold ground spinning around and around, her arms out and face tilted toward the sky. She looked like an angel, and his smile softened at the sight. Beautiful didn’t even begin to describe this woman because she had the kind of beauty that shined from the inside out. Sweet and gentle, even if she was more stubborn than anyone he knew, including her cousin.

“I missed the snow so much,” she confessed as she twirled.

“You can miss it inside with your shoes on.”

She looked down sheepishly. “Oops.”

He laughed and moved aside so she could go back into the kitchen and sit. “How long have you been in Florida?”

“We moved there when I was fourteen. I only ever saw snow when we came to visit Jarrod and his mom, and I haven’t been back here since I was eighteen.”

“But you and Jay stayed close?” He took his seat at the island, unable to keep his eyes off her.

“Yeah, he’s like my honorary big brother.” Sloane’s eyes widened, and it was then she realized she’d told him more than she’d intended to.

She started eating again, and he did the same. She’d seemed more hunched in around herself tonight, but then she’d let her defenses down for a half a second. Sloane probably felt more defensive now.

He offered to wash the dishes when they were done so she could shower, and Sloane readily agreed. While he’d tended to the animals and fixed a section of fence, he knew she’d worked her ass off in the house cleaning and washing the bedding. Plus, the place looked and smelled like Christmas. She even had decorations in the damn kitchen. Sloane was definitely a Christmas kind of girl.

Once he’d finished with all the dishes, he made a note to buy Jarrod a dishwasher. It had been a long time since Jasper had washed dishes by hand. He’d forgotten how dried out it made your skin feel. He couldn’t care less about his hands, but he was concerned with Sloane’s. He knew she probably drowned herself in lotion like most women, but there was no need to make her life harder right now. She was dealing with enough.

With that, he decided to go out to the barn and wait until it was time to call Jarrod. He planned on getting the full story of what was going on with that woman, whether she liked it or not. He couldn’t help if he didn’t know what was going on.

But first, he needed to let her know he was going outside so she wouldn’t worry when she didn’t find him downstairs. She was spooked enough as it was.

Throwing the dishtowel in the sink, he headed upstairs.

Sloane wrapped the towel around her and opened the bathroom door. She’d forgotten to get underwear. Looking toward the stairs, she saw no sign of Jasper and decided to get dressed in her own room. Where her underwear was.

Picking up her pajamas from the toilet seat, she darted across the hall. The one thing this house was missing was a master bath. Her aunt always said it wasn’t needed since she only took baths after the kids were all in bed and asleep. It had never bothered Sloane before, but with a strange man in the house, it did now.

Her phone started ringing, and she glanced at it. Great. Her boss was calling her. Might as well get the firing over with.

Grimacing, she answered. “Hello?”

“Sloane, what the hell?” Chris Hanes did not sound happy. “I had to scramble to replace you with no warning, only a brief text saying you had to take some time off with no real explanation.”

“I’m sorry about that.” She kept her voice low and contrite. “My cousin’s in the military, and there was an emergency I can’t talk about. National security and all that. He’s more of a brother than a cousin. When he needed help, I came because he would have done the same for me, even it meant going AWOL. I understand if you can’t hold my position indefinitely.”

She was going to hell for lying, especially about this. It wasn’t right to use Jarrod and his military status this way, but it might save her job. She hoped.

“The military?”

“Yes. I can’t even tell you where he was stationed before…before the emergency.”

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