Page 26 of Jasper

“Yeah, but I have some things I need to tell you.” I hand him one of my books. “And it can’t wait.”

First Dad.

Then Jasper.

16

JASPER

I’m panting heavilyafter having scoured the entire festival grounds twice in search of Vanessa. She warned me she wasn’t going to be glued to my side today, but I went to the hotel early anyway.

She wasn’t there.

But she’s also nothere.

Well, fuck.

If she got on a plane this morning, the admiral will have my ass.

Worse, though, is that the woman I love may have managed to slip out of my life for a second time. Something I swore I would never let happen. Maybe I was wrong to give us both space last night.

“You okay, man?” Joel asks, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“Vanessa. I can’t find her.”

“She’s over there,” he says, nodding at theCaribou Creek Brewerytent.

The relief I feel at spotting her instantly deflates as I see her standing in line with her father. He’s in plain clothes today, buthis massive size is as intimidating as ever. A reminder of the barrier that exists between Vanessa and me even if I still have a chance to convince her to stay in North Haven.

Fuck.

“You sure this is worth it?” Joel asks, no judgment in his tone, only curiosity.

“One day, you’ll understand,” I say to him.

“Then, man the fuck up,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder. “And good luck.”

I force my feet to move forward before my brain can give me a dozen reasons to run the other way. In less than a minute, I might be putting my military career on the line. Though I’d always planned to retire at twenty years, I never gave much thought to what I’d do after the coast guard. I’ve always had time on my side.

But I can’t stand the thought of Vanessa getting on that plane tomorrow and possibly never coming back.

I can’t let the woman I love walk away without laying it all on the line. I don’t just love her, I need her as badly as I need oxygen to breathe. If she’d just stop being so damn stubborn for two seconds, she’ll realize she feels the same. She’ll realize that it’s not only safe to love me back, but necessary to our existence. We belong together. I’ve known that since the moment we met at the Cape Cod bar.

Vanessa turns, her cobalt blue gaze locking with mine. Her expression is blank.Better than anger. She lifts a small paper cup to her lips and sips. Fuck me, I’m jealous of that paper rim.

She turns to her dad, saying something. I can’t see her face, but I can see his. Dread fills me as Admiral Wheeler lifts his gaze to me. His expression isn’t so blank. It’s…stern.

Seems like my military career might be finished after all. Maybe Mom needs an extra set of hands with her food truck. Or I could work as a deckhand for a crab boat. Or?—

Vanessa tosses her paper cup in a trash bin and sprints toward me.

I’m certain I’m imagining it.

Until she practically tackles me to the ground. By some miracle, I manage to keep us both upright as she wraps her arms around my neck and drags me down for a kiss that is most definitely not appropriate for the public eye.

But I don’t fucking care.

Whatever issues we have to sort out, this kiss tells me everything’s going to be okay. I can feel the love infused in it.

---