Page 43 of Her Rugged Guardian

After closing the door, I moved into the living room where one of his beds had been placed. He wasn’t there. “Moosie! Where are you, baby?”

When I didn’t hear him racing down the stairs or his tail thumping against a wall, fear rushed into my system. What ifsomething happened to him? What if he ran away? Worse. What if the asshole who’d been watching me had taken him?

I moved into the kitchen and my worst fears hit me hard. The back door was standing open. There was no way. I’d checked every door before I’d left, locking them. I barely placed the bags on the counter, almost dropping them to the floor. As I inched closer, I remembered the locking mechanism was another one I’d had trouble with.

And I’d yelled at Jake for changing the single lock. Oh, God. Moose was good with his paws. He’d opened doors before but only when the handle was a lever design, not a traditional knob.

Chills continued to course down my spine as I walked outside, staring at the wide expanse of grass, hearing the ocean slamming against the rocks. The huge body of water now seemed far too close. Tears formed, my heart racing. If something happened to my boy, I’d lose my mind.

“Moose. Moose!”

CHAPTER 14

Jake

A plate of broken cookies.

Wow. I certainly had an interesting effect on the girl. I could tell by the burnt pieces it was my Cinnamon Girl. Mine. Wasn’t that a crock of shit? I fingered the check, shaking my head. I hadn’t intended on her paying me so soon. Sighing, I rubbed my jaw, trying to figure out if I should call her. Yeah, and say what exactly?

“Fuckin’ shithead,” I muttered, hating the way things had gone down.

As I picked up the plate, I shook my head again. I’d been right. Leaving Cassandra’s house without a decent explanation, not bothering to make any contact for two days and shoving off her work to another contractor had squarely placed me in the asshole category. I wasn’t proud of my behavior, but I maintained that it was in her best interest.

I was additional baggage she didn’t need.

I continued staring down at the plate as I headed inside, kicking the door shut behind me, heading to the kitchen. After tossing the plate and the check onto the counter, I yanked open the refrigerator, huffing at seeing no real food. I had plenty of beers, a jar of mayonnaise that had likely expired at least a year before, a few other condiments, and a lovely chunk of Colby cheese.

The contents were representative of my fucking life. Moldy.

I grabbed a Bud, yanking the opener off the side of the fridge and popping the top. Almost as soon as I took a swig, I felt my phone pulsing from my back pocket before I heard the ring. At this point, I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. After it rang the second time, I rolled my eyes, snagging it from my pocket. Seeing my old fire captain’s number flash across the screen surprised me.

We’d been close when I’d been with the fire department. After putting the entire team in hot water with the fire investigator, we’d had a brutal argument that had almost led to blows. Every so often we talked, but usually when we ran into each other.

I was tentative about answering the call but did so anyway out of respect to the man. “Spencer.”

“Jake Spencer. Long time no hear from,” Shane said.

“Yeah, I’ve been busy.”

“I get it but man, you’re tough to get ahold of.”

If he expected me to be much of a talker right now, he was wrong. I headed for the front door, already needing a little air. I could tell by his exaggerated breathing that he was exasperated. Once upon a time, we’d been able to talk about anything, laughing over stories of our youth, commiserating over fires.

“Why are you calling?” I finally asked as I sat down on the porch.

“You never liked bullshit.”

“And I still don’t, Shane. What is it?”

“To be frank with you, I lost a couple men. I’m short and as you might remember, it’s not like I get too many people applying for the job of firefighter.”

I shook my head, taking another gulp of beer. He’d asked me to consider returning once before. That had been only months after the tragedy. I’d made it clear then that I wasn’t cut out for the job. Why was he pushing now? “So?”

“So, I’m asking you to consider coming back.”

“It’s been over three years, Shane. Even if I wanted to, neither my skills nor my physical condition are up to it. Besides, the goddamn fire inspector would stop at nothing to make certain that doesn’t happen.”

“He’s retiring, Jake. He won’t be an issue. And the city council I can handle.”

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