Page 77 of Her Rugged Guardian

CHAPTER 21

Jake

“All I’ve ever wanted to be is you.”

For some reason, even though I was sitting with a gorgeous woman on a beautiful late afternoon, what Riley had said had stuck in the forefront of my brain.

“Earth to the big man,” Cassandra said quietly.

“What?”

“That’s what I wanted to know.”

“Just thinking about my brother.”

“You’re angry with him about leaving you here, taking your spot on the team?”

“Nah, it wasn’t my spot to begin with. It was what my father wanted,” I said, lifting the glass and sucking on the ice cubes. Where the hell was the waiter? The Tylenol I’d popped wasn’tdoing a damn thing. “He’s trying to please our father and it’s making him do stupid things.”

“Did you talk to him?”

“Yep, and it didn’t end well.”

“Talk, not bark, Mr. Grinch.” Her eyes twinkled in the dim lighting.

“You’re a psychiatrist too? I don’t need another one.”

“Nope. Just someone who cares about you, although you’re tough to like.” When I reached for her face, she giggled and pulled away.

“You are one bad woman. Do you know that?”

“That’s why we get along so well.”

Maybe so. I sat back, glancing at the view she’d been staring at, constantly moving her upper body to the light jazz music.

Depoe Bay had a few decent restaurants, fewer still that had live music, which is what I wanted. Tidal Raves would do for the night. At least the weather was warm enough to enjoy the outdoor seating, which happened to appear only feet away from the jagged cliffs leading to the Pacific Ocean.

The sun was setting magnificently against the shoreline, the vibrant colors more intense than I’d seen in a long time. But I only had eyes for the woman sitting in front of me. She was stunning in a body-hugging crimson dress, which even in the candlelight on the table brought out the color in her eyes. I had filthy thoughts running through my mind, enough that I wanted dinner to be over with.

While she appeared more relaxed than before, holding her wine in her hand while staring into the waning sun, I could tell the news that had finally broken about the murder in Depoe Bay was weighing heavily on her mind. The two women had been identified, which I was certain had Bart in a tizzy.

“Remember, family is important, Jake. You never know when someone is going to be ripped away from you. Take those two girls for example.”

“I thought we were trying to have a nice dinner and not talk business or murder.”

She dragged her tongue across her lower lip then took another sip of wine. “I know, but I can’t get them out of my mind. I just can’t imagine what those two women went through,” she said, which confirmed her mind was far removed from the seafood we’d just enjoyed. “There are some horrible people in this world.”

“Yeah, but there are some amazing people as well.”

“Coming from the Grinch, that’s good to hear.” She threw me a playful look, but I sensed she was nervous, even frightened.

That made me angry as fuck. Whoever was trying to terrify her would end up facing me in a dark forest one day. Maybe I’d tie the asshole to a tree like had happened with Moose and throw in some bloody meat to entice the wildlife. “You can’t worry all day about what you heard on the news.”

“It’s hard not to, Jake. What if I’m next? What if the threat I received has nothing to do with Malcolm Robinson and his determination to buy my place?”

I’d thought about that more than a couple of times, but the last thing I wanted to do was to scare her. “I talked to my buddy at the sheriff’s office, including dropping off the cigarette butt for him to see if he could get any DNA.”

“And?”

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