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He woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee brewing and bacon frying. Shocked to discover that Jamie had been able to slip out of bed without him noticing, he hastily pulled on his clothes.
Jamie was wearing her standard uniform of jeans and a t-shirt. Her hair was pulled up in a bun and she wore the barest hint of makeup. Luke thought that she had never looked so beautiful.
“Good morning,” she said. “I got up late, so I’m not making anything fancy. I hope that you like bacon and scrambled eggs.”
“Sounds perfect to me. What’s even better is that I don’t have to cook it.”
“That always does improve the taste of a meal, doesn’t it?” she asked.
“How are you feeling this morning?”
Jamie knew exactly what he was talking about and didn’t try to pretend otherwise.
“I’m okay. You were right. I have been snow shoeing on that mountain my entire life. They had no right to attack me, whether I was a shifter or not. They were going to kill me and if you hadn’t come along when you did, I would be dead right now and my body would be someplace where no one would ever find it,” she said. “They shot at you and tried to kill you. I would never say that they deserved to be killed, but I will say that what happened was justified. It was their actions that caused the situation, not mine and not yours.”
“That is a very healthy way of looking at it,” Luke replied. “I know that it is hard to watch someone be killed.”
“It was, and I’ll probably have those images in my mind for a while. At the same time, the logical side of my brain says that it was the only way to protect me and you. And the fact is, if it comes down between us and them, I choose us,” she said.
“You are a very smart woman,” Luke said.
“Thank you.” Jamie smiled.
Luke helped Jamie with the dishes. They stepped outside and the crisp morning air stole their breath away for a moment. A fresh powder of snow covered the steps and their vehicles.
Jamie pulled a snow brush out of her car and Luke took it from her.
“I got this. You just get your car started.”
After starting his truck, he brushed the snow from all her windows and off the top of the car. It always amazed him that people left snow on the top of the car, and then when they stopped, the snow fell down on their windshield.
Jamie hugged Luke and said, “Thank you. That was very sweet of you.”
“I’m a very sweet kind of guy,” he replied, cheekily.
“And humble, too,” she joked.
“Just honest. I’ll tell you all about my other admirable traits if you want me to, but we might freeze to death if we stand out here talking that long.”
Luke leaned down and kissed her, then opened her car door for her.
“You have a terrific day dishing caffeine and calories,” he said.
“It sounds so sexy when you put it that way.” She laughed. “You have a fun day, too.”
“As long as I’m with me, I always have a good time,” Luke said, sticking his nose in the air.
Laughing, Jamie hopped in her car and carefully drove away.
Luke smiled. He really loved spending time with her. She made him laugh and put him at ease so he could relax and be himself.
His smile faded as the events from the day before reminded him that he needed to talk to Dillon.
The store had just opened when Luke stepped inside. There were already a couple of customers browsing through the merchandise. Dillon took one look at the seriousness on Luke’s face and knew that there was a problem.
“Ethan, can you handle everything here for me?” Dillon asked as he beckoned Luke into the back room.
“We have an issue,” Luke said.
