In the Line of Duty: First Responders, Book 2 Read Online Free PDF

pulled back and braided for work. She was hardly what she would consider beautiful.
    But the fact was she wanted to say yes, and that scared the hell out of her. Jake stood for just about everything she detested. How could she go on a date with him?
    “Won’t you have to be at the pub?”
    “We aren’t open on Sundays.”
    “Why not?”
    He smiled. “My employees have families and lives too. They deserve a day to themselves without having to worry if they’re on shift.”
    Another surprise. Damned if he wasn’t busting through a lot of her preconceptions today.
    “Come on, Kendra. We’ll keep it simple. A Sunday afternoon at the beach. A little R and R.”
    It did sound good. And a few hours at the beach wasn’t really heavy-duty date material, was it? She’d been longing for such an afternoon for days now. He was making it very difficult to come up with a really good reason to say no.
    Of course, it would also mean seeing Jake without his shirt. The idea had a certain level of attraction—if her memory was accurate and today’s display was any indication. At least the beach would be public. Safety in numbers was looking pretty attractive right about now.
    “I don’t know, Jake. You’ve taken me a bit by surprise here.”
    “Hmm,” he mused, tilting his head like he was trying to puzzle her out. “You wouldn’t be chicken, would you?”
    “Afraid of going out with you? That’s absurd.” She sniffed. “Fine,” she said. “The beach.”
    “Meet me at the pub at noon, and I’ll drive from there,” he suggested. “And I’ll pack us a lunch.”
    It was hard to argue with a man who looked like he did and threw a picnic into the deal. “Noon,” she confirmed, trying her best to look nonchalant. Inside there was a bubbly feeling fizzing around in her stomach, like she’d just been asked to the prom by the cutest boy in school.
    She was nearly thirty years old. She should be too old for those sorts of feelings. Except she’d never been asked to the prom, or gone to any school dance…ever.
    She got in the car and put the key in the ignition. As she drove away, she checked her rear-view mirror. He was still standing there holding the pop can in his hands.
    She had just agreed to a date with him. What more confirmation did she need that she was crazy?

Chapter Three
    There was no other professional reason for Kendra to see Jake now. The teens responsible for the break and enter and theft had been caught thanks to Jake’s description of the car. Someone else had given him the news while she was off shift. She’d also been right in that the money and alcohol were long gone. But with the investigation now closed, it was definitely clear as day that Sunday’s outing was a date.
    A date with Jake Symonds. Lord help her.
    She fiddled with her bathing suit straps in front of the mirror. It was a modest, cover-it-up type suit that wasn’t nearly as cute or sexy as the two-piece ones she saw on the beach these days or hanging from the hangers at the shops. Those scraps of fabric would be just about like standing in front of Jake—and everyone else—in her underwear. Right, like that was ever going to happen. Her suit was in two pieces, but the top was a black halter style that skimmed her ribs until it met the band of the bottoms. Only when she raised her arms could she see any skin around her middle, and that was a small strip only an inch wide.
    She could add prude to her list of flaws, too, she supposed.
    She checked her watch. Five to twelve. She had to get moving, so she pulled on a pair of cut-offs and a T-shirt, threw sunscreen and a towel in a tote bag, slid her sunglasses on her face and her feet into flip-flops.
    When she got to the pub the front door was unlocked and she went inside, pausing to let her eyes adjust to the dimness. It was dark, but a radio played somewhere, the pop tune echoing through the lonely space. She shouldered her bag again and peered through to the kitchen. Sure enough,