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

there was Jake, putting items in a cooler as he whistled along with the music.
    “Hey,” she said.
    He jumped at the sound of her voice. The smile she expected to see was absent, replaced instead by a momentary wild look before he dropped his chin. He focused on whatever was on the counter in front of him, hiding most of his face from her view.
    “Sorry,” she offered quietly. She’d seen that look before. Usually when someone was cornered. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
    He shook his head. “Didn’t hear you come in. I’ve got the sat radio on. I’m almost ready here.”
    He zipped the cover of the insulated bag and disconnected his satellite radio from the dock. When he came around the corner, he paused for a moment and looked her over from head to toe. “You look different without the uniform.”
    “I would hope so,” she responded, shifting under the intensity of his gaze. The shorts and shirt were old and faded, and she’d left her curly hair out of the braid she wore to work. The ocean wind would likely leave it in tangles, but she wore it up so much that letting it hang freely down her back felt like a treat.
    Jake looked just as she expected—T-shirt, a different pair of board shorts and his flip-flops. His hair was shorter, slightly longer than a military cut but not much. She found she liked the crisp lines—especially the way they seemed to accentuate his eyes. They were, she realized, his best feature. Better now that the cloud of suspicion was gone from them. After what he’d said—and hadn’t said—at the fundraiser, she wondered if he still had issues with the time he’d spent overseas.
    “You ready?” He lifted the cooler.
    “Why not? I’m hungry.”
    He grinned. “Of course you are. I’ve seen you eat. Let’s go then.”
    She ignored his teasing about her big breakfast the other day and pushed the door open. Sun and heat touched her skin. “You realized you left this unlocked, right?”
    Jake paused and took out his keys. “I knew you were coming and left it open for you. I’ll lock it now, don’t worry.” He turned the locks and then swept out a hand. “Your chariot awaits.”
    He opened the passenger side door and she got in. His truck wasn’t brand new, but it was spotless. Jake got in and put the cooler between them, shutting the door with a satisfying slam.
     
    Jake turned the ignition and exhaled, trying to slow the rapid beat of his heart. First of all, she’d scared him when she’d come into the pub so quietly. He still didn’t do well with surprises. He wasn’t sure that jumpiness would ever go away completely.
    Then he’d come around the corner and had seen her there, all long, bare legs and wild hair and everything had gone hard on the spot.
    If he’d thought her attractive before, she was downright beautiful with her hair falling around her shoulders and faded jean shorts cut off to just the right spot to fire a man’s imagination. Between the two surprises, he was one big bundle of jacked-up nerves.
    Maybe what he’d planned for this afternoon wasn’t the smartest move after all. It would be better to be in public, wouldn’t it? Surrounded by other people and less tempted to look. To touch. He could always give her the option, he supposed, so as he put the truck in gear he looked over at her. “Saltwater or fresh?”
    She smiled tentatively. “Salt. I like the wind and the roar. The ocean’s more…untamed, don’t you think?”
    Oh God. She would turn out to be a wild one in some respects, wouldn’t she? That left out the lake, and Kingsport was bound to be busy. There was Blomidon, but the swimming wasn’t that great.
    Avoiding the touristy crowd was why he’d asked a favor of a friend in the first place, thinking it a perfect idea. Idiot.
    He swallowed. “The ocean it is.”
    He drove them out past Canning and towards Kingsport, stopping at a driveway on the right and pulling in. “Where are we?” she asked. “The beach is still a few