The Christmas He Loved Her (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake 2)

“That’s some kind of love,” Raine said carefully.

“It is,” Lily agreed. “I wish it was more. I wish it could be more, but I’m not holding out hope for myself at the moment, and…” She exhaled and stared at her fingers, which tapped out a staccato rhythm on the table top. “Jake’s a one-woman kind of man, and he’s had it bad for you forever.” She glanced back up at Raine. “It killed him to love you the way he did, especially with the way things were left between the two of you after Jesse died.”

Unease spread through Raine, and that hint of jealousy that hummed beneath the surface exploded inside her. It rushed through her veins, leaving green in its wake and a bitter taste in her mouth. Jake had told Lily about that night?

Before Lily could say anything else, she reached into her pocket and withdrew something. “You need to have this. You need to know what he did for his brother and what he did for mine and the rest of the men in his unit, because he doesn’t get it yet.”

Lily got to her feet and pushed the small package toward Raine.

Raine stared at a brown leather box. It was small and fit into the palm of her hand.

“What doesn’t he get?” she asked softly, her fingers caressing the smooth texture of the box.

“He might think he’s happy and that he’s finally got the world by the balls, but he doesn’t. Nothing will work out for the two of you until you both face your past.”

Raine couldn’t meet Lily’s gaze, because there was too much truth in the woman’s words.

“He saved a lot of lives that day, and the one thing he didn’t think about was his own. He still doesn’t.”

Lily’s words were bitter, and

something in her tone struck a chord with Raine.

“What happened to you, Lily?”

For a second she thought the woman was going to confide the inner turmoil that was so obvious on the carefully made-up face. But then, just like that, her cold mask slipped back into place and she was once more the imperious trust-fund baby.

“There’s a letter in there from a guy named Baker. He served with Jesse, Jake, and my brother. It explains everything. It tells the story. The real story. The one Jake doesn’t believe in.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and moistened her lips, oblivious to the whistle that rang out behind her. “Read it, and when you think the time is right, you need to give him that.” She pointed to the package in Raine’s hands. “It belongs to Jake, and whether he knows it or not, he needs to own it. He needs to own his actions and he needs to realize that everyone else does too.”

Lily paused and then whispered. “Even Jesse. Even the ones who are no longer here.”

Without another word, Lily slipped through the crowd and left Raine staring after her, which was exactly how Jake found her several moments later.

“Hey, where’s Lily? I wanted to introduce her to Mac.”

Quickly, Raine slipped the package into her coat pocket and turned in her seat, her face spitting wide with a grin when she spied Mackenzie just behind Jake.

“She left already.” She stood and was swept up into Mac’s embrace, laughing when he faked a kiss and murmured into her ear, “About time you two got things figured out.”

Raine kissed Mac on the cheek, but didn’t reply. At this point she wasn’t sure about a lot of things. She glanced back at Jake. The only thing she was sure of was that she loved him so hard that it hurt, and the thought of them not working out wasn’t something she wanted to dwell on. Not right now anyway.

She knew that Lily was right, except it wasn’t only Jake who needed to own up to his actions.

“Hey, what’s up?” Jake’s hand slid along the small of her back as he eased her back into her seat.

“Nothing, I’m good.” She paused, startled at the level of intensity she felt as she gazed into Jake’s eyes. She caressed his cheek and murmured, “I’m good.”

“Shit, if this is the kind of crap I gotta put up with, then I don’t know, maybe I’m better off sitting with—” Mackenzie cranked his head around and groaned. “Here comes Lori and…” He straightened. “It that Brad Kitchen she’s with? What the hell happened to her husband? He’s still the fire chief, right?”

“Long story,” Raine replied, “but let’s just say, her husband was putting out fires all over the county, if you know what I mean.”

“No shit,” Mackenzie replied. “Not that I blame him. That woman is high maintenance.”

“Mac!” Raine scolded. “That’s awful. There’s no excuse for a husband to cheat. If you’re not happy, then….”

“No one who is married is happy, trust me on that.” Mackenzie shot a look her way. “Well, except for you.” His gaze moved to Jake. “I mean, you were…you will be…” He ran his hands through the thick crop of blond hair at his forehead and sighed. “This is complicated, this thing with you two.”

“Get over it,” Jake said as he slid into the chair beside Raine.