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

“Jake, grab Gibson’s orange chew toy. It’s the only one he has that doesn’t squeak. I think it’s in the living room.”

He nodded and she watched them until they slid into Mac’s rental, and then she climbed into Jake’s Jeep.

It was cold, so she cranked the engine and waited a few minutes, her hand in her pocket fingering the package Lily had given her.

Without warning, tears stung the corners of her eyes, and she rested her forehead against the steering wheel. Why did she feel so damn unsettled? So damn scared?

But she knew why.

And as she pulled out of the parking lot, Raine Edwards tried to quell the panic that all of a sudden reared its ugly head. Her stomach turned over and it didn’t settle. Not when she pulled out onto the road. Not even once she reached the stone cottage. She felt as if the devil was nipping at her heels and every single bit of happiness she’d felt tonight was threatened.

Cold sweat broke out along her forehead, and God, she was so hot.

She let herself into the house and doffed her jacket, barely avoiding the bundle of fur and wet sloppy tongue that raced toward her.

She frowned when she spied shredded newspaper and—her frown deepened—was that her slipper?

“Jesus, Gibs, couldn’t wait for your chewie?”

Once she satisfied Gibson with several pats to the head and a cookie, she set about building the fire and then withdrew the leather box from her pocket, her fingers running over it nervously.

“Do I open it now?”

Gibson barked at the sound of her voice, and she sat down on the sofa, ignoring his mess as she stared down at her hands.

With a sigh she carefully opened it and felt her heart turn over. There, nestled inside the box was a medal. It was bronze, and there was a V fixed to the ribbon. She knew what this meant.

Valor.

Raine bit her lip and forced the lump in her throat away as she swept her fingers across the smooth surface. It was cold to the touch, and a shiver ran through her when she gingerly pulled out a folded note t

ucked into the seam of the box.

She held it for several moments, staring at the medal and trying to get hold of her emotions.

Valor. The word alone was powerful. Sacred.

And then carefully she unfolded the paper to stare down at words written by a hand she didn’t recognize. Baker. A soldier who had served with Jesse and Jake. His penmanship was neat, controlled, and for a second the letters blurred together as her eyes filled with tears.

Slowly she wiped them away and focused. The past was suddenly staring her straight in the face, and maybe it was time to deal with it once and for all.

Chapter 25

Jake drove through the still night, not really seeing the brightly lit homes that shone into the dark. Some were quite elaborate, with spotlights and colored lights adorning windows, doorways, and trees. Some were more humble, and the odd one had nothing festive at all.

He drove through a now-quiet downtown, past the town square and surrounding park whose Christmas displays and impressive nativity scene were still lit to the extreme. A few couples slowly meandered through the area hand in hand, enjoying a perfect winter’s evening.

But his thoughts were on the woman who waited for him back at the cottage. Raine. And a goofy grin swept across his face as he thought of sliding into that stupid pink blanket she seemed to like so much and doing all sorts of things with her. Wicked things. Sexy things. Things that only a few short weeks ago hadn’t seemed possible.

“Seriously, Edwards, I’m gonna puke if you keep that up.”

Jake glanced at Mac and shrugged. “Can’t help it, brother. I love her.”

Mac straightened in his seat. “Yeah, I know. I’ve known it for years, but shit, you don’t have to cross over to the dark side just because Raine has you by the balls.”

Jake laughed. “Hey, I’m fine with Raine holding my balls.”

Mac groaned. “That’s just wrong. I don’t need to know about that shit.”