In the Line of Duty (First Responders 2)

“Okay?” he asked.

“Okay,” she answered, smiling back. It was a new feeling…this not being alone anymore. Scary, but good.

“Then there are some people I want you to meet,” he said, taking her hand. “My mom and my dad, properly this time. And the parents of the girl who’s sick. Are you up for that?”

She nodded, picking up her visor.

“You’re sure?”

She put it back on her head, pulling the ponytail through and giving the elastic a satisfying jerk. “We’re a team, aren’t we?”

He squeezed her fingers. “Yes, yes, we are.”

And together they walked toward the clubhouse.

Epilogue

Six months later

Kendra curled under the blankets further, snuggling against Jake’s back. The clock radio beside the bed was dark, and she lifted her wrist a little to push the button that illuminated the face of her watch. Ten past four. “Power’s out,” she murmured, shivering. “Heat’s off.”

Jake stirred. “For how long?”

“I don’t know. It’s flipping cold, so a while.”

A nor’easter blew outside, whipping snow and wind around the building as the temperature plummeted. Jake had closed the pub early due to the storm and they’d taken advantage of the early night to spend some time together. “Dammit, Jake, I’m going to have to put some clothes on.”

“We could always keep warm another way.”

She chuckled. “And last night you said I’d ruined you for a week.”

“I lied.”

She slipped out of bed in the dark and felt around for her underwear. Jake took a flashlight from the drawer, and she put on a pair of his sweatpants and a sweatshirt and hugged the fleece close to her body. The wind buffeted the windows and she shivered. “It’s really nasty out there.”

“I’ll build a fire in the fireplace. Maybe it’ll keep the pipes from freezing,” he said, pulling on sleep pants and a hoodie.

The living room was dark, but soon Jake had a fire blazing and he’d lit a few candles on the coffee table. “Come here,” he said, holding out his arm. She sat next to him on the sofa, curled into his embrace as he covered them with a blanket.

“This is cozy. All we’re missing is the hot cocoa and marshmallows.”

Jake smiled. “Maybe later.” For a few minutes, they stared at the dancing flames. Kendra looped her arm around his ribs and held on tight. Being with Jake was so good. She’d never thought she could love anyone this much—never thought she could ever trust anyone to love her back. But Jake showed her every day what patience and trust meant. He’d invited her into his family and she’d been welcomed there. It wasn’t always easy, and sometimes she was afraid it would all be taken away, but she was learning. And she got the feeling that whatever the future held for them, it was worth it to have this. Right now. Right here.

“I love you, Jake.”

He dropped a kiss on her hair. “I love you too.”

The fire snapped and crackled, and the apartment seemed incredibly peaceful without the hum of any lights or appliances. It was almost as if they were in a world all their own, just the two of them. She swallowed against a thickness in her throat, a feeling so sweet she was filled up with it. She could stay like this forever, she realized.

“Ken?”

“Mmm?”

“I’ve been thinking.”

“Yeah?” The fireplace was beginning to throw some heat now, and Jake was warm. She was getting a bit dozy.

“I can’t live above a bar for the rest of my life. I’ve been thinking about getting a house in the spring.”