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“I’m right here, Sarah. All good.”
She exhaled. “Thank god. I thought I was going to have to come get you myself.”
“I would never leave her standing there in the cold, Sarah.”
There was a long pause.
“Not again,” he added, rolling his eyes. Sarah and I hadn’t let him off the hook just yet.
“All right, Sarah. Talk to you later.”
“Bye,” I added just before Jake ended the call.
He reached across the cab for my hand and held it over the console. His warm palm engulfed mine and his thumb gently caressed my fingers. It didn’t matter how many times he held me; my body reacted to his touch every time. I turned to face him. “How was your day?”
He shrugged. “It was good. I caught up on some paperwork and ran a few background checks to prepare for next week’s assignment.”
“Did you have any trouble with the background checks?”
He snorted. “None at all. Rodriguez even called me this morning to ask if I was interested in perhaps doing some detective work for him.”
“He did?”
“I was as shocked as you are, trust me. But I think after the incident with Chapman he sees me differently, maybe not as his sister’s ex anymore but as my own man.”
“That’s good. What did you tell him?”
“That I was happy where I was right now, but if he ever requires a specialized team, me and my brothers would have his back.”
“That was generous of you.”
“Not really. As dangerous as it was rescuing your mom, it felt good to do that again.”
Jake told me the truth about his ‘peacekeeping’ missions. Although he never got into the details, I was glad he was safe and back home. With me.
Home. I finally felt like I was there, in a place where I belonged and felt needed. I’d craved it for so long that some days when I woke up next to Jake, I had to pinch myself. I was so happy.
“Speaking of your mom,” said Jake. “How’s she doing?”
“Good.” I nodded my head, recalling our conversation this morning. “She’s started campaigning. She’s going to run independently for the White House.”
Jake shook his head. “I can’t believe your mom’s going to be president.”
“I don’t know about that, but she’s definitely going to put her hat in the ring.”
“She’ll get it. If she’s anything like her daughter, she will win even the biggest skeptics over.”
I squeezed his hand. He was my biggest supporter. Throughout Ed Chapman’s trial, Jake sat next to me the whole time. On tough days, like when my mother had to describe the ordeal in detail, he held my hand. On the days when Chapman justified his actions, he held me down so I wouldn’t climb over the seats and smack Chapman upside the head.
My favorite day was when I recalled something Chapman had said to the police in his statement and I reminded the prosecutor of that detail. Chapman had forgotten he’d said that so when the prosecutor reminded him he sat in the box dumbfounded with nothing to say having been caught in a lie. Jake high-fived me that day and the prosecutor gave me an approving nod.
That was why I was so thankful Jake was here with me today, probably one of the most nerve-wracking days of my life.
I inhaled deeply and released my breath slowly as just the thought of what was to come set my heart racing.
“Are you nervous?”
I stared at the country road ahead. “Yes,” I admitted.
