Page 12 of Securing Jane

They stared at each other for a long moment. Jane had no idea what he was thinking, but she loved the look of adoration she thought she saw in his eyes as he watched her.

“I should give you my number in case you need something overnight. If your eyes get worse or something.”

Jane nodded. “Okay.” She pulled her phone out of her purse, which had been brought to her by an officer, and programmed his number in when he recited it to her. Then she sent him a quick text. “There, now you have mine too.”

“Don’t forget to set your alarm to get up every few hours to rinse out your eyes,” Storm reminded her.

“I won’t.”

“If you feel sick or something seems off, don’t hesitate to call. I can take you back to the clinic.”

“I’ll be fine,” Jane told him.

“Even so,” he insisted.

“Okay, I’ll let you know.”

“See you in the morning,” Storm said.

Jane nodded and reached for the door handle. She climbed out, then stood awkwardly on the sidewalk in front of her apartment complex for a moment. She wasn’t in the least offended he hadn’t opened her door or walked her into the building. It was late, he’d gone out of his way to drive her home. She wasn’t about to put him out even more by making him park and walk her inside when she’d been doing it on her own for the last two decades.

But that didn’t mean she didn’t get all the feels when she turned around at the door to her building and saw that he hadn’t pulled away from the curb yet. That he was watching to make sure she made it inside safely.

She waved at him, and he gave her a chin lift in return. Only when she opened the door and went inside did he finally pull away from the curb and head home.

It felt good to take a shower in her own bathroom and use her own soap. She rinsed her eyes out once more, only wincing a little at the pain this time, and got ready for bed. Ignoring the way her stomach growled, Jane snuggled under her covers and clutched one of the eight pillows she kept on her bed to her chest.

The day had started like any other, then taken a horrible turn, but now, Jane felt almost giddy about tomorrow. She’d be slammed at work and would likely have to answer the same questions about how she was doing over and over, but nothing could dim her excitement.

Somehow, she’d scored a date with the Storm North. Her expectations might not match the fantasies she’d had about him for so long, but she wasn’t going to worry about that. She was going to enjoy the ride for as long as she was on it.

Chapter Four

Storm pulled up to Jane’s apartment at five thirty-two the next morning. One of the things he admired about Jane was her work ethic. She wasn’t afraid to work hard, and that went a long way with him. He’d worked his ass off for so long—showing up early to formation, working overtime without complaint—that it was second nature to him. Too many times he’d dated women who’d complained about how early he left for work and how late he stayed in the afternoons. He had a feeling Jane wouldn’t ever bitch about that. In fact, he had a feeling he’d be the one wishing she worked a little less so she could spend more time with him.

Storm loved his job, but as he’d told Jane the day before, he knew his time as an officer was coming to an end. He’d had an amazing career with the Navy, but he couldn’t work forever. And he wanted to enjoy his retirement. And seeing Trigger and his team, as well as Wolf and his team, all happily married and making their relationships work made him yearn for the same. Things with Jane might not work out, but he was at least open to a relationship.

He pulled out his phone to text her, to let her know he was there, but it wasn’t necessary. He saw her exiting her building and coming toward him. After she opened the car door and sat down, he eyed her critically for a moment.

“Hi,” she said cheerily.

That was another thing he liked about her. She was almost always in a good mood. At least she seemed to be at work. She made him happier just by being around her. “Hi,” he returned. “You look like you’re feeling better. Your eyes aren’t as bloodshot.”

“I am. I followed the doctor’s orders and got up every two or three hours to wash them out. I might be a zombie by the end of the day though. I like my sleep,” she said with a small smile.

Storm frowned. “We can postpone dinner if you’re too tired.”

“Oh, no, I wasn’t…I didn’t mean to imply…shoot,” she said with a wrinkle of her nose. “I’m good, Storm. Promise. There were nights when Rose was a teenager I didn’t get any sleep, and I still managed to make it through my shift. I’m okay.”

The more glimpses Jane gave him of her life, the more Storm wanted to know. “You’ve mentioned several times that your daughter was a handful,” he said, letting his voice trail off as he pulled out onto the road that led toward the base.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Jane told him. “It wasn’t an easy time, that’s for sure. She rebelled against every rule I gave her, blamed me for her dad leaving, and basically hated me for her entire high school career. She thought I was stifling her and didn’t want her to have any fun, when in reality she was dating losers who did their best to drag her down into the world of drugs.” Jane shook her head. “I had looked forward to having a close friendship with my daughter. To watching her play the flute in the marching band and being proud when she earned a spot in the National Honor Society…and instead I spent most of my time browbeating her to go to school and physically sitting outside her door, making sure she didn’t sneak out in the middle of the night.”

“Damn, I’m sorry,” Storm said.

Jane shrugged. “I love Rose, but there were times I hated her…if that makes sense.”

“It does. How’s your relationship now?” he asked.