Flirting With Danger (Rebels 0f Forbidden Lake Book 1)

by Elana Johnson

  “I can hear you,” Larry said.

  Cassie didn’t wait to hear what Jon’s response to him was. She launched her handheld can opener at Larry, as surprised as anyone when it hit Larry on his right cheek. He yelped, and his hands went right to his face.

  She grabbed a handful of forks and spoons and threw them too, screaming at the same time.

  Jon threw can after can of sweetened condensed milk, each one hitting their mark until Larry went down to his knees, his whole face seemingly bleeding.

  “Go, Cass,” Jon said as the door to the kitchen opened and two cops came in. “Morgan,” he called. “He’s up here. Hurt. The knife went skidding somewhere.” Jon pushed her away from Larry as the cops ran toward him. A moment later, two more entered, weapons drawn.

  She detoured over to the pantry to get her brothers, and she drew them both into her arms, saying, “It’s over. They’ve got him. We’re fine. We’re fine.”

  We’re fine. Her mind repeated it endlessly, and when Jon wrapped his arm around her shoulders, the tears came.

  She clung to her brothers, and Jon encircled them all, shushing them and whispering that it was all okay now. He pressed his lips to her temple more than once, until finally the cops came into the pantry to officially declare that Larry wasn’t in the building anymore.

  Jon secured his hand in hers, and Cassie was thankful for the anchor. He insisted on going with her, and she refused to let Kyle and Lars out of her sight, so the four of them ended up with a couple of cops, where she answered question after question.

  Kyle and Lars did too, and in the next room over, Dr. Langstrom did too.

  By the time she was finished and the cops said she could go home, Cassie’s exhaustion prevented her from even moving.

  “I’m driving,” Jon said. “Keys, please.”

  “Jon.”

  “Do not argue with me,” he said. “You guys okay with me driving?” He looked at Kyle and Lars, who both betrayed her by nodding.

  Cassie handed him her keys, never wanting to get back in that car again. But she walked past Dr. Langstrom, with her hand in Jon’s, and she got in the passenger seat of her own car. The whole vehicle smelled tinny, like blood, and she closed her eyes.

  Jon bought them all food at a drive-through, and then he set off down the road toward the orchards. He took them all the way to the cottage, locking them all inside.

  He helped Kyle and Lars find their room, showed them where their pj’s were, and then came out to the living room where Cassie had collapsed on the couch.

  Kneeling in front of her, Jon stroked her hair off her face. “Let’s get you cleaned up, sweetheart.”

  He was so kind to her, even after she’d cut him out of her life these past several weeks. After she’d chosen everything else over him.

  She started crying, which only made her head hurt worse than it already did.

  “Don’t cry,” he whispered, leaning down and touching his lips to hers. “I’ll be right back.”

  He got up and went into the kitchen, the water turning on a few seconds later. When he returned, he pressed a hot cloth to her head, cleaning up the blood on the side of her face and examining the head wound on her right side, a few inches above her ear.

  He’d heard everything that had happened—how Larry had hit her the moment she’d walked in the door. She’d caught sight of upturned furniture, and Kyle had told her through his tears that Larry wanted all their legal documents.

  Cassie had thought fast, despite her injury, and she’d immediately told him she didn’t keep any of that at the house. He’d torn a few things apart and hadn’t found them, so Larry had believed her, and they’d all gone off to the college.

  “There you go, Cass,” he said. “All cleaned up. Let’s get you to bed.”

  In another situation, she might have thought he was coming on to her, but not tonight. He helped her down the hall and pulled some pajamas out of the dresser drawer. “You change, and I’ll come say good-night.”

  Cassie watched him start toward the door, and she said, “Jon, wait.”

  He turned back to her, his dark eyes shining with hope and…love. He’d said he was in love with her, and looking into his eyes, she could see it. Feel it.

  A fresh wave of emotion hit her, and she gestured for him to come back over to her. He did exactly that, sweeping her into his strong arms. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re safe here.”

  “Don’t go,” she whispered back. “I can’t stay here alone.”

  “Kyle and Lars are here.”

  “Please, stay.” She nuzzled her face deeper into his neck, breathing in the uniquely masculine scent that belonged to Jon. Part pine and part cherry blossom, he smelled like safety.

  “Of course I’ll stay,” he whispered back.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I was so scared, and I didn’t know who else to call.”

  “You can always call me.” He stepped back and cleared his throat. “I’ll just be outside while you change.”

  She waited until he reached the door to say, “Jon, do you think we can make it?”

  He turned back to her but didn’t return to her. “Me and you?” He smiled, one of those sexy, soft smiles than Cassie loved. “Yeah, Cass. I’ve always known me and you are going to make it.”

  “You have?”

  He nodded, ducked his head, and slipped out the door.

  In that moment when the bedroom door clicked closed behind him, Cassie knew she was in love with Jon. Her forbidden little crush had blossomed into full-blown love.

  She hurried to change into her pajamas, and then she opened the door to find him sitting on the floor just outside her bedroom.

  “Hey.” He got to his feet and reached for her. “I don’t know if you’re ready to get back together or not. It doesn’t really matter. I know you’ll have a lot to deal with for a while. But you should know my feelings for you haven’t changed.”

  She gazed up at him. “Mine have.”

  His eyes glassed over and his jaw tightened. He looked away from her, a sigh making his shoulders slump.

  “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” she said. “Or the next day. But I do know I’m in love with you, and if you’re by my side, I can handle anything.”

  Jon’s gaze flew back to hers. He searched her face, that hope and love and joy filling his expression. “I love you too.” He dipped his head, and then paused. “Can I kiss you now?”

  Cassie answered by lifting onto her toes and pressing her lips to his in the sweetest kiss of her life.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jon woke when Cassie touched his shoulder. He opened his eyes, still soft-minded from sleep, and smiled at her. “Hey, beautiful.”

  She perched on the couch near his chest. “We have a problem.”

  Jon pushed himself up, his back a bit kinked from sleeping on this horrific couch. “Another one?”

  “Doctor Langstrom texted me. She said she’s glad I’m okay, and that she could help. But then she said we needed to talk about my relationship with my student.” She turned the phone toward Jon, but he didn’t need to take it and read the messages from her boss.

  “It’s my fault,” he said. “She asked me how I knew you, and I said I was your student.”

  “I don’t even care,” she said, letting the phone drop back to her lap. “I’m not going to choose the job over you again.”

  Jon’s whole soul felt like someone had inserted the sun into his chest. “Is that so?”

  She glanced at him, matching her smile to his. “Yeah, that’s so.” She curled into his chest, and he wrapped her in his arms.

  Jon held her for a few minutes, just enjoying the way she breathed with him and how easy it was to be with her. “So what now?” he finally asked.

  “I’ve always wanted to open my own restaurant,” she said. “Maybe I should just do that.”

  “I know a guy who can help you fix a place up, if you need it,” he whispered, placing a kiss
behind her ear.

  She cuddled deeper into his chest, and that was how Kyle found them when he came out of his bedroom a few minutes later.

  “Hey,” Jon said, nudging Cassie so she’d disentangle herself from him. They both got up from the couch, and Kyle moved over to Jon and hugged him. Surprise pulled through Jon, and he didn’t quite know what to do except for pat the teen on the back.

  “Thank you for helping us last night,” Kyle said, backing up and wiping his hand down his face. His complexion might have been a little ruddier than before, and Jon didn’t see any tears. “Is there anything for breakfast out here?”

  Jon couldn’t help a quick chuckle. “I don’t think you know Cass if you have to ask that.”

  Kyle smiled too. “You’re right. I forgot for a minute who I was dealing with.”

  “Hey,” Cassie said defensively. “Go find the peanut butter cereal you like, before I throw it all out.” She smiled at Kyle, and he hugged her too on his way into the kitchen.

  “I’m going to go check on Lars,” she said. “He’s the more sensitive of the two, and he’ll want to talk through everything.”

  “All right,” Jon said, a little nervous to be left alone with Kyle. Why, he wasn’t sure. Probably because he had very little experience with teenagers, and he wasn’t sure how Kyle felt about his sister dating Jon.

  Cassie stopped to give him another kiss. “And then we can get ready and go over to see Doctor Langstrom in the hospital.”

  “She’s texting you about university business from the hospital?”

  “She’s the Eagle, remember?” Cassie trailed her fingers down his arm and then left to go check on Lars. Kyle sat at the counter, eating, and Jon leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes again, happiness streaming through him despite the storms of the past twenty-four hours.

  * * *

  His joy and contentment had fled by the time they pulled back into the parking lot outside the hospital. Jon drove, and after he turned off his truck, they still both sat in the cab, staring out the windshield.

  He wasn’t sure what was running through Cassie’s mind, but he could see everything from the night before as clearly as if it were still happening, even though the hospital sat on the other side of town from the college.

  “I can’t go back to that house,” she said.

  “I’ll get my brothers to help, and we’ll get you moved out.” He finally stopped staring at the double doors in front of him. “Okay, Cass? You can move into the cabin permanently.”

  “I can’t do that either,” she said. “I’ll find us somewhere else. I have a break between semesters.” She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. “I mean, I have a break until I find a new job.” She unbuckled her seat belt. “Let’s go.”

  Jon got out of the truck and took her hand in his when she met him at the front of the vehicle. “Are you sure you want me to come? Maybe you can deny everything. I could’ve just been overly…worried. Or something.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to deny it.” She paused and looked up at him, those dark eyes as mesmerizing now as they had been that first day in class. “I want us to be together. It’s better to tell the truth, come what may.”

  Come what may. His mother had said that so much growing up, and a rush of affection for Cassie streamed through him. He kissed her quickly, wishing they had more time and more privacy for what he really wanted to do. “All right, then. Let’s go.”

  They entered the hospital and went up to the second floor, where they found Dr. Langstrom sitting in a chair in her room, her eyes out the window.

  “Hello, Doctor Langstrom,” Cassie said, drawing the older woman’s attention from whatever she was watching outside.

  “Cassie, come in.” She turned all the way toward them, her gaze stalling on Jon and then dropping to their interlocked fingers.

  There wasn’t anywhere for him to sit, and he felt seven shades of awkward as Cassie took the only other chair and faced her boss.

  “I’m so sorry to involve you,” she said. “You were the only person I knew when we first got to town, and I hadn’t updated my alert system.”

  Barbara blinked, the surprise evident in her expression. “You’re a smart woman, Cassie.”

  “I’m just trying to keep my brothers safe.” She drew in a deep breath. “At this point, I’d usually leave town. Find another job somewhere several hours away, and start over. But the twins like it here.” She glanced up at Jon. “And I want to stay here.”

  Warmth filled him, and he smiled down at her. He didn’t want to admit that until that moment, he hadn’t been one-hundred percent sure if she’d stay in Forbidden Lake or not.

  She exhaled. “But, as you obviously figured out, I’m seeing a student. Even though he’s older than me, and we’re both adults, I know the school’s policy. So I’ll be resigning, effective immediately.”

  Barbara swallowed and nodded. “You’ll still get your severance if we do it that way.” She looked at Jon. “And you won’t lose your credits.”

  “Was that a possibility?” he asked, a flicker of nerves dancing through him.

  “Anything is a possibility,” Barbara said, her voice taking on a sharper edge. “But there’s been no complaints made, and I don’t see any evidence of grade tampering, and well.” She smiled, but it was fleeting and nowhere near warm. “I think we’ve all been through enough.”

  Cassie nodded, sniffling a little. “I will miss teaching for you.”

  “You were a great professor,” she said. “Come by my office on Monday, and fill out the resignation paperwork, would you?”

  “Of course.”

  Barbara stood. “And if you two could help me downstairs and perhaps give me a ride home….” She wore vulnerability in her eyes now, and Jon hooked his arm through hers.

  “Of course, Barbara,” he said, leaving Cassie to grab the older woman’s bag. “You know, I have a friend who’s got to be close to your age.”

  “Oh, stop it,” she said with a light laugh. “I’m much too old to start seeing someone.”

  “You’re never too old to have someone in your life who cares about you,” Jon said, glancing over Cassie’s shoulder. “Right, Cass?”

  “Absolutely right,” she said, coming up beside them once they left the hospital room.

  “I have cats,” Barbara said. “And they’re as demanding as any man would be. I’m fine.”

  Jon chuckled, his earlier contentment returning. “If you say so. But let me know if you want Sherman’s number. He works on our crew at the orchards, and he’s older, single dad of two grown kids, pretty handsome if I do say so….” He let his voice trail off when Cassie started laughing, and a beam of light shone right into Jon’s soul with the sound.

  He held onto that heat and energy while he drove Barbara home and helped her inside. While he took Cassie back to the cottage, where Kyle had put a couple of pizzas in the oven for dinner. And long after everyone had gone to bed, and Jon lay on the hard couch for the second night in a row, he experienced the light that his love for Cassie had brought into his life.

  Or maybe he felt like he’d been dancing on clouds for the afternoon and evening because of Cassie’s love for him.

  She’d given up her job—the one thing she’d been desperate to hold onto—for him. She was going to stay in town and rebuild her life instead of running to a different place and starting over.

  She was doing all of that, because she loved him.

  Jon smiled, closed his eyes, and hoped the future for the two of them would always be full of this happiness and light that he felt in his heart right now.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cassie sighed as she dusted her hands off and dismounted from the ladder. “I think I’m done,” she said to Jon, who worked in a nearby cherry tree. “I have to go in to the restaurant this afternoon and run a staff meeting. Then I’m cooking all night.”

  “Yeah,” Jon said. “I’m bringing the twins at ten. Birthday d
inner and cake after you close.”

  She smiled up at him, the plans they’d made for Kyle and Lars always at the forefront of her mind. He came down the ladder too, his bucket brimming with ripe cherries. Her life had changed so much in the past three months. Well, in the past seven months, actually. Since she’d met Jon in January.

  He kissed her and picked up her cherry-filled bucket. “Things okay at the restaurant?” he asked.

  They’d opened last month, and while business had been steady, Cassie was barely breaking even. She’d found another cute little house, this one on the outskirts of town, closer to the cherry orchards than downtown. She had great neighbors to help with the twins, but Jon had taken over that duty.

  School was out now, and while she worked, they came out to the orchards to work or went to his carpentry shop to hang out. They’d had picnics on the beach and taken day-trips up the coast to the sandier parts of the lakeshore.

  “Things are okay,” she said, because they were. No, she wasn’t getting rich quickly. But she had a place to live, Larry was back in prison, and she and Jon were getting along great.

  “I’ve been thinking,” he said as they walked beneath the tree limbs. Everything in the orchards looked the same to her, but Jon never got lost. She loved the serenity of the trees, and of being with him.

  “Oh, boy.” She laughed and bumped him with her hip.

  “So your hostess stand is almost done,” he said. “And the restaurant is open. And harvest season will be over soon. After that, I was thinking maybe we’d have time to start planning a wedding.”

  Cassie’s breath stalled in her lungs. “Jon, are you serious?”

  “Have I ever given you the impression that I don’t want to marry you?” He scoffed and shook his head. “You’re the one who’s been holding us back. After we get settled in our new house, Jon. After the restaurant is open, Jon. After the harvest is over, Jon.” He spoke in a pitched-up voice, almost mocking her.