The woman called out, “Ben! Beth! Careful…not too rough. Gypsy’s getting a little old to play so hard.”
As the children fell to the grass, still rolling with the dog, she smiled as she saw the man approach, his hands full. He was huge…tall and broad. With his square jaw and blond hair, he could have stepped from the pages of one of her historical romance novels. Pushing her sunglass back on her head, she watched his natural swagger. Closer and closer he came until he was directly in front of her, looking down.
“Could you use some food, Miss?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.
“What did you bring?” she asked.
“You said to surprise you, so I brought…” he knelt down, placing the containers on the blanket, “hot dogs!” Leaning over to place a soft, meaningful kiss on her lips, he added, “I seem to remember you were partial to hot dogs from the food trucks.”
A smile greeted his words, but before she could respond, the children saw their dad and ran over, arms waving as they tackled him. Gypsy ambled over and lay down on the blanket with Grace, placing her head on her mistress’ lap.
As the family ate the simple meal, Grace caught Blaise’s gaze and smiled. He had done what he promised…erased her bad memories, only leaving her with the ones that mattered. Good friends…family…and love.
The End
Bonus Scene
Mitch
The Saints finished their meeting, but before they dispersed, Jack said, “Got Mitch coming by. He said he wanted to talk to us and wanted to do it in person. I told him to come on over.”
Bart grinned, saying, “ ’Bout time he left the Bureau and came with us.”
Monty was quiet, unsure of what his friend’s plans were, but had to admit to himself that he was curious.
“We can head on up. It’ll be informal,” Jack said, standing.
Several minutes later, the Saints were sitting in Jack and Bethany’s living room, the oversized, comfortable furniture perfect for their sizes. Bethany had snacks on the counter and the men had helped themselves.
Opening the door, she greeted Mitch with a hug, inviting him in and then motioning toward the living room. “They’re all waiting. Well, eating and waiting,” she laughed, handing him a plate.
Making his way in, Mitch greeted the others. They ate, the companionable conversation surrounding them for several minutes. Finally, Mitch pushed his plate back and said, “I know Jack told you all that I wanted to let you know what was going on with me and, well, I consider you all friends…so I wanted to do it this way.”
Gaining the undivided attention of the other men in the room, he said, “The only one of you who know this is Monty, but I guess you could say that law enforcement’s been in my blood. My grandfather was the Police Chief of a town on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and when he grew too old to handle the job, my dad, who’d been an officer, became the Chief. That’s where I was born and raised. Both of those men were at my graduation from the FBI academy and I swear, they nearly popped their buttons with pride…more so than at my college graduation.”
Chuckling at the memory, he grew quiet, a pensive expression on his face. “I loved being an FBI agent. I’d like to think I was a good one—”
At that, he was interrupted by the immediate affirmations from all around.
“But, just as each of you, I found the agency to be ponderous at times. Slow to change. Slow to react. So, I confess, I’ve become a bit disenchanted. I’ve considered resigning and joining you, but,” he quickly held up his hand before the celebration could begin, “that’s not in the cards.”
The Saints looked at him, disappointment mixed with curiosity on their faces.
“My dad’s had a couple of heart episodes in the past six months and has decided that he needs to step down from being the Police Chief. And…” he drawled out, “the town council has asked me to come back home and take over.”
“Wow,” Bart said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry about your father, but that’s a big change.”
“More than you know,” Mitch admitted. “The Eastern Shore is one of the poorest counties in Virginia. So, I’d be going from an agency with almost everything I need at my disposal, to a town that will be able to pay salaries and run the sheriff’s department, but will have nothing left over for frills.”
Whistling, Cam asked, “Can you just take a leave of absence from the Bureau for family emergency?”
Nodding, Mitch answered, “You know, I actually thought about that. But what kind of Chief would I be…what kind of man would I be…if I took the job with one foot already out the door?”
Leaning back, he continued, “It’d mean leaving a large, major area in Virginia with a university and two hospitals, and moving to a small town with a clinic and thirty miles to the closest hospital. Leaving the salary I’m getting now and going back to a bare-bones department with a bare-bones salary.”
A small grin curved the corners of his mouth as he added, “But it also means I can help the town that helped shape me into the man I am. I’ll be back around family and it gives me a chance to assist my parents as they deal with my dad’s convalescence. It also gives me a chance to connect with a group of guys I graduated from high school with and we all joined the military, scattering with various deployments. Most did a tour or two overseas and moved back home.”
Looking out of Jack’s huge floor to ceiling windows with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the vista, he said, “You know, Jack, the first time I saw your place, I thought this view was one of the best in the world. But, I gotta tell you, the sunsets over the Chesapeake Bay from Baytown will steal your breath away.” Moving his gaze around the room, “It’s time for me to go home…really home.”
“When do you leave?” Bethany asked, her face kind with understanding. Having given up her marketing career in Richland to help run the cabin rental property with her grandmother, she completely understood the challenge, and reward, Mitch was facing.
Smiling, he said, “I’ve turned in my notice and will leave in two weeks. I’ve already started packing up my apartment and will have movers come to move everything. My grandfather had a small house just outside of town, just fifty yards from the beach. It’s where I stay when I go there to visit.”
He stood up, hands on his lean hips, and said, “Hate like hell to get all sentimental on you, but I gotta say it.” Pinning them with his gaze again, he said, “I have never, and I mean never, worked with a better group of people than you all in this room. Each and every one of you have made a difference in not only my job, but the lives of so many. Keep doing what you’re doing…and know that whenever you need a vacation, you just have to come out to the Eastern Shore. Not much there but I’ll show you a good place to relax.”
With that, he moved to the door, followed by the others. Saying goodbye, he hugged all ten men and then Bethany, and jogged down the front steps to his jeep.
Pulling out of Jack’s long scenic drive, he flipped open his sunglasses and slid them onto his face. Smiling, he turned on the radio, blasted a country song and headed off for his next adventure.
Please follow Mitch as his story begins the amazing new series, Baytown Boys.
Luke’s story in the Saints Protection & Investigations will soon follow.
Discover Annie and Shane’s story in Love’s Taming.
If you enjoyed Remember Love, please leave a review!
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Other books by Maryann Jordan
(all standalone books)
All of my books are stand-alone, each with their own HEA!! You can read them in any order!
Saints Protection & Investigation
(an elite group, assigned to the cases no one else wants…or can solve)
Serial Love
Healing Love
Revealing Love
Seeing Love
Honor Love
&
nbsp; Sacrifice Love
Protecting Love
Alvarez Security Series
(a group of former Special Forces brothers-in-arms now working to provide security in the southern city of Richland)
Gabe
Tony
Vinny
Jobe
Love’s Series
(detectives solving crimes while protecting the women they love)
Love’s Taming
Love’s Tempting
Love’s Trusting
The Fairfield Series
(small town detectives and the women they love)
Carol’s Image
Laurie’s Time
Emma’s Home
Fireworks Over Fairfield
I love to hear from readers, so please email me!
Email
[email protected]
Website
www.maryannjordanauthor.com
Facebook
facebook.com/authormaryannjordan
Twitter
@authorMAJordan
Amazon author page
www.amazon.com/Maryann-Jordan/e/B00JIAMYN4
More About Maryann Jordan
As an Amazon Best Selling Author, I have always been an avid reader. I joke that I “cut my romance teeth” on the historical romance books from the 1970’s. In 2013 I started a blog to showcase wonderful writers. In 2014, I finally gave in to the characters in my head pleading for their story to be told. Thus, Emma’s Home was created.
My first novel, Emma’s Home became an Amazon Best Seller in 3 categories within the first month of publishing. Its success was followed by the rest of the Fairfield Series and then led into the Love’s Series. From there I have continued with the romantic suspense Alvarez Security Series and now the Saints Protection & Investigation Series, all bestsellers.
My books are filled with sweet romance and hot sex; mystery, suspense, real life characters and situations. My heroes are alphas, take charge men who love the strong, independent women they fall in love with.
I worked as a counselor in a high school and have been involved in education for the past 30 years. I recently retired and now can spend more time devoted to my writing.
I have been married to a wonderfully patient man for 34 years and have 2 adult very supportive daughters and 1 grandson.
When writing, my dog or one of my cats will usually be found in my lap!
Acknowledgements
In writing Remember Love, I researched the use of dogs for search and rescues, drug and explosives detection, and police work. I tried to be as accurate as possible with my descriptions and use of characters, but readers, please realize that some creative license was used to make the story flow.
Remember Love: Saints Protection & Investigations Page 26
