by J. H. Croix
Violet had no idea how much time had passed when Jessa spoke. “Oh, of course! You had to do those pre-op tests. I can’t wait until that surgery’s over. You’ll be good as new soon,” Jessa said, turning to Sawyer.
Something flickered in the back of his eyes, but it came and went so fast, Violet couldn’t interpret it. “Here’s hoping,” Sawyer said with a wry grin.
Jessa looked between them curiously. “How’ve you been, Violet?” she asked. Violet couldn’t say precisely how she’d met Jessa, but it was hard to live in Diamond Creek and not eventually encounter most locals in some fashion. She knew Jessa was married to Eli Brooks who ran Game to Fish, a local guiding business and high-end outdoor gear shop. If anything, Violet had probably met her there because when she’d first moved to Diamond Creek, she’d stocked up on winter gear at Eli’s store.
Violet took another sip of coffee to distract herself from Sawyer. “Oh good. Just down here for a walk on the beach before I go to work. How about you?”
“Well, this is Eli’s busiest time of year with charter trips and the store crazy busy. Ryan’s working with him too, so they come home every night and collapse. Meanwhile, I’m busy at the gallery,” Jessa said. Ryan was Eli’s younger brother who lived with them. Jessa created gorgeous sets of painted furniture. Violet had purchased a small table from her when she was furnishing her apartment. Jessa must’ve ordered coffee while Violet had been gaga over Sawyer and turned to snag the cup of coffee Cammi slid across the counter. She looked over at Sawyer. “Did you say what you wanted?”
He finally turned away from Violet, and she breathed a small sigh of relief. Having those dreamy gray eyes of his on her sent her belly into somersaults. Somehow, Violet managed to get through a few more minutes of casual conversation. More customers showed up, so Violet said her goodbyes and started to walk back to her car. She’d just reached it when her skin prickled with awareness again. She glanced behind her to see Sawyer following her at a slower pace. His limp was subtle, but she knew from when she’d met him at the hospital that he might be in some pain. She was relieved at the slight delay in him reaching her, so she could steel herself not to go all fuzzy in her brain.
She took a slow breath, which went out in a whoosh the second he reached her and threw another one of his devastating grins her way. She gripped her cup of coffee as if she was holding on for dear life. He stopped in front of her and was quiet for a few beats, long enough she felt compelled to speak. “Um, did you need something?” she finally asked.
His eyes caught hers, his expression bemused. “I don’t know if I need something, but I wanted to see you again.”
Violet stared back at Sawyer, her brain trying to compute. “You want to see me?”
Uncertainty flickered in the back of his eyes before his lips curled in a wry smile. “I suppose so. Seeing as how you, well, you draw blood all day, I figured it’s not like I’d have many chances to run into you. Unless I want to get my blood drawn for the hell of it.”
She stood there, hanging onto her coffee cup, and stared at him. She thought, maybe, he was trying to ask her out on a date. She hadn’t been out on a date in, well, too long to remember. Maybe she was out of practice and that’s why she couldn’t seem to clarify what he meant. “You mean see me like a date? Or something else?”
He closed his eyes and chuckled softly, the sound sending a shiver over her skin. When he opened his eyes again, they landed on her and the air hummed to life around them. “Yes, I suppose that’s what I meant. My surgery’s next week, so maybe this weekend?”
Violet didn’t know what to think, but there was no way in the world she’d say anything other than yes. Sawyer was too tempting, dangerously so. “Okay. The weekend’s tomorrow. Do you mean Friday or Saturday?”
“Saturday. Not too late. Tell me where to find you, and I’ll pick you up,” he said.
Somehow she managed to tell him her address without stuttering. At which point, he asked for her number and entered it into his phone. Before she knew it, he’d tossed her another grin and turned to walk away. She looked past him to see Jessa talking with Eli and Ryan who must’ve driven up after she’d walked away. With a sharp shake of her head, Violet climbed into her car and drove to work, wondering what the hell she was thinking. A kiss was one thing. A date was something else altogether.
She’d made a clear choice not to get too involved when it came to romance. It was a choice that helped her keep her sanity and guaranteed she wouldn’t let anyone down the way she had once before. Once upon a time, she’d fancied herself in love. She’d even gotten engaged. She’d had all kinds of hopes and dreams, including children. Then, she’d learned one brutal truth about surviving childhood cancer. She couldn’t have children. Many people who had cancer went on to live, long healthy lives and have their own children. But some survivor’s lost their fertility, and she happened to be one of them.
That brutal truth had been followed by the next one, which was she’d fancied herself in love with someone for whom that was non-negotiable. To this day, she didn’t know if she’d truly been in love because the rug had been ripped out from under her so fast. She’d had to say good bye to her own hopes and dreams of children and face the fact the man she thought loved her didn’t love her enough to stick around. The losses were all tangled together, and together they’d been devastating. To this day, she had mixed feelings about being infertile. What she told herself intellectually didn’t match up with how it felt.
She shook her head, physically trying to swat away worries about things she couldn’t change. She’d moved on from her broken engagement and was all the stronger for it. But she’d decided she didn’t want to force anyone to let go of that kind of dream, so she’d planned to skip the preliminaries and not worry about dating. Independence suited her fine.
Now, she’d just gone and said she’d meet Sawyer for dinner. She was out of her mind. She tried to tell herself it was just dinner, but that was a thing for her. She didn’t do anything halfway. Never had, no matter how hard she tried.
Chapter 3
Sawyer leaned against the boat railing and stared into the distance. They’d spent most of the day on the water. He’d personally caught two silver salmon and one halibut. The size of the halibut had startled him with Eli guessing the single fish, which looked like a gigantic flounder, to weigh over one hundred and fifty pounds. All Sawyer knew was his arms had been plenty tired by the time they got the fish over the side of the boat. Jessa had been on his case for weeks since he’d arrived in Diamond Creek to go fishing. He’d only been avoiding it because he’d worried his injured leg would impede him. It hadn’t really. Ryan had been a big help at the end when it came to getting the fish out of the water. For now, Sawyer was tired, but in the good way. He’d stayed busy enough as the day passed that the pain in his knee had faded from his mind. The power of a healthy distraction worked wonders.
A salty breeze came in gusts off the water. He watched the mountains on the far side of Kachemak Bay receding in the distance as the boat motored back toward Diamond Creek. His childhood memories of Diamond Creek were vague, although almost all were pleasant. He remembered their parents bringing them up for visits every summer, endless days of sunshine, and playing in the spruce forest surrounding the ski lodge with his siblings. Off and on over the years, Gage would mention he missed Alaska, but of them all, he was the only sibling old enough to remember being here full-time. Their parents had moved to Bellingham, Washington when Sawyer was two years old, so he certainly didn’t remember living here. None of them had known their grandmother never sold Last Frontier Lodge when she closed it up after their grandfather died. It wasn’t until she passed away that he and his siblings had collectively learned they inherited the lodge and the extensive wilderness surrounding it.
When Sawyer heard Gage planned to move here and renovate the lodge, he’d not given it much thought. He was out of the country on a classified mission at the time and had other things on his mind. Then, he
’d visited and seen Gage happier than he’d been in years with the lodge thriving and busy. Right about now, with the ocean breeze gusting around him, the glorious view on all sides, and the first time in months he’d forgotten about his pain, Sawyer was thinking he’d say yes to staying here forever if it meant he could feel this sense of ease.
Violet came to mind—her clear blue eyes, black hair and curvy body all meshing to snatch his breath away. He hadn’t been thinking much when he’d followed her to her car to ask her to dinner. All he’d known was he wanted a chance to see her again before he went under the knife. His mind spun back to the other night when Garrett and Gage had been teasing him about finding someone. He wasn’t so silly as to think Violet could be that, but in the whopping two times he’d seen her, all he wanted was to see her again. He’d readily admit he could be a bit of a flirt when he had the time, but this thing with Violet didn’t feel quite like that. Oh, he wanted to tease, but there was more underneath—that thrumming electricity that spun to life inside whenever she was near.
There was a loud splash, and he glanced over his shoulder to see a whale breaching in the bay nearby. He turned and walked to the other side of the boat, just as Jessa called to him. “Sawyer! You have to come look!”
“Right here, Jess,” he replied as he leaned against the railing beside her.
Jessa glanced sideways and grinned. Her gray eyes were so similar to his, it was like looking in a mirror. Her chocolate brown hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail with tendrils escaping every which way. “Isn’t it awesome here?” she asked over the rumble of the motor.
They both watched as the humpback whale’s tail disappeared under the water, leaving a wake behind it. Sawyer paused to look toward Diamond Creek where the picturesque harbor was coming into view and the mountains were visible in the distance. “It’s pretty damn awesome,” he replied, glancing back to her.
Jessa looped her hand through his elbow and squeezed. “I’m so glad you’re here. Please tell me you’ll stay,” she said, her eyes open and sincere.
Jessa was the winsome, sentimental sibling. As the youngest, she was always the one who’d tried to smooth the edges of any argument. She’d generally been carefree, but she seemed happier and more grounded than Sawyer had ever known her to be since she’d found Eli. Sawyer looked over at her and shrugged. “Thinking about it. It’s not as simple as just deciding to move here. I have to formally retire from the Navy and take care of things on that end. To say it’s a bit of a life change is an understatement,” he said with a chuckle. He refrained from extrapolating further on his mixed feelings about it. Knowing he may be facing a shift to admin duty didn’t sit well with him, yet neither did the reality that the choice might be out of his hands.
Jessa nodded and looked out over the water, her gaze pensive. “I know. But you can. You said you were already cleared for medical retirement.”
“I know. I know you want me to decide sooner rather than later, but let me get through this surgery first, Jess. Okay?”
Her eyes flicked to his again. After a moment, she nodded. “I’ll try to be patient.” She paused as if considering something, a subtle gleam entering her eyes. “You like Violet,” she said firmly.
He should’ve known Jess would say something. Unlike Garrett and Gage, it didn’t surprise Sawyer in the least to have her focusing on his love life. Even before she’d found Eli, she was all about everyone finding their happily-ever-after. He arched a brow and grinned. “Maybe so. I’m assuming that’s okay with you.”
Jessa nodded emphatically. “Absolutely! I don’t know Violet too well, but everything I know about her is good.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. Jessa was ever the optimist. Just as he was about to reply, the boat bounced against a wave in the choppy water, sending a splash of sea water right onto him and Jessa.
She burst out laughing and looked over at him with her hair dripping wet. “I bet you could use a towel, huh?”
Sawyer grinned and dragged his sweatshirt sleeve across his face. “Might help,” he said with a chuckle.
“Jessa!” Eli called out from where he stood steering the boat.
Sawyer glanced his way to see a towel sailing through the air toward them. The second he caught it, another landed in Jessa’s hands. By the time they’d quickly toweled off, they’d almost reached the harbor. Ryan and Jessa kicked into motion putting gear away and prepping the boat. Sawyer’s helped along the way, although it annoyed him to no end to have to be careful about his leg.
After the boat was tied up, and Ryan expertly fileted all of the fresh catch at warp speed, Sawyer followed Eli’s truck back to their home. Jessa and Eli lived on the opposite side of town from the ski lodge up a winding hill that offered a spectacular view of Kachemak Bay when it was daylight. Sawyer followed them inside, glancing around at the living room they entered with its cathedral ceiling and windows stretching from floor to ceiling. The living room transitioned into the kitchen toward the back with an island serving as a natural divider. Jessa promptly ordered Sawyer to sit down while she began prepping a salad. Ryan disappeared into his room to shower, while Eli started up the grill on the back deck. After a few minutes, Sawyer glanced to Jessa.
“I’m heading out to the deck. Need me to carry anything out?” he asked as he stood.
Jessa glanced to him, blowing her breath and expertly sending a loose lock of hair out of her eyes. “You need to…”
He narrowed his eyes, predicting she was about to fuss over him. “Don’t tell me to take it easy, Jess. Everything but one knee is in perfectly good condition.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Carry this out.” She gave him a stack of plates and tossed some napkins on top.
Sawyer joined Eli on the deck who promptly handed him a beer while he turned salmon and halibut filets on the grill. Sawyer took a drag on his beer and sat down at the round wooden table on the deck. Of course, it was one of Jessa’s creations, so it wasn’t just a table. It was beautifully painted with lupine and fireweed. He idly traced along one of the flowers and looked up at Eli when he turned off the grill and sat down across from Sawyer.
“Nice place here,” he commented.
Eli nodded and leaned back, running a hand through his light brown hair. “Thanks. Bought it for a steal when the original owners ran out of money to finish the place. Jessa gets all the credit for making it nicer. Before she moved in, it was pretty sparse,” he said with a low laugh.
“That’s Jessa,” Sawyer replied with a grin. Though he’d spent most of his adult life out of the country on missions, whenever he’d been in one spot for more than a few months, Jessa came to visit and was like a whirlwind. No matter what, she always left a place better than she found it. Even when he was living in temporary digs, which had pretty much been his life the last ten years or so, she was the one who made them comfy. Jessa called something out to Ryan, and Sawyer looked back to Eli. “It’s nice to see how happy Jess is with you. Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m glad her apartment in Seattle burned down.”
Eli threw his head back with a laugh. When his green gaze landed on Sawyer’s again, he shrugged. “That’s only funny because everyone got out okay.”
They were referencing a fire in Jessa’s old apartment building in Seattle that led to her losing just about everything she owned. In a tailspin, she’d driven up to visit with Gage and Marley while she figured out what to do. She met Eli and ended up staying. Sawyer returned Eli’s shrug. “So true.” He sobered. “Seriously, it’s good to know she’s settled. She loves it here. You guys have a good thing going. Ryan’s an awesome kid too.”
As if on cue, Ryan strolled through the open sliding glass door. His brown hair was damp. He slouched into a chair beside Sawyer and glanced between Sawyer and Eli. “How long until we can eat?” he asked.
Eli grinned. “Any minute now. Fish is ready. Just waiting for Jessa.”
Eli stood and walked to the sliding glass door, peering inside. Sawyer looke
d over just as Jessa stepped to the door, juggling a bowl of salad and a bottle of wine in her hands. Eli dipped his head and dropped a kiss on the side of her neck as he took the salad bowl from her. The moment was brief, but so intimate Sawyer felt he needed to look away. Ryan caught his eyes and sighed. “They’re like that all the time. It’s kinda embarrassing sometimes.”
Sawyer almost choked on his beer. “Things could be worse,” he finally managed.
Ryan nodded somberly. “I know. It’s awesome to be here, so I can deal with it,” he said earnestly.
Sawyer recalled that Eli had obtained guardianship of Ryan after Ryan ran away from home and showed up in Diamond Creek. He knew things hadn’t been too smooth for Ryan with his and Eli’s parents, but he didn’t have all the details, so he simply nodded. Jessa reached the table, her cheeks slightly flushed, and set the wine down.
“Okay, guys. Let’s eat,” she announced, swinging around and carrying over the platter of fish from the grill.
A while later, Sawyer drove back to the lodge. The entire day and evening had been just plain good. He certainly hadn’t considered it at the time, but being on forced medical leave was giving him the first true down time he’d had in years. Being a Navy SEAL meant frequent travel, a rigorous training schedule, and limited breaks. He still had mixed feelings about what to do after his surgery, but he could easily be persuaded that taking the medical retirement option and moving to Diamond Creek would be a good choice. Internally, he was torn over that choice though.
