Love at Last (Last Frontier Lodge #2)

by J. H. Croix

  Don caught her eyes with a wry smile. “Hon, I’ve been helping you raise Nick since the day he was born. Pretty sure we can handle the next two weeks while you’re gone.”

  “I know, Dad. I’ve never been gone this long, so cut me some slack.”

  Helen smiled softly. “He’ll be just fine, dear.”

  Garrett squeezed her hand. “Our flight’s leaving soon.”

  She glanced up into his navy gaze. With a quick nod, she let him lead her out of the room and into the rest of their life.

  ***

  Garrett rolled over in bed, sliding his hand over the curve of Delia’s hip. “Mm,” he mumbled into her neck. She was soft and warm. In the last six months, he’d come to absolutely adore waking up beside her every day. After a quintessentially romantic honeymoon in the tropics, they’d returned to Diamond Creek. He’d settled into a life he’d have once never imagined. They’d purchased a home on a bluff overlooking Kachemak Bay. He’d gone from a glamorous, relentlessly busy life in Seattle to a much quieter and messier life on the breathtaking coast of Alaska. He’d traded the big city for a small, quirky community.

  The pulse of this tight-knit community called to a part of him he’d never known he had. As he’d originally envisioned, he still kept his practice in Seattle, but rarely flew back. He handled most of his work online and only went there when absolutely necessary. His legal work in Alaska was much more varied than he ever could have guessed. He handled corporate cases in Anchorage, small criminal cases in Diamond Creek and other nearby communities, and civil cases ranging from environmental issues to fishing disputes. He was never bored.

  A while later, Delia hurried around the kitchen, coffee cup in hand as she slapped a sandwich together for Nick’s lunch.

  “Mom! I can’t find my homework!” Nick called out from down the hall.

  “Got it,” Garrett said. He’d quickly discovered that while Nick was reliable about completing his homework, he routinely lost track of it once it was done. Garrett had become the expert at helping him find it.

  After walking Nick through his evening before, he found it by the sink in the hall bathroom. When he returned to the kitchen, the small folder held aloft, Nick ran over and threw his arms around Garrett’s waist. Garrett’s heart clenched. Just last week, the court had finalized his adoption of Nick. Garrett had never expected that, but Nick’s biological father had died in a car accident a few months after their wedding. He’d already considered himself Nick’s father in every way that mattered, and he hated seeing Nick’s sadness at learning the father he never knew had died. The adoption had offered an odd sense of completion Garrett hadn’t known he was seeking.

  Moments later, he watched Nick climb on the bus. Delia was loading the dishwasher. She stood and closed it quickly. When she turned, she headed toward the hall. Garrett stepped in front of her, curling his hands around her arms. She stopped abruptly and looked up. Her soft blue eyes caught his. She took a breath. He felt the tension ease from her body. “What’s the rush?” he asked, a jolt of lust streaking through him.

  It still startled him how much he wanted her. If anything, the depth of his desire for her had grown deeper, along with his love for her.

  “I forgot to get the pastries ready last night because we were so busy, so I have to get to work early…”

  Garrett caught her lips in a kiss. “No you don’t.”

  “Garrett, I can’t be late just because…”

  “I called Harry already. He said your new assistant is doing great, and you can take the morning off.”

  Delia bit her lip, and he was a goner. He swore she did it on purpose sometimes, and he didn’t give a damn. He tugged her close and lifted her to the table. “Now, where was I?”

  He caught her giggle with a kiss.

  ~The End~

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  Please enjoy the following excerpt from Just This Once, the next book in the Last Frontier Lodge Series!

  (Excerpt from JUST THIS ONCE by J.H. Croix; all rights reserved)

  Chapter 1

  The thwack of the windshield wipers was steady as Becca Hamilton drove along the highway. It was approaching midnight, much later than she planned to be on her way to her parents’ home in Bellingham, Washington. She had yet another late night at work in Seattle, but she’d promised her mother she’d be there for the weekend. After failing to come through on the same promise last weekend, she was bound and determined to get there tonight. The visibility was crap with fog and rainy mist encompassing the road. She might as well have been in the middle of a cloud. She rolled her shoulders in a weak attempt to ease the tension bundled in them.

  Glancing at the clock, she estimated she had another hour before she made it to Bellingham. Suddenly, lights flashed in front of her as she came around a corner, much too close for comfort. Before she could think and blinded by the lights, she yanked the steering wheel and swerved to avoid the vehicle coming straight at her. She felt the other car bounce off of hers and heard a loud screech before her car tumbled into the ditch. She came to a thudding stop with her car on its side.

  Stunned for a second, she started to scramble and tried to climb out before it occurred to her she might want to take stock of her situation first. She froze and glanced around. Rain continued to fall, her windshield wipers carrying on as if nothing had happened. She looked up toward the road to see the taillights of the car that ran her off the road disappearing into the wet darkness.

  “Great, just great,” she muttered. “Run me off the road and leave. Dammit!” She adjusted her position, so her hips rested on the console between the driver and passenger seats. She mentally scanned her body and didn’t sense any significant injuries. Her shoulder had jammed against the ceiling. She figured she’d be sore from the impact by morning, but all in all, she seemed okay. The pressing issue was she was alone in the dark, rainy night stuck in a ditch.

  If there was one thing Becca hated, it was asking for help. It ranked right up there with dating. She hated it so much she actually pondered the likelihood that she could somehow get her car upright again on her own. Mid-thought, her rational brain kicked in. Are you out of your damn mind? Don’t confuse yourself with a superhero. There is NO way you can get your car out of this ditch by yourself. She smiled wryly to herself. There were times she needed to swallow her pride and accept she needed help. They were few and far between, but this definitely qualified.

  She flicked on the interior light and searched for her purse, which held her phone. It had fallen to the passenger side on the floor. Far out of her reach. She started maneuvering to reach it when there was a knock on her window. She scrambled back up and managed to reach the button to open the window. As the blurry glass rolled down, a familiar face loomed in the rainy darkness. Aidan McNamara, the absolute last person she wanted to see her like this. Aidan was a family friend through her older brother Gage. They’d served together in the Navy SEAL’s. Aidan was a woman’s dream if one liked tall, dark, sexy-as-hell military types who tended to save the day so often it was annoying. Even under these circumstances, Becca’s pulse raced at the sight of him. As much as it drove her insane, her body had all kinds of ideas about Aidan.

  “Becca?” Aidan’s brows hitched up when he saw her.

  “It’s me.”

  “Are you okay? Let’s get you out of there.”

  Aidan didn’t bother to ask what happened, but instantly went into action. After he did a quick circle around her car to make sure it was safe to pull her out, he opened her door and reached in for her. He ignored her protests as he lifted her out. Next thing she knew, she was in his strong arms, the rain falling softly around them. He adjusted her weight in arms. Becca shivered and couldn’t help the tiny curl of comfort that snuck through her. A corner of her savored feeling protec
ted like this. Aidan had the disconcerting tendency to elicit this feeling in her. She pushed against it like a cat swatting its paw and wiggled.

  “Put me down,” she demanded. Her voice sounded prickly, and she didn’t care.

  She heard his sigh. “Becca, it’s more work to put you down right here than it is to carry you. The ground’s like mush here. Let’s get to the road, and I’ll put you down.”

  She bit her lip and stayed quiet. Aidan’s embrace was strong and sure. She could feel his muscles flex against her body as he stepped carefully up the incline. Her pulse galloped and heat slid through her veins. Why, oh why, did this man have to affect her like this? She’d sworn off men after her fiancée had dumped her two days before their wedding. That had been three years ago. Since then, she’d had no trouble completely ignoring men. Except for Aidan. He had this unerring ability to make her flushed and flustered simply by existing.

  He reached the road and carefully eased her down. His black sedan was pulled to the side of the road, its lights illuminating them. She glanced up. Of course, Aidan had come to her aid without bothering to put a jacket on. His button-down shirt was clinging to his muscled chest and arms. His black hair was damp from the rain. His blue eyes were bright in the small circle of light cast around them. His strong features were shadowed. His blade of a nose crooked the tiniest bit in one spot. She’d always wanted to ask how he broke it, but she never had. With his career as a Navy SEAL, she surmised he’d had many brushes with injury.

  He gestured to her car. “Need me to get anything for you?”

  “Oh, um. I can get my stuff. Let me…” She started to turn and walk back into the ditch when she felt his hand curl around her arm.

  His grip was strong and implacable. “I’ll get it. You seem to have gotten out of this without getting hurt, but I’m not letting you go back down there. Where’s your stuff?”

  “Oh my God! Don’t be all tough with me. I’m fine. I can…”

  “Becca,” Aidan said, his tone low with warning. “Gage will let me have it if I let you climb back down there and you somehow get hurt. We don’t know if your car’s stable where it is, and it’s a mud pit. Just tell me what I need to find.”

  She wanted to argue, but she bit it back. She was cold, tired and wet. The shock of getting bounced into a ditch by another car was starting to set in. On the heels of a deep breath, she managed to nod. “Okay. My purse fell on the floor in the front. My bag should be in the backseat.”

  Aidan nodded and turned away quickly. She waited by the side of the road. She heard him moving around, but she couldn’t see much in the dark. Her car engine and lights were turned off before she heard a door slam, and he climbed back up to her side. Her purse and small overnight bag were hanging from his shoulder. She followed him to his car. Somehow he beat her to the passenger side and held the door for her. Once she was seated, he handed her purse over and put her bag in the backseat.

  His car was warm. She held her hands in front of the heater and rubbed them together. Of course, he drove a luxury sedan. She had no idea what kind of car it was, but the seats were soft, supple leather, and the engine hummed so quietly she could barely hear it. When Aidan climbed inside, he looked over at her.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “A car came around the corner in my lane. I swerved to avoid them, and they bumped me on the way. Next thing I know, I was in the ditch.” She hugged her arms around her waist, her teeth chattering slightly from the cold.

  He reached behind her and pulled something forward. “Here, put this on. You got pretty wet.” He handed her a sweatshirt.

  Without thinking, she pulled it over her head, sighing once it fell around her. It held a subtle woodsy scent. The sweatshirt nearly swallowed her whole, but she tugged it close, savoring the warmth. She could hardly let herself think it, but she loved that it held his scent.

  “Thanks. I didn’t realize how cold I was.”

  Aidan nodded, his eyes still on her. “Should I take you to the hospital to get checked out?”

  She shook her head quickly. “No! I’m fine. I got bounced against the roof when my car rolled in the ditch, but I’m fine. I do not need to go to the hospital.”

  He was quiet for a long moment before he nodded. “Okay. Let me make a call to get your car towed.”

  Before she could say anything, he’d tapped a button on the screen in the center of his dashboard.

  “Hey, boss. What can we do for you?” A man’s voice came through the car speakers clearly.

  “Hey, George. I need you guys to arrange for a towing company to come get Becca Hamilton’s car out of a ditch. It’s about twenty minutes north from our office. I’ll wait with her until you guys get here, then you can take it from there.”

  “We’ll head up there right now. Are you on I-5 or Route 9?”

  “Route 9. Look for my car.”

  “Got it.”

  The line clicked.

  “You didn’t have to…” Becca started to say.

  “We’re not leaving your car here.” Aidan glanced out the window as another car drove by, its headlights blurry in the rain. “The fastest tow company can’t get here sooner. This way, George will wait with your car and make sure everything’s taken care of. In the meantime, where were you headed?”

  Aidan didn’t entertain her weak attempt to tell him he didn’t need to have his company handle getting her car towed. After Aidan retired as a Navy SEAL, he started a private security company in Seattle. The company quickly developed an excellent reputation. Becca encountered him and his employees frequently in her work as a prosecutor for the Seattle District Court. She hadn’t thought through what she was going to do about her car, but it chafed at her to have Aidan step in and handle things like this.

  Warmth was starting to seep through her bones between the heat in his car and his sweatshirt. She took a breath and tried to gather her thoughts. Being this close to Aidan was discombobulating. She preferred to be somewhere she could take a step back and create enough distance between them, so her heart didn’t pound so hard and heat didn’t slide through her veins. To regain control, she latched onto her annoyance.

  “You don’t have to step in and save the day, you know? I’m perfectly capable of calling a tow company and waiting for them to come. I appreciate you stopped, but…”

  She paused for a breath, realizing her words were flying out of her mouth. She was flustered and disoriented. Between her unexpected roll into the ditch and Aidan’s appearance, she was off kilter in more ways than one.

  Aidan appeared to be waiting. She glanced sideways to find his eyes on her, inscrutable in the dim light inside the car. After another long beat, he spoke. “Becca, I’m not trying to save the day. I didn’t do anything I wouldn’t do for a stranger. I saw your car in the ditch and stopped to see if I could help.” He gestured to the window. “It’s rainy and cold out and going on midnight. I can’t in good conscience just leave you here. I have no doubt you’d take care of yourself if I hadn’t happened along. Maybe you don’t feel the same way, but I consider you a friend. I’m not leaving a friend alone on the highway in this weather. Your brothers would never let me hear the end of it if I did.”

  She knew what he said was true. He would stop to help anyone because that’s the kind of man he was. She just hated the fact that she needed help and the one man who somehow got under her skin happened to be the man to stop and help. She glanced out the window. The pace of the rain had picked up, shifting from a heavy mist to something close to pouring rain. It felt like they were in a warm, dry island inside his car. The space compressed. Awareness prickled along her skin. Aidan was no more than a foot away from her. Darting her eyes sideways, they landed on his hand resting on the steering wheel—a strong, muscled and masculine hand.

  When she brought her eyes to his, they coasted over her face—assessing, measuring. She could barely breathe and somehow had to get through the next twenty minutes unti
l George arrived to wait with her car.

  Aidan shifted in his seat, one of his hands falling to the console between them. “Have I don’t something to offend you?” he asked suddenly.

  She could tell by his tone that he was genuinely curious. She shook her head. Because how could she explain that all he’d done was to be the one and only man who made her forget her promise she’d never let a man get to her again? It wouldn’t be so bad if he were some random guy she encountered once in a blue moon. No, he had to go and be one of Gage’s best friends and a friend to her entire family. She couldn’t avoid him even if she tried.

  “Well, then what is it? Every time I’m around you, you seem annoyed.”

  Instead of dropping the topic, he kept going. Her body was a jumble of nerves, electricity emanating from him and coiling around her, setting her nerves alight and heat notching higher and higher.

  “I’m not annoyed.” Maybe she could try to opposite approach. Say the opposite of everything she felt, and the feelings would go away.

  He arched a brow, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Really?”

  Annoyance arced higher. “No, I’m not! But I’m about to be.”

  Aidan chuckled. She couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled in response. She turned to him and collided with his gaze. In a flash, the air around them hummed with heat. His smile faded. Becca could hardly breathe. She held still, her heart battering against her ribcage. Before she knew what happened, he leaned across the console, erasing the distance between them.

  She opened her mouth to say something and his lips came against hers. Soft and sure at once, he fit his mouth over hers. She froze, but for the life of her she couldn’t pull away. Not when her body cried out for more, craving to get as close as she could to imprint herself against his body the way his lips were now molded to hers. He angled his head, his tongue tracing her lips. Her breath broke on a low moan, and he captured it by deepening his kiss. His tongue delved inside, hers responding by tangling with his. The kiss went from a tentative exploration to explosive. Heat surged through her in waves as she nearly crawled across the console to get closer. His hand stroked up her neck, lacing into the hair at her nape. His thumb brushed across the beat of her pulse, which went wild at the feel of his calloused skin against her.