Free Serial Love: Saints Protection & Investigation by Maryann Jordan

system.
    He swung his large body around so that he was facing her, taking her hand in his while pulling it toward him. Placing the bracelet in her palm, he continued, “I’ve got the equipment and the means. No cost to you. No cost to Ann. Just the satisfaction of knowing that you’re not pounding the path through the woods some night looking for her.”
    And there is was again…the feeling that someone understood that what she needed was peace. Her fingers closed around the bracelet and she nodded as she wiped a lone tear with her other hand.
    “Thank you. I…it’s hard. Seeing someone you love stop being that person,” she admitted quietly. “She’s always been so spry. So vibrant. And smart…Jesus, she had a quick wit that kept us all in stitches.”
    Taking another sip of lemonade, she added, “But now, she lives mostly in the past, a little bit in the now, and sometimes in her own little world she has made up.”
    He leaned back in his seat, picking his lemonade up again. The quiet of the afternoon was occasionally broken by the laughter ringing from the lake where the Taylor family and others were enjoying the summer fun. Jack stayed silent, figuring if she wanted to talk, she would; and would do it easier if he was not filling the void with useless conversation. Don’t know what the hell I’m doing here, but come on girl. Trust me. Let me in, even if just a little.
    “My grandparents bought this land right after they got married with some of granddad’s Army money,” she said, her eyes still on the vista in front of her.
    He knew this from the search Luke had done but kept that to himself. Stories were better told by the persons involved anyway.
    “He knew carpentry and they built the first cabin and lived in it while working the next one. He wasn’t trained in marketing, but Gramps understood people. Knew what they wanted and what they’d come for. He advertised it as a honeymoon getaway and by the time he had built five cabins, they were full most year ’round.” She chuckled, adding, “He’d say that he didn’t have to offer too many things to keep people busy if they were on their honeymoon.”
    Jack smiled, acknowledging her grandfather had been an intuitive man.
    She saw his smile and felt the tingle straight through her. With her grandfather’s small stature and Jack’s huge presence, they could not have looked more different. And yet there was a strong similarity. Gramps knew what people needed and worked to provide it. Feeling the bracelet still clutched in her hand, she knew that Jack shared the same trait.
    “After cabin five, he built this lodge with the apartment on the second floor and the office, reception, and lodge room below. They only had one son, my dad, so it was big enough for them. Then he finished through to cabin ten.”
    The silence was disturbed by the fishermen driving back in once more. She threw her hand up in a wave and watched it returned.
    Jack spied it too, but with a completely different reaction. He saw the look on the men’s faces—the same one he had when he looked at her. Goddamn, she’s a beauty and got no fucking clue how much of a beauty, which only made her more attractive. A flash of something new, something different flew through him. Smart enough to recognize jealousy, he tamped that emotion down, struggling with wanting her and wanting her safe. And not sure how his lifestyle could accomplish both.
    Bethany, unaware of the thoughts of the man sitting next to her, continued. “Gramps and Gram had a good life here. He died about three years ago and she’s been doing okay on her own.”
    At this, he swung his gaze back to hers, knowing how much work she was putting into running the place now.
    She saw his questioning expression and quickly added, “With some help of course. My parents were professors at Richland State University until just this past year when they were offered a position with research capability in Arizona. Dad and mom helped