Free Edge of the Season by Trish Loye

locator; help should come soon. She held her weapon on the Huntsman as his eyes opened and focused on her.
    Sirens started in the distance, coming closer with each second. She smiled at him. “If you move, I will put a bullet in you. Consider it an early Christmas present.”
    “Dani!” a deep voice yelled.
    Jake ran toward her from inside the Ramble. He must have been tracking her. Relief surged so hard and fast that her arm dropped. He was alive. And he was here.
    She took a step to him.
    His gaze went beyond her. “Down!” he shouted.
    She threw herself to the ground, trusting Jake implicitly. Two shots rang out. She looked up to see Jake standing above her, his breath fogging the night air and his Sig in his hand.
    The Huntsman lay sprawled on the ground, a bullet wound to his chest and his sightless eyes staring up at the falling snow. Another gun, this one with a laser sight, lay not far from his outstretched hand.
    She cursed herself. “I forgot to check for another weapon.”
    Jake hauled her up one-handed and kissed her, his lips soft and warm. It felt like coming home. He ended it way too soon for her.
    “I saw him shoot you,” she whispered.
    He held her tight and she huddled into his warmth. Snowflakes swirled around them. “Alyssa gave me her vest.”
    “She’s a smart lady.”
    “See? I knew you’d like my family.”
    Another police cruiser, lights and sirens going, pulled up beside them, an ambulance not far behind. Jake put away his weapon and put his hands in the air. Dani left the officer’s gun on the ground. She, too, showed her empty hands. Neither of them wanted to spook the police.
    It was going to be a long night of questions. And all she really wanted to do was jump into Jake’s arms again.

Chapter 8
    I t was Christmas Eve day . Dani had spent last night getting her arm patched up in the ER before she joined Jake in the police station, going over what had happened. Thankfully, Officer Lee had woken up and corroborated their story for them.
    And as much as she’d wanted to be in Jake’s arms when they’d made it back to the Bed and Breakfast, he’d gone into his protective mode—making her take a bath while he went and fetched a massive breakfast for her.
    Now, she sat at the table, wrapped in a plush robe. She stared at a heaping plate of waffles, which Jake had insisted on cutting up for her while she’d scowled at him. Because of her arm, he’d said. Jake sat across from her and motioned for her to eat.
    She picked up a piece of bacon. “I’m not breakable,” she muttered. “I actually beat the bad guy.”
    “Just let me do this.” He closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, the look on his face left her speechless. “I almost lost you,” he whispered. “And I realized how much a part of me you are. I can’t lose you. It would destroy me.”
    She had no words. Her throat was so tight, she couldn’t have spoken even if she’d known what to say.
    Jake’s gaze was solemn. “No more talk of marriage,” he said. “I want you in my life any way I can have you.”
    She opened her mouth to protest, but shut it without speaking. This was what she’d wanted: to be with Jake with no pressure of a family life that she wasn’t cut out for.
    It had been proven to her over and over again as a child. Every time she loved a family, they would leave her or send her away. She couldn’t have a family. She couldn’t handle that pain again.
    So why did she feel so hollow inside?
    Jake gave a small half-smile. “It’s okay,” he said. “I get it.”
    And he did, she knew. He understood her better than she did herself sometimes. That thought made her want to cry for some reason.
    He stood up and moved closer to her. “You should eat, then rest. My family’s expecting us for dinner.” He put a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to his. “Unless you want to skip it and just have some downtime?”
    She shook her head. “No. We should go.”
    He nodded and