Free Her Christmas SEAL (When SEALs Come Home Book 7) by Anne Marsh

clothes Jacks had peeled off me earlier. Confronting a fire in my pajamas wasn’t ideal. I grabbed panties, yoga pants and a tank top. Topped it off with a flannel. My running shoes. You know those dreams where you’re running and running but not getting anywhere except that you also know time is running out and that’s going to bite you on the ass? Yeah. I was living a real-time version and it sucked.
    Certain I’d hit my five-minute limit, I stuck my head outside the door. The entire lot was ablaze, the air thick with smoke. Jacks had Lucky outside now, so that was good, although Lucky was bellowing and looking every bit as unhappy as I’d look if that was my farm going up in smoke. Little sparks flew about and landed in front of my cabin, more Fourth of July than Christmas.
    Sirens wailed up the road. The fire department had come. The farm was too far outside Strong to have a hydrant, but the fire truck had a portable tank. Not sure what to do, I stood there and stared as the first firefighters swung down. Jacks materialized by my side.
    At first, I thought he was just checking in, but then he gestured toward his truck. “Get in, and I’ll get you out of here.”
    Not happening. “I’m not losing my car too.”
    I’d kind of lost everything in the last year. My marriage, my home, and most of my bank account. So, no I didn’t see the need to lose the car, especially not since I’d just gotten it fixed after it had crapped out and stranded me in Strong.
    “Fine,” he growled and held out his hand. “Give me your keys, and I’ll move your car a safe distance.”
    And once again? So not happening. “I can drive my own car.”
    Jacks just shook his head and pointed to my hands. Fuck. My hands were trembling. So maybe I wasn’t entirely okay, but I could pull it together.
    “Then I can stay here.” The fire department had this under control, right? I could wait this out even if the air was thick with smoke and God knows what else. I looked at the tree lot, which was burning like a torch. Then looked at all the little sparks twinkling around us. Okay. So maybe staying would win me the Darwin Award. The stink would be in my hair and my clothes, plus the fire could still spread further. It wasn’t like I’d have a job to rush to in the morning anyhow. I could leave.
    “Give me your keys,” Jacks growled, eyeballing the flaming carnage and clearly coming to a different conclusion than I had. “I’ll move your car a safe distance. We’ll compromise—and don’t tell me that you’ve got this. ”
    Nope. I didn’t have this at all. I mutely handed over my keys and went back inside to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. Jacks was back in under ten minutes, reaching down to snag my suitcase and purse.
    “Anything else you need from inside?” He asked.
    “The cat.” Who wasn’t going to make finding a place easy. I was still voting for my car. Worst case, I could sleep in it. I’d done it before; I could do it again. Still, this wasn’t good. Wasn’t good at all. I settled back in Jacks’s seat and tried to brainstorm a solution. Yeah. I was coming up empty.
    Jack grunted something, and I let him herd me along to his truck. I was tired and it was just easier, I told myself. My agreeing had nothing to do with my wanting to spend just a little more time with him. He tossed my stuff in the bed, and then popped the door open for me. While I collapsed on his front seat, he disappeared inside my cabin to retrieve Frances.
    “Got a problem,” he said when he came back out a minute later.
    “I’m at my max,” I warned him. One more snowflake in my shit storm and I’d either bawl like a baby or start screaming at him.
    He opened my door and set the cardboard box on my lap. “Momma cat’s a little busy.”
    Oh. God. Sure enough, when I looked down, I was looking at one cat and one kitten. I had a bad feeling that Frances wasn’t stopping at one. The vet had warned me that cats usually took up to an