Free Deadly Christmas by Lily Harper Hart Page A

“I’ll make you feel better when we get home. It’s supposed to storm tonight. We can stay in all day tomorrow and snuggle by the fire. It’s okay, baby.”
    Mandy didn’t speak, instead snuggling into his side as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and shoved a breadstick in front of her.
    “What about me?” Ally asked Jake pointedly. “Are you going to make me feel better when we get home?”
    “I’m going to be eating in a few minutes, Ally,” James warned. “Don’t make me sick.”
    Jake ignored James. “I haven’t decided yet.”
    “I don’t see why you’re angry,” Ally said. “I won. You should be giving me a standing ovation.”
    “I’m not sure I see it that way,” Jake replied. “I keep picturing the horrible things that could have happened when you tasered him.”
    “Like what?”
    “Like the gun accidentally going off and an innocent person being shot,” Jake charged. “Did you think of that, Ally? If someone had been accidentally shot you could’ve gone to jail because of it – and that’s on top of the guilt you would feel and probably never get over.”
    Ally’s smile slipped. “I guess I didn’t think about that.”
    “You never do,” Jake said, reaching for his glass of water.
    “Oh, well, come on,” James prodded. “Let her off the hook.”
    Jake arched an eyebrow. “Seriously? You just spent two hours being mad at Mandy for not handing over jewelry.”
    “And now I’m done with it,” James said. “Ally did what she thought was right in a tense situation. It worked out. There’s no reason to beat her up over it.”
    Jake was dumbfounded. “Right there. You two are exactly alike. You’re secretly proud of what Ally did, aren’t you?”
    James scowled. “I … she saved Mandy and herself. I’m not going to hold that against her.”
    “This family gives me a migraine,” Jake grumbled.
    “Don’t worry,” Ally said, perking back up. “I’ll make you feel better when we get home. I bought a special outfit today and everything.”
    “And there went my appetite,” James muttered.

Eight
    “Are you still angry?”
    Ally found Jake sitting in the quiet living room about an hour after returning home. The television was off and he was focused on the snow as it fell on the other side of the bay window.
    Jake opened his mouth, unsure how to respond. Finally, he patted the spot next to him on the couch. “Come here a second, angel.”
    Ally stilled. “You’re not going to break up with me, are you?”
    Jake rolled his neck, cracking it as he fixed her with an incredulous look. “Seriously?”
    “You don’t look like you’re very fond of me at the present moment,” Ally said, her heart rate increasing. “I … .”
    “Come here, Ally,” Jake ordered, sighing as the woman he loved more than anything pathetically shuffled over and sat down next to him. “Stop asking me if I’m going to break up with you. I don’t like it.”
    “I can’t help it,” Ally admitted. “Sometimes you get these looks on your face and I just know you’re sitting there debating about whether or not I’m worth the work you keep having to put into me.”
    “Yeah? Well, that shows how much you know,” Jake replied, tugging her closer to him and frowning when he felt her heart pounding. “Why are you so worked up?”
    “I just told you.”
    “Oh, Ally, this has to stop,” Jake said, grabbing her chin and forcing her gaze to him. “I love you. I’ve loved you for a long time – even before I admitted to myself that I felt that way. Even after I admitted it to myself, it took me forever to get up the courage to tell you.
    “You’re my forever,” he continued. “I don’t see anyone else in my life. Ever! That means you can’t do something stupid and get hurt, Ally. That means you have to try and stay safe for me. I can’t lose you.”
    For some reason Jake’s words calmed Ally. Mandy was right. She’d been freaking herself out when it was completely