by C. R. Hill
She knocked on her boss’ door and pushed it open. “I’m ready to get back to work,” she announced.
Trent leaned in his chair. “I had a feeling you’d be back the first day the doctor cleared you.”
“I’m tired of looking at the walls of my apartment.”
“You should take a vacation away from home.”
Sierra crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t have anywhere I care to go.”
“Not even North Carolina?” A slight smile curled his mouth.
Sierra arched an eyebrow. “Now why would I want to go to North Carolina?”
“Jake resigned.”
His words caught her off guard. “When?”
“Last week.”
She shrugged. “That’s his decision. Doesn’t concern me.”
“Doesn’t it?” Trent asked and tapped a pen on his desk. “Why do you think Jake resigned?”
“He was tired of the game.” Her answer was glib, yet she didn’t believe it anymore than Trent did.
“In Jake’s mind, one of you had to quit. You ever heard the phrase that love is not selfish?”
His use of the word love rocked her back on her heels. She and Jake had never even hinted at the words. Sierra still wasn’t sure she knew what love meant.
“Jake’s in love with you. He knew he couldn’t work with you anymore. He knew his feelings would get in the way, the same way yours would too.”
She wanted to deny his words, yet knew she’d only be lying. So what did that mean? Was she in love with Jake Harding?
Remembering the tears she’d cried just a few weeks ago, she had to consider it. She didn’t have experience with the emotion though, so maybe it was just lust. Sleepless nights, no appetite, thinking of him constantly, yearning to be back in his arms.
Damn it! That wasn’t simple lust.
“You know, Sierra,” Trent said. “The field is a tough place to be for any length of time. You’ve been out there for eight years now and you’re damn good at what you do…but…there’s more to life.”
She looked at him. “Says the man who’s still in the business.”
He smiled. “But I’m not still in the field. If you really want to continue working for USOI, there are other positions that can be filled from almost anywhere. You’ve been alone along time.”
“It’s always been easier.”
“We all have to let our defenses down sometimes. I think you blew Jake’s out of the water. I’ve never seen him look quite like he looked when he left you at the hospital or walked out of here last week.”
“Did he specifically tell you he was in love with me?”
Trent shook his head. “He didn’t have to. I can read people, Sierra. Especially, Jake. Did he ever tell you how the two of us met?”
She shook her head.
“I was Jake’s commanding officer when I was in Special Forces. I got to know him pretty well. You and he have a lot in common, both tough and determined, but there’s one difference.”
Sierra narrowed her eyes. “What would that be?”
“Jake grew up surrounded by love, so he learned what it was like and how to feel it. You, Sierra, fought for everything tooth and nail. You weren’t raised with a mother’s soft touches or a father to bounce you on his knee. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn how to love…and how to trust.”
Sierra frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know, boss.”
“Why don’t you take another month off, decide what you want and let me know. If you still want to go back in the field, I’ll put you back out. If you want a tamer position, I’ll find that for you too or if you want to just walk away and start a new chapter in your life…well, I’ll respect that too.”
Sierra looked at Trent, wondering why she’d never known what a closet romantic her boss was. She’d thought both he and Jake were pretty much hard asses, but apparently she didn’t know diddly.
“Another month, huh?”
“And try leaving your apartment. If you don’t go to North Carolina, at least take a trip someplace else.”
“Fine, I’ll take some time to think about things. I’ll be in touch.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The Harley vibrated beneath her as Sierra made the last turn up the mountain road leading to Jake’s cabin. She’d made a few additions to the bike, adding a leather saddle bag to store some of her stuff and another helmet.
Nervous energy zinged inside of her as she spotted his house. Nervous? Her?
Sierra laughed. The irony of her being nervous of facing a man and telling him she loved him, when she never got nervous before a mission wasn’t lost on her. But what if Trent was wrong?
She’d sat at home another week after they’d talked, thinking things through and arguing with herself over what she wanted. If Jake wasn’t in love with her where would that leave her? She was going to put herself out there. And that sucked for her if he didn’t return the feelings.
She’d spent the last week, just driving around on Jake’s big bike, letting the fresh air clear her head. Images of that huge farm house she’d always wanted had morphed into a small log cabin situated on an isolated mountain spot.
She pulled the big bike into Jake’s yard and put the kickstand down before climbing off. Her cowboy boots crunched on the loose rocks as she placed her feet square on the ground. Jake was sitting on his porch, a beer in hand. At least he was home. She hadn’t really considered what she’d do if he wasn’t.
He didn’t stand when she climbed off the bike.
After removing the helmet and hanging it on the seat, she sauntered toward him. His gaze bored into her and her nervousness increased.
“Thought you’d like your bike back,” she said with a casualness she didn’t feel. What if Trent had been wrong? What if he didn’t love her? What if he’d resigned because he just didn’t want to see her again?
He took a swig of beer from the long neck bottle and nodded. “I told Trent you could leave it with him.”
Propping against a post, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh. He didn’t mention that.” Doubt crept back inside her head. “It’s a sweet ride. I hope you didn’t mind, but I’ve been riding around on it for the last week, meandering here from Virginia.”
He took another swig of beer, his gaze intent. “I appreciate you bringing it back to me. I’m sure you took good care of it.”
She searched his face, looking for some sign that he was happy to see her. Something to tell her he might actually love her the way she was pretty sure she loved him. She cleared her throat, again amazed at how nervous she was talking to him. Something seemed wrong with that, considering what she’d done for a living the last eight years. “Trent said you resigned.”
Jake set his beer on the plank floor and stood. “Did he?”
“Yes, but he didn’t tell me why?”
Jake shrugged. “I decided that I actually wanted to live to see my fortieth birthday in a few months.”
She nodded and looked up into his handsome face. “Can’t blame you for that.” Sierra had come to the same conclusion since leaving Trent’s office. As much as she loved the thrill of the chase, she wanted to try something new. She wanted to tread through the unknown territory of love and relationships. “So you’re going to stay up here in your little hideaway? All by yourself?”
He stepped close to her, his breath sliding over her cheek. “Do you have a better idea?”
She smiled, feeling the first stirrings of hope that this wasn’t one sided. “Maybe.”
“What is it?” he asked and ran his fingers down her cheek.
“If you kiss me, I’ll tell you.”
Jake didn’t need any more encouragement. He wrapped a hand around her neck and tugged her against his chest. Then his lips connected with hers, firm and demanding. She realized she was starved for him. Her fingers latched into his shoulders and she pressed against him.
Jake lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his wais
t, never breaking the kiss. She was on fire. Jake backed against the front door, reached behind him and opened it, then stepped inside the cabin.
He maneuvered them to the sofa and plopped onto it. The jarring motion separated their lips. Sierra giggled.
The sound died in her throat when she felt his hardness beneath her. Pushed against sensitive flesh.
Their clothes seemed to disappear without help. She was on top, but Jake was in control. By the time he entered her, she was frantic. Being with Jake filled her with a sense of home for the first time in her thirty-three years.
As her release wrung a cry from her throat, she whispered the words she’d never said before. “I love you, Jake Harding.”
Jake stilled beneath her, and then stiffened, finding his release so deep inside her she felt they were truly one.
He clasped her head and brought her lips to his, kissing her tenderly. When he pulled back, his gaze searched her face. “Say the words again, Sierra.”
She swallowed. Forgotten nervousness slammed into her.
“Say it,” he whispered again.
She wasn’t a chicken. “I love you, Jake Harding. You’re infuriating and stubborn. You also make me feel alive. I trust you with my weaknesses. And I love you.”
He kissed her again and looked into her eyes. “You are pretty stubborn and infuriating yourself. Head strong, smart-mouthed and sexy as all get out.” A grin spread across his face. “And I love you too, Sierra Thayer.”
Eight months later
Epilogue
“You want to tell me what you’re up to?” Jake asked as he walked up behind his wife. Wife. That was hard to believe. First that he was married and second that he was married to Sierra.
She may have retired from the field, but he swore her butt never stayed planted in one location for long. She was behind the cabin, a hoe in hand, beating the tar out of the rocky dirt.
She looked at him, wiping her forehead with a dusty hand and leaving a streak at her hairline. “I want a garden.”
“For God’s sake, why didn’t you just tell me?” And as soon as the question was out, he knew it was a stupid one. Sierra Thayer Harding was an independent spirit. But damn it, she was in no condition to be working so hard.
He took the hoe from her and shook his head. “Whether you like it or not, sweetheart, you’re going to have to accept some limitations. If you want a garden, I’ll make you one. You’ve got to learn to start asking for help.”
Straightening and stretching her back, she gave him a cunning look. “Oh, don’t worry, sweet cheeks,” she purred as she rubbed her hand lovingly over the small bump in her stomach that had just begun to become noticeable. “When this little darling gets here, I’ll be asking for help.” She looked down at her new roundness. “I hope you have a clue what to do with this little bugger.”
Jake chuckled, still amazed that he and Sierra were going to be parents. He’d already gotten the plans in place to enlarge the cabin.
“Don’t they come with instruction manuals?”
She smiled. “Ha, ha. I still can’t believe I let you knock me up for your fortieth birthday.”
Jake dropped the hoe and pulled her into his arms. “You were the one who forgot to get your birth control shot. Besides, you love an adventure.”
Her brown eyes glowed as she looked into his eyes. “That I do, almost as much as I love you.”
“I love you too, Sierra. Trent said I’d get bored when I left the agency, but so far this has been the best adventure of my life.” He leaned down and kissed her, knowing that things would only get better.
The End