Table of Contents
Unwrapping Treasure
Copyright
Dedication
1
2
3
4
5
6
Heart of the Secret
About the Author
More From Jody A. Kessler
On the Back Cover
Unwrapping Treasure
A Granite Lake Romance
Jody A. Kessler
Copyright
© 2015 by Jody A. Kessler
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator.”
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
To Hope
1
Treasure Vogel’s day started with the scent of him. Masculine and memorable. The smell lingered in the bed, on her pillow, and in her mind. It reminded her of the shortbread cookies and hot spiced buttered rum cider they’d shared before things had taken a turn and they ended up in bed together. Bodie shocked her with his sweetness, but even more so with his raw hunger for her – and not just because of her cookies.
The log cabin she’d rented for the holiday weekend felt like a cozy home away from home. Bodie rekindled the fire and the ambient warmth radiated across the studio-style cabin to the bed where she lay. She sighed with contentment when she smelled the coffee and glanced over to see the pot half-full on the warmer and two mugs waiting to be filled.
Treasure eased herself up and noticed her Christmas present from Bodie sitting on the nightstand next to a glass of water. Reaching over, she lifted the wrapped box and cupped it in her hands with gratitude. The small present would be the only one she would open this Christmas. Most days, it didn’t bother her that she’d woven her life around solitude and fleeting relationships, but she appreciated Bodie remembering her this year. She snuggled deeper into the pillows and pulled the comforter up to her chin. She wanted to savor the moment because she’d learned from a young age that part of the gift was the anticipation of what lay hidden inside. The unwrapping became almost ceremonial for her because more often than not her father, her only parent, would skip this part of gift giving preferring to set the present on the kitchen table – or park it in the garage – the man loved giving her old rebuilt motorcycles instead of more appropriate gifts. At ten years old, she had wanted a kitten, or video games, or cash to buy new clothes and shoes, not something that required gasoline and oil changes.
Bodie knew some of Treasure’s history. He knew the parts she could talk about without shame or regret. In fact, Bodie probably knew more about her than any other person in her current life. She’d let go of her past and her adverse childhood and rarely told people about herself.
Treasure took a deep breath and shut the door on the memories flooding her mind and soul. She despised how the holidays always brought loneliness and vowed this year would be different. Well, the last forty-eight hours had definitely been different. Her shoulder ached from her recent injury, and the rest of her was a little tender, but the latter part was associated with the most incredible and indescribable night of tumbling in the sheets – and on the table, and the floor – with Bodie. She struggled to fully wrap her mind around the fact that Bodie Everett was the best lay she had ever had. Shivers rippled over her still sensitive skin and tickled her spine remembering the late hours of the night. Desire for him had overtaken her senses – and sensibilities – and he hadn’t left her wanting.
It had been her idea to sleep together. Bodie never would have suggested they cross that line. He’d always kept her at arm’s length – friendly, personable, funny, but always professional. They’d worked together for about two years and never once hit on each other or tested the flirting boundary. Treasure envied his self-control and she had set strict rules for herself to not have a physical relationship with anyone she worked with. Besides, he’d been engaged to Vanessa and that was another rule of Treasure’s. No married men. Girlfriends, fiancées, and wives were not to be slighted. Vanessa was no longer in the picture and she technically wasn’t working with Bodie anymore. He wouldn’t be back to work for months. He wouldn’t even be in the same state as Treasure. It was an excuse to bend her rules, but it was also true.
She was doing it again. Her thoughts couldn’t wander more than half a step away from Bodie before being drawn right back to him like a magnet. Placing the present in her lap, she reached over and grabbed the glass of water and drank half of it. She was dehydrated from the wine, the rum in the cider, the sugar in the shortbread, and also from the night’s sexual adventures. She’d known Bodie was strong, but seeing his muscles covered by his paramedic uniform versus feeling them with her hands, her legs, and her tongue was something else entirely. Treasure swallowed the rest of the water and told her lady parts to settle down as the fresh images of last night replayed in her mind. She replaced the glass on the nightstand and squiggled back into her nest of blankets to open the present.
Two Days Earlier
“Here we are again,” Bodie said holding up his coffee cup in a mock toast to another graveyard shift with his partner, Treasure Vogle. “Another night in the bowels of the city waiting to save lives.”
“Christmas Eve wouldn’t be the same without you,” Treasure said with a wry smile and a measured amount of her own sarcasm.
Bodie stared at her over the rim of his cup before taking a drink of the hot soothing coffee. After mulling it over, he said, “You, me, and the ambulance. It doesn’t get any better than this.” He wasn’t a stranger to sarcasm and could dish it out as well as take it. His dimple winked at her.
Treasure gave a little snort and thought the night could be a lot worse… and a whole lot better too. She yawned into her hand as she stared across the parking lot of the gas station where they were parked. It had been a surprisingly slow night so far and she was thankful. A quiet Christmas Eve would be a gift from the heavens. It would be like a little bonus relaxation time before her extra long weekend.
“Young and single translates to working the worst hours. We don’t have kids or spouses expecting us to be home in the morning to open presents.”
“We work all the holidays together, don’t we?”
“Every single one,” he said.
In the dim glow of the midnight hour and beneath the streetlights, Treasure turned her wide hazel eyes on him and shot him a look of disbelief and incredulity. “Wait a second. What about Vanessa? She’s your family. Didn’t you tell me you were mo
ving in together?”
Bodie set his coffee cup in the holder on the dash of the ambulance and rested his hands on the steering wheel, fingers drumming a tune of his own devising. His gaze stayed steady on the convenience store across the lot.
“What?” Treasure asked, knowing Bodie’s silence was uncharacteristic. She watched him swallow and felt the shift in his energy.
“Yeah, I told you. That was a year ago.”
“Oh,” Treasure said and licked her lips feeling slightly embarrassed she hadn’t realized a year had already passed since Bodie had gotten engaged. “Time is a slippery eel. Couldn’t grab its tail even if I wanted to.”
This elicited an eyebrow raise from Bodie. “Slippery for you maybe. If you weren’t out partying every weekend, you could get a grip on it. I seriously don’t know how you manage to show up for work.”
“Work hours run on a separate internal clock. I’ve got a good handle on work time.”
“I guess you do. So, where were you last weekend? Duncan’s Dive or the Extraterrestrial Theater?”
“Don’t.” She held up a hand to stop further insults. “I wasn’t anywhere, and by the way, that’s not what my hangouts are called. It’s Duncan’s Pub and Thor’s Theater.”
“Thor’s is a freak show.”
Treasure had heard it before. Bodie didn’t exactly approve of where Treasure liked to spend her nights off.
“You completely turned this around, punk. Now tell me what that far away look in your eyes was about.”
Bodie scrubbed a hand over his face. He lowered his arms to the armrests and blinked. “Vanessa and I broke off our engagement a few months ago. I moved out of the house. I’ve been staying with a friend.”
Treasure kept quiet for a beat. She knew Bodie had been with Vanessa for a few years. As far as she remembered, they were supposed to be getting married this coming spring. Well, that was as much information as she had filed away in regards to her partner’s home life. She didn’t always pay much attention to their middle of the night conversations especially when it came to Vanessa. There was nothing wrong with the girl. It’s more like Bodie’s fiancée was too perfect. Ever since their initial meeting at the Washoe County Emergency Medical staff picnic, she’d instantly known how opposite the two were in regards to personality and likes and dislikes. Treasure had met Vanessa a couple more times and her opinion of the other woman never wavered. Bodie made the mistake of telling her Vanessa questioned him about his feelings for Treasure. Just one mention from Bodie sealed Treasure’s dislike of the woman. Vanessa didn’t trust her own fiancé. Yes, Treasure was single, and young, but Bodie was hands down the most honorable guy she’d ever met. She’d seen the personality trait in him instantly and respected it. Treasure had a fast and firm rule not to fool around with anyone from work. She needed her job, and she’d learned from a young age that her professional life stayed separate from her extracurricular activities.
Vanessa’s jealousy issues extended beyond Bodie’s partner at work. Treasure heard about Vanessa’s complaints regarding the graveyard shifts and Bodie’s training to become a search and rescue volunteer. The girl never seemed happy. Or at least that was what stuck in Treasure’s head when Bodie actually talked about her, which wasn’t very often.
During their years of working together, they were great at staying on completely neutral ground. Things like food, sports, music, motorcycles, and other totally random topics got them through many slow nights together. And when a call came in, Treasure and Bodie were a machine – precise and efficient. Each had their strengths in emergency care and appreciated how well they worked together.
“So you finally dropped a hundred and twenty pounds of excess weight? Gah, it’s about time. Be glad, Bodie.” She reached over and patted his arm with bogus sympathy. “The married guys go bald, wear a fifty pound spare tire around their middle, and are miserable bastards. I think it’s some kind of curse or something,” she said, trying to play up the situation. “Be glad you didn’t catch it.”
“Right. Why didn’t I think of that?” he said with a good-natured smirk teasing his lips.
Another silent moment passed inside the truck. Bodie picked up his coffee and worked on finishing it. The radio crackled to life and they redirected their focus. It went silent before the dispatcher spoke.
“You must have broken up around Halloween. Am I right? I think I remember some odd nights – I mean unusual for the two of us. You were all silent and broody and that’s usually my role.”
“It was before Halloween. That was about the time I was moving out. Sorry,” he added at the end. “I didn’t want to get you involved.”
“An apology? Shut up. I’m the one who owes you an apology. I show up every week with bags under my eyes and an attitude to rival Medusa’s. You don’t have to apologize for anything. But, if you need to talk about it, I’m here for the next,” She glanced at the clock on the dash, “five and a half hours. Then I’m off for three days. I’m not available as soon as this shift is over. It’s my Christmas break and I don’t want to be harassed by any whiny coworkers while I’m trying to immerse myself in the spirit of the holiday.”
The corner of his mouth twitched at her light-hearted joking. “There’s not much to tell. We’ve moved on. It happens. We’ve both grown up a lot. She hated my work schedule, and my volunteer schedule. My goals over the next couple of years mean I won’t have a lot of free time. I’ve been accepted into the Wilderness Search and Rescue Academy. That’s one of the things I wanted to tell you tonight.”
“Seriously? Congratulations! You’ve been waiting to hear back from them right?”
He nodded, and the distant look on his face from talking about Vanessa disappeared to be replaced with his usual kind sparkling eyes.
“Yeah. It gets better. They had someone drop from the winter enrollment. My training starts on January third.”
Treasure blinked. O-kay. Two bombs dropped in the span of the same number of minutes. “Wow,” Treasure said, staring straight out the windshield and not really seeing anything. “That’s really soon. Hold on a second,” she paused, trying to put together the pieces of many different conversations they’d had about Bodie’s training. “I thought you basically had all your certifications for search and rescue. Is there any end to your training?”
“I knew you were only half listening the last time I told you about the wilderness school.”
Treasure rolled her eyes, but it was a defensive action so she didn’t have to admit he was probably right about her not listening. Sometimes his technical babble made her zone out. It wasn’t that he was boring, it was more like her mind liked to focus on other more important matters – usually involving her latest tryst with a hottie or why she thought she could party all weekend and show up at work able to focus on Bodie’s latest project in bettering himself.
“You know you shouldn’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee.”
“Anyway, you’re partly right. I have all the basics certs for SAR, but now I’m going to do more specialized training and become an incident commander. It’s a step in the right direction for what I want.”
“Specialized training?”
“Rock climbing rescue, swift water rescue, avalanche training, and an urban search intensive.”
“Is that all?” she asked, letting the snark roll with ease. “That sounds pretty mediocre, Bodie. I thought you were all bad-ass. Your standards have really dropped.”
“Shut up,” he said and flashed his sexy grin as he shook his head at her. His dimple returned and it was as cute as ever.
She laughed to help release the tension accumulating somewhere between her shoulder blades. Treasure really didn’t relish the thought of working with a new partner. “Let me guess. You’ll be gone for about a month and then be right back to the Washoe County EMS nightly circus?”
The smile fell an inch and he turned in his seat to face her. “I’ll be gone for a little over four months this time.”
&nbs
p; “Huh,” she said lamely and bit the inside of her cheek. “Sounds fun. I hope you have a great time. Where is all this happening anyway? Where can you do swift water rescue and avalanche training in the winter?”
“The school is based in Utah, but we’ll be traveling around for the different courses.”
She nodded and worked her lips back and forth before saying anything else. “I need to go load up on coffee before we get another call. Want anything?”
“Don’t do that, Treasure Hope,” he said softly.
She didn’t like it when he used her middle name. It was so intimate in a weird way because they had never been intimate and yet when the softer side of Bodie came out, he would call her that sometimes. Secretly, she maybe thought it was nice, but she’d never admit it, not even to herself.
“I’m not doing anything. I need to wake up, that’s all. And you’re the one talking to me about important crap when I’m half asleep. I hope you know I probably won’t remember half of this conversation, and it will be your fault. I’m going inside the Quick Mart so how about a Christmas Eve long john or some mini powdered donuts? My treat.”
“I already have mine,” Bodie said and tilted his cup in her direction. “Don’t run out of the cab in the middle of our talk. I’m going to miss you, too, but I can’t sleep on Nick’s couch all winter and this opening came up. They’re holding my job so I’ll be back in spring.”
“Great,” she said and she could hear the shift in her tone to slightly defensive.
“Here,” he said, setting his coffee down and reaching for his pocket. “This should help get you through the next few months.” Bodie held out a little box wrapped in blue paper with ribbon and a tiny bow on the top. “Take it,” he urged, because Treasure didn’t reach for it.
“A present?” she said with a skeptical lift of her eyebrow.
Unwrapping Treasure: A Granite Lake Romance Novella Page 1