Danny (Big Northwest Book 1)

by Janice M. Whiteaker

  She glanced down. She was wearing pajamas.

  Sort of.

  One hand went out to smooth down the mat of her hair as Jude stared at her from the doorway. He was completely dressed, shoes and all. “Is everything okay, Ju-Ju?”

  His brows came together. “Yeah. Craig just told me to come tell you breakfast was ready.”

  “Craig.” Her eyes fell to the spot on the mattress where she saw him last. The blankets were perfectly smooth, appearing as if hers was the only body in the bed last night. “Um. Okay.” She wiped at one eye, trying to speed up her sluggish brain. “What time is it?”

  “Eight-thirty.” Jude grinned. “You slept late.”

  Danny leaned toward her nightstand, squinting at the clock. The alarm was turned off, the tiny red light indicating its activation gone.

  “Hey, Buddy.” Craig stepped in behind Jude, leaning down. “Why don’t you go get started while your momma gets up and moving?”

  “Okay.” Jude beamed at him with a smile that melted her heart and twisted her stomach. He took off, the soles of his shoes banging down the wood steps as he went.

  Craig peeked over one shoulder before coming into her room, a cup in one hand. He stopped at the side of the bed, holding out the coffee. “Good morning.” He caught her chin with his free hand and leaned in, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. “How’d you sleep?”

  “You turned off my alarm.” Danny took the coffee and swallowed a little down.

  He smiled. “Does that sound like something I would do?”

  “Absolutely it does.” She drank a little more before peering into the cup. “This is not my coffee.”

  “I threw out your coffee.” He rested both hands on the mattress, one at each side of her hips. “It was terrible.”

  “It was inexpensive.” Danny took another gulp of the rich, full-bodied brew. “And I only drink it in the mornings.”

  “Do you like this better?”

  She pressed her lips together.

  Thrift was an important quality to possess. It made it possible for her and her sisters to build all they had in under ten years. If there was a place Danny could save money, she did. Up until a few seconds ago, her complete belief was that cheaper was almost always better when it came to groceries, with few exceptions.

  She might have to add coffee to the exceptions list.

  Craig’s eyes squinted with a hidden smile as he watched her take another drink. “I know this isn’t going to be an easy transition, Danny, but I promise it will be worth it.”

  “Transition?” One more sip of coffee. No reason to let it get cold.

  “Me becoming a part of your and Jude’s lives.” He nodded to the coffee. “No more cheap coffee.”

  “I didn’t say cheap. I said inexpensive.” Danny cradled the mug in both hands, straightening. Craig needed to understand the way of life here was different. “And the money I make has to go to more important things.”

  “Jude.” It wasn’t a question. Craig already knew what the most important thing to her was.

  “Jude will always be my number one priority, Craig.” It was one more reason being with a man was something she never really contemplated. They would have to live with the fact that they would never be the most important person in her life.

  Never.

  “That’s why I’m here, Danny.” Craig eased down onto the mattress. “That’s important to me. Almost more than anything else.” He rested one hand on her thigh, the heat of his palm quickly soaking through the layers of blankets. “You will always be a parent first.”

  Her throat was suddenly dry.

  Being a person with lingering daddy issues made it easy to see what was in front of her.

  “You said your mother was busy.” Danny rolled her lips in, rubbing them together. “What does that mean?”

  His thumb stroked over the blankets, a slow drag she felt in spite of the fabric between them.

  The sound of footsteps thundering toward them cut off any explanation Craig might have given her.

  “Danny!” Sam’s voice echoed off the well as she raced up the stairs. A second later she ran into the room, nearly tripping in her attempt to stop at the sight of Craig. One finger jabbed straight at him. “This is your fucking fault.”

  THIRTEEN

  “WHAT ARE YOU talking about?” Danny was fighting her way from under the covers he’d tucked around her at six when Jude started stirring in the room across the hall. She flipped them back and dropped her feet to the floor.

  Sam’s eyes narrowed on her. “What the fuck are you wearing?”

  “Why do you keep using that word?” Danny dropped one hand to her hip while the other held the coffee Craig brought in less than five minutes ago.

  When he thought the worst was behind them.

  “Because it’s the only one that really makes it clear how I feel about,” Sam’s hands waved his direction, “this.”

  “This is named Craig.” Danny took another drink of the coffee he would be buying in bulk. “And you should find some other way to describe how he makes you feel, because I’m not interested in Jude picking that one up.” She smoothed one hand down the front of the shirt he pulled on her before unlocking the door and creeping down the stairs and out to his camper.

  He liked seeing her wrapped up in something of his. Especially right now, when her sister was doing her damndest to crush him into insignificance.

  “Why are you here?” Danny eyed her sister. “What’s wrong?”

  Sam’s narrowed eyes rested squarely on him. “We had another visitor this morning.” Her lips curled into a sneer. “Probably followed this one in.”

  “I swear to God, if you call him this one more time.” Danny took a step toward her older sister. “Call him Craig or get out.”

  Sam’s head bobbed back like she’d been slapped. “That’s how it is?” She sidestepped Danny and came toward him. “You must be real good, City Boy.”

  He didn’t back up, even as the fire he’d seen first in Kari, then in Danny, lit in Sam’s eyes.

  A warrior ready and willing to protect her brethren.

  “I am.” Craig stood tall, staring her down as she came for him.

  “It won’t matter.” Sam’s nose almost touched his. “Because you aren’t cut out for this life. You can’t be what she needs.”

  “I can and I am.” Nothing would make him walk away from this. Definitely not a sister willing to do anything to protect her family. He understood where Sam was coming from. Knew the eldest Karlson sister wholly believed she was doing what was best for them.

  But she was wrong.

  He was what was best for them, and eventually she would see it. “I’m not going anywhere, Sam. I’m not scared of you.”

  “You should be.” The words were almost a growl. Low and threatening.

  “Probably.” Craig couldn’t help but smile. “But I’m not.”

  Her chin lifted a little, narrowed eyes scanning him. “Why?”

  “Because I know other women like you. Remember?”

  San barely wilted. “Shit.”

  “Sorry.”

  “You should be. They’re going to follow you here like the fucking Pied Piper.” Sam turned toward Danny. “If people find out this one—” She choked a little. “Craig. If it gets out that Craig is still here, they will think we are open for fucking business.”

  “Still with that word?” Danny glanced toward the stairs. “At least say freaking.”

  “You’re worried about my descriptor choice at a time like this?”

  “At a time like what? We have at least one asshole show up every two weeks. I don’t see what you’re worried about.” Danny grabbed Sam’s shoulder. “Go bake something. It will make you feel better.”

  “It won’t.” Sam stomped down the stairs. “Something is going on. I’m telling you.”

  Danny stopped at the front door. “You don’t have to keep protecting all of us, Sam. We are grown now. You can relax. Enjoy your li
fe.”

  Sam’s lips pressed into a frown. “I do enjoy my life.”

  “Do you?” Danny shook her head. “I’m not sure that’s true.” Her eyes barely flicked Craig’s way. “I just want to put it all behind us. Stop letting it control our lives.”

  Sam’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t think that’s possible.” She blew out a long breath. “Fine. I’ll go make some cinnamon bread.” She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “You want some?”

  “Does it have raisins in it?”

  Sam’s head dropped toward one shoulder. “Don’t push your luck with me, City Boy.”

  Danny grabbed Sam in a one-armed hug as she balanced the remainder of her coffee in the other. “I love you, Sammy.”

  “You should.” She bumped Danny with her hip and turned to leave. “I almost hauled his ass out into the mountain that first day.”

  Danny was still laughing as he closed the door behind Sam.

  “You think it’s funny that your sister was going to dump me in the mountains?”

  She lifted one shoulder. “A little.”

  Craig rested the tip of one finger under her chin. “For the record, I can hold my own in the mountains.” He pressed a kiss to her smiling lips.

  Danny pushed one hand against the center of his chest, shoving him away and toward the kitchen, her eyes wide with good-natured warning as she whispered low. “None of that yet.” She leaned to peek toward the kitchen.

  He caught her hand as she started past him, pulling her close enough only Danny would hear what he said. “He’s a smart kid, Danny. Don’t wait too long or he’ll know you’re trying to keep it from him. He’ll feel like he’s not part of this.”

  Her gaze caught his, and for a minute Craig thought she might buck the suggestion. She’d been doing this on her own a long time, and who the fuck was he to butt into the way she took care of her son.

  Probably no one she should listen to, honestly. Chances were good he’d be wrong.

  But it didn’t feel like it. He’d been a kid like Jude once, and that’s what he would have wanted.

  Inclusion.

  Danny’s blue eyes drifted toward the kitchen. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “I would want any asshole who thought he was good enough for you to come to me man to man.” It was too easy to imagine what it would have been like to have a mom like Danny. He’d done it his whole childhood. “I should be the one to talk to him.”

  Asking Danny to give him this was a lot. More than.

  There was only one person in Shadow Pine he needed permission from.

  That was Jude.

  “Okay.” Her face looked a little pale.

  A little worried.

  “Okay.” He nodded toward the kitchen. “Go have breakfast with your son. I’ll come help him with his homework when you’re done.”

  “Wait.” Danny caught his arm. “Where are you going?”

  Craig smiled. “To go get JD and make sure whoever tried to bother your sister is gone.”

  The Karlson girls weren’t the only ones with experience running problems out of town.

  Her grip on him tightened. “Be careful.”

  “Don’t worry.” Craig leaned in close. “There’s nothing that’s going to keep me away from your bed tonight, Danny Girl.”

  Her eyes were still wide as he closed the door behind him. Craig skipped down the steps and jogged across the street, bypassing the back door to Danny’s shop in favor of the much safer front door. He scanned the street as he rounded the corner, looking for any unusual vehicles. A single pick-up sat at the end of the short block, idling. Craig stood for a minute, watching the vehicle.

  After a few seconds it shifted into gear, hung a u-turn, and slowly rolled out of town.

  He waited until it was out of sight before going inside. JD was at the desk, phone tucked between his shoulder and ear, scribbling across a pad. “A polar bear?” His gaze lifted to Craig as he walked through the shop, passing the displays of Danny’s undeniable talent. “You want to ship it all the way here?”

  The person on the other end of the line must have wanted just that, because JD rattled off the address of the post office across the street before hanging up and standing straight.

  “Polar bear?”

  “Museum needs it restored. Aren’t many polar bears goin’ around. They want the best to do it, and Danny’s the best.” JD dropped his pen onto the counter.

  Craig glanced back at the door. “Will a polar bear fit in here?”

  “Hell. I don’t fucking know.” JD squeezed his head with one hand. “I’ll have to get it in somehow or she’ll mount my ass on the wall.”

  “Speaking of.” Craig leaned against the counter between them. “You see the man who upset Sam this morning?”

  “Squirrelly little bastard almost lost a hand.” JD lifted his dark brows. “Sam isn’t the sister to mess with. She’d just as soon take a man out and hide his body as she would use her breath to tell him to leave.”

  “Can’t really blame her. They’ve had some bad experiences.”

  JD’s jaw tightened. “A few bad men shouldn’t doom anything with a dick.”

  “I know that, and I think they know that.” He studied the big man. “They’re just scared, man.”

  JD snorted. “Those women aren’t scared of shit.” He picked up his pen and scribbled across the paper, his moves jerky and sharp.

  “You’re wrong.” JD knew the sisters probably better than anyone. He was almost too close. Couldn’t see the truth staring him right in the face. “Trust me.”

  JD’s head snapped up, eyes slitting. “And why in the hell would I trust you?”

  “You must trust me a little. You told me I should come back after that first day. Told me there was a hookup for a camper.” Craig paused, letting the fact marinate before hitting JD with his own guess about the real reason the big man did what he did. “Unless there’s another reason you would want me to come back and fight my way under Danny’s skin.”

  JD’s shoulders squared as he stared Craig down. “If there was, I sure as hell wouldn’t tell you.”

  That night in the bar Craig thought there was a chance he and JD would be friends from the start. That maybe the only other man in Shadow Pine might be on his side from the get-go.

  Now it was clear JD’s reasons were much more selfish in nature.

  Not that he could blame him. The right woman made a man do crazy things.

  Craig tapped the counter. “I’ll keep an eye out for any more unwanted visitors.”

  “And do what if you see one?” JD scanned him. “The men up here aren’t like the pretty boys you’re used to dealing with.”

  “You’d be surprised what I’m used to dealing with.” Craig gave him a grin. “Come get me if you need help bringing that polar bear in when he gets here.”

  JD stared at Craig as he left. Probably not sure what to make of him.

  They all had ideas about the kind of man he was. And to some extent they were right.

  But the past year changed him in more ways than he could count.

  The street outside was a little busier than normal, with a few vehicles lined in front of the bakery. Sam and a handful of women loaded white boxes into trunks and back seats.

  “Today is bread day.” Danny stepped in beside him, a travel cup in one hand. “A bunch of restaurants drive in for Sam’s bread on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.”

  “She must have good bread.” Craig caught a whiff of browned crust as a breeze carried it down the street. “I did hear a rumor that you make better cookies than she does, though.”

  “I might have heard that same rumor myself.” Danny turned to face him. “I noticed the fridge is packed.”

  “I eat a lot of food.” He’d had a hell of a time fitting it all in when he and Jude got back from the store yesterday.

  Danny’s blue eyes drifted down his front. “Probably not a lot of cookies though, huh?”

  “Not normally.” Cr
aig ignored the urge to push his chest out at her obvious perusal. “But I can make an exception.”

  “Better be careful.” Danny reached out to run one finger down the center of his chest as she moved closer. “You might get addicted.”

  “Only to you, Danny Girl.” He sucked in a breath as her touch snaked over his stomach and hooked in the waistband of his jeans. “I feel like you’re trying to start something you know damn well can’t be finished right now.”

  “Maybe I just want to be sure you come back tonight.” Her lips rolled in as the gaze that roamed him so brazenly a few seconds ago dropped. “I can make up for last night.”

  He caught her hand and lifted it to his lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. “Last night was the best night of my life, and if you think for a second there is anything to make up for, then we are going to have a problem.” He lifted her hand to his shoulder, pulling her against him. “I got everything I wanted last night and more.”

  Her lips pursed. “That doesn’t sound right.”

  “It is.” He held her chin between his thumb and finger. “And tonight might just go the exact same way.”

  Danny scoffed. “What?”

  Craig caught her lips with his, taking a little taste of her to tide him over until Danny was all his again. He pulled away and tipped his head to the shop. “Go work. I’m going to go see what Jude’s up to.”

  She eyed him. “Don’t you have to work?”

  That was a story for another time. “I am working.” He tipped her chin with his finger. “I’ve gotta earn my keep so you don’t kick me out.” Craig gave her a wink before turning toward the house.

  By the time Danny should be getting off work, he and Jude finished school, vacuumed the house, and started dinner.

  Jude frowned at the salmon as Craig slid it into the oven. “What is that again?”

  “Salmon.” He glanced back at Jude. “Fish.”

  The little boy’s lip curled. “I don’t like fish.”

  “It’s good for you.” Craig shook the pan of Brussels sprouts they’d sliced and seasoned. “And we made your favorite to go with it.”

  “I’m not trying it.”