Saints and Secrets
Page 14
“What do you mean?” Jessie asked, her heart skipping a beat.
“I don’t know. You missed prom. That’s usually a bad dinner and cheesy dancing. I could go for some of that right about now,” he said.
“You want to take me on a bad date?” Jessie mused. “Are you asking me out?”
“No,” he said, blinking hard. “I mean, the last person I took out literally tried to kill me. Maybe I should take a break from that for a bit. I wouldn’t mind balancing the scales, though.”
He smiled as he looked at her, a smile she returned.
“Balancing the scales?” she asked as the gulf wind grazed her face. “I think I can do that.”
The End
Like all Jessie St. James Adventures, this one can be enjoyed as a standalone. If that’s what you’d like then please, STOP READING NOW. If not, though, PLEASE READ ON for a taste of what’s to come in the next installment.
Sanibel Island, Florida
A Few Weeks Later
Katie had finally done it. After what felt like eons of searching, it seemed as though she had finally found the perfect house for her and Jessie to move into. Of course, Katie hadn’t shown her best friend the property or anything, but that was kind of beside the point. Jessie would like it. She would have to. It had two bathrooms and it was right across the street from the 24 hour gym. What could be better than that?
Besides, Jessie was always so busy. If she didn’t have a case to solve, she had family stuff to deal with, and if it wasn’t her family then Roman was taking up her time, doing that ‘will they or won't they’ thing that Katie could never get Jessie to admit was actually going on.
If she waited for Jessie to give her blessing on a house, then the both of them would grow into old maids without a roof over their heads. Katie couldn’t have that, and that was why she cut a check for the downpayment right then and there. Ten percent on the house. Sure, it took going into her savings and using all the money her mother left her, but it was a really nice house, and Jessie would pay her back. At least, she hoped she would.
Pulling her keys from her purse, Katie walked toward her car, practically beaming along with the Florida sunshine. Her mood matched the sky, bright, clear, and limitless. Nothing could bring her down today...not even dropping her keys.
Katie sighed as she looked down at the keys on the ground. It was okay. Kneeling down to get them would just give her a chance to get a closer look at her new front lawn. After all, all the biggest storms come complete with a rainbow at the end.
As she knelt down she heard a car passing by. Looking up, she saw a blue car slow as it neared her. The window of the car rolled down and Katie saw the face of someone she hadn’t seen in awhile, someone she never thought she’d see again.
She opened her mouth, unsure of what she was going to say. That was when she saw the gun.
The world seemed to slow down for Katie. She noticed the gun, then she heard the pop, and then she felt herself fall back to the grass below, to the first front lawn she could ever call her own. Feeling the blood drain from her, Katie wondered if she’d die here. She’d never get to do so many things if she died like this. She’d never get married, never have kids. She’d never get to play golden Girls with Jessie as they grew into cantankerous old women. It all seemed so sad, and then she looked at the sun in the sky, at the way it shone like her mood had been doing just seconds ago.
All the biggest storms come with rainbows, she thought. There must have been a hell of a rainbow waiting for her after this.
And then, everything went black.
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Happy Sailing,
Mark