The group let out a collective sigh when they drove off, and as Finn turned toward Jaime, he caught DA Rivera’s mumbled question to Sheppard.
“What have you all gotten yourselves into, Cam?”
Part Four
Full
Chapter 22
Jaime
Jaime drove back home with the windows down, the evening air warm on his face. Spring was almost gone, now, fleeting as it was in Alaska, and the long days of summer were ahead of them.
He glanced out at the sea of blue and purple flanking the highway on his way around the lake, and thought of the lupine meadow he’d planted in his backyard last year.
A surge of emotion overcame him as he recalled how overjoyed he’d been to pull up to his house a few weeks ago with Finn, to find the first flowers just beginning to bloom. He’d waited all last summer to see it, only for them to go crispy and brown in the fall, no flowers in sight.
But not this year.
Jaime smiled. No longer did he yearn for what he couldn’t have, because it was already his, waiting for him to return home.
He’d met Sam for dinner at Andi’s, and she’d fed them until they were bursting. She hadn’t even let them order properly—she’d just sat them at their booth tucked into the back, and brought out plate after plate of incredible food.
Jaime had sweet-talked her into giving him the recipe for her Swedish meatballs, saying that he knew Finn wouldn’t be ableto recreate them as good as hers were, but they were just so delicious that he had to try.
She’d winked at him, like she knew he was buttering her up, but she’d obliged anyway.
Sam and Jaime had walked around Silver Rapids after that, popping into the same bookstore that he and Finn had gone into on their first outing together. Apparently, Sheppard and DA Rivera had called in some favors with the local media, because they hadn’t mauled him since that first day at his house, and when he did catch someone staring for too long or taking pictures of him, Finn or Sam were usually there to glare until they went away.
But like Finn had said that very first day, something else would always come along to shift the spotlight, and Jaime was thankful that he was no longer at the center of that particular storm.
As for the Salt Creek pack, well, things were still tense, but no other threats had been made. They seemed content for now to leave Silas and his friends alone, including Jaime and Sam. Still, Finn whined at him to check in often whenever he went into town without a shifter with him, which really wasn’t often.
But things were getting better between him and his brother, and tonight Jaime hadn’t wanted a buffer between them. They weren’t the same as before, but Jaime wasn’t sure he would want to go back to that, if given the choice. He wanted to move forward—wanted to see what their friendship could grow into, if they tried to be more open with each other.
He knew Sam was still keeping things from him—he never wanted to talk about the stalker, and he always side-stepped any questions Jaime asked about Silas. But Jaime could tell that he was trying. Leaving his apartment to come to dinner and walk around town was a big step, and Jaime felt a pang of worry ashe watched his confident and strong big brother glance over his shoulder every time he thought Jaime wasn’t looking.
It unnerved him to see Sam that way, but Jaime knew all he could do was make sure Sam knew he could come to him, if he needed.
Jaime parked his car behind Finn’s truck and walked through the front door, a warm golden light pouring out of the cabin windows in the blue dusk. Kicking off his shoes, he saw that Finn wasn’t in his usual spot on the sofa, or in the kitchen.
It had taken a few weeks to settle into a routine together, but after their time at the cabin, neither Jaime or Finn wanted to live apart.
Sometimes Jaime would ride with Finn into Silver Rapids for the day, strolling around town and sitting in the local coffee shop while he drew on his tablet and built up his social media commission platform again. Other days he’d stay at home, enjoying the peaceful quiet of the lake as he cleaned out his art studio, readying it to use again.
He still met with his therapist once a week, and found it easier to work on his exercises now that Bishop was dead and Jeffrey Dugan was in prison. But there were still nights when it felt difficult to breathe; when the walls were too close, and Jaime had to remind himself that he’d escaped.
Finn was always there, with his gentle words and deep voice guiding him back, guiding him home. And then his strong arms and soft lips would remind Jaime that he was loved, and protected, and wanted.
Jaime found Finn out back, sitting on a blanket in the lupine meadow and looking out at the full Flower Moon’s reflection over the lake. His breath caught at the sight, and he hovered by the door to take in the beauty of the moment, listening to the soft hum of insects and the calling loons as the shore lapped gently against the rocky beach.
Quietly, he padded over and sat next to Finn, curling into his side. Peeking up through his lashes, Jaime saw such contentment on Finn’s face that it took his breath away all over again. It was even more beautiful than the moon hanging low over the lupine all around them.
Their troubles hadn’t gone away; Jaime was again on the hook to testify, now at Jeffrey Dugan’s trial for Vera’s murder, and the Salt Creek alpha’s threat was hanging over them all. But none of that belonged in this moment.
“Hi,” Jaime whispered into the peaceful night.
Looking down, a small smile appeared on Finn’s lips. “Hi. How was dinner with Sam?”
