“Am I going to get a report about you?” Jesse asked, hoping like hell he wouldn’t.
“Maybe. She does seem toreallydislike me.”
Clara frowned. “Strange. You’re such a likeable person.”
“That’s what I tell her.”
This time, Clara rolled her eyes.
“How’s the fire department going?” Jesse asked.
Becket lifted a shoulder. “Crew’s great. And everything’s pretty quiet, but I can’t say that too loud. Last time I did, we were flat out for a week. We’ve been doing mostly small callouts and training to keep up our skills.”
Jesse dipped his head. The department was lucky to have his brother. Even though Becket liked to joke around, he took his position as fire chief seriously.
“Been talking to your former teammates much?” Becket asked.
Jesse nodded. “Most days we check in with one another, especially after everything that happened in Misty Peak.”
Becket’s eyes narrowed. He knew exactly how much the events in Misty Peak—when Jesse and his ex-teammates found themselves betrayed by one of their own—could mess with a former soldier.
“I spoke to Lock yesterday and Holden the day before. Holden’s actually moving out here soon.”
Clara choked on her juice. “Holden’s moving here?”
“Yeah. Is that okay?”
Her eyes widened. “Of course. He’s spent enough holidays with us that he’s basically family.”
Jesse’s brows twitched. Why did she sound…off?
He was about to ask when she cut in and started talking about the shopping she was doing with their cousin Indie later today.
Jesse was looking around the diner, listening with half an ear, when his gaze caught on a woman as she stepped inside and sat at a table. His eyes narrowed.
Karen Davies.
Before he could think better of it, he rose from the booth and moved over to her table where he took a seat opposite her.
Her brows rose. “Jesse—”
“You need to leave.”
“Now wait a second—”
“You broke into my house last night.”
“The door was unlocked.”
Like that made it okay. “You said awful things to your daughter.”
“I thought she took something from me.”
Thought? Past tense? His gaze lowered to a silver bracelet on her wrist. “Is that the bracelet?”
She squirmed in her seat. It was.
Jesse’s jaw clicked. “You said you’d leave when you had it back. You have it back, so go.”
