He nodded once. It wasn’t a promise of easy days. It wasn’t a romantic fantasy. It was a decision.
Outside, the mountains stood silent under the stars. Below them, somewhere in the dark, enemies were retreating—or repositioning. Eleanor Blackwood’s secrets were still waiting. His parents were still down there. The danger had not passed.
But for the first time in years, Jack felt anchored rather than haunted.
And whatever was coming next, he would not face it alone.
Chapter 8
Jack stood watch at the narrow cabin window, one hand braced against the rough timber frame as his eyes tracked the darkness below. The ranch lay partially hidden by distance and trees, but the faint scatter of lights still glimmered through the forest like fallen stars. They hadn’t moved in nearly twenty minutes, which could mean his parents had managed to send their unwanted visitors away—or that Something far worse had happened. The uncertainty gnawed at him, tightening his chest with every passing second.
Behind him, the soft sounds of movement carried through the small cabin as Annie shifted supplies, checking and rechecking the bag his mother had pressed into her hands. The scrape of fabric, the quiet clink of metal, the careful way she tried to stay useful instead of still. He felt her presence even withoutturning, felt the warmth of her only a few feet away, felt the echo of her mouth against his and the way his world had tilted when she’d kissed him back. Every instinct in him wanted to cross the space, pull her close, anchor himself in the proof that she was real and alive and here.
But he didn’t move.
Someone had to keep watch. Someone had to be ready.
And no matter what his heart was doing, the cop in him refused to stand down.
Six years, she’d said. She’d loved him for six years. He had spent four of those years convincing himself that distance was protection, that love was a liability, that caring deeply was the fastest way to put a target on the people who mattered most. But watching Annie tonight—seeing the way she faced danger with quiet resolve, the way she chose truth even when it cost her Everything—he finally understood how wrong he’d been.
Love wasn’t weakness.
Love was what made people stand when fear told them to run.
“Any movement?” Annie asked softly as she joined him at the window.
“Nothing for the past few minutes,” he said, scanning the tree line again. “They might have given up for now.” He hesitated, then added, “Or they’re regrouping.”
“Your parents can handle themselves,” she said. “Did you see the way your mother held that rifle? She’s not someone to underestimate.”
Despite the knot in his chest, a faint smile tugged at his mouth. “Mom grew up on a farm in eastern Kentucky. Started hunting when she was eight. Dad likes to joke that she’s a better shot than he is.”
“How did they meet?”
The question was simple, but the curiosity behind it was not. Annie wasn’t just making conversation. She was trying to understand him, the people who had shaped him, the roots beneath the man he’d become.
“College,” he said, lowering himself into the chair near the window while keeping his gaze on the valley. “Dad was studying agriculture at UT. Mom was working toward her teaching degree. They met in a literature class—both of them were the only students who actually did the reading.”
Her soft laugh cut through the tension, warm and familiar. “That sounds like them.”
“Dad proposed on graduation day,” Jack continued. “Said he’d known since their first study session that she was the one. They moved out here right after the wedding. The land came from my great-grandfather, but it was mostly wilderness then. They built everything from scratch.”
“Including the family.”
“Including the family.” His voice lowered. “They tried for years to have kids. Mom had three miscarriages before I was born. The doctors told them it probably wouldn’t happen.”
“But it did.”
“But it did. And they never forgot it.” He finally turned to Annie. “They always called me their miracle baby. That’s a lot to live up to.”
Understanding softened her eyes. “Is that why you became a cop? To live up to being their miracle?”
“Maybe,” he admitted. “Or maybe I just wanted to protect people the way they protected me.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “After Lily died, I thought I’d failed at the one thing I was supposed to do.”
“And now?”
“Now I think maybe I was meant to protect you.” The truth slipped out before he could stop it. “Maybe everythingthat happened—Memphis, Fairview, even the way I walked away from you—maybe it was all leading here. To you. To this.”
