Don't Ditch a Detective by Cami Checketts

Author:Cami Checketts [Checketts, Cami]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Birch River Publishing
Published: 2019-12-08T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Christmas morning was picture perfect. Austin woke early—five-twenty-one, to be exact—and rushed through Gavin’s house waking everyone up and begging them to hurry so he could open his presents. Then he ran over to Mama’s.

Jed watched him out the window of the suite he was staying in. The exterior lights of the two houses illuminated the little boy in the predawn. He was in his Bruins pajamas with no socks or shoes as he ran across the snow, yelling and laughing to himself. Big, fat flakes of snow were falling, and it looked like a Christmas Jed used to dream about.

He’d never had anything close to a Christmas like Austin would experience today. His thoughts slid to Will, as they often did. Was his foster family trying their best and he was just a hard kid? Throughout his childhood, he’d overheard different foster parents and authorities saying that Jed was a hard kid too, so maybe that was why he felt so connected to Will. He didn’t remember trying to cause trouble, but he’d done about anything he could to get the attention he used to crave, including setting a shed on fire and stealing alcohol for his friends when he was only twelve. He grimaced at the memories and said a brief prayer for Will to have a good Christmas.

As he took a quick shower, his thoughts centered around Cassie. The kissing last night had been incredible. He’d wanted to pledge his undying devotion to her, but he could sense that the little he had shared about his feelings had terrified her. She wasn’t ready for a relationship, and maybe she never would be. That made his chest tighten and his breath shorten. He shouldn’t feel so invested in her, but he didn’t know how to turn his feelings off. He wasn’t really worthy of such an angelic beauty anyway, but he’d do anything to be close to her.

Give up your career and follow her around the world? The thought came unbidden, and he didn’t know if he liked it. He loved his career, loved the difference he made, and he loved the mountains and Park City. Yet if he wanted Cassie by his side … He pushed it all away and remembered how he’d told her he wouldn’t ask for anything beyond next week. Yet if yesterday was any indication of how quickly he could become invested in her, an entire week would prove to be his undoing.

He hurried to get dressed and pump down the stairs. It was a quarter to six. Trey was in the kitchen, groggily staring at the coffee maker.

“I think you have to actually push a button,” Jed said.

Trey glanced up at him with bleary eyes. “I love my future brother-in-law, but five a.m.? Really? I thought I wouldn’t have to do this on Christmas morning until I had my own kids.”

Jed chuckled, but he also thought Trey was very lucky that someday, in the not-so-distant future, he could have his own kids.

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