“He went for a jog.”
The dark-haired man looked around at the snow covered ground and shook his head with a slight grin. “Of course he did,” he mumbled to himself. “We’re old friends. Would you mind if we waited for him?”
Ryn assessed them both. The girl looked young, maybe Maddie’s age. Harmless.
With Gunner as her backup, she stepped back, welcoming them inside the house.
“I’m Ryn Middleton.” She smiled and offered to take their coats.
“Luke, and this is my sister, Lake.” They both slipped off their shoes then shook her hand.
Lake had a prosthetic leg. Ryn tried not to stare.
“Nasty car accident.”
Her staring didn’t go unnoticed. Ryn gave her a polite smile.
“Looks like you’re lucky to be alive.”
“Most days.” Lake ginned at her brother before returning her attention to Ryn.
“So … Luke and Lake. Your mother must have been a glutton for punishment.”
Lake giggled. “You have no idea. We have three other siblings: Lane, Lara, and Liam.”
“Wow.” Ryn pulled the cranberry-orange muffins from the oven. “So how do you know Jackson?”
“I was closer friends to his sister, Jillian,” Luke said.
Ryn poured two glasses of orange juice and offered them to her guests.
“Oh no. We didn’t mean to intrude on your breakfast.” Luke had an earnest smile, mature but boyish at the same time.
“You’re not intruding. I never get to cook for many besides myself, and I was just thinking how overboard I went for just two people. Here … I insist.”
Luke and Lake took the juice and thanked her.
“Have a seat.” Ryn nodded to the table. “I have muffins, bacon, and hash too. Unless you’re vegetarians like Jillian.”
“No, we’re not,” Luke grinned at his sister as if there was some sort of inside joke.
“So you’re from New York too?”
Lake squinted her eyes a bit.
“Yes. Yes we are.” Luke took a sip of his juice. “So are you and Jackson … together?”
“I know what you’re thinking. I’m older and he’s … younger and—”
“No.” Luke saved her from her impending rant of insecurity. “I was just thinking the guy I used to know never had women making breakfast in his kitchen.”
Ryn nodded. “He told me he wasn’t much of the relationship type before …”
“Before you?”
She shrugged. “Yeah. Boy, that sounds conceited, doesn’t it? I don’t mean it like I think I’m something special or anything.”
“You’re beautiful. Age doesn’t matter. It would seem he’s lucky to have found you. I’m sure you make him a better man.”
Both Ryn and Luke stared at Lake. Those were mature words coming from a young woman. Ryn couldn’t imagine Maddie saying something like that.
“Thank you.” Ryn smiled, the kind she could feel across her whole body. “It would seem you showed up this morning just to make my day.”
Lake laughed, nudging her brother’s leg under the table. “Hear that? I’ve made someone’s day.”
“So what brings you two to Omaha? I hope not to see Jillian. She’s out of town and we’re not sure when she’ll return.”
“Do you know where she is?” Luke asked.
Ryn set two plates filled with food in front of Luke and Lake. “I don’t. Did you know she lost someone close to her recently?”
They both nodded.
Ryn frowned. She didn’t like the truth behind AJ’s death, but with each passing day she understood it—understood Jackson—a little more.
“I think she needed some space, some time to grieve and try to make sense of everything.”
“Have either you or Jackson heard from her?”
“I haven’t and I don’t think he has either. She left her phone behind so there’s no way to contact her until she decides to call home.”
They all turned as the front door opened.
*
Nothing ruined a long night of sex with Ryn like an unfamiliar car in the driveway that said he would not be having his way with her in the shower. The Martha-Stewart-moved-in-here smell that greeted him when he opened the front door almost made up for the lack of shower sex he would’ve had. Almost.
“Hey, I see you didn’t slip on the ice and break your neck.” Ryn kissed him on the cheek as he toed off his running shoes.
“Whose car is in the driveway?” Jackson followed Ryn around the corner.
“Ours. It’s a rental.” The damn thorn in his side smiled.
He and Ryn were good. Jackson embraced his new identity, his new life. Why did the past insist on resurfacing? Only on the rarest of occasions was Jackson at a loss for words, but at that moment he had nothing. He felt stranded in the middle of a mine field, not daring to move a single step. What had they told Ryn?
“So you’ve met my friends.” He forced a smile at Ryn. “And you’re feeding them my breakfast.”
“Yes.” She set a plate of food down on the table and motioned for him to take a seat. “And there’s plenty of food.”
“We thought we’d make the trip from New York to check on Jillian. She can’t be doing well.” Luke held his gaze to Jackson’s, probably trying to read his mind.