Jason (Blue Halo Book 2)

Courtney placed an iced coffee and an egg and bacon bagel beside Blake’s laptop.

He blinked. “Ah, I didn’t—”

“Order this? I know. But I hate that you’re having to sit here and watch me work all day.”

Watch. Protect. Stop an Italian Mafia family from coming in and snatching her. Same- same.

Blake leaned back, eyes softening. “You don’t need to do that. I’m only here as a precaution. I don’t think they’ll attack in the middle of the day while the store is busy. And I’m doing the same work here as I’d be doing in my office, so I’m not losing time.”

“Hm, so now that you have a bagel and iced coffee, you could say that working here is better than working at the office. Or at least has more perks.”

He shook his head, smiling, before she continued.

“I should have become a target for the mob earlier.” She chuckled, whereas the smile slipped from Blake’s lips.

“Not funny, Courtney.”

She held out her thumb and forefinger so they were almost touching. “A little bit funny.”

The smallest hint of a smile cracked his stony face. “Thank you for the coffee and bagel.”

“You’re welcome.”

He shut the laptop, pushing it to the side without taking his eyes from her. “You doing okay with all this?”

“Sure. I’m just covering up my terror with a poor attempt at humor.” He tilted his head. She lifted a shoulder. “I’m okay. Jason slept on my couch again last night. He makes me feel safe. So do you and the rest of your team.”

Several days had passed since the break-in, and she’d offered Jason her bed every night. Each time he flat-out refused. She’d almost suggested they share the bed, but then scaredy-cat Courtney had come out and sealed her lips shut.

“It’s okay to not be okay,” he said softly. “Fear is a normal reaction to what’s going on right now.”

Oh dang, how was she supposed to be brave when he came out and said things like that? “I know. But seriously, I’m so grateful to have all of you looking out for me.”

For changing her locks. Protecting her every minute of the day. Even using whatever resources they had to track down this Mafia family.

He dipped his head. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Yeah, these guys were awesome. “Is Mila popping in today?”

His smile widened. The guy was utterly infatuated with his daughter. It melted Courtney’s heart. “Willow’s bringing her in after preschool. It’ll just be a quick drop-off because Aidan will take over from me. She might twist my arm and ask for a milkshake before she leaves, though.”

Courtney chuckled. “Of course! I love that the kid loves my shakes.”

Not love. Obsession.

He shook his head. “She’ll kiss your feet.”

She would take all the kisses the kid wanted to shell out. She was adorable. “Give me a shout if you need anything else.”

She headed back to the counter. One of her servers, Nicole, was running the floor, while Joey was in the back room. She headed back to see him. He had his head in the coffee bean cupboard and was pulling out a huge bag.

She stopped beside him. “Hey! You look a bit better rested today.”

Joey placed the bag on the counter, cracking a smile. “Well, that would be because I feel better, boss.”

Good. She hadn’t seen that smile for weeks, and she wasn’t going to lie, it had started to worry her. “Anything in particular help with the change?”

Something crossed his face. An anxious, almost worried look. But as fast as it had appeared, it was gone. He reached for the next bag. “The advance on my pay helped. Thanks.”

She stepped closer. “You never did tell me why you needed that money.”

If he didn’t want to share, that was fine. But if he needed someone to talk to, she really hoped it could be her. She wanted to help and support the guy in whatever way she could.

Joey sighed, placing the bag of coffee down before turning and giving her his full attention. A trickle of unease snaked through her stomach at what he was going to say. Drugs? Gambling? An investment that had turned sideways and lost him a chunk of money?

“I wasn’t going to tell you this because I didn’t want you to worry, but… my mom, who lives in Delaware, has coronary artery disease.” Courtney gasped, placing one hand to her chest and grabbing his upper arm with the other. “I send her money for her medication to manage it, but doctors have just told her it’s at the point where she needs surgery.”

She stepped forward, gently squeezing his arm. “I’m so sorry. You should have told me earlier. What can I do? Do you need more money?”

He shook his head quickly. “No. It’s… a lot of money. That’s why I was stressing. But it’s fixed now.”

If it was so much money, then how had circumstances changed in such a short period of time? “How did you fix it?”

His eyes lowered to the beans when he lifted the bag he’d just taken out. “An unexpected opportunity presented itself to me. Honestly, you don’t need to worry.”

She gave a small nod, wanting to ask more, but getting the feeling that Joey was done sharing. He took a step to walk around her, then stopped. “You’re not wearing your necklace?”

She touched her chest where the gem usually sat. “I know. I lost it during the camping trip.”

Saying that out loud made her heart hurt.

“Ah, I’m so sorry to hear that. Where’d you go camping? Surely it’s still there.”

You’d think so, wouldn’t you? “Flynn has a property just outside Cradle Mountain, a bit north of the city. There’s no house or anything on the land, but plenty of space to camp, and even a waterfall.” Her cheeks burned at the memories she’d made at the top of that waterfall. Oh Lord, she hoped Joey didn’t notice. “We went back but had no luck finding it.”

She and Jason had searched every inch of that campsite, finding diddly-squat.

“Sorry, Court. Hopefully it shows up.” He gently tapped her shoulder with his own before heading out.

She took a moment to digest what Joey had told her. God, she hated that he’d been going through so much and she hadn’t even known. The stress of his mother being sick, the financial strain of paying her medical bills… it would have been awful to deal with alone.

Sighing, she headed back out.

Blake stood at the counter, now joined by Aidan. Both were waiting for her. Listening.

The door to the shop opened and Blake’s daughter Mila walked in, closely followed by her mother. Willow was tall, with spectacular green eyes and long brown hair that had the most magnificent waves. Courtney would kill for hair that luscious.

Blake had only taken one step toward them when Mila sprinted, barreling into him, scrawny arms wrapping around his neck as he lifted her up.

“Hey, munchkin, how was school?”

“Good! It was Alexander’s birthday and his mom brought chocolate and orange cake.”

Chocolate and orange? Mm, maybe she should get that combo into the shop.

“Alexander turned four.” She held up four fingers. “He’s the youngest in the class.”

Willow stopped beside them, a pink backpack slung over her shoulder. She smiled at Courtney. “Hi, Courtney.”

“Willow, hey! Are you staying? Can I get you anything?”

“A to-go coffee would be wonderful. I’m heading straight for study group and need something to keep me awake. I think Mila might want—”

“A chocolate milkshake with extra sprinkles, please,” Mila interrupted.

Courtney smiled at the girl’s excited grin. Sprinkles wasn’t something she usually added to her milkshakes, but Mila had a fondness for them that Courtney wasn’t about to deny.

Blake stepped closer to Willow, placing a hand on her elbow and leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek.

“Tutoring go okay?” he asked softly.

Courtney looked away. The moment seemed intimate. But then, it usually did with these two. They were the classic couple who were supposed to be together, but for some reason just… weren’t. Like Pam and Jim for the first three seasons of The Office.

She smiled to herself at the thought. And just like Pam and Jim, she had no doubt Blake and Willow would find a way to make it work.

Although Blake brought Mila in for milkshakes every week, Willow came in less often. From what she’d heard, Willow worked and studied long hours.

Courtney started on the coffee, and Blake nodded to her. “We’ll just be in the booth.”

“Sure. I’ll get the shake to Mila when it’s ready.”

Mila clapped her hands excitedly as Blake carried her to the table.

“She’s such a happy kid,” Courtney said, setting the coffee on the counter in front of Willow.

“She is. She’s adjusted to the move to Cradle Mountain so well. I’m relieved. She’s my whole world.”

That was beautiful. “How’s your studying going?” She was training to become a teacher. Elementary school, maybe?

“Good, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Willow laughed. “Less than a year to go and I’ll finally get the certificate I need to work as a teacher.”

“I bet you’ll be glad to not have to work and study at the same time anymore.”

“Oh my gosh, I might finally have time to sit on the couch and watch trashy reality TV with my feet up.”

Lord, if there was ever a period in her life when Courtney didn’t have time for that, she might just lose her will to live. “If you ever need a friend, I’m fantastic at watching trashy TV with my feet up. I usually accompany it with a bottle of wine and some dumplings.”

Willow sighed. “You speak to my heart, Courtney.” She paused. “I’m sorry I haven’t come in more since getting to town, or made more of an effort to get to know you, but I really hope that when I have a bit more time on my hands, we can change that.”

“Oh, you don’t need to apologize. And I would love that.”

“Good. Now I’m going to go smoosh my daughter’s face before I go.”

Courtney chuckled, watching as the woman did just that, laughing at the way Mila fell back in her seat, giggling.

She made the milkshake quickly and took it to Mila, loving the beaming smile she got in return. She was just stepping behind the counter when a familiar woman entered the shop.

Amy. Aka, Miss America. Argh.

Her deep green pencil skirt went down to her knees, with an absurdly long slit running up the side of her leg. Her white shirt would have provided good coverage if her breasts weren’t pushed up so dang high, straining the material.

Amy stopped in front of Courtney, her smile wide. The woman had become a regular at the shop, and each visit, she seemed faker than the last. Her smile was like something you’d see on a big-ass billboard.

But maybe that was just the insecure, jealous monster in Courtney speaking.

“Hi, Courtney. Could I grab coffees for Jason and me, please? You know our regulars.”

She forced her lips to tilt up into a smile. She had a feeling it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Sure.”

As Courtney started on the coffees, Amy strummed her fingers on the counter. “Did you have a good weekend away?”

She was trying to make small talk? Oh, baby Jesus, give me strength.

“Yes, thank you. It was wonderful. Going away with other couples allowed Jason and me to have a bit more quality time together.” Was that an immature swipe? Probably. She didn’t care one bit.

“Hm. It was still camping though. The lack of toilets and showers doesn’t really induce romance.”

You’d think not, but… She smiled to herself.

Courtney glanced over her shoulder. Amy was studying her nails.

No. She could not imagine the woman camping. She turned back to the machine. “I guess it’s fortunate that Jason isn’t superficial.”

She was making it sound like they were dating, which they weren’t. But they were pretty damn close. And hell, the man was sleeping on her couch.

Amy chuckled, but there was no humor there. “Darling, all men are superficial. It’s the way they’re designed.” She straightened, smoothing her hands down her legs.

Courtney placed the coffees on the counter and Amy handed over a card.

“I’ll remember that,” Courtney said, the words holding just enough sarcasm that the woman would know she wasn’t agreeing.

“You do that. Want me to pass on any messages to Jason?”

How about, ‘your receptionist’s a bit of a bitch’. Yeah, right. That message would never reach his ears.

She gave the woman the sweetest smile she could muster. “No, thanks, I’ll see him tonight.”