Page 43 of Jason Bourne (Seals on Fraiser Mountain #7)

LANE

T he morning after the shootout, the whole town seemed to know what had happened. Word spread faster than wildfire on this mountain. By the time I stepped into the diner for coffee, half the locals had already turned to watch me.

“Deputy Brewer,” old Mrs. Kline called from her corner booth, “you been keepin’ us safe, I hear.”

I flushed. “Just doing my job, ma’am.”

She harrumphed. “Don’t play modest. Folks around here have been needing someone like you. A woman we can talk to. It’s tough to tell these hotshot SEALs what we think they ought to do. Now we have you.”

Her words stuck with me as I crossed to the counter. Jason was already there, sipping his coffee, that infuriatingly calm expression plastered on his face.

“Told you they’d come around,” he said quietly.

“I’m not sure I’ve come around,” I muttered. But when the waitress slid me a mug on the house, I felt the warmth sink deeper than the coffee.

Forest, Fraiser, Nate, and Rush filed in next, drawing nods and waves from the regulars.

Zoe slipped in behind them, already thumbing through a case file, pretending not to notice the way Forest’s gaze lingered a little too long.

She’d still been asleep when I left the house, so her sudden appearance didn’t surprise me—Zoe always had her own timing.

Jason leaned closer, his arm brushing mine. “This is it, Lane. This is what it looks like when you belong somewhere.”

I looked around—the chatter, the nods, the quiet sense of respect that wasn’t given lightly up here. And for the first time since I pinned on the badge, I believed him.

I turned to Zoe. “Be back in two weeks. Jason asked me to marry him, and I’ve decided to say yes.”

Jason stood, grinned like a fool, and swept me off my feet. His kiss landed hard and sure, five years of stubbornness and waiting finally crashing down to nothing. The diner erupted in cheers and a few wolf whistles.

A throat cleared. We turned to find Mrs. Kline watching us with the satisfaction of a matchmaker. “We’ll have the wedding in the town center so the whole mountain can come watch our Deputy Sheriff marry one of our very own SEALs.”

I frowned. “I was thinking a small wedding.”

“Do you want Frasier Mountain residents to have their feelings hurt?”

I sighed, but couldn’t fight the smile tugging at my mouth. “I guess not. Fine. I’ll let you and the other ladies take care of the wedding while I take Harris to the city with Zoe.”

Her eyes lit up. “You are going to love it!”

The sheriff himself stood from the back booth, smiling as he ambled toward us. “And when you get back from your honeymoon, Lane, you’re getting a promotion. My wife and I are retiring to Florida—sun, sand, and doing absolutely nothing.”

I hugged him tight, then looked back at Jason before turning to the sheriff with a grin. “So that means I’ll be the boss and can finally do what I want?”

He chuckled. “Yes, but I think you’ve already been bossing everyone.”

Jason and I both laughed as we left the diner, the warmth of the whole town following us out into the morning. Next stop: the station, to move Harris into the city with Zoe. But the truth was clear—my future wasn’t uncertain anymore.

It was right here. On this mountain. With Jason.