Page 16 of Jasper (Guardians of the North #5)

JASPER

I’m panting heavily after having scoured the entire festival grounds twice in search of Vanessa. She warned me she wasn’t going to be glued to my side today, but I went to the hotel early anyway.

She wasn’t there.

But she’s also not here .

Well, fuck.

If she got on a plane this morning, the admiral will have my ass.

Worse, though, is that the woman I love may have managed to slip out of my life for a second time. Something I swore I would never let happen. Maybe I was wrong to give us both space last night.

“You okay, man?” Joel asks, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“Vanessa. I can’t find her.”

“She’s over there,” he says, nodding at the Caribou Creek Brewery tent.

The relief I feel at spotting her instantly deflates as I see her standing in line with her father.

He’s in plain clothes today, but his massive size is as intimidating as ever.

A reminder of the barrier that exists between Vanessa and me even if I still have a chance to convince her to stay in North Haven.

Fuck.

“You sure this is worth it?” Joel asks, no judgment in his tone, only curiosity.

“One day, you’ll understand,” I say to him.

“Then, man the fuck up,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder. “And good luck.”

I force my feet to move forward before my brain can give me a dozen reasons to run the other way.

In less than a minute, I might be putting my military career on the line.

Though I’d always planned to retire at twenty years, I never gave much thought to what I’d do after the coast guard. I’ve always had time on my side.

But I can’t stand the thought of Vanessa getting on that plane tomorrow and possibly never coming back.

I can’t let the woman I love walk away without laying it all on the line.

I don’t just love her, I need her as badly as I need oxygen to breathe.

If she’d just stop being so damn stubborn for two seconds, she’ll realize she feels the same.

She’ll realize that it’s not only safe to love me back, but necessary to our existence.

We belong together. I’ve known that since the moment we met at the Cape Cod bar.

Vanessa turns, her cobalt blue gaze locking with mine. Her expression is blank. Better than anger . She lifts a small paper cup to her lips and sips. Fuck me, I’m jealous of that paper rim.

She turns to her dad, saying something. I can’t see her face, but I can see his. Dread fills me as Admiral Wheeler lifts his gaze to me. His expression isn’t so blank. It’s…stern.

Seems like my military career might be finished after all. Maybe Mom needs an extra set of hands with her food truck. Or I could work as a deckhand for a crab boat. Or?—

Vanessa tosses her paper cup in a trash bin and sprints toward me.

I’m certain I’m imagining it.

Until she practically tackles me to the ground. By some miracle, I manage to keep us both upright as she wraps her arms around my neck and drags me down for a kiss that is most definitely not appropriate for the public eye.

But I don’t fucking care.

Whatever issues we have to sort out, this kiss tells me everything’s going to be okay. I can feel the love infused in it.

“You,” she says, a huge smile spreading across those swollen lips when she breaks apart the kiss.

“Me?”

“You told Mara to stock my books?”

“Of course I did.”

“You remembered.”

“You thought I forgot you were Vanessa Sterling, up and coming children’s book author?”

“Well, yeah.”

I cup her cheek, stroking the soft skin with my thumb. “Sweetheart, I remember everything about that weekend. I remember everything about you. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

“I guess it took me a while.”

Is Admiral Wheeler…smiling?

“So funny story,” Vanessa says glancing back at her dad a moment. She bites her bottom lip when her attention returns to me. “My dad was playing matchmaker.”

“No way.”

“Apparently, he hated David and was planning to use you to break us up. But then I showed up without him and made his whole scheme that much easier to implement.”

“Your dad… approves ?”

“Why are you surprised? You’re apparently his favorite.”

“No I’m not.”

She rolls her eyes. “Tell that to entire J-Squad.”

“What about your rule not to date a military man?”

“So, Dad and I had a good long chat about Mom this morning. He thinks Mom would never have given me that advice if she’d been lucky enough to meet you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“So what now?”

“First, you’re going to take me back to your place so I can thoroughly thank you in private,” she says, licking her lips.

“Second?”

“Then you’re going to take me to the hotel to pack.”

“Pack?”

“I need to head back to Houston for a couple of weeks to tie up loose ends. Close a business, rescind an offer on a house, and pack up my life. You know, the usual things you have to do to move to a remote Alaska town with the man you love.”

“I like the sound of that,” I say, eager to get started on the first step.

“Would you like the sound of coming with me?” she asks.

“In bed?”

She playfully swats at my chest. “To Houston.”

“To Houston?” I repeat.

“Dad said he’d approve your leave. But if you don’t want to?—”

“I want to.” I draw Vanessa’s lips to mine for a deep, sensual kiss. A kiss filled with promise. Filled will all the love I hold for her. My heart is hers. It’ll always be hers. “I’ve waited four years to find you. I don’t want to waste another day not by your side. I love you, Vanessa Wheeler.”

“You know what?” she says, fingers trailing a playful rhythm across my chest. “I think I love you to.”

“You think?”

“Maybe you should take me back to your place sooner rather than later so I can figure it out.”

“With pleasure.”