To my surprise, Jordan immediately dropped his attitude. “Yeah.”
Chase studied him a moment longer as if he had more he wanted to say, but he let whatever it was go. Jordan went back to his food, finishing his second full helping, when a knock sounded at the kitchen door. Reid’s handsome face appeared through the screen, but before he could open it, Jack’s ears shot up, and his hackles raised as a deep warning growl rumbled from his chest. Interesting that he didn’t do that with Jordan.
“Easy, boy,” Chase soothed. “He’s a friend.”
I called Jack’s name, and he responded immediately, trotting to my side, but he remained alert as he stared at Reid.
Chase opened the door, and Reid’s surprised eyes went immediately to Jack. “Wow. That’s some kind of security system you’ve got there.” His eyes settled on me. “Is he yours?”
“He’s mine,” I confirmedsoftly.
He nodded, and his expression softened. “It’s nice to see you again, Anna. I didn’t know you were in town. I haven’t seen you since…”
I knew what he meant. I didn’t want to put him in the position to be polite and lie and say he was sorry my husband had died.
“Nice to see you, too, Sheriff.”
“Reid, please,” he corrected with a smile as Jack sat in front of him, a sign he’d accepted Reid, who rewarded him with a good head rub.
I returned a well-practiced, polite one of my own. Reid seemed like a nice guy, but I wasn’t sure we’d ever be friends. His wife was Bristol, and while she and I had shared polite words, I knew we weren’t at a point to grab dinner together. Maybe we never would. But for now, ingrained manners helped me through the awkward moment of silence.
“Would you like something to eat?”
Reid started to shake his head, but after another quick glance at the spread, followed by a drawn-out inhale, he changed his mind. “Yes, please. It smells too damn good to pass up, and I’ve got another two hours on my shift. Let me just call Dispatch so they know I’ll be here a bit longer.”
I turned my attention back to Jordan. While I had no idea what his circumstances were, one thing was obvious—he needed to eat more than he appeared to be getting. I grabbed the bread and started piling extra meat and cheese between the slices. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chase watching, a knowing look on his face as he figured out what I was doing. Without a word, he pulled out waxed paper and started wrapping the sandwiches, then loaded up a disposable plate with more chicken, mashed potatoes, beans, and biscuits and carefully covered it with foil. Iplaced them into a plastic grocery bag I found in the pantry.
“Here,” I said, handing the bag to Jordan. “Take this with you.”
Jordan stared at the bag without taking it. Perplexed, I put it on the table in front of him. He still didn’t make a move to take it, but flicked a glance at Reid, who was quietly watching.
I saw the conflict in Jordan’s expression. It was one thing to eat here, where he’d earned the food while he was here. It was another to admit he wanted or needed it somewhere else.
I sat back down in my seat, trying to keep my tone light. “Please. Take it. I haven’t cooked in a while and got a little too carried away in making some of my favorites. I made way too much, and I don’t want it to go to waste.”
Jordan eyed the bag with such longing that I felt my heart nearly break. Then he swept it up. “Thank you,” he mumbled.
On the surface, it sounded a little gruff, but it was enough to know he was sincere.
A few minutes later, Reid stood, brushing crumbs from his uniform. “We’d better get going,” he said to Jordan.
It seemed like it was with a little reluctance that Jordan got up. He scratched Jack’s head and mumbled another “thank you,” then followed Reid out to his vehicle, cradling his food in front of him.
Just like that, the house was quiet again.
Chase glanced at me. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I have a feeling that boy is holding a lot inside him. I don’t know what led him here, but I’m glad it did. I have a feeling being here will be good for him.”
I’d already felt it myself, that quiet sense of healing.
I hoped it would be the same for Jordan.
Chapter 9
Chase
Bodie,Marcus, and I all joked with each other as we tromped toward the bunkhouse the next day. I hadn’t mentioned anything about Anna to my employees yet. I figured it would be a great surprise.
