Two hours later, the click of the screen door snapping shut jolted Samantha awake. Before she sat up and looked around, she knew Jake was gone.
She rolled out of bed, slid into her shoes, and ran to the window.
In the dark, a boat scuttled across the lake toward the boathouse. Was the bad guy coming two days ahead of schedule?
Looking closer, she could see the shadow of a man hiding behind the shed. Probably Jake, she surmised. She had to hurry down there. No matter what the future brought, she would protect Jake and Tad. She clambered down the ladder, totally forgetting her fear.
She made her way off the porch and toward the shed, keeping in the shadow of the tree line.
Jake turned at her approach. His stern expression let her know she wasn’t welcome.
“I thought you were going to wake me,” she whispered as she crouched next to him.
He frowned at her, his shoulders rigid. “I told you I’d take care of things. Go back in the house, Samantha, while there’s still time.”
“I’m staying.” Short of him tying her hand and foot, there was no way she would comply with his order.
His frustrated scowl told her he read her intentions perfectly.
“Why do you think he’s here ahead of schedule?”
“We don’t know his agenda, but I don’t consider this early invasion a good sign. Go back to the house. I don’t want to worry about you being in the line of fire.”
She bit her lip. Would she be a hindrance? At that moment, the problem was taken out of her hand when the boat’s engine stopped.
“Too late,” she whispered.
He clamped a restraining hand on her shoulder. “Stay here while I go check this out.”
She nodded as his will came close to breaching her defenses. The only way to get him to back off was to capitulate. She schooled her expression into one of submission.
“Fine. I’ll stay behind.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’d better, or I’ll paddle your ass so hard, you won’t be able to sit for a week.”
She glowered at him. “My hero.” When he continued to glare, she let out a sigh of defeat. “Fine. Just make sure you’re extra careful.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything to your brother.”
“It’s not just Tad I’m worried about, Jake. I care about you, too, you hard-headed jerk.”
His eyes widened and a startled smile emerged. His pleased reaction told her she might just as well have said she was crazy about him.
He bent to brush a quick, burning kiss across her lips. When he pulled away, she blinked at his fierce, totally macho smile. “What was that for?”
“For being worried about me. It’s a new experience for me.” He turned and moved away to blend into the shadows, heading toward the boathouse.
Stunned by his outburst of affection, she hesitated for a moment, and drew her wits back together. They still had a crisis to overcome, and she was well-known for being calm. She’d do her best to stay out of Jake’s way, but she had to be close enough to help. She sprinted to the corner of the shed and glanced at the pier.
The boater was tied to the dock. In the dark, she couldn’t tell who it was.
She had to get a little bit closer. A few quick steps took her back to the gloom of the tree line. She picked her way through the pines until she reached the boathouse. Holding her breath, she glanced left and right, but didn’t see Jake. Was he hiding inside?
She made a quick dash to the door. As quietly as possible, she turned the handle. It turned silently and effortlessly. Jake must have oiled it for just such an occasion.
The darkness inside the room was oppressive. The moonlight shining through the dusty windows gave only a tiny bit of illumination. She didn’t see Jake.
Just then, the door on the dockside began to squeak.
