Chapter 5
5
AIDEN
I worked my jaw back and forth, hoping to ease the tension, as we approached the table where a stone-faced Miles and a happy Jubie waited. I loved that animal. She was the best cuddler in Anchor Bay, but I had asked Miles to leave her at home for tonight’s meetup. What if Aspen was afraid of dogs or allergic or?—
“Oh my goodness,” she gasped beside me, cutting off my thoughts. “Shut the front door.”
With a quick glance over my shoulder, I double-checked that the door was in fact already closed, but before I could tell her that, Aspen hurried to the table, yanked out the empty wooden chair beside Jubie, and flopped down onto the hard seat.
After haphazardly tossing her coat aside and carefully looping the strap of her satchel around the chair back, she reached out both hands, fingers wiggling, only to pause an inch from the massive Bernese mountain dog’s thick fur.
“Is it okay if I pet her?” she asked, wide dark eyes pleading with Miles.
At his clipped nod, her sharp, excited squeal filled the bar, making a few heads turn our way, and she practically launched herself at the massive animal. After shooting a mind-your-own-business glare to a few of the local guys who were staring a little too hard at Aspen, I turned back, only to find Jubie leveling me with a smug look as she panted over Aspen’s shoulder, drool swinging from her loose jowls.
Unfortunately, Jubie seemed to be the more accepting of the two. My best friend, whose expression made me think he was constipated or had accidentally been poured gin instead of vodka, hadn’t shifted except for his all-seeing gaze that tracked each of Aspen’s movements. When his attention finally swung my way, I smirked, knowing Aspen had caught his eye the moment we walked into the bar. After ensuring she couldn’t see the gesture from where she was still wrapped around Jubie, he flipped me the bird and leaned back in his chair, crossing both arms over his wide chest.
I huffed and rolled my eyes. Of course the asshole would pout at getting caught checking her out. Not sure what he was trying to prove with the blank expression and hard looks, but he couldn’t fool me. Miles was intrigued whether he liked it or not.
“Tell me everything about her. How old is she? What’s her name?” Aspen asked.
“She’s five, and her name is Jubie.”
I swallowed a laugh at Miles’s gruff tone and curt response. Oh, my bestie was fighting his attraction to the energetic, gorgeous brown-eyed woman—and he was failing. Hard.
“That’s a unique name and fits her perfectly. Oh my goodness, she’s so soft and cuddly.” Aspen buried her face in Jubie’s soft, furry chest.
“Not as cuddly as me,” I responded while folding into the chair beside her. Under the table, the toe of Miles’s boot connected with the middle of my shin. A hiss whistled through my clenched teeth to keep from cursing up a storm. I reached down and rubbed at the spot to ease the pain. “Fucking hell, man, don’t break my damn leg.”
Aspen stilled and eyed us both before her gaze settled on Miles. A determined expression overtook her face. Sitting back, she used her jeans to swipe away the loose fur that clung to her palms and was stuck between her fingers, then extended a hand across the table toward him.
“Sorry, I basically attacked your dog and didn’t even acknowledge you. Hi, you must be Aiden’s friend. I’m Aspen, and I am now obsessed with your dog.”
The corner of Miles’s lips twitched upward as he fought a grin, and he took Aspen’s much smaller hand in his and gave it a quick shake.
“Miles or Moose—I answer to both. Jubie here thinks she’s part human, which is why she’s sitting in the chair instead of lying on the floor beside me as I instructed.” He gave Jubie a stern look that I knew didn’t mean shit. That dog could lie on the table, and Miles wouldn’t care. He and Jubie had a special bond, one we didn’t even have. She accepted him, all of him, with zero judgment or concern.
Neither did I, but there was something about the unconditional love of a dog that pulled him to Jubie that I’d never be able to compete with. Not that I wanted to. I was thankful as fuck that he had her, that she could fill the void I couldn’t with his PTSD and self-consciousness about his scars.
Aspen’s gaze kept darting between Jubie and Miles as she continued to stroke a hand over the dog’s wide chest. “Your tattoos are amazing,” she blurted out before biting her lip.
The air froze in my lungs, and I waited to see how Miles would react to her pointing out the ink decorating the exposed skin of his forearms, where he had pushed up the sleeves of his long-sleeved black T-shirt. While the designs were badass, Miles rarely liked people looking too closely, since he got the tattoos to cover up the scars left behind from his last mission as a SEAL.
But instead of shutting down and closing himself off, the six-foot-four badass smirked and laid both forearms on top of the table for her to get a better look. I gaped as he told her about each design and how far up both arms the tattoos went. She didn’t reach out, which I was thankful for, as it no doubt would’ve had him pulling away and hurting her feelings.
I couldn’t stop staring at the cocky smile on Miles’s face. After everything he had been through in life, every genuine, lighthearted grin was gold. She didn’t know the significance of the moment her easy conversation and warm personality created.
If she could make my best friend smile like that more, I’d give her anything to stay longer than the week she planned to be here. The more I was around her, the more I wanted that for myself too. Aspen was like a breath of fresh air after being cooped up for too long. You didn’t realize how stale your life was until something new and invigorating came into it. And maybe that was exactly what Miles and I needed.
“I’ve always wanted full sleeves,” Aspen said, absentmindedly stroking Jubie’s floppy ears. “But there’s never been a good time, you know?”
“What do you mean?” Miles leaned forward, bracing both forearms on the edge of the table, leveling all his attention her way. Though I knew that, even with his focus on Aspen, he still monitored the movements and conversations of everyone in the bar. After being trained by the best of the best, that was his thing, always on alert.
“Because of the somewhat intense aftercare required to keep it clean and heal correctly, it wasn’t really doable in my last job. I’m an adventure-slash-nature photographer.” Miles just nodded like he wasn’t fucking fangirling, considering he had some of her photographs hidden somewhere in our cabin. “I never knew when I’d be sent out on longer assignments. Keeping the fresh ink clean and infection-free while hiking and camping out in the middle of nowhere didn’t seem feasible. Hell, on most assignments, I’d go days without showering just to get to the perfect spot for an amazing photo.” She looked at us with a grimace. “Not sure why I said that out loud. I’m sure that sounds disgusting. I swear I bathe regularly when I’m home.”
Miles arched a thick brow. “Doesn’t bother me or Aiden, I’m sure. That’s a fairly normal occurrence for us, considering what we do for Uplift. Did he explain what we do for work?” Aspen’s head angled one way, then the other in a kind of gesture. “The company we work for handles all the excursions and adventure treks for the resort and other visitors that come to Anchor Bay, along with the various rescue missions that come up throughout the year.” He pointed at me, then to himself. “Aiden and I handle all the land motor vehicle assignments, such as ATVs, motorbikes, snowmobiles, and four-wheelers. Some outings are day trips, while others last several days, where we carry all our gear with us for however long we’re out. So, no, you stating you’re okay with all that comes along with long hiking and camping trips isn’t ‘disgusting,’ as you put it, to us.”
“That’s amazing.” The smiles and attention she gave Miles should stir up some jealousy, but only relief and flickering hope swirled in my chest. “You get to be outdoors all the time, and it’s your job, as in you get paid to do what you love. How cool is that?”
She turned to face me. “You mentioned something on the way to the resort this afternoon that made me think you’re not from here.”
I sat up straighter now that her dark gaze was on me and nodded.
“So, where are you from?”
There was no concealing my wince at her question. Clearing my throat, I gave myself a second to shove down the resentment and anger that always surfaced when I thought about the place I used to call home.
“Damn, I’m sorry. Was that too personal?” Aspen sat a little closer to Jubie, as if drawing comfort from the massive animal. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Not too personal at all.” I shifted in the seat. “It’s just that thinking about home carries some baggage. For both of us.”
“We grew up together and have been friends since we were seven,” Miles added, shocking the hell out of me that he’d offered up that sliver of our past. He normally stayed closed off when meeting new people. Keeping things shallow helped protect him from… well, the world, it felt like most days. “We moved out here at the same time to join Uplift after I left the military.”
I swallowed hard and turned my gaze to the table, hating the swell of guilt that ballooned in my chest. He made it sound like he left on his own terms, but I knew differently. If Miles had it his way, he’d still be fighting side by side with his SEAL brothers, but he was here, living half a life with the guy who had failed him.
Me.
Aspen’s lips curled in a knowing smirk. “I knew it.”
“Knew what?” I asked.
She hooked a thumb in Miles’s direction. “That he was former military.”
Miles stiffened, drawing Jubie’s attention. She licked at his hand, offering him comfort the best way she could. “And what made you assume that about me?”
Aspen shrugged and went back to running a hand down Jubie’s spine. “You have this commanding presence about you that says ‘I see all and can handle anything thrown my way . ’ It’s noticeable to me as a woman because I’m usually the one constantly on high alert.” Miles’s shoulders rolled back as his chest puffed out at her basically saying that his observance allowed her to relax a fraction. “What I don’t know is which branch of the military.” She tapped a single finger against her lower lip, drawing my gaze. “For sure, special forces. Army Rangers?” She paused, waiting for Miles’s response.
He huffed an incredulous laugh and flicked his eyes to the ceiling as if that were a ridiculous guess. “No.”
“Okay, then, how about Green Berets?”
This time he snorted and shook his head, running a hand over his short hair.
As she studied him, her eyes widened. “Holy fuck, you’re a Navy SEAL.” At his confirming nod, she blew out a controlled breath. “Wow. That is amazing. No wonder you have that aura about you and why I feel safe around you. Though that could be Jubie here; she looks like a killer.” With that, she pulled Jubie’s face close and gave her a kiss on the nose. “I should’ve guessed SEALs from the start. You have a similar intensity to someone I met a while back during an assignment for the magazine. I was documenting a weeklong survivalist-type venture with this former SEAL and our guy from the magazine for a multi-page article that was also being filmed for a TV episode.”
“No shit?” I tipped the chair on its back legs. “When was that?”
“Last summer.” That smile of hers grew, and she leaned in, as if she was about to divulge a big secret. “It was legit the highlight of my year. I didn’t stop smiling once I got home for days. So, James had this great idea?—”
“James Peoples?” Miles interjected.
“Yep,” she said, popping the P . “James fucking Peoples was the survivalist I worked with at the magazine. Guessing you know of him, or the version of himself that he wants the world to see?”
Miles grunted. “He seems like a fucking pretender douche canoe who’s obsessed with himself.”
Aspen stared at him, eyes wide for a second before tipping her face to the ceiling and laughing so loud the sound echoed through the bar. “You’re great at reading people because you are so right!” she exclaimed. “I’ll cheers to that all day, every day. Douche canoe, I like it. I’ve just been calling him a soggy sandwich in my head.”
When she turned her attention back to Jubie, Miles looked my way and flicked his hazel gaze down to his almost-empty drink, then to Aspen. It took me a second to catch on. When I did, a frustrated groan rattled in my chest, and I fell forward, the chair’s front legs slamming to the floor.
Right. I’m an asshole who invited her for drinks but didn’t get her anything. I was too wrapped up in studying their interactions, and it slipped my mind. I was a terrible host, but who could blame me when she was so damn distracting?
“You need a drink to cheers. What can I get you, Aspen?”
She chewed on her lower lip and turned in her seat to stare at the bar. “It’s not that I don’t trust either of you, but can you grab me a bottle of beer with the cap still on?” She grimaced as if worrying I would be offended. Sensing her discomfort, Jubie turned her head and began licking her cheek. “Any light beer is fine,” she said with a giggle. “I’m not picky.”
“That’s smart,” Miles said with a proud expression. “Even if you trust us, we’re still strangers, and it’s a wise move.”
I nodded. “Speaking of safety first… Miles, send her a picture of your driver’s license. She doesn’t have her cell phone, but you can send it to whatever number she gives you. I already sent her mine before we left The Nest.”
Aspen gave him the same number she did me earlier, and while he did what I asked, I stood from the chair. I turned toward the bar but paused when Miles asked me a question that had my stomach dropping.
“Have you heard from Caroline?” I slowly shook my head. “It’s not like her to go a full twenty-four hours without checking in,” he mused, rubbing a hand along his thick dark beard. “If we don’t hear from her tomorrow, let’s talk to Hudson.”
I rapped my knuckles on the back of the chair and nodded in agreement. It was odd that she hadn’t reached out to either of us, but Miles especially. He’d taken on the role of her protector in a big brother type of way. “I’ll be right back with our drinks. Hold off on that story about the SEAL and James Peoples until I’m back. I can’t wait to hear how that turned out.”
At my back, Miles’s deep voice sounded, asking Aspen about her old job and photography. My nostrils flared with a deep inhale in an attempt to dim the hope swelling in my chest as I moved toward the bar.
No one was perfect, but it sure felt like Aspen was for us. In less than thirty minutes, she’d pulled multiple smiles and laughs from Miles, made Jubie fall in love with her, and distracted me from the constant regret and guilt that weighed me down daily.
I was getting ahead of myself, but fuck, how could I not? It felt like it was meant to be with her here, with the two of us. Sure, this was just drinks, and she didn’t know Miles and I were a package deal with relationships, but this felt like the start of something big.
We needed something, a change, after all that shit with Jessica, plus the looming ominous feeling that had settled over our community and Anchor Bay with the missing women cases.
And maybe, just maybe, Aspen was that change we desperately needed.