Chapter 13
I set down my book for the third time in ten minutes. The words blurred together, meaningless. Code sat at his monitors, completely absorbed in whatever digital rabbit hole he'd disappeared into.
We couldn't keep doing this. The kiss last night, the way he'd looked at me first thing this morning, we couldn’t keep pretending everything was normal.
Nothing was normal.
"I need to move." The words came out sharper than I intended.
Code's fingers paused. He turned in his chair, those light green eyes assessing me.
"What?"
"I need to run. Clear my head. Do something physical that doesn't involve sitting and waiting and thinking." I stood, already moving toward my bedroom to find workout clothes. "You run, right? Military training?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Let's go."
"I need to grab clothes from Jase's first,” he called after me.
"Fine. We'll stop there."
Five minutes later, I climbed into Code's rental car. The late afternoon sun slanted through the windows, warm against my skin. I'd changed into running leggings, a tank and a t-shirt over it. I’d pulled my hair into a high ponytail.
The drive to Jase’s seemed to take longer because Code was quiet, radiating tension. His hands gripped the steering wheel too tight, his jaw set in a way I recognized meant he was working through something difficult.
I watched him out of the corner of my eye. The muscle jumped in his jaw. The way he kept checking the rearview mirror, hyperaware of everything around us. This wasn't his normal vigilance. This was something else.
"Code?" I kept my voice gentle.
"Yeah?"
"What's wrong?"
His eyes cut to me, then back to the road. "Nothing."
"You're holding something back. I can tell."
He pulled into Jase's driveway and killed the engine. For a long moment, he just sat there, staring at the house.
"There's been a stranger in town." His voice stayed level, factual. "Pearl spotted him two days ago at the diner. He's been asking questions about Jasper Creek. Who owns what businesses, whether new people move in often, that kind of thing."
My stomach dropped. "You think he's connected to Russell?"
"I don't know. Could be coincidence. Could be reconnaissance." He finally looked at me. "Pearl's instincts are solid. She called Nash, the sheriff. The guy disappeared yesterday morning. No sightings since."
"And you're just now telling me this?"
"I'm telling you now because you asked." His eyes held mine. "Katherine, I could have kept this from you. Made up some reason why you needed to stay close to the Inn. But you deserve to know what we're dealing with."
The honesty hit harder than I expected. He’d listened to what I said the night before. He was treating me like an adult, like a partner, not some fragile thing that needed protecting from the truth.
"Thank you."
He nodded once and climbed out of the car.
I followed him inside. The house was quiet, lived in. Shoes, sports equipment and two backpacks were scattered across the living room floor, a pile of mail on the kitchen counter, Scout's water bowl by the back door.
Code disappeared upstairs. I wandered into the living room, looking at the family photos covering the walls.
Jase and Bonnie on their wedding day. The twins as babies, as toddlers, at various ages and stages.
A large framed photo showed all the Drakos siblings at what looked like a reunion.
Eighteen faces, all different ethnicities, all wearing matching smiles.
"Ready."
I turned. Code had changed into running shorts and an Army t-shirt that had seen better days. The fabric stretched across his chest and shoulders, worn soft from years of use.
My mouth went dry.
"We should stay close to the Inn." He grabbed two water bottles from the fridge. "There are trails through the forest behind the property. Private enough that we won't run into many people, but close enough that we're not isolated."
"Because of the stranger."
"Because I'm cautious by nature."
We drove back in comfortable silence. The tension from earlier had shifted, transformed into something else. Anticipation, maybe. Or awareness.
The forest trails behind Whispering Pines Inn wound through old-growth trees, the path well-maintained but quiet. Code set a moderate pace, testing me. I matched him easily.
After the first mile, he picked up speed. I stayed with him.
His breathing evened out, found its rhythm. Mine did too. We moved through dappled sunlight, our footfalls synchronized on the packed dirt trail.
"How often do you run?" he asked.
"Four times a week when I'm not filming. Five or six when I am." I jumped over a root. "Helps with stamina for the physical scenes. Plus, it clears my head."
"Same."
We ran in silence for another mile. The forest smelled of pine and earth, clean and fresh. Sweat gathered at the small of my back, between my shoulder blades. My ponytail bounced with each stride.
Code's pace increased again. I pushed harder to keep up, but he looked over at me, making sure I was handling the pace. Of course, he did.
“You good to speed up?”
I nodded.
We ran harder. My muscles burned, my breath came faster, but I refused to fall behind. This wasn't about winning. It was about showing him we were well matched.
The trail opened into a small clearing with a view of the mountains. Code slowed to a stop. I pulled up beside him, breathing hard.
"You're fast." He grabbed one of the water bottles from his pocket and handed it to me. Then pulled out one for himself.
I drank, grateful for the cool liquid. "How far do you think we went?"
"About five miles."
"In what, thirty-five minutes?"
"Thirty-three."
I laughed, breathless. "Show off."
We stood there in the clearing, both breathing hard, sweat soaking through our shirts. The late afternoon sun painted everything gold. Code's eyes caught the light, turning them almost silver.
He was looking at me. Really looking. Not the careful, controlled observation from before. This was raw, unguarded. His gaze dropped to my mouth.
My heart hammered. Not from the run.
"Katherine." His voice came out rough.
I stepped closer. "Code."
His hand came up, cupped my jaw. His thumb traced my cheekbone, callused and warm. I leaned into the touch.
"We should get back." But he didn't move.
"Probably,” I agreed.
"This is a bad idea."
"Is it?"
His other hand found my waist, pulled me against him. We were both hot, sweaty, breathing hard. Nothing about this should have been sexy. Everything about it was.
"Yes." He leaned down, forehead resting against mine. "You're under my protection. I'm supposed to be professional."
"You kissed me last night."
"That was different."
"How?"
"I don't know." His grip tightened on my waist. "But this feels like crossing a line we can't uncross."
"Maybe I want to cross it."
He pulled back enough to really look at me. His eyes searched mine, looking for doubt, hesitation, any reason that would give him permission to retreat.
I didn't give him one.
"Katherine." My name was a warning and a plea.
I rose on my toes and touched my lips to his.
He froze for half a second. Then his control shattered.
His mouth opened against mine, hot and demanding. His hands slid from my waist to my back, pulling me closer until no space existed between us. I fisted my hands in his t-shirt, holding on as the world tilted.
This wasn't like last night's tentative exploration. This was need and want and days of tension finally breaking free. His beard scraped my skin. His heart pounded against my chest, or maybe that was mine.
I felt his fingers open and close, kneading my skin under my t-shirt. I wanted him to go higher, to touch me under my tank top. I wiggled, trying to make my want known, without breaking our kiss, but instead his hand started to creep lower.
His tongue tangled with mine. His other hand reached up and cupped my cheek, his thumb tenderly tracing along my jaw. His gentleness juxtaposed against the need of his hand that was now gripping my ass, sending me into a tailspin of need.
I stretched my arms around his neck and pulled him even closer, demanding an even deeper kiss, not knowing if I could survive it. Then I heard a sound. Something I didn’t recognize. A whimper.
Code pulled away.
“Baby?”
We were both gasping for air. Code’s pupils had blown wide, his breathing ragged.
“So good. Why’d you stop?”
“Because in another thirty I’d be past the point of no return. I haven’t felt like this since I was a teenager,” he admitted. "We need to stop." He didn't let go of me.
I looked around and realized we were smack dab in the middle of the trail. I couldn’t stop the laughter. “You pack quite the punch, Drakos.”
“It was all you, Katherine.”
Hearing those words felt better than being nominated for an Oscar.
“I suppose we have to stop.”
“We do." He released me and stepped back, running both hands through his hair. “The run back to the Inn will do us both good.”
“We could shower together,” I suggested.
His eyes turned molten silver. “You are a bad influence. You’re making this harder.”
"Maybe I like making things harder."
He closed his eyes. "You're killing me."
I grinned and started jogging back toward the Inn. "Come on, soldier. Race you back."
His curse followed me down the trail.
Room service arrived at seven. I'd showered, changed into clean clothes, tried and failed to focus on anything other than the memory of Code's mouth on mine.
We ordered enough food for four people. Burgers, fries, chicken strips, two different salads and apple cobbler. Sadly, there were only three of Bonnie’s brownies left.
Code emerged from his shower looking marginally more composed. His hair was still damp, droplets clinging to the ends. He'd changed into jeans and a fresh T-shirt.
We set up the food on the small dining table around his equipment, carefully avoiding each other's eyes.
My phone rang. Angelica.
"Put me on speaker," she said before I could even say hello.
I did. "You're on speaker."
"Good. Hey, Code."
"Hey, Angie."
A massive yawn came through the line. Completely fake, so overdone it bordered on theatrical.
"Oh my God, I am so tired.”
“They pay you to act?” Code asked.
Angelica continued as if he hadn’t said anything. “The visit to the orchard wore me out. The twins had so much energy, and we picked like a million apples, and I think I'm just going to go to bed super early tonight."
Uh-huh. I was totally buying into this. I looked over at Code. He looked like he was going to burst out laughing.
"You poor thing,” I commiserated.
"Yeah, so I'm just going to crash. Don't worry about me. You two have a nice dinner." Another ridiculous yawn. "Hey, Code, are there any brownies left? You should eat some."
Code choked on his water.
I gave him, and the phone, a suspicious look.
"Gotta go. So tired. Sleep well, you two. Separately. In your separate rooms. Bye!" She hung up.
I set my phone out of the way. "What’s up with the brownies, Code?"
"Nothing." Code grabbed a french fry, suddenly very interested in the ketchup, trying not to smile. I was obviously not in on the joke.
"Code…"
"It's not important."
“Fine, but that means that out of the three remaining, I get two, because you’re being a poophead.”
“Poophead?” This time he did laugh.
I grinned. “Angelica came back after a visit with Jase and family a few years ago, and started calling everyone poopheads. She’d learned it from the twins. And you, my man, are currently acting like a poophead.”
“I can live with that.” He popped the french fry in his mouth.
We ate in silence for a few minutes. The food was good, the portions enormous. I'd made it through half my burger when Code spoke.
"Angelica's really good with the twins."
I nodded. "She's amazing with kids. Always has been. I think it comes from growing up in such a huge family. She had practice."
"Bonnie too. The way she handles things, she’d do a Drill Sargeant proud.”
"Chaos is normal for her." I stole one of his fries. "Jase is in his element. Marrying her and walking into a ready-made family was perfect for him. I can’t wait to hear about what he’s going to be like when more babies start coming.”
“Protective as hell.”
“True, but he’ll also be like he is with the twins. Patient. Present. You can tell he actually listens when they talk."
Code smiled slightly. "Yeah. He does."
"And you."
His head snapped up. "What?"
"You're good with them. The twins. The way you taught them about the robot, helped them understand the code. You didn't just fix it for them. You showed them how to fix it themselves. Bonnie raved about you."
"That's just basic teaching methodology."
"No, it's more than that. You saw what they needed and you gave it to them. That's a gift." I set down my burger. "You're good with kids, Code. Whether you want to admit it or not."
He stood abruptly. "I need to get back to work."
The retreat was so obvious it would have been funny if it didn't sting a little.
"Okay."
He grabbed his plate and carried it to the trash. "Thanks for dinner."
"You're welcome."
He settled at his monitors, hidden from me, walls firmly in place.
I cleaned up the rest of the food and retreated to the couch with my book. The same book I'd been trying to read all day. The words still didn't make sense.
An hour crawled by. Code wasn’t typing as much. I wondered if he was having as much trouble concentrating as I was. I turned pages without reading them. The air between us felt thick, charged with everything we weren't saying.
Fuck this shit. I couldn't do this. Couldn't sit here pretending everything was fine when clearly nothing was fine.
I set down my book and walked over to the table. Pulled out the chair beside him, where he couldn’t ignore me, and sat down.
Code's fingers stilled on the keyboard.
"Are we going to talk about this?" I asked.
"Talk about what?"
"Code."
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Can't we just ignore it?"
"Is that working for you?"
"No."
"Me neither."
He rubbed his face with both hands. When he looked at me, exhaustion lined his features.
"This is complicated, Katherine."
"Why?"
"Because you're under stress. Because I'm supposed to be protecting you, not..." He gestured vaguely between us.
"Not what? Not be attracted to me?" I leaned forward. "Code, in my line of work, I have to observe people. Read body language, micro-expressions, all of it. So do you. I don't think this is normal for you. Am I wrong?"
He held my gaze for a long moment. "No. You're not wrong."
"Do you think it's normal for me?"
"No."
"So, what are we going to do about it?"