Chapter 19
Cole woke sometime later to find Janice asleep beside him, her head resting against his shoulder.
The cabin had grown dark, just the glow from the wood stove providing light.
When he suggested they rest, he really thought he’d just lie awake while hoping she would nap.
He must have dozed off too, his body finally succumbing to the adrenaline crash.
And now he had her pressed against his side, her arm slung over his waist. He didn’t want to move, but he also didn’t want her to be embarrassed when she woke.
Closing his eyes for another moment, he relished the feel of her, the soft vanilla scent of her shampoo, and the trust she gave by sharing this time with him.
He thought of the last part of his conversation with Logan, when he’d taken the call off speakerphone.
"And Cole?" Logan's voice held a note Cole wasn’t sure he recognized. "I know you're isolated together, but—"
"I've got it under control." Cole interrupted, knowing it was at least partially a lie. He wasn’t insulted… his boss knew that Cole wouldn’t take advantage of the situation.
"Do you?" Logan didn't sound convinced. "Because quite a few of us have been exactly where you are right now. Thrown together with someone extraordinary during a dangerous situation. And every single one of us thought we could keep it professional."
Cole didn't have a response to that.
"Just... be careful," Logan said finally. "And I don't just mean with the mission."
After the call ended, Cole stood by the window for a long moment, watching snow fall through the darkening afternoon. It had been hard for him to think of anything but her.
Logan was right. Cole could feel himself getting attached, could feel the professional boundaries eroding with every hour he spent in Janice's presence.
But what the hell was he supposed to do about it?
They were stuck here together, dependent on each other for safety and survival.
Pretending he didn't notice her smile, didn't feel anything shift inside him when she laughed, didn't want to pull her close and kiss her until they both forgot about mining companies, contamination, and danger.
That ship had sailed somewhere around the time he'd stood in the shower with her pressed against him, giving her trust over to him.
Janice stirred, lifting her head, her face adorably childlike as she blinked and looked around. "Did we fall asleep?"
"Apparently." Cole stretched carefully, trying not to disturb her too much. "It’s dark outside."
She checked her watch. "Almost five. We slept for a couple of hours."
"You hungry?" Cole asked, suddenly aware that they'd both been running on adrenaline and very little food all day.
Janice sat up, running a hand through her hair where it had come loose from her braid. "Starving, actually. I didn't realize it until you mentioned it."
"What do you have that we can work with?" Cole climbed off the bed and moved toward the kitchen area, glad for something practical to focus on besides the way she looked with sleep-mussed hair and a crease on her cheek from where it had pressed against his shoulder.
"Um..." Janice joined him, opening the small refrigerator. "I have sandwich stuff. Bread, deli meat, cheese. Some of those supplies you brought. Nothing fancy, but it'll fill us up."
"Perfect. I can work with that."
They moved around the tiny kitchen space with surprising ease, considering they'd only known each other for just over a day.
Cole pulled out bread and condiments while Janice retrieved plates and napkins.
She found a bag of chips and grinned as she held them up.
"The good kind," she said, with almost childlike excitement, and set them on the counter.
"You want mayo or mustard?" Cole asked, assembling sandwiches with the efficiency of someone who'd made plenty of field meals.
"Both. I'm not picky when I'm this hungry."
He grinned. "A woman after my own heart." The words slipped out easily, and he couldn’t help but notice the way her lips curved upward.
They made hearty turkey-and-cheese sandwiches and ate them while standing at the counter. For several minutes, they chewed in comfortable silence.
"God, this is good," Janice said around a mouthful of sandwich. "I mean, it's just a sandwich, but it tastes amazing right now."
"Everything tastes better when you're exhausted and half frozen," Cole agreed. "I once ate an MRE in Afghanistan that I swear was the best meal of my life, just because I'd been awake for thirty-six hours straight."
"What's an MRE?"
"Meal, Ready-to-Eat. Military rations. They're... not great, under normal circumstances. But when you're that tired and hungry, they're five-star dining."
Janice laughed, and Cole felt that now-familiar warmth spread through his chest at the sound.
They finished eating and cleaned up together, falling into an easy rhythm of wash and dry, passing dishes back and forth. Cole found himself hyperaware of every accidental brush of hands and every time their shoulders bumped in the small space.
"Want some hot chocolate?" Janice asked, filling the kettle. "It’s just from a packet, but it's warm and will taste good."
"Sure."
While the water heated, he migrated to the sofa, and as soon as she had the mugs ready, she brought them over, handing one to him before settling into opposite corners.
The cabin felt different now… still small, but more intimate.
Or maybe it was just that Cole was more aware of Janice's presence, of the way she tucked her feet under her, of how the firelight played across her features.
Janice pulled a blanket over her lap and looked at him with a thoughtful expression. "This is weird, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"This." She gestured back and forth between them. "We barely know each other, but we've been through... I don't know, more in a day than most people experience in months. And now we're just sitting here having hot chocolate like it's normal."
"I don't think there's a normal for this situation."
She threw her head back and laughed. "No, I guess not."
They sipped the hot chocolate, and it was his turn to smile. “Just like I remember Mom making.”
Her eyes lit, and she twisted to face him fully. “Me too.”
After another moment of sipping, she said, "What do we do now?
We're not sleepy since we just napped. It's too early to go to bed for real.
We're stuck here for at least another day or two.
We might as well... I don't know, talk?" She tilted her head as she held his gaze, cradling her mug in both hands.
"Talk," Cole repeated, a smile tugging at his lips. "That's a revolutionary idea."
She laughed, and some of the tension in the air eased. "I mean real talking. Not just mission stuff, contamination levels, or Charles Penson. I want to know more about you. Who is Cole Iverson when he's not rescuing wildlife veterinarians?"
Cole settled back, surprised by how much he wanted to answer. "Not much to tell. I was born in North Dakota. Small town you've never heard of. Dad worked on crop dusters, eventually started his own agricultural aviation business."
"Is that where you learned to fly?"
"Yeah. Dad had me in a cockpit before I could ride a bike.
Loved it from the first moment." Cole smiled at the memory.
"He'd take me up after school, let me take the controls once we were airborne.
By the time I was twelve, I was helping with the business.
Loading chemicals, maintenance work, learning every inch of those planes. "
"Your dad sounds amazing."
"He was." Cole's throat tightened with familiar grief. "Cancer took him five years ago. My brother-in-law runs the crop dusting business now. Two sisters and Mom still live there. I visit when I can, but it's not the same without Dad."
Janice reached out and touched his hand, a brief squeeze of comfort that shouldn't have felt as significant as it did. "I'm sorry."
"Thanks." Cole cleared his throat. "Anyway, I joined the Army right out of high school.
Then applied for Warrant Officer Flight Training.
Spent ten years as a warrant officer helicopter pilot, doing two tours in Afghanistan flying Rangers.
When I got out, I worked for the original Lighthouse Security Investigations in Maine. "
“Is that who you work for now? Your ID said, Montana.”
“That’s right. There are three Lighthouse Security Investigations… the first one in Maine, the next one on the West Coast in California, and then the third one started in Montana.”
“Why did you leave the one in Maine? That sounds like such a lovely place I’ve always wanted to visit.”
"Montana felt perfect for me," he explained.
"A lot like North Dakota in some ways. Wide open spaces, mountains, that sense of being small against something vast and wild. The LSI business in Maine was great as far as people and teaching me what I needed to know to do this job. When the one opened in California, I never thought about moving.”
She laughed and nodded. “I can’t see you with the surfers in California.”
He grinned and shook his head. “I figured Maine would be it for me even though the location never felt like home. But when an LSI opened in Montana, I visited, knew it was right, and made the move. Montana was home from the first day."
"So that's how you came here. To do the security assessment for Charles Penson."
"Yeah." His lips twisted. "Ironic, isn't it? I came to help secure his property, and instead I'm helping expose his illegal operation."
"I'm glad you did." Her voice was soft in the darkness. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up when you did."
"You would have figured it out," Cole said with confidence. "You're smart, capable, and you care about this place and these animals more than your own safety. That's... that's pretty remarkable, actually."
She seemed to be thinking it over, absorbing his words.
“Anyway, that’s what Keepers do. We have planned assignments, but we can easily stumble on a situation that needs help.”
Her brow furrowed. "What's a Keeper?"
"It's from the lighthouse keeper motto," Cole explained. "They were the people who kept the lights burning, who guided ships away from danger. That's what we do… guide people to safety, keep them protected from threats they might not even see coming."
“That’s really… I don’t know… it sounds special.
” She chewed on her bottom lip, her gaze staring out the window for a moment before shifting back to him.
“I guess I don’t really understand what all you do.
Or is it the kind of job where you can’t talk about it, or you’d have to kill me? ” she added with a laugh.
Grinning, he finished the last of the hot chocolate and set the cup on the floor near his feet.
Settling back against the cushions, he leaned a little closer.
“We’re a private security and investigations company.
Yes, we do security, such as what you know about how we design advanced security systems for homes…
rarely businesses. But we are also private investigators.
We take assignments from the FBI, individuals, and even internationally. ”
Her eyes widened. “Wow, that really sounds very much like something from an action movie.”
“Sometimes it can get really crazy,” he admitted, thinking of some of the past challenges they’d faced.
“But sometimes, it’s more about gathering data from our compound and directing others on what to do.
All of the Keepers are former military, and it’s a way to continue assignments and missions without having to follow all the government regulations. ”
Her eyes sparkled. “Something like what we did today?”
“Yeah… exactly.” He thought back to the LSIMT compound and grinned again. “The team my boss has assembled contains some of the best operators I’ve ever worked with.”
“That’s so fascinating,” she said, still sipping her hot chocolate.
His gaze held her and the air seemed to crackle, filling with something he didn’t know how to describe. But deciding it didn’t need a title, he simply wanted her to keep talking. “Now it’s my turn to find out about you.”
“Where do I start? I'm not nearly as interesting." She laughed.
"You are to me.” The words fell from his lips before he could hold them back, but watching color rise in her cheeks even in the dim light, he was glad he’d taken the risk.