Chapter 271: Out of the Line of FireJackie leaned back in her beach chair and dug a bare toe in the sand as she watched Grant and Emma squealing at the water's edge. Following breakfast at the Blue Moon Diner, she'd treated the kids to a trip to Spruce Beach. While they could swim back at Lake Miranda, they always thought Spruce Beach was the height of fun.From their booth in the diner's front window, she'd seen Ned Hart go past in his patrol car, followed closely by a huge black SUV. Jackie shuddered as she pictured Amy being led away in handcuffs. The children, of course, had been oblivious, diving into their funny-face pancakes with gusto. To them, they'd merely lucked out with a surprise outing.She couldn't imagine the arrest would take long. After all, they had to drive all the way to Toronto and catch a flight to California. And if she knew her brother, Blake would be right behind them.The whole thing was probably over by the time they'd finished breakfast, she figured

Chapter 273: Assessing the DamageScott sat on the lodge's front porch and watched as Jackie and the representative from the insurance company toured the burned-out section of the compound. Feet propped on the railing, he leaned back in the primitive wood rocker with his laptop open. Ostensibly, he was working on the website for Nielsen Outdoors School, but in reality, he was keeping an eye on the proceedings, gauging Jackie's reactions to the things the man told her. No, she wasn't his, not yet. Maybe not ever, he conceded. But that technicality didn't do anything to temper his protective nature. That was just who he was.He couldn't actually hear what was being said, but so far, things seemed to be going in a positive direction, judging by the nods and the body language. The pair chatted back and forth, the man tapping notes into his tablet and occasionally snapping pictures.Apparently finished, they returned to the front of the lodge. The man turned to shake Jackie's hand.

Chapter 275: No Sleep TonightLate that night, Jackie lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. The bedside clock mocked her, its relentless red light blinking 12:47.I need to get to sleep. Everyone's showing up at 7:00 tomorrow, expecting to start getting the lodge ready to roll. She sighed deeply, knowing sleep was nowhere close. Her thoughts raced as she replayed the day in her mind, from the visit from the insurance representative, to the staff meeting, to her trip to the island with Scott.Scott. What had happened between them had been mind-blowing. He'd expertly brought her to orgasm with no intention of satisfying himself.What's that about? Her sex still tingled at the memory of his hand there.She thought of him down the hall, pictured him alone in his room. She wondered if he was still awake, propped up in bed, shirtless, with those reading glasses he'd been wearing the other night. God, those were sexy. She wondered what he'd been reading. She thought of the steamy r

Chapter 277: Surprise ContractorsAn hour later, Jackie felt they were making some headway upstairs. They'd managed to completely outfit five rooms, which would do for the weekend. But as long as they had the momentum, she wanted to keep going.Scott and Sean had just taken a load of broken furniture out to the trash when Scott called up the stairs. "Hey, Jackie?"She came to the head of the stairs. "Yeah?"Scott nodded over his right shoulder. "Some people are here to see you. Some contractors?"Jackie frowned. "Contractors?" Dusting off her hands with a rag, she walked down the stairs. She hadn't contacted any contractors. The insurance guy had just been there the day before. She had no idea about a budget, so she couldn't imagine why anyone would stop by.Standing with Scott by the reception desk were three men and a woman. Jackie looked at Scott, then spoke to the visitors. "I'm Jackie Walker.""Ms. Walker," said the oldest of the group, "I'm Martin Grayson. This is J

Chapter 279: EmergencyThe cab of the truck was silent as they made their way into town. Scott's eyes were on the road, but he could see Grant and Jackie out of the corner of his eye. Stone-faced, Jackie stared out the front window, holding a clean cloth to Grant's gash and idly stroking his hair. The boy lay on the bench seat between them, wrapped in a blanket Trina had rushed down to the dock just after the accident. Trina had offered to stay with Emma while they took Grant into town. While Jackie had suggested that the staff call it a day, they'd all refused, promising to get back to work after lunch.Scott managed to trim ten minutes from the normal half-hour drive into town. When they arrived at the clinic, Scott quickly found a parking spot, then hurried around the truck to open Jackie's door and scoop up Grant. In the waiting room, Scott sat holding Grant in his lap while Jackie filled out the necessary paperwork. In short order, a triage nurse, clipboard in hand, came