"Jake!?" Both excitement and astonishment colored her voice.
He heard her sprinting across the living room until she was just behind him. Reluctantly he opened the door wide and allowed the other man to cross the threshold into his home.
Moments ago, Warren had been more than pleased with the shorts and t-shirt combination Jolie was wearing. Now, standing in front of another man whose eyes belayed his obvious appreciation of her body, Warren wished she owned a bathrobe.
The other man extended his arms and Jolie stepped into them without hesitation for a hug.
"What are you doing here?" Her face conveyed surprise and pleasure in the flush of her cheeks and sparkle in her eyes.
Jake held her close a little too long in Warren's estimation but finally released her and stepped back to give her another sweep with his eyes.
"No one has physically laid eyes on you for months. Pictures on Facebook simply don't satisfy my worry. I know you said you were fine but I wanted to see for myself," Jake reached out and touched her arm. "As soon as I could get time off I looked up Warren and set out."
Warren suppressed the need to forcefully remove the blonde man's appendage from his woman's person. He didn't like this guy. Maybe it was just jealousy rearing its ugly head but he couldn't help it. Everything about this guy was too smooth and he was way to familiar with Jolie for Warren's comfort level.
The fact that the guy had looked up Warren's address and taken it upon himself to visit without notifying or asking his or Jolie's permission, rubbed him the wrong way. Beyond his admittedly jealous feelings, this behavior seemed suspicious in itself. Jolie explaining that Jake was a police officer did nothing to assuage his concern.
Warren stood aside and tried to school his features to look pleasantly amused as he observed their interaction.
Jolie pulled their visitor into the kitchen and sat him down at the table. His asked questions about her wreck and the damage to her bike. She answered in a chipper voice as she poured him a cup of coffee and sliced a piece of coffee cake for the three of them.
He joined them at the table with his coffee and pretended to listen as he ate his cake. In truth he just wanted more time to observe and size up Jake Monroe.
Jolie appeared excited to see her friend which was understandable. Warren couldn't discern anything but platonic feelings on her side of the conversation. Jake's side, however, conveyed loads of unrequited feelings no matter how hard the other man tried to play it cool.
The way he leaned in toward her, took every opportunity to touch her, stared unabashedly at every feature of her face and hung on every word she said told the story well.
By the end of twenty minutes Warren was positive Jake Monroe had a thing for his girl and had some time. Maybe years. He was equally certain Jolie had no idea.
Warren tamped down an irrational desire to pull the man up by his collar and throw him headlong from the house. Behaving like a caveman certainly wouldn't earn him any points with Jolie. In addition, he'd look like a psychopath.
He checked the pleasant smile he'd pasted on was still being maintained. With a tight leash on his tone he waded into the conversation.
"So Jake, where are you staying?" Warren tried to sound relaxed and conversational.
"At the Holiday Inn. It was the first place I saw when I pulled into town. I just dropped my bags off then set out in search of your house." Monroe flashed a too wide, too bright smile that irritated Warren.
"How long do you plan on being in town?" He reached across the table and took Jolie's hand. Without a moment's hesitation she laced her fingers with his. A wave of relief washed over him. Jake's arrival didn't seem to change anything between them.
Warren glanced across the table and found Jake's eyes glued to their linked hands. His wide grin had fallen and his lips sat in a flat line. The other man snapped out of it and softened his features.
"I have 5 days." He responded a bit flatly. Jake shifted his eyes from their hands to his coffee mug.
Jolie didn't seem to notice the tension or her friends' sudden change of mood.
"So you'll be here for New Years! Warren was just telling me about a community dance they have here. We're going," She turned to Warren. "Your cousins will be there too right? So it wouldn't be too weIrd for Jake if he came along too? Right?"
Everything about Jolie kicked his butt. The last thing he wanted to do was invite the guy harboring a crush on his girlfriend along on their date night but one look at her face had him caving without protest. Whatever makes her happy.
"Sure babe. I'll make sure they are coming and even ask them to rustle up a few more friends to make it a party. We can't have your friend say he didn't enjoy himself while he was here." Warren broke his eyes away from his beautiful blonde girlfriend and found Jake studying him.
He noticed the other man had dark brown eyes set deeply in his tan face. Those eyes were trained on Warren now. Taking his measure.
Go ahead. Size me up. You don't have a chance. It's no coincidence she ended up here. She's mine and I'll fight for her.
The two men continued their silent exchange as Jolie stood up and retrieved the coffee pot. Warren broke eye contact first. He smiled sunnily up at Jolie as she poured them all more coffee. Even the way she moved about the house doing nothing special at all was sexy.
"Thanks babe." Partially to spite the other man, but mostly for his own enjoyment, he reached over and placed his hand on Jolie's lower back.
She bent and kissed the top of his head before moving away to return the pot.
Jake sat still as a stone across from him shooting arrows of hate from his eyes.
***
Jolie had been shocked to hear Jake's voice and then see his sandy blonde head over Warren's shoulder. They'd spoken briefly over Christmas and she'd assured him that she was safe and comfortable.
Admittedly, she was a very private individual. She rarely welcomed people's attention, even well meaning friends. Dustin and his wife Maria were like family to her and were given the most licenses to worry or question her but even they knew that pushing too far could result an extended bout of exclusion.
Jake Monroe had been hired on at the same time as Dustin and installed himself in her life before she'd had much say in the matter. He was a favorite in the dispatch center, stopping in with donuts and coffee once a week. He'd always made a point of stopping by her station to shoot the breeze.
After Dustin introduced her to Luke, he'd listened to her list of Luke's favorite attributes for a while before weaning off their visits. She couldn't blame him, what man wanted to hear a woman gush about her new love interest?
After Luke's death he'd stepped back into the picture in a big. He'd expressed a sincere desire to assist her in whatever way she needed and offered her an ear whenever she needed it. Of course, Jolie wouldn't accept help from anyone, her pride wouldn't let her but the offers were still comforting.
She'd expected to get calls from Maria and Dustin after she'd split. They were understandably worried and concerned for her. She hadn't foreseen Jake's upset call and continued attempts to keep tabs on her welfare.
Maria seemed the most able to understand that Jolie needed space. She called rarely and didn't grill her for information like the men did. She seemed content to take the information Jolie was willing to give and if she read more between the lines she didn't make a big deal about it. She sent pictures of the girls via email and chatted animatedly about pictures and adventures that Jolie occasionaly shared on social media to appease those who had begun to worry she might be dead.
Dustin called a bit more often but still tried to give her the space she desired. To his credit, he held back a lot of the worry he felt. She could hear it in his voice when he was straining not to ask a question or get angry with some situation she'd experienced alone that, in his opinion, she shouldn't have.
Jolie knew that her husband's best friend felt he'd failed Luke in not being able to help Jolie and protect her better. No matter how much she assured him he was doing all that she would allow him to do and she appreciated every bit of assistance he gave, his disappointment loomed there in the background. She knew, anything she needed, all she had to do was ask. Dustin had connections and he'd never hesitate to call in whoever was best suited.
Warren was a perfect example of Dustin's reach.
Jake called the most often. In truth, she rarely answered the phone. He poked and prodded more than she could handle. She didn't doubt his intentions were only for her welfare but she resented his tone often. While Dustin could convey concern without making her feel small and inept, Jake tended to come across condescending.
Despite her reservations as to Jake's methods, she couldn't help being excited to hear a voice so deeply connected to home, in person.
She had to admit, the two months she'd spent with Warren and his family had changed her. His family's easy going nature had worn down some of her rougher edges. She put aside her slight irritation she'd initially felt that Jake had ignored her wishes and tracked her down. Jolie, instead, focused on the fact that she now had a direct source of information from home.
Jake could fulfill all her questions and curiosity on the comings and goings of home she'd never take the time to ask on the phone. She'd always been afraid asking too much would send the wrong message. She didn't want to convey she regretted her decision or intended to return at any particular time.
She'd always been careful not to get people's hopes up in regards her emotional health.
Her recent experiences made human interaction a lot less uncomfortable. Jake could take back reports of her health, growth and growing happiness. His first hand observations would appease them far better than her assurances over the phone.
With Warren's support she felt confident she could enjoy Jake's short visit. Her friends back home were important to her, despite her previous actions possibly expressing the opposite to them.
Jolie gave herself over to the emotions of excitement and allowed herself to chatter away with Jake as if she were back in the days before Luke's death. She was flattered by Jake's obvious concern and a little humbled. She'd never really believed he could have been that emotionally invested in her well being but seeing the way her listened intently and reacted to her stories made her question her beliefs.
Once, during their breakfast conversation he'd leaned in a little too closely and touched her. She'd reached for Warren, comforted that he'd been right by her side and linked his fingers with hers.
A small red flag popped up in the back of her mind. Warren's emotional support was invaluable. Her dependence on it was something she'd have to look at later after Jake was well on his way back north.