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Chris, ever the peaceht to Sam

“Claire, I think what Sa to say is we can’t sit by and watch you risk your life We love you” Chris paused for a breath “Anyway, Mo but stea happened to you”

She chuckled at that She didn’t kno he ed to do it, but Chris sucked the tension out of a situation better than anyone else in the world God, she loved him

Really, she loved all of them But they had to learn she could take care of herself She’d graduated froe, earned her MBA, had her heart pulverized and started her own restaurant, a successful one at that Was it a baby sister thing? Was it a girl thing?

Who knew and who cared It ended now Today, she took care of them

Her fingers trailed through Onion’s fur, causing his tail to thunk on the ground

“Thank you all for co out I appreciate your concern, but I’lanced back at Jake still sitting on the porch steps “My fridge is erab a pizza?”

Jake ambled over to her side “Sure What do you like?”

“Everything”

The smirk returned “My kind of woman”

Chapter Six

Jake had no clue how he’d ended up as the pizza delivery boy He’d started off the afternoon as the valiant protector Now he sat in the King Pizza parking lot waiting for a large pepperoni The scent of warrease did little to distract him from the redhead who had somehow submarined his free will

Claire said juh And he liked it Da him six kinds of a wi in with his father any longer

“’Bout daarettes I quit two years ago, haven’t stopped hacking up a lung ever since”

He nodded as if his father could see him “If you quit, how come you have a pack in the freezer?”