“How are you feeling?”

Truth sat up straighter on the sofa, her legs tucked under her. She was still in her pajamas with a blanket thrown over her lap, but he was glad to see the color had returned to her cheeks.

“Much better today, thanks. I think I just needed to get out of bed.”

“Good.” Jackson set down the glass of orange juice on the table and took the seat beside her. “Here. I warmed up some chicken soup for you.”

She shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”

“Come on, Sunshine. You need to eat something.”

Jackson scoop up a spoonful of the steamy soup and brought it to her mouth. She wrinkled her nose and turned her head away

Jackson sighed then brought the spoon to his mouth. “Not bad. Here, try some.” She threw up her hands when he tried to feed her another spoonful. “You’re one difficult patient, you know that?”

She cocked a brow, her gaze sharp and incredulous. “You’re one to talk. You were a terrible patient.”

Jackson bit back a smile as he feigned innocence. He knew exactly what a pain in the ass he had been. “What are you talking about? I was an angel.”

“Ha! So was Lucifer.”

He laughed and scooped up another spoonful of soup. “Would you at least try it and let me know if I got the flavor right?”

She rolled her eyes but open her mouth. “Hmm, tastes just like a microwave can of chicken soup should.”

“Good. One more.”

She obliged him, and he fed her another spoon. He placed the small bowl of unfinished soup on the table.

The color was returning to her cheeks and her eyes weren’t as sunken. He had spent the weekend caring for her and was glad to see she was returning back to her healthy self.

She turned back to the program she was watching on the television, rubbing the back of her neck repeatedly. He had noticed she had been rubbing that spot earlier and frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm?” She turned back to him, distracted.

“You’re neck’s bothering you?”

“Oh.” She let her hand drop. “No, not really. It’s just a little stiff.”

“Come here.”

She tilted her head curiously but scooted over to him. When she got close enough, he reached behind her neck and applied some pressure to the area.

“Here?”

She nodded. “It’s tense there in a key. I don’t know why.”

Jackson began massaging the area and she released a long, soft moan. The sound sent lust straight through him, but he continued rubbing her slender neck. Her eyes drifted shut and she tilted her head to the side to give him better access. He leaned in closer to give her more of what she wanted.

“Oh wow, Jackson. That feels so good.”

Jackson clenched his teeth and his gaze moved from her neck up to her lips. Those words made him forget everything except pulling her beneath him and driving and deep.

His gaze remained fixated on her lips and he remembered their soft sweetness. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to taste them again.

Before he could stop himself, Jackson leaned in closer, her soft lips his main target…

Suddenly, she tensed and her head jerked back. “Ahchoo!”

Jackson flinched from the spray of saliva that flew across his face. She covered her mouth and sneezed again.

“Bless you,” he murmured, wiping at his face.

Her eyes were wide with dismay. “Oh, no! I’m so sorry. Did I get my germs all over you?”

Jackson shrugged. Served him right for trying to kiss a sick woman. “Don’t worry about it.”

Suddenly, faint ringing came from the back of the house and she tried to scramble to her feet. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

“Where are you going?”

“That’s my phone. It might be the hospital calling.”

“You sit. I’ll get it.”

Jackson went into her bedroom and found the cell phone on the nightstand. He answered it and was surprised to hear a male voice come through the line.

“Truth?”

“Who’s this?”

The man hesitated before he spoke again. “It’s Mike.”

Jealousy at this unknown man calling her phone made his grip on the phone tightened. She had never mentioned a Mike, yet the way the man asked for her made it apparent he was no stranger.

“Mike who?”

“Mike Justice. Is this Jackson?”

Jackson frowned in confusion, wondering why the deputy would be calling her. “What do you want, Mike?”

Mike paused for a moment then said, “Can I speak to Truth?”

Fuck no.

But he had no claim over her and as much as Jackson wanted to tell Mike Justice to fuck off, he couldn’t.

“Hold on a sec.”

Jackson shamelessly put the call on speaker and went back into the living room. Truth stared at him curiously when he handed her the phone.

“It’s Mike.”

Her eyes widened in surprise as she took the phone from his hand. “Hey, Mike.”

“Hey, beautiful. You must be one busy lady. I can’t seem to get you to return my calls.”

“Sorry,” Truth said, her brows pulling with regret. “I’ve been meaning to, but it’s been a busy week and I’ve been a bit under the weather.”

Jackson fell back into the seat beside her, suppressing an eye-roll while trying to figure out where the hell they had gotten a chance to meet.

“I’m sorry to hear that. How are you feeling now?”

“I’m not ready to slay any dragons, but I’m doing much better, thanks.”

They exchanged a few more pleasantries and Jackson tried to pretend he wasn’t hanging on every word.

“Well, I won’t keep you,” Mike eventually said. “I’m just glad I got to hear your voice again.”

This time, Jackson couldn’t suppress his eye-roll.

“Let’s not wait another week to do it again.”

Truth chuckled. “No, sir. We’ll talk again soon. I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Jackson waited until she ended the call before he asked evenly, “When did you two become so friendly?”

“Last week,” Truth said as she placed her phone on the center table. “We met at the boutique when I stopped in to buy you those shirts. He’s been asking me to dinner since that night.”

Jackson studied her. “And you agreed?”

“No. I told him I’d take a rain check. There’s just too much going on right now to add dating in the mix.”

Damn right.

Jackson lost some of his tension. “You might want to let him know that sooner than later.”

“I know,” she muttered. “He seems like a nice guy. I don’t want him to think I’m playing hard to get or anything.”

Jackson frowned. I don’t care what he thinks.

“Just don’t wait too long to do it.”

* * *

“How was your first day?”

Truth glanced up to find the doctor who had removed Jackson’s cast smiling down at her.

“Not bad at all,” Truth told her. “Luckily a lot hasn’t changed since I’ve been back so it was like picking up right where I left off.”

Dr. Parker nodded. “Well, I’m for sure glad for the help, so welcome aboard.”

“Thank you.”

The doctor nodded then took her lunch and left the hospital cafeteria. Truth carried her tray to the beverage machine.

She was certainly happy for the work and the chance to stay around longer. Jackson may not need her to wait on him anymore, but they made a great team and caring for each other. When she thought of how he had cared for her during her bout with the flu, her heart warmed a little more. He had been caring and tender with her just as she had seen him be with Daisy. And he had been a perfect gentleman about it all.

Now that they were more like roommates, she was surprised at how well they got along now that he was better and pursuing his business goals. She needed to start thinking about her own career goals, but for now she was content to just work at the local hospital and have some stability for change.

“I thought I recognized that ponytail.”

Truth looked up from the cup she was filling to find Mike in full uniform smiling crookedly down at her.

“Oh, hey Mike. What are you doing here?”

He lifted a small brown paper bag in his hand. “Confiscating evidence.”

Truth eyes widened in horror and confusion and Mike chuckled.

“I’m kidding. I’m off duty and these are just cookies. If you hadn’t noticed, I have a weakness for anything made with brown sugar.” 

He waggled his brows at her as his gaze raked down the length of her. She rolled her eyes, but laughed despite herself.

“I hope the food is as good as I heard it is or I’m going to start thinking you’re stalking me.”

“See, if you’d gone out to dinner with me, you’d already find out that I’m too lazy to be a stalker.”

Truth laughed and secured the lid on her drink cup. Not that she had any real concerns. He really was harmless, and maybe a little silly too.

“That’s a relief to know.”

She picked up her lunch tray and Mike followed her as she chose one of the back tables to settle down in.

“When did you start working here?” he asked, taking the seat across from her.

“Today is actually my first day. I was supposed to start a few days ago but got a bad case of the flu.”

“Oh right. Well I’m glad to see you’re doing much better now.”

“Thanks.” She unwrapped a sandwich, hoping he wouldn’t push for a date again.

She wasn’t surprised when he did.

“Maybe if you’re up to it, we can grab a proper meal tomorrow night at Iggy’s. It’s a sports bar with great food and karaoke.”

Truth glanced up and offered him a soft smile. Mike Justice was exactly the kind of guy she usually went for—tall and lean with dark features and the captivating smile. He was also funny, and kind and she could imagine herself having a lot of fun with him. But the thought of opening herself to dating again scared the joy right out of her.

“Mike, you seem like a really nice guy—”

“I don’t like where this is going,” he muttered. 

“—and in a previous life, I would have loved to go out with you. But right now, I’m not looking for anything more than friendship.”

“Ouch. I haven’t even had a chance to hold your hand and you’re already friend-zoning me.”

“I’m sorry, but right now that’s just how I feel.”

Mike studied her for a moment before he leaned back in his seat and nodded resolutely. “All right. I can respect that. I have no clue what’s it like to be in your position, but I can imagine it’s tough. Especially if it hasn’t been that long.”

Truth averted her gaze and stared down at the table top. It was rough being a young widow and knowing she would miss out on a lifetime of memories only added to her despair. It was hard not feeling guilty whenever she laughed or thought about a future that did not include her husband.

“It’s hard,” Truth murmured. “Danny was a great guy and I was looking forward to our future together.”

“How long were you two married?” Mike asked.

“Only a few months.” She laughed ruefully. “I admit we moved pretty fast, but I knew I had found a keeper, you know?”

Mike covered her hand with his and gave it a gentle squeeze. It felt nice, even a little freeing to talk about Danny again. She wished she could have more conversions like this with Jackson.

“I definitely know how it feels to have loved and loss,” Mike said. “It’s not easy to open up to that kind of pain again, but I genuinely believe that the Universe wants us to be happy. And I think we owe ourselves at least a chance to be open to the possibility.”

Truth stared at him, wondering when and how he had gotten his heart broken, until she realized it didn’t matter. A loss was a loss, and often times it hurt just as equally.

“Uh-oh. You’re giving me a look at that I just put my foot in my mouth.” Mike gave her a pained look then sighed. “Look, Truth, I didn’t mean—”

“No, you said nothing wrong.” This time, Truth covered his hand with hers and patted it reassuringly.

“Good, because I’m not trying to pressure you into seeing me or anything. I just know that if you were mine, I’d want you to be happy. With or without me. And I’m not just saying that.”

Truth smiled, touched and somewhat comforted by his sincerity. More and more, he reminded her of Danny. She knew deep down in her core, then he would want her to find love again, to be happy, and the guilt she felt over the idea was all her own.

Finally, Mike pushed up to his feet. “I should probably let you get back to your lunch.”

“Wait.”

Mike stared down at her, surprised and her heart began to thud in her chest. She had surprised herself by stopping him too, but if this was the universe trying to send love her way, she probably shouldn’t push him away. 

“I thought you were off duty?”

“I am…”

“Then tell me more about the Ziggy’s place.”

“It’s Iggy’s,” Mike corrected with a smile as he fell back into his seat. “And I think you’d love it.”