Jack and Melissa both got up early the next morning and left the house at the same time. Melissa wanted to reorganize some of the shelving before she opened the shop. Jack hit the gym and then met his sister at Kelsey’s Kafe for breakfast before they both went to work. They met there just about every Wednesday morning. The practice had started several years ago as a way to make sure they checked in with each other weekly since they were both so busy otherwise.

Jack valued his sister's opinion more than anyone else and he knew that she was conflicted about his arrangement with Melissa. Bernie was already at the counter when he arrived.

"You're late!" Kelsi said as he slid onto the stool next to his sister. It was one minute past eight. She grinned as she poured hot coffee into a mug and slid it towards him.

"I'm sorry. I'll do better next time," he said.

"You went to the gym this morning? After playing hockey last night? Something's bothering you," Bernie stated as she added a little more sugar to her coffee.

"How do you know I went to the gym?" His sister knew him too well and at times it was disconcerting.

"Easy, your hair's still wet and there's no gel in it. You always forget your gel when you go to the gym."

Jack laughed. "You've got me there. Maybe I just needed to work off some of what I ate this past weekend."

"Since when have you ever worried about that? Nice try, though. What's going on?"

"I'm just worried about Melissa. I know you said her ex isn't staying at the ranch, but I think he may have been around there yesterday and someone set off the cameras last night. Roger heard it, too, and went crazy. I think he scared off whoever it was."

Bernie chewed her bottom lip, something she always did when she was worried.

"It sounds more serious than I realized. Poor Melissa, and now I have to worry about you being involved in this."

Jack gave her a look. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm a cop, I'm trained for this. You don't have to worry about me."

"I'll always worry about you. Can't be helped." They both looked up as Kelsi walked back over.

"Do you both want your usual or Bob's special? I'd go with the special if I were you."

"What is it?" Bernie and Jack asked at the same time and then laughed.

"Monte Cristo—like a ham and cheese made with French toast. Hash browns on the side."

They both decided to have the special and Kelsi topped off their coffees before heading into the kitchen to give their orders to Bob, the chef.

"So, I hear from Lily, who ran into Melissa, that you're both up for the fair tonight. It should be fun."

"It's always a good time," Jack agreed.

"So, as soon as this guy heads back to Boston, you'll move out of Melissa's?" Bernie asked. The change of subject took him by surprise.

"What? I suppose so. That's the plan, anyway," Jack agreed.

Bernie looked at him in dismay. "I was afraid of this."

"Afraid of what?"

"You've fallen for her. And you're hoping that she'll fall for you, too, even though she's given you no indication whatsoever that she's interested in a relationship with anyone right now. I worry for the both of you."

"Don't be ridiculous. There's nothing to worry about."

"No? I had a college friend, Steve, who did this…he was madly in love with a mutual friend of ours. She was looking for a roommate and he moved in. She told him she wasn't interested in him that way, but he thought he could change her mind."

"Did it work?" Jack asked as Kelsi set their food in front of them.

"No. He lived with her for two years before he finally understood that nothing was going to change. He didn't date anyone else during that period."

"It's not like that with us."

"Right. And I love you dearly, but I worry just as much for Melissa, too."

"Why? I'd never hurt her."

"Not intentionally, no. But I know you. You're always most interested when they are unattainable, out of reach for whatever reason. Once they're into you, you lose interest. And I like Melissa. I think the best thing that could happen, frankly, would be for you to both go your separate ways when this guy leaves town. Move on."

"You don't have a whole lot of faith in me. It's different with Melissa," Jack insisted.

Bernie grinned. "Sure it is. Like I haven't heard that before. Try your breakfast. It's delicious."

* * *

The shop was busy all day and Melissa had one of her best sales days since opening. So, she was in a better mood than usual when she arrived home. Jack was already home, but when she walked inside, the house was quiet and there was no sign of either Jack or Roger. They must be out for their evening walk, though she hadn't passed them on the way in. They must have gone in the opposite direction.

Melissa went upstairs to change into more appropriate clothes for a county fair and came downstairs a few minutes later in her favorite worn jeans, her fun purple cowboy boots and a pretty purple flowered top.

A few minutes later, Jack and Roger came through the door. Jack fed Roger and then they headed out to meet the others at the fair.

It was a beautiful night, with a warm breeze. The fair looked like it was drawing a good crowd for opening night. Jack parked in a huge makeshift lot on a grassy field and they made their way to the entrance to the fair. Bernie and David were chatting with Wade and Maddie by the ticket window and Vivian was with her best friend Violet, and Sadie and her husband Shawn.

"Lily and Cody should be here any minute," Bernie said while Jack went to buy their tickets.

"Do you have fairs like this in Boston?" Maddie asked.

Melissa smiled. "Not in Boston proper, no, but my sister and I used to drive a little north to Topsfield. They have a huge fair, probably very similar to this. We used to love to go."

Jack came over with their tickets just as Lily and David joined them. As soon as they got their tickets, they all went inside.

"Let's go to the food tent first," Bernie said. "We can taste everything, vote for Jaclyn's jam and then check out the games."

That sounded like a good plan to everyone. Both Melissa and Jack hadn't eaten anything yet for dinner, so they were happy to taste anything. The tent was huge, with an assortment of vendors and individual home chefs offering tastes of their dishes. They were each handed a list of the different dishes, some voting slips and told to cast their ballots as they left the tent.

Jaclyn waved at them from behind her table. In front of her were tiny paper cups filled with pieces of bread topped with jam.

"I knew you'd come!" she said happily as they went over to say hello. She handed samples to all of them.

"Now, be sure to try all of my competitors and then vote for your favorite…as long as it's me. Just kidding," she said with a wink, although Melissa was pretty sure she wasn't kidding. She didn't need to worry, though. Her jam was by far the best. They all agreed on that.

By the time they left the tent, they'd tried all kinds of things—pulled pork mini-sandwiches, chili, and more. Melissa thought she was full but when Jack asked if she wanted to split a piece of fried bread dough dusted with cinnamon sugar and melted butter, she didn't hesitate to say yes.

They nibbled on their dessert as they watched some of the others try to win prizes at the various arcade games. The girls wanted to go on some of the rides so they went there next and then on to visit the animals, the ponies and goats. By then, the girls were getting tired, and Wade, Maddie, Sadie and Shawn all said their goodbyes.

Lily led the way over to the music area where it looked like a band was almost ready to play.

"There are two bands tonight and both are supposed to be really good. One is more bluesy and the other is country rock. Anyone want a beer?"

"I'll go with you," Melissa said as Jack and the others found seats. Melissa and Lily brought back beers for everyone and Melissa settled next to Jack on one of the long wooden benches. The first band was excellent, as Lily had predicted, and the one following was even better. It was almost ten when they finished playing and Melissa laughed when she and Lily both yawned at the same time.

"It's about that time," Lily said. "They were great, weren't they?"

Everyone agreed and as they walked out together to their cars, Bernie reminded them about trivia the next night.

"We have to go. We won that gift certificate last time and Jaclyn will want to use it this week."

"We wouldn't want to disappoint Jaclyn," Jack said.

"We may be celebrating her win, too. She should know by tomorrow afternoon," Lily added.

* * *

When they got home, Jack took Roger out for a quick walk in the back yard. Melissa heard the front door open and then a loud crash. She ran to see what happened and saw Jack sprawled on the front step with Roger nudging him. She noticed that the front light was out.

"What happened? Are you okay?" She held out her hand to help him up.

Jack got to his feet slowly and grabbed onto the side of the house instead of taking her hand.

"I'm fine. I just missed the step in the dark and went down hard. We need to replace the light over the door."

"I saw that was out when we drove up. I'll go grab a bulb." Melissa returned with a light bulb and a flashlight and was going to change the bulb herself, but Jack reached out and took the bulb.

"I'll do it. It's easier for me to reach. Can you just hold the flashlight up so I can see?"

She did and he quickly replaced the bulb. When they came inside, she noticed a spot of blood on the hard wood floor.

"You're bleeding. Let me see your hand," she demanded.

Jack held out his right hand and Melissa sucked in her breath.

"Come into the kitchen. Let's clean that up and see how deep it is." It looked bad, as there was blood all over his hand, but she hoped the cut wasn't too deep. If it was, they'd head straight for the emergency room so he could get stitches. She knew that you had to do that right away if a cut needed stitches. Otherwise if you waited, then they wouldn't be able to close the wound because bacteria might get trapped inside.

Once Jack rinsed his hand under the kitchen faucet they saw that it was just a few bad scrapes.

"Stay here and hold that paper towel on it. I'll be right back." Melissa ran upstairs into her bathroom and came back with a large bandage and antibiotic ointment. She took the paper towel and dabbed gently at the cut, then squeezed a bit of the ointment over it and rubbed it lightly so it just covered the scrapes. The bandage followed. Melissa tried not to notice how close she was standing to Jack or how he caught his breath as she smoothed the ointment across his palm. Or how she liked the feel of her skin against his.

"Thanks," he said.

"It's nothing. I'll put the ointment and an extra bandage in the downstairs bathroom closet in case you need it."

"Thanks. Are you going to head to bed or stay up for a while.”?

Melissa hesitated. "I'm not sure. I might stay up for a bit."

He smiled. "Good. I'll keep you company, then."

Melissa sat on the sofa and Jack joined her, sitting closer than he usually did. She flicked on the television and flipped channels until she found her favorite news channel. She settled back on the sofa and absentmindedly rubbed the side of her neck. It was a little stiff.

"Did you sleep wrong?" Jack asked as he reached out his good hand and started to knead the spot she was rubbing. He somehow managed to hit the exact spot that was bothering her.

"Yes, I must have. It feels better already, though. Thank you."

Jack worked on it for a few more minutes and as she started to feel her muscles loosen, Melissa tried not to think about how much she was enjoying his touch. When he finished, the stiffness was almost completely gone.

"Better?" he asked.

"So much. Thank you." She wanted to know more about Jack.

"What made you become a police officer? Was it something you always knew you wanted to do?"

"I thought about being a lawyer. I went to school for criminal justice. But the more I got into it, the less I wanted to go to law school. I liked school, but I didn't see myself behind a desk all day. I wanted to be out there in the field, making a difference and helping to keep the community safe."

"And you like it?" Melissa couldn't really picture Jack as lawyer. He was too active, had too much energy.

"Most of the time I love it. Every day is different. It's a great bunch of guys. I couldn't ask for a better boss than Shane."

"It's an important job. They're lucky to have you." Melissa glanced at his bandaged hand. "How is it feeling?"

Jack grinned. "It's fine, just a scrape. I've survived much worse."

"I bet you have."

"I've had my share of broken bones and sprains. Mostly from skiing. I used to be a little reckless. I've calmed way down." His eyes were twinkling and Melissa laughed. "Sure you have."

"What about you? What kind of work did you do in Boston? You'd make a great nurse. You have mad skills with bandages."

"I don't know about that. I've been known to faint at the sight of too much blood. I actually have a master’s degree in Library Science and worked at a library in Cambridge right up until I moved here."

"I bet you were good at that, too. Do you miss it?"

"I miss the people. They were a lovely bunch. But I don't miss the work. I've always wanted to open a bookshop and working in a library was good experience for that. My undergrad degree was in business, so that has come in handy, too."

"I'll have to come visit you in the shop one of these days. I need to find a good book to read."

"I can definitely help you there. What do you like to read?"

"Mysteries, mostly. Especially involving boats or set in ocean areas. That must seem strange considering that it's all mountains here."

"I don't think it's strange at all. Books take you to places you've always wanted to visit."

"I suppose they do," he agreed.

Melissa stifled a yawn as she glanced at the clock. It was just past eleven. "On that note, I think I'm ready to visit my bed. I'll see you in the morning."

Jack clicked off the television. "I'm right behind you."