"Come on in." Alex moved into the living room, and Jamie followed.
"What the hell happened?" Mark repeated as he glanced back to the door and then returned his attention to them, his eyes wide.
"Another burglary." Alex shrugged and wrapped an arm around Jamie's shoulders as she moved up beside him.
"Did you hear the gun go off?" Jamie snuggled into Alex and grimaced at the sight of the cracked back door.
“Gun?” Mark shook his head, his eyes wide. It was then that Jamie noticed his hair was quite mussed and he smelled like—
She straightened and poured him a cup of coffee. “Do I need to pour another?”
“I’m good with one… oh! Yeah, uh, Kristen’s in the shower. I just called her a cab. She’s catching flight home at seven. I would have taken her to the airport, but my damn truck is at the office." He gave a boyish smile. "She's a great girl. I promised her that I'd take her out when she was in town again."
"You guys seemed to get along well." Jamie lifted her eyebrow at Mark and smiled, trying not to laugh as she tried to look innocent. "Did she stay the night?"
"Jamie. Jeez," Alex chuckled and released her. "Come on, bro. Coffee's hot and we're about to start cooking."
Jamie tugged her robe’s belt tighter and smiled at Alex's younger brother. "I have a feeling there’s a good reason you didn’t hear the noise above you."
“Yeah,” Alex answered for his brother, “it’s called triple insulation and noise-proof drywall.”
Mark chuckled. "She did, but she slept in the bed and I took the couch. I'm a bit old-fashioned, silly girl. No sex on the first date."
"What?" Jamie rolled her eyes dramatically and turned to walk in the kitchen. "No sex on the first date? I wish someone had told me that. My manual says it's expected every date."
Alex turned and pulled her against him, leaning down to nip at her lips. "Your manual is specifically for you. Sex is appreciated every day."
“TMI!” Mark called out, but laughed.
Jamie pointed a spatula at Mark. “I know you’re lying, by the way.”
“What?”
She sniffed the air and went back to the stove to check on the bacon Alex had tossed in. She took a seat at the kitchen table, and Mark joined her as Alex moved around the kitchen, humming something to himself.
Mark looked at the door again and frowned. "You're lucky you guys weren't hurt. Shit! These burglars have been both timid and violent from the news reports. I wonder the same bastards hit you up both times." He took a tentative sip of his coffee and flinched. "Hot."
"We are lucky. They didn't get the chance to hurt us or steal anything." Jamie got up and walked out of the kitchen, realizing that she hadn't checked on her puppy. He was snuggled up in his bed when she walked into the laundry room.
He poked his head up and tilted it, watching her closely.
"Come here, boy. Come to Momma." She knelt down and picked him up, cuddling him to her chest as she walked back into the kitchen. "I'm surprised he didn't come get us. Some guard dog he is."
Mark and Alex chuckled as Mark reached for the dog. "Let me hold him. He's getting big!"
"He's not a puppy anymore." Jamie sat back down and pulled her legs into the seat before picking up her coffee mug and letting out a long sigh. "What a crazy month."
"Shitty month. If it could happen, it did." Alex moved toward them with a plate of bacon. "Put the puppy down and go wash your hands. See if your girl’s hungry, too. Breakfast’s almost ready."
"Will do, Dad." Mark stood and saluted Alex before he walked out of the kitchen with the puppy.
Jamie got back up and moved to stand behind Alex. She set her coffee down on the counter beside her and slid her arms around his waist as she pressed against his back. "I love you. Are you okay?" She pressed a kiss to his bare back and slid her hands down to cup his package. "Yum."
He chuckled. "I'm doing okay. I guess we'll take it one day at a time. You just keep reminding me of the good parts of life while we get through this next little bit with Gina and Nicholas. And turn our house into a fortress."
Jamie jerked her hands back up as Mark walked into the kitchen, with Kristen right behind him. She blushed slightly, but didn’t look the other girl in the eye. "I can do that, baby." Jamie kissed Alex’s shoulder as she picked up her cup. "Do you think the trial will be soon, or is there more to the process than what I’m thinking?"
"What trial are we talking