Rocky Mountain Rescue Elle James (best time to read books TXT) 📖

couldn’t decide between all the bowls of toppings that she could put into her hot cocoa. She started with crushed candy canes to give it a peppermint flavor, added a pinch of cayenne to give it a little kick, then she squirted a little chocolate syrup in and dropped a handful of mini marshmallows on top. She wrapped her hands around the mug, enjoying the warmth. As she waited for it to cool enough so that she could take a sip, she watched as the others worked.

RJ sliced a sandwich in half and laid it on a platter with a dozen other sandwiches.

JoJo laughed. “You’d think we were feeding an army.”

RJ rolled her eyes. “You ought to see these guys eat. They have stomachs like teenage boys.”

“I wish,” Jake said. “It was a lot easier to keep a sixpack back then.” He patted his flat belly. “Right now, I’m working on a keg.”

RJ rolled her eyes. “As if. You don’t have an ounce of fat on you.”

He slipped his arms around her and pulled her back against his front. “That won’t be the case if you keep feeding me this way.”

She leaned into him, a sweet smile on her face.

JoJo was happy for her friend.

Gunny poured the rest of the hot cocoa into mugs and laid the mugs on a tray. When he was done, Weaver stepped up.

“I’ll take the cocoa into the dining room,” Weaver said.

“Good,” Gunny said. “I’ll get the toppings and bring them in.” He set all the bowls on a tray and fished a can of whipped topping out of the refrigerator. Jake took the platter of sandwiches, and RJ went to the cupboard and pulled out several bags of potato chips in a variety of flavors.

“Now that you’ve got it all taken care of,” JoJo said, “what can I do to help?”

Gunny grinned. “Just come in and sit down. We’ll enjoy your company.”

They arranged the food and drinks on a buffet in the dining room, but once they had their cups and sandwiches, they adjourned to the great room and settled onto the large bomber-jacket-brown leather couches. Gunny stirred up the fire in the fireplace and added a log.

By that time, Max came down the stairs and helped himself to a mug of cocoa, squirting the whipped topping across the top of it.

JoJo settled on a loveseat, whether subconsciously hoping that Max would sit beside her, she didn’t know, but he did. She smiled at the big dollop of whipped cream on top of his cocoa. “Never would have taken you for a whipped cream kind of guy.”

He grinned. “Told you I had a sweet tooth.”

“I thought you were making that up just so you could follow me into town.” She took a careful sip of her hot cocoa.

“I did. I had plenty of peppermints, but it gave me a good excuse to follow you into town, didn’t it?”

She shook her head and took another tentative sip of her drink.

Curry and Stover came in from outside.

Gunny tipped his head toward the dining room. “You guys, help yourself to the cocoa on the buffet and come join us.”

Maybe it was selfish of JoJo, but she really didn’t want the politician and his aide to join them in the great room. She liked the current composition of the gathering just the way it was.

“I don’t suppose you have some coffee?” Stover asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Gunny said. “Here, let me get it for you.”

“If you’ll just tell me where it is, I’ll get it myself,” Stover said.

“Easier to show you than tell you.” Gunny walked with the man to the kitchen.

Miles Curry helped himself to the cocoa bar and took a seat in the dining room on the edge of the great room.

JoJo was glad that Max was sitting between her and Curry. Stover’s aide had an odd way of looking at people, as if he were studying them under a microscope. Was he looking for their weaknesses?

JoJo shook her head. Once again, she was reading into traits that might not even be there.

Gunny and Stover returned, and Stover took his seat next to Curry at the dining table on the edge of the great room. Curry pulled out a computer tablet and propped it up in front of Stover. They put their heads together and talked softly between them.

RJ brought JoJo half a sandwich. “It’s your favorite. Swiss cheese and pastrami.”

JoJo smiled up at RJ. “You’re going to spoil me.”

“Only if you let me.” RJ perched on the edge of JoJo’s couch and leaned close to JoJo’s ear. “I spoke to Hank,” she whispered.

JoJo shot a look up at her. “And?”

“And he said he’d check into it.”

“Thanks,” JoJo said. RJ’s news should’ve given her some sense of relief. Instead, it made her tense.

Max must have felt her stiffening beside him. He held out his hand palm up.

Without hesitation, she placed her hand in his. He closed his fingers around hers gently. That little bit of reassurance went a long way. She relaxed a little and sipped her hot cocoa, sucking one of the little marshmallows into her mouth. It reminded her of a time long ago when she and RJ would sit up until late into the night in RJ’s bedroom with their hot cocoa that Gunny had made from scratch. RJ may not have grown up with her mother, but Gunny had done everything in his power, and in his Marine way, to give her a happy childhood.

Having been raised by a single mom, JoJo understood the difficulties of single parenthood that Gunny had faced. Only it was worse for Gunny because he’d had to occasionally deploy. Which meant that RJ spent time living with her grandparents while her father fought on the other side of the world for twelve to fourteen months at a time.

JoJo had felt lucky that her mother wasn’t active military, but she still hadn’t seen much of her mother because the woman had to work two jobs