Jonas: Guardians of the North, #4

By Kali Hart

Mara
I've been living a quiet, simple life in my hometown for years.
After a bad relationship with an ex who didn't want to leave me alone, my plans to stay in the Coast Guard and travel the world were derailed.
I wanted to feel safe again.
I've adjusted well enough.
But a crush on a world-traveled volunteer at the local animal shelter makes me yearn to stretch out of my comfort zone.
Which is why after a hundred invitations to visit my best friend in Alaska, I finally say yes.
I go to North Haven, hoping to win over my crush by posting exciting photos that prove I'm not super boring.
But what I don't expect is for Jonas Black to be so…muscular and sexy.
Or to make me feel things you're definitely not supposed to feel about your best friend.
Even when they do things to you that make you feel alive and desirable.
So desirable.
I think I might be in trouble when it comes to Jonas.
Big trouble.

Jonas
I've been in love with Mara West since the first day I met her, more than a decade ago.
When we were both stationed together.
But I quickly fell into the friend zone.
Despite my attempts to find someone else, I can never help comparing them to Mara.
She and I stayed friends after she left the Coast Guard.
But I haven't seen her in years.
Which is why when she finally agrees to fly to Alaska, I decide I'm going all in.
Until she tells me about her plan to win over some beach bum.
I hate the thought of anyone else with her.
But I go along with it only because I see the way she looks at me.
It's not the way you look at a friend.
I'm determined to wear her down.
To make her beg for my touch.
To make her fall in love with me so I can finally claim what's been mine all along.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jackie M. Wallick
• Release date: Apr 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798223916970

Book preview

1

MARA

Okay. Now you’re just mocking me, I accuse, taking a step back to eye my bulging suitcase. I don’t care that I’m talking to an inanimate object. In fact, the items spilling out of it seem very animated at the moment. I growl at it, determined to win this battle.

Everything will fit.

It has to.

I need every single item I packed. I’ve never been to Alaska, but I know I need to be prepared for any and all scenarios. Practical and photogenic alike.

All right, you asked for it. I glare at my suitcase, signaling battle. I sit on it without an ounce of mercy, determined to suffocate every last pocket of air from the inside. It fights me every step of the way, but I fight harder and manage to wrestle the zipper around the first corner. It didn’t have to be this way, I grumble, pausing for a breath.

Why don’t you just pack a second suitcase? Mom asks, her eyebrows drawn in confusion as she appears in my bedroom doorway. She doesn’t question why I’m talking to an inanimate object, which makes me realize I must do it a lot. I’m not about to admit the reason I can only take one stupid suitcase is because I’m determined to prove to Zeke that I can travel light, just like him.

The smoldering-hot world traveler can hop on a plane last minute to anywhere with nothing more than a duffle bag. I’ve seen the pictures and listened rapturously to his stories when I’m lucky enough to have a shared volunteer shift at the animal shelter with him. It’s the most interesting part of my mundane life.

I. Only. Need. One. Each word comes out between huffs as I wiggle my butt against the suitcase. But the zipper is stuck halfway around, despite my best smothering efforts. So, I switch tactics. I use my chest to smoosh the contents, managing a few more inches. Gotta make these double DDs earn their keep, after all.

If impressing Zeke weren’t motivation enough, Jonas bet me twenty dollars I wouldn’t be able to make the trip with only one bag. Alaska was the one post we both hoped to get when I was still in the Coast Guard. We used to talk at length about all the different things we would do. All the different gear we would need for our adventures. I miss those days. The days when I wasn’t afraid of anything.

I shake away the unwelcome, dismal thoughts and focus on the excitement of my adventure instead. I can’t wait to see the look on my military friend’s face when I get off the plane with old blue and nothing else. I might need a crane to pull the damn thing because it weighs more than a dead body. But that’s beside the point.

Do you want some help? Mom asks, arms folded over her chest as she watches from the doorway.

Nope.

Okay then. I’ll be in the living room when you’re ready to leave.

It takes concentrated effort, but after a sweaty battle, I tug the zipper the last few inches. Omigod. I let out a victorious sigh of relief, collapsing on top of my suitcase. My first urge is to tell Zeke I did it. But we’re not on that kind of friendship level. I don’t have his phone number, but we do follow each other on Instagram.

Allowing myself a few more seconds to catch my breath before I get up, I contemplate how lame it would be if I took a picture of said suitcase and posted it. Would Zeke see it? Would he be impressed? Considering the size of my bag, I doubt it. That man can travel to Bali with a half empty duffle bag slung carelessly over his shoulder and stay a month.

God, he’s dreamy.

If it weren’t for the time we spent together at the animal shelter and the occasional heart he gives me on Instagram, he wouldn’t even know I existed. He’s way out of my league, and I know it. But it doesn’t stop me from fantasizing, and hoping against hope, that I could do something to impress him.

Which is why when Jonas invited me for the hundredth time to visit him in North Haven, I finally accepted.

I haven’t traveled anywhere outside of Iowa since I moved back to Cedar Rapids several years ago. It’s safe here. I have my family nearby and once a month I get together with some old friends from high school for margaritas and all-you-can-eat Nachos. My job as a receptionist in a dental clinic isn’t wowing, but I’m content. I’m not constantly looking over my shoulder, worried my obsessive ex is waiting to corner me.

After the nightmare I lived, content feels like a grand prize.

Or at least, it used to.

Then I met Zeke Zemanski. Or Double ZZ to his closest friends. For the first time in years, I realized I wanted more.

My phone pings with a notification, alerting me that Double ZZ has posted a new photo on Instagram. I’m already running late, but I can’t resist the urge to see what it is. I unlock my phone and go straight to the source. Zeke is holding not one, not two, but three golden retriever puppies. The only words to go with his post are #AdoptMe.

I swoon.

I’ll adopt you, Zeke. And the three puppies. We could be one, big happy family—

Mara, you’re going to miss your flight, Mom calls from the living room, sounding all too calm about such a detail.

Coming! I have to squat like a damn sumo wrestler just to get my suitcase upright. I almost get stuck in this awkward position. Until I topple over and land on my ass with a heavy thud. Mom comes rushing to my aid.