She headed to the kitchen and slid onto a stool. Pete still had his back to her and was now pulling bacon from a cast-iron pan onto a plate with paper towels. “That looks good,” she said.
He glanced over his shoulder at her, then at Ty, who’d risen and was walking upstairs.
“What kind of eggs do you like?” Pete said, looking back at her. He didn’t smile.
“Over easy?”
He nodded and reached for a couple eggs in the nearby carton. Cracked them into the cast-iron pan.
Maybe coffee would help her stomach. She got up and helped herself to a mug from the cupboard, then poured herself a cup. She leaned her hip against the side of the counter. “Jess told me a little of your exploits this summer.”
He glanced at her. “She did?”
His voice held a little shock, even an edge of delight.
Huh.
“Yeah. Told me about how you saved the team from a grizzly. And then how you tracked down a bunch of kids. Said you helped with the flood victims this summer too. Apparently you have your FEMA certification and work as an incident commander for the PEAK team?”
He made a funny noise, turned back to the stove. “Yeah. Sometimes.”
She stole a piece of bacon. “I’d love to interview you, if I could. I write inspirational stories for Nat Geo and sometimes other national publications—”
“I don’t think so,” he said. He reached up into the cupboard and pulled out a plate. Set it on the counter.
“Why not?”
The stairs creaked, and she looked over to see Ty emerge. He’d run a comb through his hair, changed his shirt to a thermal gray pullover with the PEAK team logo on the breast.
Pete turned back to the eggs.
“I don’t give interviews anymore. I’m not about the limelight—I’m just trying to get the job done.”
He scooped out her eggs, slid them onto the plate. “Here you go.”
She couldn’t help but be a little taken aback by his demeanor. This was not the Pete both Ty and Jess had bragged about. She brought the plate to the counter, slid onto a stool.
“You making breakfast, Pete?” Ty asked.
Pete turned off the stove. “Eggs are in the carton and there’s some bacon left.” He took his plate of fried eggs and a mug of coffee to a nearby table.
He didn’t look at them as he sat, didn’t invite them to join him, just stared out the window.
Okay. She glanced at Ty, who frowned, then cast a look at her.
Smiled.
Ty had such a nice smile, it warmed up the entire room.
Oh, for crying out loud. She must be really tired.
Besides, the last man she’d let in her heart had left so many scars on her pride and psyche, not to mention her body, she’d be a fool to trust any man again.
She tamped down her renegade heartbeat and cut up her eggs. The coffee hadn’t set well, and the bacon was setting her stomach on edge.
Ty fired up the stove and cracked a couple eggs in the pan. The door opened, and Brette turned to see Sierra and Jess come into the room. Sierra stamped off her feet on the mat.
It was just a flash, a snapshot of memory, but for some reason as Jess came in the door, as she flicked her hair back and grabbed the frame and waited for Sierra to move over, something flickered in Brette’s memory.
The snapshot fled her recall before she could wrap her fingers around it, but in that second, she knew.
She had seen Jess before.
“Hey, everyone,” Sierra said as she pulled off her coat. She headed over to the coffeepot and poured herself a mug of java before going to the communications station.
Jess shut the door behind her, hung up her coat, then looked at Pete. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he answered softly and gave her a small smile.
Look at that. For a second, something passed between them, and Brette wanted to slow it down, take it apart.
Regret? Longing?
Then Pete glanced away, looking back toward the snowy landscape.
He was a handsome man when he smiled, Brette would give Pete that.
Jess headed over to the kitchen. Brette watched her, the way she moved, the tiny touch she gave Ty on his shoulder, another flick of her long blonde hair. She was pretty, with high cheekbones, a tall, lean body. She wore a pair of jeans, a sweater, no makeup.
“Can I order two eggs, sunny-side up?” she asked Ty.
Jess carried herself like a woman used to getting what she wanted. Or at least used to being in charge.
Ty plated the eggs he was cooking and handed the plate to her, and she carried it to the counter. She slid onto a stool beside Brette.
Then Jess reached for a napkin and put it in her lap. Interesting.
It was right there, the answer, floating around in the back of Brette’s mind, almost tangible. She must have been staring, because she didn’t hear Sierra until she raised her voice.