True North by Allie Juliette Mousseau Page A

listening to “Cold”—Jake’s apology—over and over again.
    The idea that I was what got him by made me feel like he was singing it to me. I had to formulate a plan, and I had to figure out what was going on in the first place.
    Jules and Nate both said Jake hadn’t been himself since he’d gotten back.
    I could attest to the fact that, behind his eyes, was a dark cloud that had never been there before.
    He’d confessed to being an a-hole and felt like he didn’t belong in his own home—this home was his world …
    Before I could take the thoughts further I heard someone pull into the driveway. I dreaded seeing Jake at the same time that I hoped it was him. Once he was here the decision would have been made. I got up and went to the window. I pulled the curtain back and saw Caleb’s Dodge Ram truck.
    I silently cursed. I hated that I had to be back on campus Monday … it was too soon, and I seriously considered feigning illness for the week. Nate would be majorly pissed, but he wouldn’t find out until after the fact. I put that idea on the back burner, slipped on my boots and tied my jacket around my waist. I couldn’t hide in here all day.
    Jules said I was badass and that my actions had put us on an equal level with the guys. I had to remind myself of this as I gripped the doorknob. I held up my chin and put on my best game face as I sauntered downstairs into the kitchen.
    Caleb was pouring himself a glass of orange juice. “Jesus, Livie, you really know how to create havoc don’t you?” When he looked up, his eye had a wicked shiner.
    I bit my lip. “Sorry.”
    “ Sorry, nothing.” He came by and ruffled my hair. Yeah, right, out of the little sister club. “Jake’s been a charge ready to blow for a while now.”
    I grabbed a mug and filled it with ice. “What do you mean—for a while now?” I took the OJ from him.
    Caleb looked at Nate, who was stuffing his face with toaster waffles, then to Sam.
    “ What?! It’s a question, Caleb. Do you really need to call for backup?” I lifted a waffle from Nate’s plate as he growled at me and leaned back against the sink. Jules kept flicking her eyes between all of us.
    “ For Christ sake, we should have told her a long freaking time ago,” Nate mumbled between bites.
    “ Oh my God, what have you been keeping from me?” Now I was getting mad.
    “ Chill.” Caleb lifted his hands in a truce. “I don’t know everything, none of us do.”
    Now I was scared.
    He continued, “A few years ago something happened while he was in Afghanistan, but he won’t talk about it.”
    “ He hasn’t confided in any of you?” That didn’t sound like Jake.
    “ We couldn’t get the base doctors or commanders to tell us jack-shit either,” Caleb confessed. “Everything was confidential and top secret or some shit.”
    “ Was he injured?” I asked.
    “ He flashed a couple of battle scars at us once when he was sloshed but wouldn’t tell us how he got them,” Sam put in before he drained his coffee cup.
    “ Okay … so no serious, life-altering injuries?” I was thinking limb damage; I’d seen enough pictures of soldiers coming home in wheelchairs or with artificial limbs.
    “ Jake won’t even let us bring it up,” Nate said.
    We all jumped when we heard the front door open and close.
    I thought of making a mad dash for the back door, but it was too late. Jake walked into the kitchen, and I thought I’d turn into a puddle. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans, a black fitted t-shirt and a leather jacket for riding. Did he have to be so hot even when he wasn’t trying? And could I make my brain work like a normal person’s when he was around?
    I started to open my mouth and decided better of it. I tried to remind myself it wasn’t my job to fill the blank space.
    “ Want some juice?” I reached out my arm and offered him mine. So much for shutting my mouth or acting like a normal person.
    He smiled a little sadly. “I could go for a cup of