Danny shifted his gaze, and suddenly Jackson had a pair of shrewd green eyes focused on him.

“You’re Jackson?” the kid said bluntly.

“Yup. Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah.” The teenager made an obvious show of appraising him. “Mia says you’re in the navy.”

“I am.”

“Officer or enlisted?”

“Enlisted. Petty officer second class. And one of the team medics.”

“Cool.” Danny cocked his head. “You’re ridiculously tall.”

Jackson grinned. “So I’ve been told.”

There was a beat of silence, during which Danny continued to study him until Mia finally rolled her eyes and spoke up. “Are you done checking out my date, Daniel?”

Her brother rolled his eyes right back. “Just trying to figure out what he’s doing going out with you.”

Mia slapped a hand on her heart as if she’d been shot. “Ouch. That hurt so bad. I need to go find somewhere private so I can cry.” Then she laughed. “Anyway, if you’re done insulting me, I wanted to know if we’re doing the pizza thing tonight.”

“Ah…no. I was gonna catch a ride with Angie’s folks and hang out at her place for a bit. Is that cool?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Can they drive you home?” When her brother nodded, Mia stepped forward and gave him a quick hug. “Okay, have fun then. And be home by curfew.”

“Or what? You’ll ground me?”

“No, I’ll just do what I did last time.”

The kid’s face paled at her chipper response. “Fine, I’ll be home by midnight.”

“Good boy.”

Danny glanced at Jackson. “Later, dude. Glad you made it to the game.”

As Mia’s brother dashed off, Jackson looked over at her in curiosity. “What’d you do the last time he missed his curfew?”

“I cancelled his subscription to Sports Illustrated and threw all his video games in the trash.”

He let out a hearty laugh. “Sheesh, woman. You can’t do shit like that to a teenage boy.”

“I can, and I did.” She raised one eyebrow. “You questioning my parenting methods, sugar?”

“Did he ever miss curfew after that?”

“Never.”

“Then no, I think you’re doin’ a dang good job.”

That earned him a big smile. “Thanks. Now, do you want to grab a late dinner? I seem to be free.”

“Sure. Except I don’t feel like sittin’ anywhere. Do you mind if we get takeout and head back to my place?”

She narrowed her eyes. “If I agree to come over, are you going to try to seduce me?”

“Only if you ask me to.”

The answer got him another pleased smile. “Let’s go then.”

Jackson laced his fingers through hers again, and as they walked toward the parking lot, he couldn’t help but reflect on the easy relationship between Mia and her younger brother. It was obvious they adored each other, and their good-natured bickering reminded him of his relationship with his own sister.

An arrow of pain pierced his heart as the memory of his sister crept in. Lord, he hadn’t seen Evie in almost three years. He’d bailed on the holidays two years in a row, the most recent one because he’d been deployed overseas, the one before because…well, that had been cowardice, plain and simple. He hadn’t been able to stomach the thought of seeing his brother Shane and congratulating him on his nuptials to Tiff.

In his defense, at least he wasn’t completely out of touch. He spoke to his parents once a week and Skyped with Evie often, but Jackson knew it wasn’t the same as seeing them face-to-face. He missed his mom’s warm smiles, his dad’s gruff voice, his sister’s contagious laughter. He even missed his brother, despite everything that had gone down between them.

What he missed most of all was the ranch. The endless acres and lush pastures, the little creek that bisected the Ramsey land, the horses he’d grown up with and the cattle he’d brought into the world every calving season.

But he loved his life here, too. Loved knowing that he was serving his country and helping to keep it safe, loved the bonds he’d formed with his teammates, the crisp ocean air and the feel of warm sand between his toes. California would never truly be home, but it was dang close to it.

“Somebody’s deep in thought,” came Mia’s teasing voice.

Jackson smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I spaced out.”

“What were you looking so pensive about?”

“Nothin’ really,” he lied. “Just thinking about the game and how much fun I’m havin’.”

“What are you in the mood for, food-wise?”

“Whatever you want, sugar.”

He wasn’t surprised when Mia ended up picking Italian, and so they promptly called ahead to place an order at Tonio’s, then swung by the bistro to pick up their dinner before heading to Jackson’s house in Imperial Beach.

They hopped out of the truck and went inside, where Mia spent a good five minutes marveling over how tidy his house was while Jackson placed their takeout containers on the wooden coffee table. He ducked into the kitchen to grab plates, silverware and drinks, and when he strode back to the living room he saw that Mia had made herself comfortable by kicking off her shoes and settling on the overstuffed leather sofa.

He smiled at the sight of her. Lord, he liked having her in his house. Something about her just seemed to brighten up the sparsely decorated room.