Just One Kiss (Whisper Lake #4) - Barbara Freethy Page 0,10

going to be there?"

"I'm not sure when she'll be back. But I'll take really good care of you."

"Mommy said you would."

Hannah's jaw dropped at that comment. "She did? Did she mention my name? Did she say Hannah?"

"She said you'd be really nice to me and that we both like dogs. You had one named Tiger."

"I—I did," Hannah said, a tremor in her voice now. "What else did your mom say about me?"

"I don't know—stuff. Do you want to play?"

"Maybe for a minute. Then we need to get your things."

"You can be the vet. My puppy is sick," Brett said, handing her his small dog.

As Hannah and Brett began their imaginary game, Jake grabbed his coat and headed out the door. When he stepped onto the porch, he blew out a breath. Hannah got under his skin like no one else. She had so many sides to her personality. She was definitely a rough diamond, beautiful on the outside, but that beauty had been hardened through fire. She'd been through a lot in her life, and she'd come out stronger, but her toughness wasn't the whole story. She also had a tender, soft core and this situation with her sister was probably bringing her a great deal of pain.

Hannah had been trying to put her family back together since her father had died. He knew from their mutual friends that Hannah's mother's drinking had become a huge problem, much bigger than he'd seen in high school. He felt bad that he hadn't been there for her, although he knew she wouldn't have let him be there even if he'd wanted to. She was barely tolerating him now. But she had let him into her life ever so slightly, and he would take advantage of that. He was going to help her with Brett and her sister. Whatever he could do to make this situation better, he would do. He owed her that much. Actually, he owed her a whole hell of a lot more, but at the moment, this was all he could do.

As an icy wind picked up, he lifted his gaze upward. The tall trees were swaying, the clouds overhead had turned black, and snow was beginning to fall. It would be a good idea to leave sooner rather than later. But first, he had to check with the neighbor.

He jogged down the road to the one cabin in the area that had lights on. He knocked on the door.

A man appeared on the threshold. He appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, his hair peppered with gray, his eyes guarded. "Who are you?" he asked bluntly.

"I'm Jake McKenna. My friend owns the cabin over there—Hannah Stark." He tipped his head toward Hannah's house.

"Okay. You got a problem?"

"A little boy was left on his own in the cabin. We're trying to figure out who left him. Did you happen to see anyone go into the house?"

The man's irritation turned to concern. "I saw a boy and his mom carry some groceries inside. That was a few hours ago. They seemed fine."

"Did you happen to see the woman leave?"

The man scratched his chin as he pondered that question. "I didn't see her leave, but I did see her talking to a guy at the cabin over there." He pointed to the cabin where Trevor had been staying, the one Jake had found littered with empty bottles and fast-food wrappers.

"Was that guy young with long brown hair and a beard?"

"That was him. What's going on?"

"I'm trying to figure that out. What kind of conversation were they having?"

"I couldn't hear what they were saying. They seemed friendly. It wasn't like anyone was scared or anything. That's all I saw."

"What about the woman's car? What was she driving?"

"I think it was a Prius." He shrugged. "I wasn't paying much attention. I came up here to get some rest, some quiet."

"I'll leave you to that. Thanks for your help."

"Sure thing."

As the man shut his door, Jake walked off the porch, taking another look at Trevor's cabin. Was there any chance that Trevor and Kelly might know each other? Both families had owned cabins in the area for a long time. But Trevor was at least ten years younger than Kelly, and Kelly had been gone a long time. It seemed unlikely that they knew each other, but it was odd that they'd had any conversation at all.

He was still pondering that thought when a gale force wind came roaring through the trees, sending