Just One Kiss (Whisper Lake #4) - Barbara Freethy Page 0,19
buddy," Jake said, as he got to his feet. "I want one, too. What about you, Hannah? Cookies for breakfast?"
"Why not? It seems like that kind of morning."
Jake brought the cookies to the table and then said, "We should leave as soon as we're done with breakfast. The guy I spoke to in the other cabin was plowing the road earlier. We should be able to get back to the highway."
"I'm fine with that. I still need to get someone to fix my tire."
"We'll figure that out once we get back to town."
"Can we play a game now?" Brett asked.
"Actually, we're going to take a ride," she told him. "Do you want to see my house?"
Brett suddenly looked uncertain. "What about Mommy? Isn't she coming back here?"
"Don't worry. She knows where to find you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. And at my house, I have some photos of me and your mom when she was a little girl. Would you like to see them?"
Brett gave a vigorous nod. She was happy he was too little to understand much, and he wasn't asking questions she couldn't answer.
"I'll get my puppies," he said, running out of the room.
As Brett left her alone with Jake, a new tension entered the air. "I don't want to talk about last night," she warned, making a preemptive strike.
"Did I ask you to?" he countered.
"I'm sure you were going to."
"I wasn't. Actions speak louder than words. What happened last night told me a lot."
"It didn't tell you anything. You took me by surprise, that's all."
"Whatever you say."
She frowned at his easy agreement. "Don't make it into something else, Jake. You and I are not going to be anything more than friends."
"So, we're going to be friends?" he asked with a sparkle in his eyes. "I like that. It's the first step."
He was deliberately baiting her, and she really shouldn't take that bait. But she couldn't seem to help herself. "It's not the first step or any step. It's nothing. We're nothing."
"Are you done?"
She gave him a long look. "You made a fool of me once; you're not going to do it again," she said. "Now I'm done."
Chapter Six
Hannah had drawn her line in the sand, but Jake wasn't bothered by it, not with the memory of her mouth on his. There was something between them, whether she wanted to admit it or not. He didn't like being patient, but he could be when he had to, and earning Hannah's trust would take time. Her last stinging words had reminded him that he had a lot to make up for. But he wasn't leaving Whisper Lake any time soon, and neither was she.
Thirty minutes later, they were headed back to town, but it was a slow drive. The road was thick with snow but thanks to the neighbor's plow, they made it to the highway, which was in slightly better condition. He still drove carefully, very aware of the precious cargo he was carrying. Brett was in his car seat in the backseat, and Hannah was sitting next to him, her body tense, her gaze fixed out the window. They were physically close, but emotionally they were very far away.
Hannah's phone buzzed, and she quickly pulled it out of her purse to read a text.
"Is that from Kelly?" he asked.
"No, it's from Debbie, who works at our property management company. She said the cabin was booked to a Kimberly Slater, who used a credit card to pay for the rental. The address attached to the card was Miami, Florida." She looked over at him. "Kelly used a fake name."
"She could have changed her name a long time ago.”
“But Brett said his mom’s name is Kelly.”
“True.” He came up with more possibilities. "Kim Slater could be a friend of hers. Or it's possible Kelly stole the credit card from this woman."
Hannah frowned at that suggestion. "I would hope she didn't steal it."
"The good news is that you have a name and an address. That's a place to start."
"I'll pass it along to Adam. I texted him before we left. He'll meet me at the house in half an hour."
"Did you tell him what's going on?"
"No. I didn't want to get into it. I just said I had something important to talk to him about."
"It's the right play."
"I hope so."
As they neared Whisper Lake, he exited the highway and drove into town. "I know you live in Timber Heights, but I don't have your address."