Just One Kiss (Whisper Lake #4) - Barbara Freethy Page 0,20

down her street. Hannah lived in a townhouse in a relatively new development set in the hilly area above town. "Hard to believe this was nothing but open and inaccessible land when we were growing up," he commented. "Now, there are beautiful townhomes. Are you happy living up here?"

"Yes. I have a nice view of the lake from the deck off my bedroom. And everything is new, so I don't have to worry about something breaking, which is a great relief. My parents' house was a hundred years old and there was always something going wrong."

"Your mom sold the house a while back, right?"

"Five years ago. It needed a lot of repairs, and she was headed back to an expensive rehab facility in Denver, so she agreed to put it on the market. She got enough cash out of it that she could pay for rehab and get a small condo when she got out. She lives just off Main Street, and she enjoys being able to walk to work at Sonia's Flower Shop."

"Does she enjoy her job?"

"She seems to. She and Sonia have become good friends. In fact, Sonia introduced my mother to her latest boyfriend, who I'm unsure about."

"Who is he and why don't you like him?" he asked curiously.

"His name is Marty Guillory. He's a retired lawyer who bought a house by the lake, and now he dabbles in photography. I don't dislike him, but he has a party vibe to him, and I don't think that's good for my mother. But she doesn't much care for my opinion."

"Sorry."

She shrugged. "It's not like I don't want her to be happy. I just think she needs to be very careful, especially when it comes to men. She made a good decision when she got together with my dad, but everyone since his death has not been great. Most of them have encouraged her addictions. I was kind of hoping she might just stay single and work on herself, but when Marty moved to town a few months ago, she got all giddy and nervous. I told her to go slow, but she doesn't listen. She thinks I'm too hard on her, as if she didn't do anything to deserve my distrust."

He had a feeling that Hannah was hard on her mom. But he could also understand why. He certainly wasn't going to take her mother's side. He had his own battle to worry about.

He pulled into her driveway in front of the attached garage. As they got out of the car, Adam pulled up in a black SUV. He had dark hair and blue eyes and was not in uniform today, but rather in black jeans and a black leather jacket. Adam had moved to Whisper Lake a few years ago, shortly after his sister Lizzie had bought the Firefly Inn. He'd been working in Denver before that and was a top-notch police officer. Jake had every confidence that Adam would know what to do.

"Who's that?" Brett asked, as Jake helped him out of his car.

"That's Adam," he told him. "He's a friend."

Hannah gave him a questioning look. "Do you need to get to work right away? I know I'm asking a lot of favors, but could you possibly—"

"Yes," he said, cutting her off. "I'll hang out with Brett while you and Adam have a chat."

"Thanks," she said with relief.

He was more than happy to put her in his debt for another favor. He might need to use that sometime.

"Hi, Adam," Hannah said, as she put her arm around Brett. "This is Brett."

"Hi, Brett," Adam said with a cheerful grin. Then he nodded to Jake. "How's it going?"

"It's interesting," he replied.

Adam gave him a speculative look, which he suspected had more to do with the fact that he was with Hannah than with Brett. Everyone in their social circle knew that Hannah hated his guts.

"Jake rescued me from a flat tire," Hannah interjected, obviously feeling a need to explain. "On my way to the cabin last night. Why don't we go inside?"

She led the way into the house, dropping her keys and bag on the table in her entry.

He carried Brett's suitcase inside, impressed by the simple, clean beauty of her home. Off the entry, he could see a living room and dining room. There appeared to be a bedroom downstairs, with a staircase leading up to the second floor. The décor was clean and modern with light-gray hardwood floors and plenty of white and gray furniture with