Just One Kiss (Whisper Lake #4) - Barbara Freethy Page 0,9
Brett is safe. You're his aunt. See where this goes."
Relief filled her gaze. "I agree." She tilted her head. "I keep thinking about her note, about Brett not being safe if we go to the police. It makes me wonder if Brett's father is in the middle of this trouble. Was he hurting Brett? Did he have custody? Did Kelly take Brett and run to protect him?"
"Those are definitely all scenarios that make sense to me, including the idea that the father might be a cop."
"He could be, but he's not a Whisper Lake police officer. There's no way Kelly has been living in our small town. I just wish I knew where she was before she came here."
"That shouldn't be difficult to find out. There's a trail," he pointed out. "She had a vehicle. It had to be registered to someone. She booked the rental. I assume there was a deposit, a credit card involved. All those clues could lead to her whereabouts."
"And the police could probably find all that out in just a few minutes." She let out a breath of frustration. "I wish she'd left us more information in her note. It's so difficult to know the right move to make, and I still think she took a big risk that I'd be the one to respond to her call. What if I hadn't come right away? What if you hadn't driven up when you did? I could still be stuck on the side of the road. Did Kelly stick around to see if anyone would come, or did she just hope for the best?"
He started at her words. "When I walked over to Trevor's cabin, I saw a car leaving the area. Maybe it was Kelly. Maybe she waited until you arrived."
"That would make me feel better, unless the lights didn't belong to her car. Did you see anyone else?"
"No. There was a light on in the cabin next to Trevor's. Why don't I go knock on their door? Maybe someone saw something."
"That's a good idea." She got to her feet. "I also think we should take Brett to my house. With the storm coming in tonight, I'd rather be back in town."
He was relieved by that decision. "I would agree. I'll give you a ride whenever you're ready to go."
"Okay." She paused, an odd, tense look passing through her eyes.
"What?" he asked curiously. "Do you have something else to say?"
"Thank you," she said through tight lips.
He gave her a wry smile. "That sounded painful."
"I still said it," she retorted.
"Even though it made you want to throw up. You can't stand it when I'm nice to you."
"It's not like it happens all that often."
"It might if you didn't run out of the room every time you saw me."
"I don't do that."
"Yes, you do. Can't you be honest about that?"
"Do you really want to talk about honesty?" she challenged.
He had to admit he'd taken a wrong turn with that question.
Without waiting for his answer, she added, "I don't actually want to talk about anything that has to do with our past."
"You never do."
"And I still don't. There's no point. I need to deal with this situation."
"You always have an excuse."
"Do you really have anything new to say?" she challenged, as she put her hands on her hips. "What happened with us was a lifetime ago. I've moved on, and I'm sure you have, too."
"If you'd moved on, you wouldn't try to avoid me every chance you get."
She shook her head. "I can't do this right now." She turned and walked out of the bedroom.
He wasn't surprised by her quick exit; he was used to seeing her back. When he returned to the living room, Hannah was sitting on the couch next to where Brett was playing on the floor. Her entire demeanor changed when she looked at her nephew. Gone was the anger and the stress. There was nothing but warmth, kindness and love.
He really missed the days when she'd looked at him like that, but their very recent exchange reminded him that that would not be happening again any time soon.
As he watched Brett and Hannah together, he could see a family resemblance, even though Brett had green eyes and blond hair, no trace of Hannah's temperamental red. But there was something about Brett's expressions that reminded him of Hannah.
Hannah gave Brett a smile and said, "I was thinking you might want to come to my house and have a sleepover. What do you think?"