by Addison Fox
“It was an incident big enough to call Sheriff Bud.” River’s derisive tone only added fuel to the moment, but Mac held his ground, his voice never going above a loud whisper.
“And you’ve kept this quiet despite being here for over an hour.”
“I’m sorry. Look—”
He held up a hand. “Look nothing. We’re a family and we share things. Something like this is something you share.”
Before she could say anything in her defense, Mac turned to Hawk. “You, too. You’re welcome in my home but you play by my rules. Especially when it comes to my family.”
“Yes.” Hawk nodded. “Of course.”
On a satisfied head nod, Mac sat down. “Now walk us through it.”
She and Hawk both shot a pointed stare toward Cody, who’d suddenly grown interested around his mouthfuls of lasagna.
“The high points,” Mac added, clear on the message.
“It was an unfortunate prank outside the back of my shop. At the base of the stairs up to my apartment.”
“What sort of prank?” Knox’s focus was as unrelenting as Mac’s. “One that required a call to the police.”
By unspoken agreement, Allison began to distract Cody, culminating in a whisper to help her pull out the dessert. The promise of scooping out chocolate ice cream was sufficient enough to draw his attention from the conversation and he quickly followed his mother from the room.
Once the small footfalls had faded into the kitchen, Mac nodded his head. “Now please tell us everything.”
Her family had a right to know. First, because they loved her and second, because they needed to be on watch themselves. Her mother’s sins were numerous and if anyone was seeking payback against the Coltons, each and every one of them was fair game.
It was a haunting thought, but it also confirmed why she had to share what happened.
They all needed to be on their guard.
“I was back in my workroom finishing up a few things and Evelyn had the shop covered. I was puttering around, taking care of a few items when I thought I heard something out back.” She refused to mention it was Maggie’s dress she was working on at the time.
While Claudia had never considered herself terribly superstitious, there was no way she was telling a bride anything about her day connected with something so dark and ugly.
She sped through the story, the dead animals still creepy but also a disgusting dinner topic, then closed with the sheriff’s visit and Hawk’s arrival.
Hawk took over the story then, wrapping up the details. “The news traveled fast through town and I got there before the sheriff was gone.”
“What did our old friend Bud Jeffries have to say?” Knox asked.
Although he was clearly shaken by the conversation and angry on her behalf, her brother also had no love lost with the town sheriff. His outright disdain was further proof of just how much he resented the Shadow Creek PD’s handling of his son’s kidnapping and anything related to the Colton family.
She knew it was going to inflame an already tense situation, but she also couldn’t sit by and keep her family ignorant of the details.
“He made a few insinuations.”
Other than his initial demands she and Hawk share the details, Mac had remained quiet during the telling. “What sort of insinuations?”
“He suggested a pile of dead rats could easily be rounded up in a farmer’s field. That perhaps I was attempting to drum up sympathy or create an incident.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Who knows?” Claudia threw up her hands, her dinner forgotten. “Maybe he thinks we’re covering for Mom. Or that we want to win the town over to our way of thinking.”
“Shadow Creek takes care of its own and a lot of people were mad with our mother’s behavior and what it said to the town she called home for so many years.” Thorne reached out and took Maggie’s hand. “But people aren’t blind or stupid. They know we’re not responsible for her actions. And they know we’ve been as affected as anyone else. Cody’s kidnapping.” Thorne’s gaze drifted to his father. “Dad’s, as well.”
“But Livia did those things,” Joshua pointed out. “Directly or indirectly, each has her stamp.”
Leonor took her husband’s hand, the move so like Thorne’s. “Then the sheriff should be concerned with protecting us instead of making empty accusations.”
Heads nodded around the table, but it was Hawk that spoke first. “I agree with you all. But if the man I met is any indication, you’d all better be prepared to weather this storm without the support of the Shadow Creek PD.”
Whatever she’d thought earlier when Jeffries was in her shop, never had she believed the man wouldn’t do his job. “You think Jeffries, for all his small mindedness, would fail to do his duty?”
Hawk’s gaze was grim, his eyes dim with concern. “I’m a man who likes to hedge his bets. And Sheriff Jeffries is a rather sizable long shot.”
Chapter 9
Hawk hated the bleak notes that had colored the last half of dinner. Regardless of the danger that swirled around the Colton family, they were at Mac’s house to celebrate Maggie and Thorne’s upcoming wedding.
Instead, they’d all finished the dinner on a morose note that even Cody’s happy chattering couldn’t fully assuage. They grew even more morose when he encouraged Claudia to tell her family about Ben. She might not believe the man capable of the rats and possible stalking, but he wasn’t taking any chances. If her family knew what to look out for, they were that much stronger as a united front.
It was only when they were back in the car, bumping down Mac’s long driveway, that Hawk gave voice to the thoughts troubling him.
“Your family’s dealt with a lot these past few months.”
“Having a violent criminal for a mother will do that to people.” The sentiment was unbearably bitter and once again, Hawk was struck by what Claudia had survived up to this point.
What her entire family had survived.
Knox and Allison had spent most of their adult lives separated, finally reunited before the near loss of their son. Leonor had suffered a terrible betrayal which had led to the Everything’s Blogger article before she found Joshua. And Thorne and Maggie had barely begun a relationship with each other when Mac was almost killed out of misplaced vengeance. Claudia’s life had a series of challenges they were just beginning to get to the bottom of and her brother River was nursing a world of hurt behind his wounds.
And then there was Jade.
“Where was your younger sister tonight—Jade, isn’t it?”
“I asked Leonor earlier and she said that Jade declined, the last-minute invite not a match for her plans. She said she’ll see us at the wedding.”
As reasons went, it was more than fair. Dinner had come together quickly and it was a wonder they’d been able to confirm so many of them for the meal on such short notice. “That makes sense.”
Hawk didn’t give it another thought as he came to a stop at the end of the long driveway, waiting for a car to pass until he turned onto the farm-to-market road that led to Mac’s ranch.
“If you buy that BS.” Claudia’s frown flashed in clear relief in the light of the passing headlights.
“Excuse me?”
“My sister has been out of pocket for weeks, one excuse after another for all the reasons she can’t spend time with us.”
“Did something happen to her?”
“Besides bad taste in clothes and an obsessive love for her horses?” Claudia stopped and blew out a hard breath, her chin dropping toward her chest. “That’s horrible. Really, truly horrible of me. And I don’t mean it. Honest, I don’t.”
He’d pushed and prodded on so many other topics, Hawk was hesitant to go after something that sounded so personal. Yet
it was obvious Claudia had a deep, recessed anger at her youngest sister.
“Didn’t Mac raise you and Jade after your mother went to jail? I’d have thought the two of you were really close.”
“I did, too. I guess I was wrong.”
“Has something happened to her?”
“What hasn’t happened to her? Happened to all of us? My mother imprinted her legacy on all of us and it’s hard to run from that. But instead of running toward us, she’s turned away.”
As someone who had checked out of life—and who still had considerable guilt about checking back in—Hawk knew what it was to avoid those who most wanted to help you. He’d alienated Jennifer’s parents after her death, unable to spend time with them and look them in the eye. On the few occasions they’d attempted to spend time together, the memory of Jennifer had hovered like a ghost around the periphery.
Or a demonic reminder of all he hadn’t done to keep her safe.
“A lot has happened. Maybe Jade’s trying to deal with it in her own way.”
Claudia nodded, the light shrug of her shoulders rustling against the fabric of the passenger seat. “Maybe that’s it.”
“You could go talk to her. Before the wedding. See if there’s anything she needs.”
He’d never considered himself a particularly encouraging sort of fellow and he sure as hell wasn’t anyone’s psychotherapist. But he’d seen the Colton bonds tonight, forged in adversity along with a certain “screw you” attitude the siblings had used to connect them against the world. It would be a shame to ignore the depth of those bonds if there was an opportunity to help her sister.
“I haven’t seen her very often since returning home.”
“Think about it.” And disregard the fact that a man who absolutely refused to deal with the pain of his past is the one giving you advice.
It was humbling, those dark thoughts that swirled in the background, waiting for the opportunity to rise up and knock him down a few pegs.
The drive to town passed quickly and in moments Hawk was pulling into the parking lot behind Honeysuckle Road. The small apartment above the shop where she lived had a bright light reflecting down on them and she’d left the light burning above the back door.
“Home sweet home.”
“I’d like to walk you up.”
Although he’d resisted the temptation earlier to see where she lived, after the rats, there was no way he wasn’t walking her up to her home. If given the chance, he’d like to check the place out, too, to satisfy himself no one had intruded.
If it meant he’d later torture himself with images of her living space or the even more intimate ones of her bedroom, he could live with that.
Ensuring her safety was priority number one.
“I’d like that.”
He cut the engine and the lights. The small parking lot was quiet, but hardly empty. There were still several cars parked behind the Whiskey Sour and Hawk could see a few people milling in pairs. There was a quiet safety in that, the idea that there were people around.
People who could come running if she screamed.
“Hawk?” She stood on the opposite side of the car, her gaze steady across the roof. “Everything alright?”
“Of course.”
He came around the car and followed her up the wooden steps that led to her apartment. A burst of laugher echoed from the direction of the bar, eerie in the languid evening air.
They reached the top of the stairs, her keys jingling from her hands. “Thank you for everything tonight. You’ve been nothing but kind to me and my family.”
“You’re easy to be kind to. Your family, too. I enjoyed meeting everyone.”
“That was entirely mutual. Everyone loved you.”
The lightest breeze swirled around them, just enough to lift several strands of her hair, blowing them in his direction. He wanted to reach out and touch all that soft silk, fascinated with the way it formed a pretty blond halo in the moonlight.
Before he could act on impulse, she pushed open the door, leaving him at the threshold. The lamp she’d left on emitted a quiet glow from the corner of the living room. His training kicked in and Hawk moved in front of her, his focus on clearing each room. “Wait by the door.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sakes.”
He shot her a smile over his shoulder. “Wait by the door, please.”
A small, petulant moue marred her features, but she listened, folding her arms as she stood sentinel by the entrance.
The apartment was small, the living room and kitchen combination forming one oversize space, with a single bathroom and bedroom farther down the hall. She’d left several lights burning so it was easy to find his way, clearing each large, square room as he went. The apartment was neat—pin neat—until he hit the bedroom. It was there that he saw the distinct imprint of the woman he’d spent the day getting to know.
Color splashed the walls, matched to additional accents in the bedding. Clothes were spread across the bed, from dresses to summer blouses and slacks, to a discarded skirt. It looked like someone had exploded color everywhere.
In short, it looked like her. It was life and color and even in the mess he saw an active sense of motion that enticed and enchanted.
“You’re taking an awfully long time in here.” Claudia barreled through the door, almost slamming into his back.
“I’m just observing.”
“What, exactly, are you observing? That I’m a horrible slob who can’t put anything away?”
“Does it usually look like this?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so.”
She grew speculative. “Are you in here angling for a peek into my underwear drawer?”
“Tempting, but no. I was actually thinking how the rest of the apartment, while lovely, isn’t a depiction of the real you. And then I walked in here and saw all the color and fabrics and life and I knew this was where you create.”
“I do more work in my studio downstairs than in the apartment.”
“You don’t design here? Dream here?” He pointed toward the large sketch pad that filled her nightstand.
“Well, yeah, sure. But it’s not like this is where I do my actual work.”
He didn’t agree but knew he was already on tenuous ground standing in her bedroom, so close to her he could reach out and touch her. Could run his fingers through that lush, gorgeous hair that beckoned a man to touch—to take. Could take her lips once more with his, his arms wrapped around her as they moved toward the bed.
No, Hawk cautioned himself. He had to tread carefully or risk losing himself in the arms of a woman who was quickly driving him mad.
“I’d better let you get some sleep.”
“Are we going to go on Monday? To that center that does the DNA testing?”
“We can wait until after the wedding.”
“I’d rather go sooner. Get it over with, even if I don’t share the results until after the wedding. I’d like to know what I’m dealing with. What my family is going to have to deal with. Armed with that, I can begin to work toward an answer instead of living with all these questions.”
“You’re talking like it’s a done deal. That you’re Annalise’s daughter.”
“Aren’t I?”
He marveled at how quickly she’d come around to the idea of her parentage. “You’ve accepted it more quickly than I’d have expected.”
“You can’t be that surprised.”
“Oh?”
“You met my family tonight. You saw everyone. My sister Leonor is slender, with red hair and green eyes. I know you’ve not met her yet but Jade is dark and petite. Both have the same willowy frame as my mother.”
“So that means you’re not related?”
“It me
ans I’m not a physical match. And while I don’t disagree that body shape isn’t a conclusive point of proof, it’s always been the physically outward sign that reinforces how I feel on the inside. I’ve never fit. Not really.”
“Your family loves you.”
“And I love them. What I’m talking about isn’t love or familial bonds or even an adverse reaction to my mother’s behavior. It’s the real, true feeling that I don’t belong. That I’m not a fit.”
Not a fit.
Was it possible she knew, in some innate way, that she wasn’t the biological child of Livia Colton? Would it make this upheaval in her life a relief? Or further reinforcement of all the years she’d spent feeling different? Removed, somehow.
“You will get answers, Claudia. I’m determined to help you find them.”
“And what happens once I do?”
He moved in then, unable to leave even the slightest distance between them any longer. He bent his head, his lips brushing her cheek before they drifted up to press lightly against the shell of her ear. “Then I’ll help you live with them, too.”
* * *
I’ll help you live with them, too.
Claudia still shivered, even with a weekend of distance, as she thought about Hawk’s tender words. The light press of his lips against her ear. The gentle heat of his breath as he whispered the support and encouragement she needed to face whatever was still to come.
She’d sent him home, even as her body begged her to ask him to stay, and he’d gone easily enough. But it had only been after she’d closed her door, his low voice still echoing in her ear, that she’d finally understood what it was to want another.
One day, one year or one lifetime, she’d want Hawk Huntley through all of them.
She’d lain awake long into the night, thinking about him and the havoc he’d managed to create in a matter of days.
Was still thinking about him, after a long, restless weekend where she hadn’t been able to settle, despite ruthlessly cleaning her already-immaculate stockroom, dithering over Maggie’s dress and aimlessly drawing up several new designs.
How was it even possible?
Even as she asked herself that question, she couldn’t deny the wild swings of raw emotion and odd hopefulness that wouldn’t stop seesawing through her mind. Emotions he’d managed to unleash.
