Hidden Secrets (The Hidden Series Book 3)
Page 21
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He reached down and I noticed his duffel bag for the first time. “It’s been a good time, but it’s time for me to go. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.”
“Need a hand with that work?” We turned to see Danny standing there, his hand out and Wade took it.
“Yeah, I could use some help. Especially since it sounds like we’ll be working together.” Danny cut his eyes toward me, shaking his head with a laugh.
“I’ll never bet against her.”
“Smart,” Wade agreed. “I’ve got to clear out some family stuff, but I was thinking about remodeling the office area. You any good at that?”
“He is,” I broke in, smiling happily at seeing them get along. Danny nodded, accepting my tendency to answer questions not directed at me.
“Apparently, we’re also going to be roommates,” Wade added. “It’ll take a couple of days for me to clear out the room, but you can get moved in this weekend if you want.”
Danny lifted his eyebrows at me and I shrugged.
“I can be there in the morning to get started if that works for you.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck, bracing himself for rejection.
“That’d be great,” Wade replied, reading his emotions. “I’d like to get your ideas. Between the three of us, we can figure this whole thing out.” I clasped my hands in front of me, squeezing tightly as thoughts of our next adventure filled me. “Don’t get too excited, Addie. We haven’t gotten our first case yet.” Wade’s words did nothing to dampen my spirits and he knew it. A sigh puffed from him as he slung his duffel bag over his shoulder. “I’m out of here. Danny, I will see you tomorrow. Addie,” he paused and I waited impatiently. “Try not to get into any trouble, at least not for the rest of the week, okay?”
I growled and launched myself at him, but he caught me and I wound up giving him a bear hug instead of a beatdown.
“I don’t get myself in trouble,” I informed him haughtily.
“Riiiiight,” Wade agreed with a healthy dose of disbelief. “Tell Jake he has my sympathy, would you?”
I went to punch him, but he dodged out of the way and I almost fell over. Danny stepped in to save me and told Wade, “I think ninety percent of our time will be making sure she doesn’t get herself killed.”
“At least,” Wade said with a long-suffering sigh. “We should probably invest in a life insurance policy on her.”
“Ha, ha. Weren’t you leaving?” I asked, narrowing my eyes on Wade.
“Now you want to get rid of me?” He shook his head and hopped over the rail to the ground below. “I’ll see you soon.”
I waved at him, sorry to see him leave, and then turned to see Danny with an apologetic smile.
“You’re leaving now too?” I cried and he nodded. Since I knew he’d never initiate it, I stepped up and hugged him. After an awkward moment, he finally lifted his arms and hugged me back. I tilted my head up to him and he glanced down. “We’re going to need to work on your hugging skills.”
A half-smile formed at my words and then I was being ripped from his arms and hugged by a mountain of hair. I grunted as I felt a rib crack.
“Okay, good hug.” I patted her back or her hair, I really wasn’t sure what I was patting.
She finally released me, and as I stepped back I could already see tears forming in her eyes.
“Oh, no. Nope. No tears. It’ll be a week till I see you,” I told her, wagging my finger.
“You almost died! Quit that already. I’m terrified to let you out of my sight.”
“I solemnly swear to not die.” I held my fingers up in a scout’s salute and she batted my hand down.
“Now you’re just being ridiculous. It is safe to leave, right?” She was understandably anxious, but I couldn’t help but tease her. I let my face fall and her eyes bugged. I couldn’t hold it though and busted out laughing. “You’re horrible, just so you know.”
A last hug and they were gone, leaving me on the deck alone.
“Damn, everyone cleared out in a hurry.” Jake wrapped his good arm around me and I leaned into him.
“I think it wasn’t quite the lake vacation they anticipated,” I answered, taking in the quiet lake spread in front of us.
“I would have to agree, it was a little more adventurous than I like.”
“You mean life threatening and dangerous?”
“That seems to be on par with you.”
“It does. Did Connor and Jules leave?”
“Yep.”
“They didn’t even say goodbye?” I fumed, prepared to let Connor have it the next time I saw him.
“No, they had a flight to catch. Turns out Connor did apply for the passport, just at the last minute. It came in and they could at least spend one week at the all-inclusive resort. Connor surprised Jules with it last night.”
“Oh, well then, I guess that makes it alright,” I replied, hugging him.
“By the way, when are your mom and grandfather getting here?”
“Not till noon,” I answered.
“Good,” he replied, turning me as he slid a hand under my t-shirt. I arched an eyebrow, taking in his bare chest.
“Your shoulder?” I questioned.
“Will be fine,” he assured me, ducking his head to press a kiss underneath my ear, making me shiver.
“I love you, Jake Kincaid.”
“And I love you, Addie Michaels.”
Chapter Twenty
“You gonna bait my hook?” I asked him jokingly. His dry stare told me he wasn’t falling for it so I grabbed a cricket and impaled it on my hook. I tossed the line out in the water as I let my bare feet dangle over the edge. Paw Paw was sitting on a camp chair next to me, his own cane pole already in the water.
I watched the line bob for a few minutes, trying to decide if I found fishing boring or relaxing. A few more minutes with nothing happening and I twisted around to stare at Paw Paw.
His silver hair needed a trim, I noticed, and his long sleeve shirt buttoned over a white t-shirt made me hot just looking at it, but he wouldn’t think of wearing only a t-shirt. His blue eyes weren’t as bright as they once were and I worried about the day he wouldn’t be here any longer.
“That’s a mighty big frown on your face, Addie girl,” he commented.
“I was thinking,” I told him and he smiled.
“That explains it then,” he replied and I pushed him, gently because he bruised easily.
“Funny.” I glanced back at my line, not even a tiny nibble making it bob. “You glad you came?” I asked him, knowing it had taken Mom some convincing to get him here. Possibly bribery and some threats too, I admitted to myself.
“Yeah, it’s a nice place, big,” he answered, tugging on his own line as it gave a tentative bob. I glanced at my own line eagerly, but it just sat there.
“Too big?” I asked him, hearing his implication.
“Maybe,” he admitted, dragging his fishing line to make it more tantalizing to the disinterested fish. “What you gonna do with a place this big?”
“Sell it,” I answered thoughtfully, my forehead furrowed as I considered what I’d just learned from his question. “But it’d be nice to enjoy it too. Come out here and fish with you on the weekends.”
Something that would be entirely possible if what Duke planned actually happened.
“That might be nice,” he grudgingly agreed, knocking my knee with his hand. “Watch your line.”
I jerked my gaze back toward my line which was bobbing wildly in the water and frantically tried to reel it in.
“Slowly, don’t want to lose it,” Paw Paw told me as I finally got the fish to the dock. We both looked down to see what I’d caught and Paw Paw chuckled. “Well, we can use it as bait.”
A tiny little catfish struggled madly on the dock and I nudged it toward my grandfather. He reached down to grab it, a glove on his hand to avoid the stingers and deftly removed the hook, tossing it back in with in the same motion.
I smiled, knowing we could catch the biggest fish in the lake and we’d still throw him back. Neither of us were interested in eating them, it was enough to spend the day fishing together. Paw Paw got up to get a worm for his hook and I reached out to steady him when he wobbled.
“Don’t want to fish you out of the lake,” I told him, making a joke of it, even as my hand tightened around his arm.
“I’m getting old, Addie. Won’t be much longer before I’m with your grandmother again.” He settled back in his chair with a grunt and missed my panicked expression. I wasn’t ready for that.
“You’re going to leave forever, old man. Only the good die young, remember?” He gave a chuckle after a few seconds, the words catching up to his deaf ears.
“You worry too much,” he replied and I had to smile.
“Not the first time I’ve heard that.” I nudged him and he looked at me. “You’ve got to make it to at least the triple digits.” Once it dawned on him what I meant he scoffed.
“A hundred. Never gonna happen.”
“Nope, you got to,” I told him, casting my line back out as I avoided looking at him. He studied me for a minute and it seemed to dawn on him how much the thought of him dying bothered me.
“You know there seems a simple solution to this.” I glanced at him and he gave me a curious smile. “Addie girl, how much time do I have left on this earth?”
Surprisingly, the answer came to me, but even more shocking was the fact that my grandfather had asked me a question expecting me to know the answer.
My mouth dropped open and I stared at him, but he just went about getting the wiggling worm on his hook. Finally, he glanced over at me and said, “Well?”
I smiled widely and answered, “You’re going to live a good long time, Paw Paw. We’ll even invite the fire department to your one hundredth.”
He gave a surprised bark of laughter and I joined him, happiness bubbling inside of me at the knowledge that he’d suspected my gift and it hadn’t mattered.
The creaking of boards alerted us to company, or at least me, Paw Paw looked back when he saw me turn. Duke and my mom walked toward us and I saw Jake hanging back on the deck at the house.
I waited for them to come closer before saying, “It’s fine with me, Duke.”
“I haven’t even asked,” he protested, throwing up his arms as my mom glanced between us in puzzlement. I nodded toward Paw Paw.
“He beat you to it. Unintentionally, but still.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, it’s a good plan,” I told him, knowing the idea of him buying the cabin from me and taking care of the maintenance while still allowing us to use it as a family cabin was for the best.
“How?” My mom was understandably confused and Paw Paw laughed.
“Diane, she has a gift,” he told her with a hearty chuckle. “You never noticed how she always seemed to know the answer to questions?” He nodded, casting his line. “She knows a lot more than she lets on. Like her daddy that way.”
It was Duke’s turn to look surprised as he turned to my grandfather.
“I’m old, not stupid,” he answered, relaxing back in the camp chair. “Deaf too, but that doesn’t mean I don’t pay attention.” He tapped his head. “Still sharp as a tack.”
Mom’s mouth opened and then snapped shut as I shrugged. He’d explained it pretty well. I knew there would be more questions, but for now it was enough that the truth was out there.
A sharp nudge and Paw Paw grumbled, “Watch your line.”
Hidden Truths was supposed to be a standalone novel, but when requests came in for a second book, I thought, “Why not?” I didn’t expect for the gang to evolve so much, but as it did a third novel became a no brainer. Now, my mind is already working on a fourth novel, Hidden Betrayals. I hope to have it out Winter 2017 and this novel will be from Danny’s perspective. He’s a guy with a dark past and I’m curious to dive into what he’s been through. Plus, it’ll be interesting to see Addie and Wade’s gifts through the eyes of someone else.
Keep reading for a teaser of Hidden Betrayals and if you have a moment please write a review for the Hidden series and let me know what you think. Readers use reviews and word of mouth to find new authors, so every bit helps.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it.
Hidden Betrayals – Sneak Peek!
The sidewalk retained the day’s heat as Danny stared up at the sign on the building. It didn’t take Addie long when she set her mind to something he thought. Nervous anticipation coursed through him as he considered Addie’s call. Hell, he wasn’t sure he was ready for this, but it was too late to back out now.
“We have a case!” She’d squealed, her pitch rivaling Carly’s. “The captain called and wants our help. Get over here.” A click had followed and he’d hustled to get cleaned up. It hadn’t taken him long to learn to jump when Addie called or she’d just come get him. It was like having a girlfriend but worse. She was his partner in their new PI firm, hence the sign on the building and their first case.
It’d taken a few months to get everything going and since money hadn’t been coming in, he’d had to get work at a garage as a part-time mechanic. The guy was friends with Wade so he let Danny come and go when they needed him.
Most of the time when the police captain called it was because he wanted Addie or Wade to consult on a case. Both of them had unique psychic gifts that came in handy during the course of a police investigation. Danny didn’t have any gifts, not of the paranormal kind at least. He was damn good at picking a lock or a fight, hotwiring a car, and all around causing trouble though. He had a healthy respect for the police department as well as a strong desire to avoid them.
All things considered there was no guarantee this venture of theirs was going to work out he mused before chuckling. Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. Addie wasn’t wrong often and she’d declared them a success from the moment she’d come up with the idea.
He took a deep breath and reached for the handle, a jingling bell announcing his presence.
“I thought we’d agreed to get rid of the damn bell,” he shouted, the front area vastly different than the first time he’d stepped through the door. There was a receptionist desk now and a live plant. The naturalist paintings had been replaced with three sketches; a cabin by the lake, a small shack perched over the water, and an overgrown cabin in the woods. It was the last one which never failed to make his gut clench as he considered what happened there.
“Good, you’re here, and we’re keeping the bell until we can afford to hire a receptionist,” Addie informed him, popping her head around the door that he’d hung to replace the beaded curtain. The place had been a place for psychic readings before they’d decided to become private investigators. Or until Addie had decided, he thought with an amused chuckle. She was a force to be reckoned with and it was usually easier to go along than stand in her way.
The back room now had three desks, a fact that continued to amaze him. He’d never been one for desks and they seemed to realize this after giving him one. The compromise had been to build a small gym so he could keep in shape. His job was more enforcer than detective in his mind. They’d walled off part of the large room, blocking the stairs to the upstairs apartment he shared with Wade and making a kitchen and workout area. So far, it’d seen more use than the desks.
“Alright, Addie, now that everyone’s here, what’s this big case we’re going to be working on?” Wade asked, propped on the corner of his desk. Addie blinked, the sheet of paper in her hand drifting to the floor as she got lost in her own thoughts. It was clear Wade’s question had triggered an answer in her mind, one that had nothing to with the notes now lying on the ground he suspected.
She walked over to one of the sketc
hes framed on the wall, lifting it off. There was a dozen or more around the room, all sketched by Wade after one of his dreams, and all were suspected to be unsolved crimes. Wade had the ability to see crime scenes and occasionally he saw more than just the scene but the actual crime. However, it wasn’t enough to figure out what happened. That was were Addie came in. She could answer questions, even seemingly impossible ones. Her gift was subtle and occasionally dangerous so we were all careful with our questions.
She stared at the sketch she held and he held his breath. He wanted to ask a question but a glance at Wade had him holding his tongue. Addie flipped the frame over and pried up the back to reveal another sketch.
Wade stood, his surprise at her finding a second sketch behind the first apparent. He felt a chill run down his spine as she turned it over, somehow already anticipating what was drawn.
The sight of an abandoned salvage yard caused him to stumble back, vague flashes of memory giving him the answer as Wade asked, “Where is that?”
“Brown’s Salvage,” he answered, a shaky sigh escaping him as they turned to stare at him. “Off of old Delatte Road.”
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~Other books by Kristin Coley~
The Anderson Brothers Series:
Finding Ford
Chasing Colt
Loving Livie
The Hidden Series:
Hidden Truths
Hidden Lies
Hidden Secrets
The Trinity Sisters Trilogy
Summer Escape
The Wright Brothers:
Average Jane