“Have you brought a lot of women here?” she asked.
Hawk frowned. “What?”
“Other women. You’ve had a couple of serious relationships since you lost Serena. Did you bring any of your lady friends here?”
“First, I don’t call them my lady friends. Second, I’ve been careful about who I introduce to Brittany. But yes, one or two have been over. Why?”
“I just wondered.”
She wasn’t comfortable simply asking her questions. Like did he keep this house this way because he was a guy and it never occurred to him to paint and box up some of the memories, or was he trying to warn off all who entered? Did he like this still being Serena’s house?
Under other circumstances, she wouldn’t much care about the answers, but she was in love with Hawk so they mattered a lot. Had she fallen for a wonderful man only to lose him to a ghost, or was there a chance?
“I told Brittany she doesn’t get to pout much longer,” Nicole said, choosing safety over knowledge and changing the subject. “She’s going to have to talk to you the next time you come over.”
He leaned back and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “When did everything change? She used to be my little girl. I used to be her world. That’s all gone.”
“She’s growing up.”
“I don’t want to lose her.”
“She’s not lost. It’s just different.”
“I don’t like different.”
“You don’t get to pick.”
“What am I supposed to say to her?” he asked.
“That you love her and you’ll work it out.”
“I want to beat the crap out of Raoul.”
“Sorry, no. It took both of them to do this.”
“She’s my daughter.”
Which said everything, Nicole thought. Brittany was family and she mattered more than anything.
She was surprised at the ache in her chest, then realized the cause. She wanted someone to feel that way about her. She wanted to be loved. And not just by anyone, but by Hawk.
An impossible situation, she thought. Was that just like her or what?
“I should be getting back,” she said. “I don’t want to leave them alone late at night.”
“The damage has been done.”
“I know, but I’m responsible. I can’t help myself. It’s like a disease. One day I’m going to learn to embrace my inner control freak.”
“I like your inner control freak.”
He walked her to her car and kissed her. The familiar need rose up inside but she ignored it. As much as she would like nothing more than intimate time with Hawk, she really did want to get home.
“Rain check?” she asked.
He nipped her earlobe. “Sure. This is Seattle. It rains all the time.”
“No, a rain check works the other way. When it’s not raining.”
“I don’t care about the weather.”
She laughed and then got in her car. He watched her pull away. She knew because she was looking at him in the mirror.
He was a good guy, she thought, wondering what would happen now. Did anyone stand a chance against the memories Serena had left behind? Sure Hawk had wanted to date, but that wasn’t the same as falling in love. He’d already experienced everything he wanted-why would he want to do it again?
She told herself not to go there. That they were just at the beginning of their journey. She shouldn’t borrow trouble.
She managed to work in a couple more cliches before she pulled into her garage, turned off the car, then walked into the house. It was quiet and dark, but it was also nearly ten so she expected that. She didn’t turn on any lights on her way to check on Sheila, so she almost didn’t see the piece of notebook paper on the kitchen table. Once she spotted it, she flipped on the lights.
She picked up the note and read it, then read it again before letting the paper fall to the floor. She blindly reached for the phone. She was too stunned to know what to think. This couldn’t be happening.
Hawk picked up on the first ring.
“They’re gone,” she said. “They ran off together. They have a fake ID for Brittany and they’re going to get married.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
NICOLE RACED through the house, looking for clues. Most of Raoul’s stuff was still in his room, but much of Brittany’s was gone. Suitcases were missing from the basement and while Raoul’s car was still parked in front of the house, Brittany’s was nowhere to be seen.
“At least they took the newer, more reliable vehicle,” Nicole muttered to herself as she ran outside and stood impatiently on the porch. She’d already called Hawk and knew he would be over any second.
Sure enough, his truck rounded the corner and screeched to a stop behind Raoul’s car.
“Did you know about this?” he yelled as he got out of the truck and jogged down the front path.
She blinked. “What? No. Are you serious? You’re asking me if I knew they were running away together? As if I’d keep that from you?”
“Why not? You didn’t tell me Brittany was pregnant.”
She was both outraged and aware he had a point. “That was different.”
“How?”
“It just was.
“So you would have told me because you don’t like what they’re doing, but if you’d approved, you would have kept it quiet.”
He was furious. She could see the anger in his eyes, but she couldn’t figure out why she was the bad guy. “You tell me I don’t know what I’m doing and at the same time, complain that I’m not acting responsibly. You have to pick, Hawk. Either I’m on your team or I’m not.”
“You let her go.”
“I didn’t.”
“You let her go the way you let Jesse go.”
She felt as if she’d been slapped. “You have no right to compare these situations. For one thing, Jesse is my sister, not my daughter, and for another, she’s over twenty-one. Brittany is only seventeen.”
“We have to find them.”
He walked past her and went into the house. Nicole trailed after him, feeling hurt and confused. They’d just spent an amazing few hours together. How could he have held her and touched her and made love with her, then turn on her like this?
He walked through the house, as if they were still there and somehow Nicole had missed them. When he walked into the kitchen, she handed him the note.
“Not that it matters,” she said, “but this was waiting here when I got back.”
“And you didn’t know.”
She sighed. “No matter how many times you ask me that question, I’m not changing my answer.”
He walked to the phone, picked it up and dialed 9-1-1. “My seventeen-year-old daughter is missing. I need to speak to the police.”
NICOLE’S HOUSE was overrun within the hour. There were police everywhere, asking questions, going over
