"All right. And your property manager?"
She gave him Debbie's information as well as the address of the cabin and an extra set of keys, because he wanted to drive up to the cabin and take a look around.
"What about your mother?" Adam asked. "Is she aware of the situation?"
"No, not yet."
"I'd like to talk to her about Kelly."
"She won't know any more than I do."
"It's possible she might," Adam countered.
She frowned. "I don't really want to involve her yet. She's not good in a crisis, and her sobriety can be tenuous. Can we leave her out for the time being?"
"You don't ask much, do you?" he said lightly, giving her a dry smile.
"I know I'm asking for a lot."
"It's fine. I'll dig into the information you've given me so far, and I'll let you know what I find out."
"Thank you so much, Adam," she said as she walked him to the door.
"No problem, Hannah. But talk to your mother, because I am going to need to have a conversation with her very soon."
As Adam left, Jake came down the stairs. "Brett is playing in the fort we built in your guest room with pillows and blankets," he said.
"You're a fun babysitter."
"I'm a fun everything," he said lightly.
She wasn't going to touch that comment.
"How did it go with Adam?" he asked.
"He's going to start looking for Kelly. He's happy to leave Brett with me until he gets more information."
"You must be relieved about that."
"I am. And I know that Adam is my best hope to find Kelly fast." She paused. "I do want to thank you, Jake. You've gone above and beyond."
"I'm happy to help. And I'd like to hear the update whenever it comes in. Why don't we exchange numbers?"
She hesitated as he took out his phone. The last number she wanted to have in her phone was his, but it seemed rude to refuse. She gave him her number, and he quickly sent her a text back.
"I need to take off now if you're good," he added. "One of my skiing guides just called in sick, and I have a group that wants to ski Skyhawk this afternoon."
"That's a little risky after such a big snow last night, isn't it?" Skyhawk was one of the most dangerous trails in the mountains above the lake, and there had been a couple of avalanches in the area.
"It should be fine. I know which trails to take."
Jake didn't seem at all bothered by the danger of that mountain, but it bothered her. "I hope the skiers know you can be overconfident."
He gave her a direct and pointed look. "I would never risk someone else's life, Hannah. I'm not reckless."
"I would hope not. But you do like to push the boundaries."
"So do these skiers. However, they're smart enough to know they need an expert guide to lead them down the mountain."
"It's still a risk."
"Life is all about risk."
"And sometimes that risk doesn't work out. I've patched up a lot of people who took a big risk and slid their way down the mountain and into a world of pain."
"And I've seen a lot of people face their fears and have the time of their life," he countered. "It's all about perspective."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"What are you going to do today?"
"I need to work the carnival later but before that I have to do something I really don't want to do."
"What's that?"
"Call my mother. Adam wants to talk to her, and I need to let her know what's going on. I just hope this doesn't send her off on a downward spiral. That would be the last thing I need."
"She's been good for a while, hasn't she?"
"It has been almost four years since her last relapse. But I don't want to see her sobriety tested."
"You can't control that, Hannah."
"You're right, and I hate it."
He smiled, taking a few steps closer to her. She shivered at his sudden nearness, her mind flashing back to his hot kiss from the night before.
"Don't worry," he said, a knowing light in his eyes. "I told you last night—the next time we kiss, you'll be the one who starts it."
"I wouldn't hold your breath."
He leaned in, and it was all she could do not to jerk away, or worse, kiss him.
He whispered, "We'll see." His warm breath brushed against her face, sending a wave of desire through her body. But then he was gone.
She told herself that was a good thing.
Chapter Seven
Jake wished he hadn't promised Hannah he wouldn't kiss her again, because he really wanted to. On the other hand, he'd seen the desire in her eyes, and he liked that she was being forced to look at him in a new way. He'd wanted to shake up their antagonistic relationship for a long time, and that had definitely happened. Where they went from here, he had no idea.
After leaving Hannah's house, he drove across town to his home, which was a one-bedroom apartment over the commercial space that housed his company—Adventure Sports. His building was located next to Waverly Pier, which featured a half-dozen retail shops, as well as two larger warehouses: one for a local boatbuilder, and the other for a woodworking company.
Across from the pier was a park that was turned into a skating rink every winter, and today there were plenty of people out to enjoy the sunshine after the storm. A tented area had been set up with heaters and a snack bar, as well as skate rentals. Many of those skates had been purchased through his company, which had been a nice bonus for this quarter. But as he'd told Hannah, his main source of income, and the part of his business that was exploding was the adventure experience. There were plenty of opportunities to find excitement in the surrounding mountains in the winter and on the lake and rivers in the summer. While he'd spent a lot of time away from Whisper Lake, when he'd really
