She actually wouldn't mind her mom's help. "All right. But we're not going to talk about Jake."
"I can't make that promise. When I see something wrong, I have to say something."
"Since when?"
"It's part of being honest and staying well. If I keep things inside, they only get worse. You can't keep secrets and stay sober."
Her mom's words came straight out of her Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and while she wanted to say her mom had never really been that honest about anything, there was no point. Katherine Stark had a blind spot when it came to her own deficiencies. But she was trying, and she was sober. That was the most important thing.
"If we're going to be completely honest," she said. "Then you need to explain why you never told me Jake came by to see me after our horrible breakup."
Her mom's shrug was unapologetic. "I was protecting you. I saw how hurt you were, Hannah, and when he came by to apologize, I was afraid you'd take him back. Is that what you're doing now? Are you giving him a second chance?"
"I don't know," she said. "I haven't decided yet."
Her mother bit down on her bottom lip as if she was forcing herself not to say anything, which was fine with her.
"Okay," her mom continued. "We won't talk about Jake. What's happening with Kelly?"
She wanted to talk about Kelly even less. "The police are looking for her, but they haven't found her yet. That's really all I know." She didn't want to get into the boyfriend or what had happened at the campground. It would only upset her mom, and she didn't need her mother to fall apart on top of everything else. "Let's go into the kitchen. I need to get started on the cookies."
"I can't believe they put you in charge of cookies. You were always so impatient with baking," her mom said, as she followed her into the kitchen. "You never wanted to wait for the cookies to bake. Every time I turned around, you were sneaking raw cookie dough."
She smiled at the memory. "That is true. It was so good."
"And so bad for you with the raw eggs."
"Well, I survived," she said lightly, knowing she'd survived things far worse than raw egg cookie dough. "But tomorrow the cookies definitely need to be baked."
"Then it's a good thing I came by."
She didn't know yet if it was a good thing or not, but she was going to find out soon.
Jake drove across town fighting off waves of anger. The contempt in Katherine Stark's voice still grated on his nerves.
After the life she'd led, the terrible mother she'd been—how dare she judge him for one bad mistake? If she hadn't been such a complete and total burden on Hannah for the last decade, maybe he could admire her sticking up for her daughter. But it just felt hypocritical.
Unfortunately, her attitude toward him had also been another reminder of what a stupid ass he'd been. He didn't care what she thought of him now, but he didn't want her messing up the tentative truce between Hannah and him. But there was nothing he could do about it.
He needed to forget about Katherine and focus on Trevor and what information he might be able to provide that would help them find Kelly. Although finding Kelly might bring a whole new set of problems. It was difficult to know what to believe with the limited information that they had, but he thought there was a good chance that Kelly had killed Russ Miller and had run for her life.
It might be difficult to prove self-defense, but Kelly couldn't stay on the run forever. Or maybe she could.
But what would that do to Brett? She'd be sacrificing her son for her freedom. On the other hand, what good would Kelly be to her son if she was in jail? And how hard would that be on Hannah?
Hannah would take it on herself to raise Brett, just as she'd raised her younger brother when her mom was too drunk to do so. It would be a lot for her to handle. Raising a four-year-old child would consume her life, but she would do it. It just didn't seem fair. She'd spent a lot of time taking care of other people. At some point, it needed to be her turn. And he found himself wanting to be the man who took care of her, who eased her burden. She might not want him to help her, but he would do just that.
The Motor Inn was five miles out of town on a remote highway that led toward the town of Great Falls, fifteen miles south. There wasn't much else on the highway beyond gas stations, fast-food restaurants, and cheap lodging. When he pulled into the parking lot, there was no sign of Trevor's old Chevy Impala.
He turned off the engine and got out of the car, making his way up the exterior stairs to the second floor. He rapped sharply on room ten.
A moment later, Trevor opened the door. He looked like shit. His long, dark hair was greasy. His T-shirt and jeans were filthy, and his body odor made Jake wince. He also didn't like Trevor's bloodshot eyes and pale skin. But there was a clarity to his gaze that he hadn't seen in a while.
"How are you doing?" he asked, as he stepped into the room. His gaze swept the furnishings. There was nothing much there beyond a bed, a dresser and a small table. While there were food wrappers on the table, there was no sign of alcohol or drugs. It was a much different scene than the one at the cabin.
"I'm surviving—barely," Trevor said, sinking down onto one of two hard chairs.
He perched on the edge of the other chair. "Why did you leave the cabin? Why come here?"
"The cabin reminded me of Michelle. We used to go there when we were happy. Being there without her
