Just One Kiss: A heartwarming Christmas romance (Whisper Lake Book 4) Read online

  He'd known a lot about her at one time in his life. She'd told him things she'd never told anyone else, and he wanted to be back in the warmth of that kind of incredible trust. But he definitely was not there. He wasn't giving up, though. As long as Hannah was still single, he wouldn't stop trying to break down her defenses. He just hoped that would happen before she fell for someone else. And he knew there were plenty of men who were interested in her.

  She had a unique beauty, dark-red hair that was pulled back in a ponytail now but would flow over her shoulders and halfway down her back when she released it from the constricting tie. Her eyes were a dark-chocolate brown that could burn with the same fire as her hair when she was angry or excited or filled with desire. His body hardened as their most intimate memory filled his head. Hannah, with her hair down, her creamy skin flushed with heat, her bare shoulders revealing a delightful smattering of freckles. Her eyes had sparkled with desire when she'd looked at him, her mouth curving into a nervous smile.

  He'd felt the same nerves, the same impatient, raw desire that had resulted in an experience he'd never forgotten. He wondered if she still remembered. He knew she didn't want to. She'd wanted to forget him after he'd broken their relationship beyond repair.

  But she might remember. That might be the reason why she was so careful to avoid him, to never really look at him. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

  He wanted her to want him again, the way he still wanted her. He just didn't know how to make that happen. Maybe it shouldn't happen. Perhaps, he should let the past stay where it was.

  On the other hand, like Hannah, when someone put a mountain in front of him, he had to climb it, no matter the danger, no matter the risk.

  But the risk wasn't his alone, and that's what gave him pause. He'd hurt her once; he didn't want to do it again.

  Hannah finally lifted her gaze from the necklace. "Kelly is in trouble, and she needs my help with Brett. I'm not going to call Adam back, not yet anyway. I need to give Kelly some time to come back."

  He nodded, as she brought his thoughts back to the present. "Okay."

  "That's it?" she asked, as if surprised by his agreement.

  "It's your family, your call. I am curious—have you heard from Kelly since she left?"

  "No. She hasn't been in contact with any of us since the day she took a bus out of town. My mom looked for her in the beginning. I think she might have spoken to her once or twice, but then Kelly disappeared again. There was so much anger between them; they couldn't find a way to reconnect or maybe they just didn't want to."

  "I know we talked about it in high school, but I can't remember all the details now. The relationship between Kelly and your mom took a turn for the worse after your dad died. Your mom blamed Kelly for the accident, right?"

  "Yes. Kelly was a senior in high school. She had stayed out past curfew and my father went to find her. On the way home, on a very stormy night, he lost control of the car and died. Kelly was not injured. My mom told Kelly it was her fault. My dad never would have gone out that night if Kelly had come home on time."

  He felt a little sorry for Kelly, even though he understood that the blame had come from a place of deep grief.

  "I didn't blame Kelly," Hannah added. "I knew it was just an accident. But she and my mom could not get along. They were both in a lot of pain. Several months later, Kelly disappeared. I never thought she'd stay gone. I believed she'd return when she had a chance to calm down and grow up. But she never did. When Tyler and I were put into foster care, which happened about four months after Kelly left, the social worker said she looked for Kelly, but she couldn't find her. That's when I started to hate her. She hadn't just abandoned my mom—she'd abandoned all of us. It was selfish, but that's who Kelly was. Her drama, her problems, were always more important than anyone else's. Now, it's happening again. She has gotten herself into something, and I'm supposed to be there for her, even though she's never been there for me."

  Hannah's voice was thick with emotion. She was angry and frustrated but also worried. Deep down, he knew she still loved her sister, because Hannah loved with her whole heart. He'd seen the way she'd taken care of her little brother, and even her mom, who often didn't deserve it. And for a while, she'd loved him like that, too. But when the love was gone, when she felt betrayed, there could be no end to her anger.

  "Do you think I'm making a mistake?" Hannah asked. "Should I call Adam back?"

  He was surprised she even cared what he thought, but if she wanted his opinion, he'd give it. "I think you should hold off on that call. Brett is safe. You're his aunt. See where this goes."

  Relief filled her gaze. "I agree." She tilted her head. "I keep thinking about her note, about Brett not being safe if we go to the police. It makes me wonder if Brett's father is in the middle of this trouble. Was he hurting Brett? Did he have custody? Did Kelly take Brett and run to protect him?"

  "Those are definitely all scenarios that make sense to me, including the idea that the father might be a cop."

  "He could be, but he's not a Whisper Lake police officer. There's no way Kelly has been living in our small town. I just wish I knew where she was before she came here."

  "That shouldn't be difficult to find out. There's a trail," he pointed out. "She had a vehicle. It had to be registered to someone. She booked the rental. I assume there was a deposit, a credit card involved. All those clues could lead to her whereabouts."

  "And the police could probably find all that out in just a few minutes." She let out a breath of frustration. "I wish she'd left us more information in her note. It's so difficult to know the right move to make, and I still think she took a big risk that I'd be the one to respond to her call. What if I hadn't come right away? What if you hadn't driven up when you did? I could still be stuck on the side of the road. Did Kelly stick around to see if anyone would come, or did she just hope for the best?"

  He started at her words. "When I walked over to Trevor's cabin, I saw a car leaving the area. Maybe it was Kelly. Maybe she waited until you arrived."

  "That would make me feel better, unless the lights didn't belong to her car. Did you see anyone else?"

  "No. There was a light on in the cabin next to Trevor's. Why don't I go knock on their door? Maybe someone saw something."

  "That's a good idea." She got to her feet. "I also think we should take Brett to my house. With the storm coming in tonight, I'd rather be back in town."

  He was relieved by that decision. "I would agree. I'll give you a ride whenever you're ready to go."

  "Okay." She paused, an odd, tense look passing through her eyes.

  "What?" he asked curiously. "Do you have something else to say?"

  "Thank you," she said through tight lips.

  He gave her a wry smile. "That sounded painful."

  "I still said it," she retorted.

  "Even though it made you want to throw up. You can't stand it when I'm nice to you."

  "It's not like it happens all that often."

  "It might if you didn't run out of the room every time you saw me."

  "I don't do that."

  "Yes, you do. Can't you be honest about that?"

  "Do you really want to talk about honesty?" she challenged.

  He had to admit he'd taken a wrong turn with that question.

  Without waiting for his answer, she added, "I don't actually want to talk about anything that has to do with our past."

  "You never do."

  "And I still don't. There's no point. I need to deal with this situation."

  "You always have an excuse."

  "Do you really have anything new to say?" she challenged, as she put her hands on her hips. "What happened with us was a lifetime ago. I've moved on, and I'm sure you have, too."

  "If you'd moved on, you wouldn't try to avoid me every chance you get."

  She shook her head. "I can't do this right now." She turned and walked out of the bedroom.

  He wasn't surprised by her
quick exit; he was used to seeing her back. When he returned to the living room, Hannah was sitting on the couch next to where Brett was playing on the floor. Her entire demeanor changed when she looked at her nephew. Gone was the anger and the stress. There was nothing but warmth, kindness and love.

  He really missed the days when she'd looked at him like that, but their very recent exchange reminded him that that would not be happening again any time soon.

  As he watched Brett and Hannah together, he could see a family resemblance, even though Brett had green eyes and blond hair, no trace of Hannah's temperamental red. But there was something about Brett's expressions that reminded him of Hannah.

  Hannah gave Brett a smile and said, "I was thinking you might want to come to my house and have a sleepover. What do you think?"

  "Is Mommy going to be there?"

  "I'm not sure when she'll be back. But I'll take really good care of you."

  "Mommy said you would."

  Hannah's jaw dropped at that comment. "She did? Did she mention my name? Did she say Hannah?"

  "She said you'd be really nice to me and that we both like dogs. You had one named Tiger."

  "I—I did," Hannah said, a tremor in her voice now. "What else did your mom say about me?"

  "I don't know—stuff. Do you want to play?"

  "Maybe for a minute. Then we need to get your things."

  "You can be the vet. My puppy is sick," Brett said, handing her his small dog.

  As Hannah and Brett began their imaginary game, Jake grabbed his coat and headed out the door. When he stepped onto the porch, he blew out a breath. Hannah got under his skin like no one else. She had so many sides to her personality. She was definitely a rough diamond, beautiful on the outside, but that beauty had been hardened through fire. She'd been through a lot in her life, and she'd come out stronger, but her toughness wasn't the whole story. She also had a tender, soft core and this situation with her sister was probably bringing her a great deal of pain.

  Hannah had been trying to put her family back together since her father had died. He knew from their mutual friends that Hannah's mother's drinking had become a huge problem, much bigger than he'd seen in high school. He felt bad that he hadn't been there for her, although he knew she wouldn't have let him be there even if he'd wanted to. She was barely tolerating him now. But she had let him into her life ever so slightly, and he would take advantage of that. He was going to help her with Brett and her sister. Whatever he could do to make this situation better, he would do. He owed her that much. Actually, he owed her a whole hell of a lot more, but at the moment, this was all he could do.

  As an icy wind picked up, he lifted his gaze upward. The tall trees were swaying, the clouds overhead had turned black, and snow was beginning to fall. It would be a good idea to leave sooner rather than later. But first, he had to check with the neighbor.

  He jogged down the road to the one cabin in the area that had lights on. He knocked on the door.

  A man appeared on the threshold. He appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, his hair peppered with gray, his eyes guarded. "Who are you?" he asked bluntly.

  "I'm Jake McKenna. My friend owns the cabin over there—Hannah Stark." He tipped his head toward Hannah's house.

  "Okay. You got a problem?"

  "A little boy was left on his own in the cabin. We're trying to figure out who left him. Did you happen to see anyone go into the house?"

  The man's irritation turned to concern. "I saw a boy and his mom carry some groceries inside. That was a few hours ago. They seemed fine."

  "Did you happen to see the woman leave?"

  The man scratched his chin as he pondered that question. "I didn't see her leave, but I did see her talking to a guy at the cabin over there." He pointed to the cabin where Trevor had been staying, the one Jake had found littered with empty bottles and fast-food wrappers.

  "Was that guy young with long brown hair and a beard?"

  "That was him. What's going on?"

  "I'm trying to figure that out. What kind of conversation were they having?"

  "I couldn't hear what they were saying. They seemed friendly. It wasn't like anyone was scared or anything. That's all I saw."

  "What about the woman's car? What was she driving?"

  "I think it was a Prius." He shrugged. "I wasn't paying much attention. I came up here to get some rest, some quiet."

  "I'll leave you to that. Thanks for your help."

  "Sure thing."

  As the man shut his door, Jake walked off the porch, taking another look at Trevor's cabin. Was there any chance that Trevor and Kelly might know each other? Both families had owned cabins in the area for a long time. But Trevor was at least ten years younger than Kelly, and Kelly had been gone a long time. It seemed unlikely that they knew each other, but it was odd that they'd had any conversation at all.

  He was still pondering that thought when a gale force wind came roaring through the trees, sending snow straight into his face. It was snowing harder now. Visibility was diminishing quickly. He had a feeling they'd just lost their window to get back to town.

  He jogged down the road, dodging a heavy branch as it fell to the ground. Another gust of wind almost knocked him off his feet. He opened the front door and had to forcefully close it behind him.

  Hannah jumped to her feet as he shook the snow out of his hair.

  "It's really windy out there," she said in alarm.

  The windows in the house rattled at the end of her statement. "Yes. The storm is here, earlier than I expected."

  "We should go now."

  "I think we need to wait it out."

  "We can't stay here."

  "I don't like the wind," Brett said, getting up from the couch to wrap his arms around Hannah's waist. "It's scary."

  Hannah patted Brett's head. "It's going to be fine, honey."

  No sooner had she finished speaking when a branch hit the roof, sending Brett's arms tighter around Hannah, his face a picture of fear.

  "I guess we'll stay put," Hannah said, meeting his gaze. "For a few hours anyway."

  He thought it might be longer than a few hours, but he kept that to himself.

  "Since we're staying," Hannah continued, "maybe I'll check the fridge and see if Kelly left us anything besides cereal and cookies."

  "Kelly," Brett echoed. "That's my mom's name."

  Hannah caught her breath. "Do you know where your mom went?"

  "She said she'd be back soon, and I should be a really good boy because Santa is coming." Brett paused, concern in his eyes. "Am I being good?"

  "Very good," Hannah replied.

  "Sometimes I make people mad and they get angry," he said. "Mommy says I have to be quiet."

  Jake didn't like what he was hearing, and he could see by the stress in Hannah's eyes that she didn't either. But she was trying not to show her emotions to Brett.

  "Why don't you watch your show?" Hannah suggested with a forced smile. "Jake and I will see what other food there is."

  "Okay." Brett got back on the couch, and Hannah covered him with a cozy blanket, then headed into the kitchen.

  He took off his coat and followed her into the room.

  As soon as they were out of sight from Brett, she turned around. "He's Kelly's son. He confirmed it."

  "Yes, he is. But I'd like to know why he needs to be quiet and who he's making angry."

  "Me, too. I need to find Kelly. I need to help her, to save her from whatever is going on, whatever she is running away from."

  That was Hannah, always jumping into savior mode.

  "I'll help you," he said, because that's the mode he usually jumped into as well.

  "And after I save her, I'm going to kill her for leaving her son with no explanation," Hannah said with a fiery light in her eyes.

  He couldn't argue with that. He completely understood why Hannah was furious with her sister. But he had to admit there was a part of him that wasn't that unhappy with the situation.
r />   Hannah had been running away from him since they were seventeen years old, but tonight she wasn't going anywhere.

  Chapter Four

  Hannah knew Jake was not unhappy about getting stuck in the cabin together. He hadn't even tried to hide the gleam in his brown eyes, and that damn sexy smile of his had sent a shiver down her spine. She had a lot of reasons not to like Jake, and all those reasons made her angry, but what bothered her the most was that she was still attracted to him. She didn't understand how she could hate him and want him at the same time.

  Turning away from him, she opened the refrigerator and was surprised to see more food than she'd expected. She'd thought the milk, juice, cereal, and cookies might have been the extent of the groceries, but there was a carton of eggs, a rotisserie chicken, a bag of salad, and cream cheese to go along with the bagels on the counter. She took out the chicken and salad.

  "We won't starve," she said. "I'm surprised Kelly left this much food, but maybe she thought I'd stay here with Brett."

  "Probably. The neighbor I spoke to said he saw her come in with a bag of groceries."

  She'd completely forgotten about the neighbor. She'd gotten so distracted by the storm and the thought of having to spend more time with Jake. "What else did he say?"

  "He saw her talking to my friend, Trevor. He didn't see anything odd about their conversation. No one was angry or upset. They just seemed to be chatting. He said she was driving a Prius. That's all he knew."

  "I wonder why she was talking to your friend."

  "No idea. Since you don't know Trevor, I doubt Kelly would."

  "She wouldn't. Trevor would be a lot younger than her. And Kelly has been gone so long. There's no way they know each other."

  "I didn't think so, either, but it's odd that she would leave Brett and go talk to Trevor. If she needed something from a neighbor, she could have talked to the guy I spoke to, whose cabin is closer to this one."