Just One Kiss: A heartwarming Christmas romance (Whisper Lake Book 4) Page 6

He was more than happy to put her in his debt for another favor. He might need to use that sometime.

  "Hi, Adam," Hannah said, as she put her arm around Brett. "This is Brett."

  "Hi, Brett," Adam said with a cheerful grin. Then he nodded to Jake. "How's it going?"

  "It's interesting," he replied.

  Adam gave him a speculative look, which he suspected had more to do with the fact that he was with Hannah than with Brett. Everyone in their social circle knew that Hannah hated his guts.

  "Jake rescued me from a flat tire," Hannah interjected, obviously feeling a need to explain. "On my way to the cabin last night. Why don't we go inside?"

  She led the way into the house, dropping her keys and bag on the table in her entry.

  He carried Brett's suitcase inside, impressed by the simple, clean beauty of her home. Off the entry, he could see a living room and dining room. There appeared to be a bedroom downstairs, with a staircase leading up to the second floor. The décor was clean and modern with light-gray hardwood floors and plenty of white and gray furniture with accents of blue and coral. The art on the wall was modern and impressionistic and there were flowers everywhere.

  The scent of lavender swept through him. He wished it made him feel calm. But since it made him think of Hannah, the resulting action was the opposite of calm.

  "Brett can sleep in the upstairs bedroom on the right," Hannah said. "Maybe you can show him where it is."

  "I'm on it. Come on, Brett. Let's go check out your room."

  As Brett followed him up the stairs, he saw Hannah take Adam into the living room. He wished he could be there to offer support, but what she needed most from him now was a babysitter, so that's what he'd be.

  Hannah wished she could have sent Jake home, but having him keep Brett occupied was more important than getting him out of her house and out of her life. She waved Adam into a chair in the living room, while she took a seat on the couch.

  "Okay, what's going on?" Adam asked, a questioning gleam in his eyes. "Your text was very vague."

  "I know. Here's what happened: My mom got a message yesterday that the tenant in our vacation rental at Wicker Bay was out of hot water. I went up there to check it out. I found Brett all by himself. The hot water was just a ploy to get me up there. Brett's mother left a note asking me, or whoever came, to take care of her son. She didn't sign her name. She also said not to call the police as her son would not be safe if the police got involved."

  "Okay," he said slowly, his sharp gaze assessing her story.

  "But I need your help, Adam. I don't know if it's fair to ask, but could we start out unofficially?"

  "Why?"

  "Even though the mother didn't sign the note, I know who she is. She left her necklace behind, and that necklace belonged to my older sister, Kelly. She left home when she was nineteen. That was fifteen years ago. No one in the family has heard from her since."

  He raised a brow as surprise flashed across his face. "I was not expecting you to say that."

  "It was a shock to me as well. I checked with our property manager. The rental was booked by a woman named Kim Slater with a Florida address. But I know that the necklace was Kelly's, and Brett told me his mom's name was Kelly. I don't know if she used someone else's ID to book the cabin, but I'm sure she is Brett's mother."

  "Why wouldn't your sister just call you and ask you to watch her kid or bring him here? Why leave him in a cabin in the woods?"

  "I'm assuming she didn't want to see me or didn't want to give me a chance to say no. Since I'm Brett's aunt, and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of him, I'm hoping he can stay here." She gave him a pleading look, hoping she hadn't made a mistake in calling him. Adam did like to abide by the rules.

  Indecision played through his blue eyes, but finally he gave a nod. "Let's see what we find in the next forty-eight hours. If we haven't tracked down your sister or gotten more information by Monday, then we'll have another conversation."

  Relief ran through her. "Thank you. We need to find Kelly. She's clearly in trouble and Brett could be in danger."

  "Not because you called me."

  "I know I can trust you, Adam, and Brodie, too, but beyond that, I'm not sure. Kelly was very specific about not calling the police. Let me get you the note." She got up and retrieved the note from her bag, then handed it to him.

  Adam gave it a good read. "What else can you tell me about your sister? Why did she leave home? Do you have any idea where she's been the last fifteen years?"

  "After my father died, Kelly turned wild, and my mom became a raging alcoholic. They each blamed the other for my dad's death."

  "Why?"

  "It was a car accident, but the reason my father was out that night was to pick up Kelly, who had not come home by her curfew. It was storming, and it was an accident. But Kelly was the reason he went out at all."

  "That's rough. I'm sorry."

  "Thanks. Anyway, Kelly left home and I never saw her again. I think my mom looked for her at one time; I know others did as well, but to my knowledge, no one ever located her. I asked Brett a few questions, but he just said they live far away. He appears to be well taken care of. When I got to the cabin, Kelly had left food for Brett, and the heat was on. I'm pretty sure she stayed until I came. Jake saw a car leave right after we got to the cabin." She paused. "But I don't want to defend her too much, because what she did was irresponsible and foolish."

  "Or desperate," Adam suggested.

  She was surprised that he was giving Kelly's disappearance a more positive spin. "Really? I thought you'd be ready to arrest her for abandoning her child."

  "I might still do that. But first I want to find her, and if she needs help, I want to help her. She's your family."

  "I want to help her, too, even though she probably doesn't deserve it."

  He gave her an empathetic smile. "Family relationships can be complicated."

  "Your family seems perfect. You and Lizzie and Chelsea are tight. I don't know about your other brothers."

  "We're close, but we all have our moments. And we were fortunate enough not to suffer through the kind of tragedy that you experienced."

  "You were lucky."

  "Do you think Kelly kept in touch with anyone in this town?"

  "No," she replied.

  "What's your sister's full name?" he asked, pulling out his phone to take notes.

  "Kelly Marie Stark. She was born on May 22nd. She has blonde hair and green eyes. She graduated from Whisper Lake High School. I have no idea where she's been since she left town."

  "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 t
o 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 thought about where he wanted to be, where he wanted to put down roots, he'd known it was time to come home.

  There were still problems here. He didn't get along with his father, so family events could be complicated. And there was Hannah, who'd spent the past two years avoiding him. But there were also plenty of friends to spend time with. Adam Cole was one of those friends, and he had great respect for him. There was no doubt in his mind that Adam would find Kelly and hopefully reunite her with her son.

  He parked behind the building and entered through the back door. The first floor housed the retail store and a large circular counter with monitors on the wall running looped videos of some of their adventure tours. Ashley, a twenty-two-year-old skier who was currently training for the World Cup circuit, was at the counter with Hank, a twenty-nine-year-old guide who specialized in rock climbing. In the retail section, Ruth, one of his mom's friends, was getting a child fitted for skis while Howie was helping a teenager with his snowboard selection.

  As Ashley saw him, she motioned him over.

  "Can you take the Skyhawk run this afternoon?" she asked worriedly. "Victor is fighting a fever, and I don't know what he was thinking by not calling in earlier. I promised my sister I would help her set up her booth for the carnival tonight, so I need to leave here by noon."

  "No problem. I'll do it."

  Relief filled her gaze. "Great. I don't want to let my sister down, even though, to be honest, I'd rather be on the slopes. But family is family. Speaking of which, your brother is in your office. He said he needed to use your computer. I guess the internet is down at your mom's house. I didn't think you'd care."

  "I don't. Thanks for letting him in." He smiled as he headed for the office, happy to know that his favorite member of the family was back in town.

  Paul was sitting at his desk when he entered the room. He immediately looked up and gave him a big smile. Paul was a thinner, shorter version of himself with sandy brown hair and brown eyes that had always been filled with curiosity and intelligence. They were four years apart in age, but light-years apart in every other area. But he loved his younger brother more than he loved anyone else in the world. Their bond had gotten tighter when Paul had gone through leukemia as a child. For three years, they'd been afraid every day that they'd lose him. Thankfully, he'd recovered. Now he was six months away from finishing medical school.

  "You're back," he said as his brother got up to give him a hug. "How are you doing?"

  "Great," Paul replied. "Hope you don't mind me using your computer, but the internet went out at the house and Mom is freaking out about all the cakes and cookies she has to finish baking by tonight. When I asked her where the router was, she gave me a look that said keep on walking."

  He laughed at his brother's words, knowing that when his mother got focused on something, there was no interruption allowed. Since she was apparently responsible for filling at least one-quarter of a baked-goods booth with three of her friends, she was under a lot of pressure. "You were smart to come here and stay out of the line of fire, although Mom can never get mad at you."

  "We've had our moments. What's going on with you? If I can be blunt, you look like shit."

  He ran a hand through his hair. He'd gotten in a quick shower at the cabin, but that hadn't covered up the dark circles under his eyes.

  "Did you sleep at all last night?" Paul queried.

  "Not very much."

  A grin spread across his brother's face. "What's her name?"

  "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

  "Well, then tell me, because this sounds intere
sting." Paul sat down and leaned back in the desk chair.

  He took the chair in front of the desk. "I was with Hannah."

  Disbelief ran through Paul's eyes. "No way. Hannah Stark? The one who can't stand you and tries to avoid you whenever she can?"

  "That's the one. It wasn't planned. It was the result of a random and somewhat bizarre set of circumstances."

  "Now I'm even more interested. What happened?"

  "It started with a flat tire. I gave her a ride because she didn't have a spare. She was heading to her family's cabin at Wicker Bay, and I was going to the same location to check on Trevor Pelham."

  "What's wrong with Trevor?"

  "He's going through a bad breakup, and after losing his mom earlier this year, he's been a drunken mess. He said he was going up to the cabin to dry out, but when I got there, he wasn't there. Anyway, that's not the most interesting part of the story. Hannah went to her cabin to check on a hot water problem for her tenant, but the only one at the cabin was a four-year-old boy. He came with a note from the mother asking for someone to watch out for her child and not to call the police because he wouldn't be safe."

  Paul gave him a look of utter disbelief. "Seriously? That's crazy."

  "It gets crazier. The child is actually Hannah's nephew, the son of her sister, Kelly, who ran away fifteen years ago. Of course, Hannah was shocked by the realization that her sister had a kid and that she'd left him alone in the cabin."

  "That's quite a story."

  "We ended up getting caught at the cabin, because the storm was fierce last night."

  "I know. I was lucky to arrive just before it hit. So, you and Hannah spent the night together."

  "With a four-year-old chaperone," he said dryly. "Not that we needed one."

  "Hannah still hates you?"

  He wished he had a different answer. "Yes, but I think we took a step out of the past, which is what I've been wanting to do for a long time."

  "Did you kiss her?"

  "There might have been a kiss."

  Paul raised his brow in surprise. "I'm shocked. She let you kiss her?"

  "She kissed me back. Until she remembered that she didn't like me."