The pink that crept into her cheeks made her face glow.
Hawk’s eyes narrowed. She wasn’t used to hearing she’d done good, was she? He knew how that felt. As a kid, he’d fucking cried the first time the sarge had said, “Good job.”
He’d have to remember to tell her when she did well. It was easier with Aric. Not so much with a woman.
But she needed that reassurance, so he’d get his ass on that job too.
Chapter Twelve
If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month. ~ Theodore Roosevelt
The night had been as fucked-up as Hawk expected.
He woke in a cold sweat with the day’s battle playing in his head. Shooting in slow motion and seeing the nauseating damage each slug had done. Each replay had been slightly different, and in the last one, he’d been too slow. The PZ in the tree had shot him, and he’d been unable to move as Bull got gunned down. Then the house exploded beneath the women.
Their screaming had kicked him out of the nightmare, thank fuck.
He wiped off the sweat with a washcloth, letting the cold bite ground him, and then slugged down a glass of water to rinse the bitter taste from his mouth.
Once outside, he checked the courtyard. The night was gray and cold. Reassuringly silent. Barefooted, he patrolled the perimeter to reassure himself there were no intruders.
His behavior was a lot like Mako’s sometimes.
He half-grinned. There were worse role models than the honorable first sergeant.
As his gut settled, Hawk pulled on a flannel shirt and socks, fetched his violin, and settled out on his deck.
As he tuned the strings, streamers of fog drifted across the lake like lingering ghosts from his dreams. Beneath the fog was the black, still water.
The lake was his talisman. Infinitely changeable. Birthing life; cruelly taking life. Always beautiful.
Often enough at night, he played to the Lady of the Lake, offering her the sad haunting melodies from his heart. And she would gift him with a few hours of peace.
As she did now.
When his fingers grew too chilled to play, he went back to bed for a few more hours and rose at his usual time.
Dressed in sweats and a T-shirt and ready to run, he was tying his shoes when Aric slipped in the door.
“Hey, kid.”
Still looking sleepy, Aric leaned against his knee, pressing close. Yeah, Hawk wasn’t the only one disturbed by yesterday.
“Hungry?”
A nod of the blond head.
Hawk stroked a hand over silky hair that was softer than puppy fur. “All right.” A banana and milk would tide the boy over until breakfast. “Your mom still asleep?”
Another nod.
Figured. She’d had a fucking shitty time yesterday.
Hadn’t they all. He needed to run it off.
As the kid ate, Hawk walked onto the deck to check the lights in the other three houses. It was Saturday, so Bull and Frankie were probably sleeping in. Same with Caz and JJ. Gabe had planned to go into the station early—and there was a light in his house. Audrey might be up.
In case Kit woke up, Hawk wrote out a note and taped it to his sliding glass door. “Aric’s at Audrey’s.”
Finished, he told Aric, “Let’s go see Audrey.”
Never unwilling to visit—as long as Hawk went along—Aric slid off his booster chair. Onto bare feet. Hell.
Hawk made the “want to ride” gesture, and Aric nodded. After setting the kid on his shoulders, Hawk jogged to Gabe’s house, the first in the line, then tapped on the sliding glass door.
In the kitchen, Audrey waved for him to come in.
“Good morning, you two. What’s up?” She looked confused for a minute then laughed. “Let me guess. You’re dying to go running and want me to watch Aric?”
“Yeah. If it’s okay?”
“I like company.” She smiled at Aric and probably noticed the way the kid’s hands tightened in Hawk’s hair.
Maybe a run wasn’t a good idea. Or he could put the kid on his back and—
Audrey tilted her head. “How about we climb up to the…the…”
“Sniper’s nest?” Hawk guessed.
“Yes, that, and we’ll be able to watch you as you run. Okay, Aric?”
The grip on Hawk’s hair relaxed. “’Kay.”
Setting Aric down, Hawk pointed to the hallway. “Mind if I leave through there?”
“Go ahead.” She took Aric’s hand and led him toward the stairs. “You’re going to like this. You can see everything.”
After Hawk went out the garage’s side door, he took a minute to stretch out. He wasn’t a young pup any longer to be able to bust out running. Injuries and age had taught him the benefits of warming up.
He started off at a slow jog down the dirt and gravel road toward Swan Avenue.
After passing the strip he used for his plane in the off seasons when he couldn’t land on the snow or the water, he stopped and turned to look back at Gabe’s house.
No way to spot motion up in the tiny attic space. That’d been part of the design. The logs and shingles concealed sliding hatches at various locations and heights. Each house had a sniper’s nest that provided an excellent field of fire.
Mako had insisted.
Assuming Audrey and Aric were watching, Hawk held up his hand in a wave, then resumed his run, picking up the pace as he went.
The air was brisk with the damp scent of the lake and green growth. A pile of fur at the side of the road showed a moose calf had ended up being dinner for something—probably a hungry brown bear.
The young of any species was vulnerable.
His speed increased as anger…and determination…roused within him. The Hermitage had two young ones. Nothing—and no one—would harm them.
Or the women either. Especially not Kit.
But she was an adult, and despite what she’d been through, she wouldn’t stay hidden here where it was safe. She’d asked Caz and Gabe what jobs were available in town, ones that wouldn’t require a lot of lifting.
And each day, Aric was less dependent on having his mother or Hawk around. The boy might even join Regan at the summer school program.
It was good that the two were moving on with their lives.
It was good that Kit would soon be recovered enough to move to her own place.
Wasn’t it?
Heavens, but she’d slept hard.
Still yawning, Kit went in search of her boy. He wasn’t in Bull’s house.
Next choice would be over at Hawk’s. She heard Aric’s high giggles even as she climbed the deck steps.
When she knocked on the sliding glass door, Aric ran to let her in—and gave her a happy, little boy hug.
A sticky one. He smelled of maple syrup, and the house held an enticing, almost pastry-like aroma.
Hawk was seated at one of the long kitchen islands eating pancakes. That was what she’d smelled.
Disappointment swept through her that she hadn’t gotten up in time to have some. She kissed the top of Aric’s head. “Morning, honey bear. Morning, Hawk.”
Holding onto her legs, Aric leaned back so he could see her face. “Mama, I went up high. With Audrey. So high. We watched Hawk.”