Chapter Three
You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
Two days later, the Amazon woman from his fevered dreams was in the middle of making coffee when Hawk walked into the kitchen. His formerly neat and organized kitchen. The last time he’d seen a room this messy was after a tornado. Literally. His gaze ran from one end of the room to the other. There were dishes, pots and pans, bowls, what he assumed was spilled flour, and a volcano. A volcano? “What the heck happened in here?”
“You’re up. Ah, well, life happened. We did some cooking, and baking, and a few science experiments in between taking care of you. But, uh…yes, it’s a bit messy. Thank goodness you hired me as a Rent-A-Mom and not a Rent-A-Maid.”
“Rent-A-Mom?” Hawk pulled his gaze from the mess and over to the woman. He realized instantly that he knew her. He hadn’t seen her in fourteen years, not in person anyway, but he knew exactly who she was. Although what she was doing in Climax, let alone his house—that was a mystery. “I know you.”
“Ah, well, I guess you must have watched the Olympics.”
He had watched the Olympics, but that’s not why he knew her. “Eleanor Joy.”
She tilted her head, looking him over with narrowed eyes. “No one calls me that. How did you—Jackson? Jackson Savage?”
“In the flesh, only no one calls me Jackson anymore. I’ve been Hawk since, well, since shortly after you moved away.”
“Wow. You…huh… You really filled out.” She ran her gaze up and down his body, slowly. “And you’re so tall.”
“You too, although you had four inches on me in tenth grade.”
“Not many men are taller than me. Wow, well heck, how have you been? Your kids are adorable.”
“Thank you.” There really was no way to catch someone up on fourteen years in a sentence or two. Not with everything life had thrown at him the last decade. And he didn’t really feel much like trotting out his tragedy to her triumph. He’d followed her career along with everyone in Climax. She’d won a silver medal in the Olympics and been on the cover of Sports Illustrated for God’s sake. They’d been pretty much living on different planets.
“I can’t get over you standing in my kitchen. Shouldn’t you be in California or off in some exotic place in the world demolishing another opponent?”
Her gaze slid over to the window and she blinked twice before straightening her shoulders and locking her eyes on his. “I’m taking a short mental health break. Decompressing outside the bubble of the beach volleyball scene.”
“I guess when you live and work on the beach, you wouldn’t want to vacation at one.”
“Exactly!” She tilted her head and shrugged. “And I’m terrible when it comes to doing nothing, so when I saw the ad for the job in Climax, I thought what better way to spend a mini-vacation than to visit my old hometown.”
Hawk guessed it made as much sense as anything, yet something about her vibe was making it feel off. There’d been a time when he’d known her so well he’d known her every mood. But that had been a long time ago.
“HL said you’re a cop. Which explains why the other cop stopped by to check on you.” Nora threw his son a wink. “I thought maybe you were on the FBI’s most wanted list and they were looking for you.”
HL giggled from his seat at the counter island. “Quinn stopped by.”
“Quinn Cates? I should have recognized him by those blue eyes of his.” She went a bit dreamy eyed, and for some odd reason Hawk felt the need to set her straight.
“He’s happily married with a baby now.”
“Good for him. He was nice enough to fetch my suitcase from my rental car, but refused to come in on account of germs.”
“Smart man. I still ache like I’ve been hit by a train.”
“Speaking of the flu, Heather had a very slight fever and sore throat yesterday, so I set her up in bed watching movies on my computer while HL’s been slipping her popsicles. No fever today, though.”
“Thanks for taking care of her. And me.”
“I helped too!” HL said.
“You came through like a champ. I couldn’t have managed without you, HL,” Nora said and reached across the counter giving him a fist bump, which they exploded as if they’d done it a few times. “Oh! A woman claiming to be your sister stopped by. She also declined to enter the house. She said she can’t be sick this close to Christmas. Is she one of Santa’s elves?”
HL actually snorted milk through his nose on that one. “She’s not an elf! She works at Aunt Marie’s Bakery.”
Something about seeing the bright smile on his son’s face sent a surge of warmth through his body. It did his heart good to see his kids were fine while he’d been laid out.
Which is why he felt bad for what he had to do next. Because his son had never known his mama. And HL felt the loss keenly. Poor kid had been asking and matchmaking, desperate for a mom for three years now. It wouldn’t be healthy for him to grow attached to Nora.
Hawk cleared his throat and got to it. “I’m afraid there’s been some kind of mistake, Nora. I didn’t order a Rent-A-Mom.”
“You didn’t?” Nora frowned, turning to look through the clutter on the counter behind her. “I’ve got the receipt right here…somewhere.”
Hawk locked his gaze on her long sunshine-streaked ponytail, refusing the urge to check out her lean athlete’s body even though his eyeballs were itching to make the trip.
“Here it is,” Nora said, turning with the paper and handing it to him. “The company sent me an email, this lovely uniform, and provided my transportation to get here.”
His gaze flicked down to her uniform. Damn, Nora was built, which he knew from seeing her in a bikini on TV. But the T-shirt was stretched tight over her breasts and all he could decipher were the words “priceless” and “cheap.” Those words on Nora’s chest were a very bad influence on his brain. Very bad.
“Sorry, no.” He whipped his gaze back to the contract in his hand. “I’ll write you a check for the days you helped us out, of course, but we don’t need you.”
“I bet is was some computer mix up. My mom will be happily surprised I can spend Christmas with her after all.” She squeezed the dish towel in her hands until her knuckles turned white. “Let me just straighten up the kitchen—”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll get it. You’ve probably got a flight to book. We don’t want to keep you.”
“Sure. I’ll just go pack then.…” She left the room quickly.
“But I do want to keep her, Daddy.”
Of course he did. He’d been wanting a mom since he was five. But every time Hawk decided it was time to attempt dating someone, something came up. Like one of the kids would start some new stage and have him scrambling to figure out the newest phase of solo parenting. Or work. Or simply the fact that finding someone who was a good fit for both him and his kids was a challenge, but not one he was willing to compromise on.
“I’m going to help Nora pack.” HL hopped off his stool and skipped from the room.
Hawk had to admit, standing only a few feet away from the woman Nora had become was a bit of an out-of-body experience. Heck, it’s not every day a guy sees a former girlfriend splashed over cereal boxes, magazines, protein drinks, and on TV advertising the best-selling women’s athletic clothing line. A simple, small town girl who stood in the world’s spotlight and thrived. He didn’t begrudge her one bit of her success. In fact, it was damn impressive. It’s just that her bright spotlight highlighted the dark spaces in his own life.
Holly had been his world, and when she’d been yanked out of it, decades too soon, he’d wanted to retreat to the darkened painful corner of his heart. His kids had saved him from that. He’d pulled himself from that dark place to be the dad Holly would have wanted him to be.
He ran a hand over his face, trying to drag his thoughts back. He was finally in a healthy place. He’d actually been hoping to find that holiday spirit for the first time since Holly’s death. So falling down the memory hole of what he’d lost—what they’d all lost—was counterproductive. Shaking his head, he made quick work of clearing the counters before heading down the hall to check on Heather.
His daughter was so incredibly shy. She didn’t do well with people so he wasn’t surprised she was hiding in her room. Knocking once, he poked his head in. “Hey, kiddo, how are you feeling? Nora said you had a fever.”
“Only ninety-nine. I’m fine now. Nora set me up with a ginger ale and let me watch The Powerpuff Girls on her computer.” Heather blinked up at him with her wide brown eyes. “She has all six seasons.”
Score a point for Nora. Not just for having the cool show but for somehow knowing to give his daughter space. Shy kids had to meet you at their pace—not yours.
“Dad?” HL poked his head in. “Nora doesn’t have anywhere to go for Christmas.”
“HL, what have I told you about listening in at doors?”
“I wasn’t. I promise. I was waiting for her to finish her phone call before I knocked. You told us not to interrupt grown-up conversations.”
Fair enough. “So how do you know she doesn’t have a place to go?”
“Her mom’s going on a cruise with the backstabber and the rat bastard, Eric The-jerk. She doesn’t have anyone else.”
The backstabber? Rat bastard Eric The-jerk? No. Rat bastard Eric the jerk.
“She called a hotel too.” HL’s gaze darted to Hawk’s. “She said, ‘Darn it’—although it was really one of those words you don’t want us to say—‘darn it, just my luck. Between the storm and Christmas there’s no room at the inn.’”
Damn. They’d been talking about winter storm Helena before he’d gotten sick. Guess it had formed and was fixing to hit the east coast.
HL reached out, grabbing his hand with his small ones. “Please can she stay, Daddy? No one should be alone on Christmas.”
Out of the mouths of babes. Hawk turned to his daughter who shrugged and said, “It’s sad to be alone on Christmas. I guess I’d be okay with it.”
He nodded, proud of his kids—even if it might be a bit awkward for him. It wasn’t every day your kids invited your first girlfriend and the first girl you’d had sex with for an extended sleepover.
“I’ll go invite her to stay.” His phone rang and he pulled it from his back pocket to answer the call. It was Quinn asking if he could work a double shift because the flu had taken out both Rossi and Davis. Well, now he could say Nora would be doing them a favor to stay.
Down the hall, Hawk tapped on the bedroom door.
Nora flung the door open with a stiff smile on her face, a backpack slung over one shoulder, and roller suitcase at her feet. “All packed.”
He stood in the doorway just feet away from her. It was strange not to have to look down at a woman. If she wore fuck-me heels, he could look directly into her eyes. And damn if that wasn’t a turn-on. Especially because he formed a mental picture of Nora wearing those heels in her beach volleyball bikini. At six feet tall it would be a long, long trip from her hips to her shoes. A trip he shouldn’t be thinking about taking.
“I was just heading out. It was great seeing you again, Hawk. You’ve got great kids.”
He cleared his throat, pushing the vision from his brain. “About that… It turns out we do need you. Can you stay through Christmas?”
“What?”
“The flu took out two more officers. I’m looking at more than a few double shifts until they get healthy.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning against the doorjamb. “I hate to ask, but any way you’d be willing to give up the holiday with your mom to help us? Otherwise I guess I really will have to order a Rent-A-Mom.”
“Oh, my mom will understand. Sure, I’ll stay. I just need to call a tow truck for my rental car.”
“I’ll take care of it on my way in to the station. Seriously, Nora, thank you.” As a single parent for the last seven years, Hawk had to leave his kids with other people more than he’d wanted. But after one bad babysitting hire, he had a small circle of people he loved and trusted for that.
His family, which now was only his sister, Georgie, since the death of their mother three years ago, Holly’s mother, although she’d moved to Florida, so no longer an option, and his friends and their significant others. So that meant Quinn or any of the Cates brothers. Also, HL’s friend Jordy’s family in a pinch. Nice family, but with Jordy’s older sisters, HL always came home having learned something Hawk was hoping to put off another year…or ten.
So it should feel weird trusting his kids to Nora. But it didn’t. Was it because of the time they’d shared back in high school? Or the clean-cut image she’s portrayed over the last ten years of her very public athletic career? Maybe just the goodness that glowed from her. Whatever it was, it was handy, since he didn’t have a choice this time. It was too close to the holidays, too many flu germs floating around, and winter weather moving in.
And winter weather in the forecast shifted things into high gear. People down south didn’t handle ice and snow well. The smallest trace of icy precipitation had been known to bring roads and cities to complete gridlock. The next few days would be hectic.
He quickly showered and dressed in his uniform. He stopped by Heather’s room on his way to the kitchen.
“Heather, you okay with Nora watching you?”
She shrugged. “I guess. I’ll probably just watch my show.”
“Right.” He leaned down, kissing her forehead, relieved that her temperature felt normal. “Call me if you need me.”
“Okay. Be safe, Daddy.” When she lifted her fist for a fist bump he grinned, her hand so small compared to his answering one. Looked like Nora had already made an impression on his kids.
“You know it, kiddo.”
HL and Nora stood looking out the kitchen window toward the neighbors across the street. He half listened while he grabbed a pad of paper and jotted down some emergency phone numbers for Nora.
“Wow, your neighbors are really going to town with decorations.”
“That’s Brian Ralph’s house,” HL grumbled.
Nora shifted her attention to Hawk, eyebrows raised in question.
He shook his head. “Brian hasn’t always been the nicest kid to HL.”
“They win the Light Up Climax decorating contest every year.”
“I remember that contest, although my mom never did much decorating when we lived here.”
“Yeah, us neither,” HL said, still staring out the window with a disgruntled look watching his nemesis, Brian, setting up one of their many displays. “How come we don’t decorate, Daddy?”
Because seven years ago your mom died the week before Christmas. Makes it hard to embrace the Christmas spirit. For years it had been a struggle to make it through the holiday season. The first few years he’d been in survival mode, just barely hanging on. Thank God for the kids. They gave him a reason to get out of bed every day in those early years. He clenched his jaw and shrugged. “We just don’t.”
He bent his head and wrote out the last number, pushing the ever-present guilt deep down at the disappointment on his son’s face.
“How come you didn’t?” HL asked Nora.
“My mother isn’t big on Christmas. After we moved to San Diego, we were usually traveling to tournaments over the holidays.” Nora sighed, her voice almost wistful but it was short lived. “Every year, huh? The thing about winning streaks is they usually end sometime. I’ll help you decorate, HL. It would be fun to do Christmas up big.”
“Can we, Daddy? I mean, me and Nora. You don’t have to help.”
Hawk ran a finger inside his collar, not sure he was ready for this. Can’t hide from Christmas forever. “Sure. There should be a box of lights up in the attic. If not there, then out on a shelf in the garage.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll find the lights.” Nora’s eyes sparkled with something a bit more than competitive spirit.
Hell, he hoped she wasn’t coming down with the flu too. “Here are the numbers if there’s an emergency. I’ll be back late tonight. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
Nora glanced at HL who stood nodding enthusiastically at her. “Sure. I mean, I’m a qualified Rent-A-Mom, right?”
Right. Which reminded him to call Kaz Cates on his way in to the station. Kaz was a computer genius. He’d get to the bottom of who had hired them a Rent-A-Mom. HL had sworn on his rock collection he hadn’t and the lack of guilt on his face had backed that up.
His second call was to see about having Nora’s rental car towed. Hawk had passed the car on the side of the road exactly where she’d said it had died on her. With the winter weather coming it would be a hazard sitting there. Cooter said he’d head right out for it.
Things were hopping at the station. The first thing he did was brew a pot of his special coffee. He liked his strong like he’d had in the army. He threw a glance at Quinn, daring him to lodge his usual complaint about his coffee.
Quinn shook his head. “You won’t hear me complaining today. Not with the double shifts we’re all working. I swear people get crazy the closer the holiday gets. I’m talking full moon crazy.”
“Happens every year.” Hawk poured himself a cup of coffee, adding powdered creamer and four teaspoons of sugar. “Being laid out with the flu will probably feel like a spa vacation a few hours into shift.”
“Especially with the nurse you had.” Quinn smirked. “Hard to believe Nora Joy ever dated the likes of you.”
“Are you kidding? Nora Joy? As in the Olympic beach volleyball player?” Rafe Rojas asked. He hadn’t grown up in Climax, so of course it was a shock to him. “When did you two date?”
“A long time ago.” It felt like another lifetime—yet standing a few feet away from her, gazing into her green eyes—some memories popped up so real and fresh. He shook his head, moving to the copier next to Gage Tierney’s desk to scan and email the Rent-A-Mom contract to Kaz before things got too busy.
Gage looked up from his paperwork. “She’s never come back for any of our high school reunions. Does she look like she does on the magazine covers and on TV?”
Quinn and Hawk’s gazes met and they both said, “Better.”
“Is she single?” Rafe asked.
And why the hell did Hawk want to say no? Instead he exhaled slowly and shrugged. “No idea.”
Hawk’s phone rang and he gladly stepped away to answer it. He didn’t need to be involved in a deep discussion of Nora’s dating status. Besides it might be a call from home. It wasn’t. It was Cooter from the garage.
“Hawk, the car disappeared.”
“Come again?”
“The rental car. It was right where you said, but I had to go down a block and turn around. Took me all of three, maybe four minutes. When I came back, it was gone.”
“What the hell?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Cooter, I swear to God, if you hit Harry’s holiday moonshine early—”
“Not a drop. Any chance Junior Baxter reported another UFO siting? ‘Cause that’s the only thing that would explain it.”
“I’ll look into it. Thanks, Cooter.” He’d just run the plates. If the rental company had the car equipped with LoJack, he’d find it. He was halfway to his desk when his plans changed.
“Grab all the peanut butter crackers!” Candy Nguyen, their dispatcher called into the room. “Pisser’s on the loose.”
Damn, maybe there was a full moon coming. Jeb McClatchy’s prize steer found a way to escape his fencing enough times over the years that they had a page in their police manual on how to handle him. Luckily for them, Pisser loved peanut butter crackers. So all they had to do was lay out a trail for him to follow back to his barn. But at over two thousand pounds, it had to be done quickly because he’d been known to target cars going by.
Shoving the missing rental car to the side to deal with later, Hawk grabbed another cup of coffee and the emergency stash of peanut butter crackers on his way out. He grinned, remembering a day when he’d thought small town policing might get boring. With escaped bulls, disappearing cars, holiday craziness, and a winter storm watch, boring wasn’t a problem in Climax. Not today at least.