Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
Women need to stick together… for sanity if not for survival. ~ The Lady Elks Secret Archives.
A full day and night after Hawk had blown her world apart, Dawn played with the plastic lid on her coffee. She’d ordered the double latte to go from Kurt’s Koffees but had quickly been intercepted by her sister-in-law, Juliet. Dawn smiled at the gorgeous redhead and straightened in her seat. Juliet was the classiest and most graceful woman Dawn had ever met, and a secret part of her wished to be that smooth. Juliet had married Dawn’s older brother, Quinn, and continued to run a successful western art gallery in town.
The round plastic tables were about half filled with folks wearing snow boots and heavy jackets. Painted snowmen and dancing Santas decorated the wide windows, and Christmas music played in the background.
Juliet smiled. “What’s wrong, Dawnie?”
“I slept with Hawk.” The words came out before she could stop them, before she could think twice.
Juliet’s eyebrows arched in a truly classic face. “Oh my goodness.”
Yeah. That about summed it up. “I shouldn’t have said anything, I know,” Dawn rushed on. Juliet owed her loyalty to Quinn. They’d only been married a short time, and Dawn’s older brother would not be happy about such news. In fact, his head would probably implode, and he’d reach for his gun. “I’m so sorry.”
“Why?” Juliet sipped her mocha. “You need to talk, right?”
Yeah. Definitely. But she’d figured she’d talk to Melanie, whom she’d known for, well, ever. “Yes, but I don’t mean to put you in a difficult position.”
Julie chuckled. “I don’t have to tell your brother everything, you know. You and I also have a relationship, and I always wanted a sister so badly. Now I have you, Sophie, and Melanie, and we women have to stick together around here.”
So freakin’ true. “The sex was amazing.” Dawn frowned and focused on her coffee cup.
“Why do you look like somebody kicked your puppy?” Juliet asked softly.
The door chimed, and a vivacious blonde popped inside and hustled their way. “Man, it’s cold out there,” Sophie Lodge chirped, dropping into the seat next to Juliet. She’d married Dawn’s oldest brother, Jake, and already had three kids with him. “What’s going on, ladies? You look like you’re solving the world’s problems over coffee.”
Dawn gulped. “Hawk and I almost broke my headboard last night. ”
Sophie stilled. Her eyes opened wide, as did her mouth. Her lips smacked together and pure, unadulterated glee lit her small features. “It’s about time.” She chuckled. “Man, your brothers are going to blow a gasket.” She squinted toward Juliet. “Is Quinn up-to-date on his life insurance? I can see his head exploding off his shoulders.”
“That’s what I said,” Dawn muttered.
Juliet cleared her throat. “Good point. What about Jake?”
Sophie shrugged. “Jake will shoot first and freak later. He’s a great lawyer and can probably get himself off with an insanity charge. Quinn’s the sheriff and can’t shoot first.” Amusement glimmered in her eyes. “Although I assume we’re not telling the guys? That Dawn and Hawk want some privacy to figure things out?”
Juliet smiled. “I believe that’s the plan.”
Dawn cleared her throat. “I’m sitting right here, you two. Knock it off.”
Sophie clapped her gloved hands together. “Sorry, but this it too great not to have fun.” Then she frowned. “Why aren’t you doing the happy I got laid dance? I mean, it’s Hawk. Hawk .” She gasped and sat back in her chair. “Oh no. Did Hawk suck in bed?”
Dawn slapped her palm against her forehead. What had she been thinking to talk about Hawk to her sisters-in-law? They were both crazy. Sure, Juliet masked it better, but a fireball lurked behind her classy exterior. Sophie didn’t even hide the nuttiness. “Hawk was a god in bed.”
Sophie leaned forward and patted the table. “So you, ah, you know?”
For the love of Pete. “Yes. I you knowed four times,” Dawn admitted .
Juliet’s eyebrows rose. “Four times? Very nice.”
Dawn pinched the bridge of her nose. Heat rushed through her head. “Then in the morning, Hawk got a phone call from Reese, and some bad guy he put away has escaped, so we need to keep our distance until he takes care of it. All by himself.”
Sophie snorted. “Moron.”
Juliet nodded. “Idiot.”
“Exactly.” Dawn swept her hands out wide. “How dumb is that?”
Juliet’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me you kept your cool. Played it very nonchalant.”
Dawn smiled, and it even felt mean. “Oh yeah. I told him he didn’t need to be alone, but if that was his choice, not to let the door hit his ass.”
“Perfect,” Sophie said.
Juliet drew out her cell phone and punched in a number.
Dawn shook her head. “What are you doing?”
Juliet held up a hand. “Reese? Hi. It’s Juliet Lodge. What is going on with Hawk?”
Dawn sat back, going still as Juliet tapped her fingers on the table.
“Well, I suggest you get your behind in gear and take care of the problem. You should probably call the Lodge-Freeze guys before they find out, from, well, me.” Juliet smiled, her voice cultured, her gaze street mean. “We do look forward to seeing you.” She disengaged the call.
Dawn gaped. “What did you just do?”
Juliet lifted a slim shoulder. “We’ve kept in touch since the whole kidnapping issue.” A drug runner had kidnapped Juliet when Reese still worked for the DEA, and he’d helped in her rescue. She turned to Sophie and wiggled her eyebrows. “He’s coming to town.”
Dawn smiled. “Excellent. It’d be nice to have Reese here.”
“Yes, it would. He should move here and find something less dangerous to do,” Sophie said.
The door jangled and Melanie waddled in, crossed the room, and took the seat next to Dawn with a deep sigh. “I’m huge.”
Juliet reached over and brushed snow from Mel’s shoulder. “You’re perfect.”
Mel snorted. “Right. What’s up?”
Sophie leaned forward. “Dawn and Hawk did the nasty, they’re not telling anybody, Hawk has to go chase a drug dealer, and Reese is coming to town.”
Melanie blinked. She slowly turned toward Dawn and lowered her chin, her eyes wide. “You and Hawk?”
Dawn’s stomach turned over. “Um, yeah.” She rubbed her hands together. Melanie, Colton, and Hawk had been best friends forever, and Mel had always been protective of both men. When she and Colton had finally gotten together, they’d made sure to keep Hawk close. Asking Melanie to keep the secret from Colton wasn’t fair. Dawn sighed. “I know it’s unexpected.” How mad was Mel going to get?
Melanie leaned forward. “How is Hawk in bed? I’ve always wondered.”
Sophie snorted out a laugh.
Mel rolled her eyes. “Just out of curiosity. I’ve always loved Colton, but I’ve heard so many rumors about Hawk. Are they true?”
Dawn’s body relaxed, and she smiled. “They’re true. ”
“I knew it.” Melanie smacked the table. Her smile faded. “Oh. I’m not supposed to tell Colton.”
“No,” Juliet said.
Dawn fidgeted on her chair. “I know it’s not fair to ask you to keep a secret.”
Melanie rubbed her protruding belly. “I’m pregnant. Don’t worry—I can get away with anything right now. By the way, the doctor heard two heartbeats yesterday, and everything is just fine.”
Dawn smiled. Melanie hadn’t thought she’d be able to have kids, and to be having twins was more than the woman had ever dreamed about. “Of course you’re all fine. Colton with twins—I love it.”
Even though she was beyond happy for Melanie, her mind kept going back to her love life. What was she going to do about Hawk?
The door jangled again, and Mrs. Hudson trooped inside with Mrs. Poppins, heading right toward her. Henry Bullton, after holding open the door, hitched up his gray pants and strutted to the counter. The scent of Irish Spring and Ben Gay wafted in his wake.
“Dawn Eleanor Freeze,” Mrs. Hudson said, drawing herself up to her full five-foot height, sparkles dancing across her chest. “We really must talk.”
Sophie jumped to her feet. “I require coffee.” She leaned down and assisted Melanie up. “You need tea.”
Juliet slid gracefully from the table. “I’ll be powdering my nose.”
Dawn barely kept from glaring as her sisters-in-law all deserted her like rats fleeing a sinking ship. She sighed instead. “Mrs. Hudson, Mrs. Poppins. How lovely to see you. Please have a seat.”
On his own property, with the morning light illuminating the snowy mountains around him, Hawk snipped off a piece of barbed wire, his hat shielding his face from the burning wind. Snow covered the fields, and in the distance, trees dumped more of the powder as the storm assailed them. “How are the northern pastures?”
Colton glanced over after resetting a downed fence post. He’d pulled his hat low and his coat high to combat the wind, while heavy leather gloves protected his hands. “Quinn and Jake just finished repairs from the last storm and wanted to meet in town for breakfast.”
Hawk swallowed and bent to his task, his gut churning. He’d been working since first light with Colton, on the fences separating their properties, and guilt about Dawn ate through him like termites. No way could he sit at breakfast with all three of her older brothers and not confess everything. Especially since Reese would hit town again soon, and Hawk would leave. He should never have slept with Dawn knowing he was going to be leaving in less than a week.
But the woman was a grown-up, and she deserved her privacy.
He probably should’ve called her the previous day or night, but he hadn’t known what to say. A part of him, a small part he didn’t like, was peeved she hadn’t called him. “I think I’ll just check the other side of my property and meet up with y’all later.”
“We checked those the day before you came home. Jake and I did,” Colton said absently, kicking the post and making sure it stayed in place.
Well, of course they had. That’s what family did.
Colton stretched his back. “I thought you and I could head by the gyms and check them out. They’re going well, and we’re offering a couple of free self-defense classes that I need help with. Could you take over instructing a couple while you’re home?”
“I’m probably leaving too soon, but when I get back, I will.” Dang it. He was part owner and should step up and work. “Sorry I haven’t been around.”
“You’re here now.” Colton tossed some pliers in the back of the work truck.
Hawk glanced at the snow-covered pastures, solid fences, and shockingly white mountains around them. The breeze cut into him with the scents of pine and snow, and the tension in his chest lessened. “I’m here now,” he repeated. Yeah. Home. Finally. He shoved his hat back on his head. “Colt? We gotta talk.”
Colton turned, blue eyes lasering through him. “I figured. I think it’s time you retired from whatever you’ve been doing and stayed home.”
“I made a promise for one more job, and I have to keep that promise.” Not only that, taking down Meyer meant dismantling the entire organization, and that might take Hawk years.
A rumble came down the lane, and snow spit in every direction. A black work truck came into view, rolling to a stop near theirs. Quinn jumped from the driver’s side, and Jake from the passenger’s.
Hawk nodded at what amounted to older brothers for him. Quinn had taught him to fight, and Jake had taught him to shoot. Both skills had saved his ass more than once in the military. They had their father’s size and their mother’s Native American features, leaving them long, lean, and sometimes mean, with black hair and even darker eyes. Their dad had died in a snowmobile accident, and their mom had later married Tom Freeze before having Colt and Dawn. They weren’t Tom Freeze’s biological kids, but they moved like him, all grace and muscle.
Quinn smiled and grabbed him in a solid hug. “Welcome home.”
Hawk smacked Quinn on the back. “Sheriff.”
Jake was next, his eyes dark, his jeans ripped. “Glad you’re safe.”
He returned the hug and then backed away. “Thought we were meeting for breakfast.”
Quinn leaned against the truck, his black cowboy hat gathering slowly falling snow. “Figured we’d talk now.”
Hawk braced his legs. If they hit him, he’d take it, and he wouldn’t hit back. He deserved the punch. “Okay.”
Colton stilled. “What are we talking about?”
Jake rubbed his whiskered chin. “Reese called us and told us everything about your current mission.”
Heat exploded up Hawk’s throat. “Son of a bitch.”
Quinn’s gaze hardened. “We should’ve heard it from you and not from Reese.”
Yeah, maybe. “This is my problem, and you all have families to worry about,” Hawk said.
Colton glanced from his older brothers to Hawk. “What is there to worry about?”
Hawk blinked, belatedly realizing they didn’t know about him and Dawn. He should probably say something. “ I hunted and captured a drug distributor who had been an acquaintance of mine in the military, and he apparently has escaped and needs to be found.”
Colton shoved his hat all the way back. “I knew you were working for Reese, but why didn’t you tell me about this?” Anger rode the words hard, and his shoulders went large and stiff beneath his coat.
Hawk met his best friend’s anger head on. “You’re newly married, and you have twins on the way. The last thing you have time for is chasing a drug dealer across the world with me. Besides, it could be dangerous.”
Jake shook his head. “You’re a dumb sonuvabitch.”
Quinn nodded, while Colton still hadn’t moved.
“I’m sorry.” Hawk sidled away from the barbed wire and closer to the truck. If he got hit, he’d rather plow into steel than sharp wire. “This is my problem, one I thought I’d solved before heading home, but I guess I was wrong. I thought the dangerous part of my job was over, but I’m going to have to go back to it.”
“You’re family, you idiot,” Colton growled.
Yeah, Hawk was family. He needed to change that, at least for a while, in order to keep them safe. There was only one thing he could say to get them to back off and leave him alone. He didn’t want to do it, but to protect them, to protect everybody, he’d take the beating. So he planted his boots in the snow. “I slept with Dawn the night before last.”
Silence roared in on a tension that took up all the oxygen. Even the wind quieted.
Colton somehow moved to intercept Quinn, but Jake was still the fastest guy around. His fist connected with Hawk’s jaw before Hawk could blink.
Lightning exploded through his head, and he started to go down.
Quinn caught him before he hit the snow. “Jesus. Did you have to hit him so hard?”
“Yes,” Jake growled. Then he leaned in, his breath heating the stars swirling across Hawk’s vision. “You okay, Hawk?”
“Uh.” Hawk regained his feet and shook his head, wincing as pain lanced behind his eyes. “I’m okay.”
Jake clapped him on the back and held tight until he regained his balance. “I should’ve pulled the punch more.”
More ? “I’m fine.” Hawk squinted, relieved when he could see again. “So I guess this is it.”
Jake frowned. “This is what?” He winced. “Do you think I gave him a concussion?”
Quinn grabbed Hawk’s lapels and jerked him around, studying his eyes. “His pupils are okay.”
Hawk shoved him off and shook his head again. “Jesus. I’m fine.”
Colton ducked his head to study Hawk’s jaw. “Man, mom is going to be pissed, Jake.”
Jake grimaced. “Ugh.”
Hawk tried to grasp the conversation, but his ears still rang a little. “I know, and I’m sorry. I’ll apologize to Loni.”
Colton frowned. “Maybe he is concussed.”
“I’m fine,” Hawk snapped.
Colton snorted. “Mom will be pissed Jake hit you. He’s the one who’s going to be in the doghouse.”
Hawk tried to keep his stance normal. “She’ll be mad at me.”
“Nah.” Quinn clapped his arm around Hawk’s shoulders. “She’ll be thrilled. Let’s go grab breakfast, and we can figure out what to do about this guy you’re chasing, as well as the other part of your dumb-ass plan to finish off his organization all by yourself.”
Hawk tried to shake his head again. “No.” This was all wrong. “You guys are supposed to be pissed.”
Quinn shrugged and nearly knocked Hawk over. “You got hit, it’s done. You’re family, Hawk. Nothing changes that.”
Emotion, unexpected and unwelcome, detonated in Hawk’s chest. Family. His eyes teared. “Maybe I am concussed.”