was obvious he liked the style. She wondered what
colors he didn’t have. Maybe she could get him a couple for a Christmas. She
knew his size. She’d sent him a few sweaters as gifts over the years. In fact,
the one he had on looked particularly familiar. She knew so much about him, and
yet there was so much more she wanted to know. Much of his life was a mystery
because of the covert nature of his missions. Writing letters to one another
over the years had helped her to know about the man and his matured
personality, but it wasn’t the same as actually being with one another. Watching
his facial expressions and listening to the rich inflections of his deep voice
were little treasures she thoroughly loved collecting and storing away in her
heart each time he was home.
Nick caught her expression. “What
produced that secret little smile?”
“None of your business.”
“You’ve never tell me what those
particular little smiles of yours mean.”
“They’re my secret.”
“One of these days I’ll pry it out of
you.”
“Nope.”
“Oh yeah. I’ve always been intrigued
by them. You’ve done that since you were little, you know.”
“Really?” He’d noticed. How
wonderfully surprising! “So, what did you find out in Seattle yesterday?”
“Nothing yet. It’ll take a week or so
to go over Dylan’s laptop and check his backup drives. They also agreed to do
the background checks on the police chief and the sheriff. Kurt put Lance on
the Missing Person List, too. Having his name and picture out there might help
bring in some leads. Maybe someone has seen him.”
“Oh, I hope so.” She pushed her
glasses up further onto her nose impatiently. It seemed they were always
slipping down. “Did you go by the boat shop yet?”
“Yeah.” He took a sip from his Styrofoam
coffee cup.
“How are they faring without Lance?”
She watched his Adam’s apple move along the tanned column of his throat as he
swallowed his coffee. To her, even that part of him was sexy. So very
masculine!
“Not bad. The boat repairs are getting
done, but no one wants to do any salvage work without Lance. They wanted me to
complete a job he started.”
“Are you going to?”
“If I have time. Finding Lance comes
first, though.”
“Well, I can help you if you decide to
do it. I’ve gone down on a few salvage dives with Lance. I’ve always loved
diving, and salvage work can be a lot of fun.”
“It sounds like you do quite a bit
with my little brother.” Nick gave her a measured sideways look.
Hanna was oblivious to his frown. She
shrugged. “I guess so.” Lance was her friend. They tended to spend a lot of
time together. Nick knew that. If she’d been looking at his expression at that
moment, though, she might have wondered about it.
“Mom’s keeping the books and doing all
the billing,” he added after a moment.
Angled toward him as far as her
seatbelt would allow, Hanna lifted her eyes from her coffee cup to look at him
again. “Have you ever thought about coming home and helping Lance run the shop?
He did rename it, adding an “ s” in the hope you might run it with him
someday.” It was a question worth testing the waters on.
“It’s crossed my mind. I could never
build and repair boats like Lance, but I’d probably like the salvage diving
well enough.”
His response wasn’t exactly brimming
with enthusiasm. Growing up, Nick had enjoyed helping his stepfather, but he’d
never had a strong inclination to go into the family business.
“Not quite as much as the Marine
Corps, though, huh?”
He shot her a quick inquiring look,
then one of his crooked half-grins. “Probably not, but you never know.”
But Hanna did know. She knew Nick well
enough to know he’d probably die a Marine. That grim thought left her quiet and
withdrawn the rest of the way to the hospital.
When they pulled into the parking lot
and drove into a spot near the ER doors, she started to open her door to get
out. Nick
colors he didn’t have. Maybe she could get him a couple for a Christmas. She
knew his size. She’d sent him a few sweaters as gifts over the years. In fact,
the one he had on looked particularly familiar. She knew so much about him, and
yet there was so much more she wanted to know. Much of his life was a mystery
because of the covert nature of his missions. Writing letters to one another
over the years had helped her to know about the man and his matured
personality, but it wasn’t the same as actually being with one another. Watching
his facial expressions and listening to the rich inflections of his deep voice
were little treasures she thoroughly loved collecting and storing away in her
heart each time he was home.
Nick caught her expression. “What
produced that secret little smile?”
“None of your business.”
“You’ve never tell me what those
particular little smiles of yours mean.”
“They’re my secret.”
“One of these days I’ll pry it out of
you.”
“Nope.”
“Oh yeah. I’ve always been intrigued
by them. You’ve done that since you were little, you know.”
“Really?” He’d noticed. How
wonderfully surprising! “So, what did you find out in Seattle yesterday?”
“Nothing yet. It’ll take a week or so
to go over Dylan’s laptop and check his backup drives. They also agreed to do
the background checks on the police chief and the sheriff. Kurt put Lance on
the Missing Person List, too. Having his name and picture out there might help
bring in some leads. Maybe someone has seen him.”
“Oh, I hope so.” She pushed her
glasses up further onto her nose impatiently. It seemed they were always
slipping down. “Did you go by the boat shop yet?”
“Yeah.” He took a sip from his Styrofoam
coffee cup.
“How are they faring without Lance?”
She watched his Adam’s apple move along the tanned column of his throat as he
swallowed his coffee. To her, even that part of him was sexy. So very
masculine!
“Not bad. The boat repairs are getting
done, but no one wants to do any salvage work without Lance. They wanted me to
complete a job he started.”
“Are you going to?”
“If I have time. Finding Lance comes
first, though.”
“Well, I can help you if you decide to
do it. I’ve gone down on a few salvage dives with Lance. I’ve always loved
diving, and salvage work can be a lot of fun.”
“It sounds like you do quite a bit
with my little brother.” Nick gave her a measured sideways look.
Hanna was oblivious to his frown. She
shrugged. “I guess so.” Lance was her friend. They tended to spend a lot of
time together. Nick knew that. If she’d been looking at his expression at that
moment, though, she might have wondered about it.
“Mom’s keeping the books and doing all
the billing,” he added after a moment.
Angled toward him as far as her
seatbelt would allow, Hanna lifted her eyes from her coffee cup to look at him
again. “Have you ever thought about coming home and helping Lance run the shop?
He did rename it, adding an “ s” in the hope you might run it with him
someday.” It was a question worth testing the waters on.
“It’s crossed my mind. I could never
build and repair boats like Lance, but I’d probably like the salvage diving
well enough.”
His response wasn’t exactly brimming
with enthusiasm. Growing up, Nick had enjoyed helping his stepfather, but he’d
never had a strong inclination to go into the family business.
“Not quite as much as the Marine
Corps, though, huh?”
He shot her a quick inquiring look,
then one of his crooked half-grins. “Probably not, but you never know.”
But Hanna did know. She knew Nick well
enough to know he’d probably die a Marine. That grim thought left her quiet and
withdrawn the rest of the way to the hospital.
When they pulled into the parking lot
and drove into a spot near the ER doors, she started to open her door to get
out. Nick
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