Page 112 of Guarding Grace

ME: I have to go into the office. I don’t know how long. Zane will stay with you until I can get there.

Then I texted Carol Hawk.

ME: Done with my meeting.

Her response was quick.

CAROL: Longwave Park 30 min?

ME: I’ll be there

Lucas and Duke’s mother needed my help, and it couldn’t be good if she wanted to keep it from her sons.

CHAPTER 25

Terry

Reaching the park,I shut down the engine and checked my phone.

WILDCAT: Thinking of you.

What was I supposed to do with that? It scared the shit out of me that I felt like sending the same thing back to her. Texting sentimental shit wasn’t the kind of thing I’d ever done. The women I’d seen before hadn’t expected it.

ME: Thinking of you too.

My finger hovered over the send icon, but instead, I deleted the line and started again.

ME: How are you feeling?

I sent that more manly message and pocketed the phone before getting out of the car.

The park was warm, with a light breeze off the ocean. Grace would like it here.Fuck me.That wasn’t it—I’d like it if Grace was here with me.

Feeling guilty, I leaned against the car, pulled out my phone, and typed again. She was my woman and needed to feel it.

ME: I haven’t stopped thinking about you.

Satisfied, I sent it.

As I approached, Carol Hawk stood from a bench at the center of the large, nearly deserted park. Come lunchtime, with weather like this, it wouldn’t stay deserted for long.

Habit had me scanning the area for anyone who might be able to listen in, but I didn’t detect anything.

She’d chosen a good location for confidentiality.

“Thank you for coming, Terry.” She gave me the same hug she did every time we met, the same way she hugged Lucas and each of her children.

That thought warmed me. The Hawks had become the family I hadn’t had in a very long time. “How can I help you?” I followed her lead and sat on the bench.

She handed me a folder, keeping another back.

I opened it to find a power of attorney. “What’s this?”

“This is very difficult for me. I want you to handle a delicate matter,” she said. “But first, you must agree to not tell anyone about this unless I release you, not even the family. Not ever.”

I was in too deep to back out now. “Of course.” This had better not be a marital issue between her and Henry. I closed the folder and set it down.

She handed me the second folder. “I’ve been doing genealogy research, going back into our family trees. Henry and I used one of those send-in-your-DNA sample kits. I thought it would be interesting to see our backgrounds, like where our ancestors originated. Henry remembers being told that his family had roots in Scandinavia.”