Page 85 of Leading Conviction

“Now that hits the spot,” she muttered around the slice before her head tilted and she pointed at the plate. “Hold up now. What’s going on here? This looks scrumdiddlyumptious. And is this the orange blossom sweet tea Hawk has been raving about?”

“Yup, it is. And the dish ishuevos motuleños. It’s got chorizo, fried egg, fried tortilla, fried plantain, fried beans—”

“Fried before any type of food is my favorite,” Nora sang prettily before taking a big bite and grunting her approval. Then she sipped the tea and did a little happy dance. “Oh my goddess, thisisdelicious. I might have to switch out my morning Frappuccino.”

Hannah smiled. “They’re both my mother’s recipes. She taught me when I was a girl before… before…”

She knew the words, but she couldn’t get them out.

“Before she, um, passed away?” Nora tried to fill in the blank with a nicer version of the truth, but Hannah shook her head.

“Before myfathermurdered her. I can’t keep sticking my head in the sand about him. I had to suppress my feelings about it for so long, but now I know that mindset is getting people killed. There’s no way I can keep living like that.”

Nora nodded thoughtfully with a slice of bacon hanging in the air, poised to enter her mouth. Hannah used her foot to roll the chair next to Nora out from under the desk.

“Thought I’d eat with you, do you mind?”

“Oh, please do.” Nora waved at the chair before speaking again. “How old were you when she died?”

Hannah sighed before taking a seat. “Around Tommy’s age.”

“So Tommy never had a father, and your mother was taken too early. Dude, that sucks. It’s amazeballs you’ve managed to raise him as healthily as you have.” Nora shook her head as she chewed herhuevos motuleños.

Hannah huffed wryly and moved her own food around with her fork. “It does suck. But we move on, right? One foot in front of the other and all that.”

Nora chewed with a thoughtful look. After a moment of silence, she pointed the bacon at Hannah.

“You know, I used to believe that was all emotions needed to be, too. Nothing I can do about it, so I might as well grin and bear it.”

“Good motto.” Hannah nodded her head, but Nora shook hers.

“Nope. Toxic motto. We can’t just put up a front for people and call it a day. You’ve gotta at least havesomeoneto share your woes and blows with. Life ain’t peachy keen all the time, and we need people in our corner to help us get through it.”

Sudden tears pricked in Hannah’s eyes and she absentmindedly twisted her finger into her gold necklace. The advice felt foreign but second nature at the same time. While it sounded nice, it’d been just her and Tommy for the past two years. She’d had no one.

“I’ve been alone for so long… what if you don’t have someone to lean on?”

Even as she said it, her necklace looped around her finger and Hawk’s image flashed in her mind. Before he had to leave, he’d always been there for her. Her rock. Could he be that for her again?

Nora’s eyes darted to Hannah’s necklace before she could put it back underneath her blue blouse. A small smile curved the woman’s painted lips.

“I think we both know you’re not alone anymore. Not only do you have a sexy James Bond to fend off all your demons, you’ve got us now, too.”

She said it simply, with a shrug of her shoulder right before taking another mouthful of saucy chorizo and egg. But the words meant so much more than her delivery let on.

Hannah’s heart squeezed. “Thanks, Nora. I appreciate that.”

“Anytime, girlfriend.” Nora beamed at her, her alabaster cheeks round with food.

A sharp beep made them both jump.

“What was that?” Hannah asked.

Nora twisted her rolling chair away from Hannah to face the monitors again, a slice of bacon hanging out of her mouth.

“Naht shurr,” she mumbled around the bacon. “Hol’ on. Le’ me sheck.”

Hannah snorted at Nora’s messy answer, but another beep resounded in the room. The bacon fell out of Nora’s mouth, landing on top of the plate.