Page 7

After we ate, Dylan was in a much better mood. We made our way back to the car, after I veered him away from the very busy ice cream shop—“We’ll get some in the grocery store, I promise”—because I didn’t want to subject ourselves to more curious stares.

One big grocery run later, and I’d be in a bed. Asleep. Exactly what I needed.

I climbed into the car and turned the key.

The engine sputtered.

“Oh, Jesus,” I muttered as I turned the key again.

More sputtering.

Sputtering.

Sputtering.

“Mom?” Dylan asked. “Is it broken?”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” I said, “but maybe we should’ve splurged for the sports car.”

After three more tries, the engine stopped sputtering.

It was dead. Dylan waited in the passenger seat while I called the rental agency.

It was getting late, and I caught them right before they closed.

The exhausted-sounding man on the other end said they’d contact their local repair partner and send a tow truck.

Great. Now I had to get towed . This day was just getting better and better.

I opened the passenger door and stuck my head inside. “Forget the grocery shopping, kiddo. Tow truck is on the way.”

“ Now can we go to the ice cream place? It’s right there!”

Sighing, I handed him a ten-dollar bill. “All right. Get a cone and come straight back here, okay?”

After a million years—okay, fifteen minutes—of waiting, a gleaming black tow truck, unmarked, finally pulled up to the street. Dylan and I both climbed out of the SUV to talk to the driver. The tow truck’s driver’s side door opened, and a tall man in a faded denim jumpsuit stepped out.

“Harley Founty,” he said.

I nearly dropped my phone on the sidewalk. “ Hawk ? ”

“So, it really is you,” the man said. “The agent gave me your name, but I didn’t really think… Wow. It’s been a while, huh?”

Hawk looked like Stephan, except Stephan was bigger, taller, and had hazel eyes where Hawk’s were green. He looked just as shocked to see me as I felt. I had been preparing myself so intensely to see Stephan, I hadn’t allocated any energy to remembering that I’d also be seeing his entire clan.

Hawk approached me slowly, arms outstretched for a hug, and I accepted it before I even realized what was happening. He squeezed me tight, once, then stepped back. “It’s good to see you, Harley. Really. You look good.”

“You too,” I said, still shell-shocked.

“What brings you back to Lakeview?” Hawk asked. “It’s been… Hell, it’s been nearly a decade, hasn’t it?”

“Mom!” Dylan came tearing out of the ice cream shop with a cone stacked precariously high with scoops. “This place has corn flavor! It’s so weird, but it’s good, you’ve got to try it!” He stood at my side and licked a stripe up the ice cream.

Hawk stared at Dylan.

My heart began to race.

Hawk’s expression was completely blank. He didn’t look friendly and welcoming anymore. He looked cold—he looked terrifying. His green eyes shifted to me.

“He doesn’t know,” I whispered.

Hawk closed his eyes briefly. “Harley, he’s going to lose his shit.”

“I know.”

“I’m not going to be the one to drop that bomb. That’s for sure,” Hawk said.

“Thanks,” I said, quietly.

“Whoa,” Dylan said, looking up like he’d just realized Hawk was there. “You’re tall.”

“This is Dylan,” I said.

Hawk laughed, and the warmth returned to his expression. “Yeah, I am. You might be this tall one day, too.”

Dylan rubbed his chest. “Weird.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“My dragon feels happy to see him,” Dylan said, then looked back at Hawk. “But I don’t know who you are.”

Hawk’s green eyes softened. “Your dragon recognizes its family.”

Dylan’s jaw dropped. He looked at me, then at Hawk. “Are… are you my dad?”

Hawk glanced at me with his eyebrows raised. I nodded minutely. Then Hawk laughed again and knelt, so he was on Dylan’s eye level. “No, I’m not. I’m Hawk. I’m your uncle.”

“My uncle.” Dylan’s eyes widened. “So, you know my dad?”

“A little better than I’d like to,” Hawk said.

“Wow.” Dylan rubbed his chest again. “That makes my dragon really happy.”

“Dyl, grab our bags out of the car, please,” I said. “And don’t spill any ice cream on them.”

“Okay, okay,” he said as I handed him the keys.

As Dylan fiddled with the trunk, Hawk turned back to me and ran a hand through his hair. “You’re coming to the compound. Tonight.”

“We just got in today,” I said. “And we’ve still got to figure out something about this car?—”

“We’ll handle the car,” Hawk said. “I’ll send another one of the guys from the garage to come get it. You and Dylan need to come with me.”

He glanced around, then lowered his voice. “Harley, your son is really close to his first shift. I can feel his dragon trying to break free. The longer you put this off, the harder it’s going to be for him.”

“How can you tell?” I asked.

“My dragon can feel it,” he said. “With as strong as this kid’s dragon is, I wonder if Ace is feeling something even from this distance. You really should come tonight.”

“Tonight?” Dylan asked as he plopped our bags onto the sidewalk at our feet. “Where are we going, Mom?”

I sighed. So much for the grocery run. So much for the remaining dregs of my sanity. “Looks like we’re going with Hawk, Dyl.”