Page 44 of Devlin

She gave him a confused look. "I rememberthem being friendly, but not to the point where they spent time together."

"But they did. There are lots of pictures of our parents together. You're even in one of the shots. You were a chubby baby."

She frowned. "Where were these pictures taken?"

"Around town. The point is that the relationship between our fathers goes back a long time. There's a feeling of betrayal on bothsides, with my mother in the middle."

"I'd like to see the photos."

"Sure. Why don't you come back there with me now?"

"It's late."

"It's eight thirty. King Harbor may be a sleepy town, but we don't go to bed this early. Did you drive here?"

"I walked. It's only a mile or so."

"You really like walking, don't you?"

She smiled. "I take it that youdrove."

"Well, to be fair, I did have to pick up Jessica's present on the way. Why don't I drive you to the Boatworks and then after you see the photos, I'll take you home?"

She hesitated. "Okay, but I'm just going to look at the pictures and then leave."

"What else would we do?" he said with a laugh.

After saying good-bye to Jessica, they made their way out of the Yacht Club and into Devlin's car. The drive to the Boatworks took less than five minutes, which didn't give Hannah much of a chance to have second thoughts about spending more time with Devlin. Indecision was still rolling around in her head when he unlocked the door and waved her into the building.

The large structure was dark and completely empty, giving it a bit of a spooky feel with the skeleton of a boat taking up room on the main work floor. Devlin flipped on some lights as they made their way up to her dad's office, which was on the second floor.

It felt even stranger to walk into the office and see some of her dad's things in boxes. It brought home a sense of finalitythat she'd been trying to avoid. Maybe her dad was done at the Boatworks. Or at least he thought he was done.

"You should tell my dad what you said to Graham," she told Devlin, as he moved around the desk. "It might reassure him. Unless you weren't serious about your ultimatum?"

"I'm serious. I can certainly speak to Frank, but I was hoping to wait until after I had a definitiveanswer. I do have to warn you that while I might fall on my sword for your father, it could just mean we're both out of a job."

"It's difficult to believe your dad would let you go."

"It's really not," he said dryly.

"Well, I guess we can wait and see what happens, since he'll be back in a day or two." She let out a sigh as she looked around the office. "I can't imagine mydad not being here, but it's starting to feel more real now."

"Why don't we take this box upstairs?"

"To your apartment?" she asked quickly, a nervous tingle running through her.

"Does that make you uncomfortable?"

"Well, I don't know."

"You can trust me, Hannah. I hope you know that."

She did know that. She just wasn't sure she could trust herself. Butshe wasn't going to tell him that. "I'm not worried. I would like to see where you live. I hope it doesn't feel as creepy as it does down here. It's such a big building. Isn't it weird to be here by yourself?"

"I've never thought that," he said with a laugh, grabbing the box. "And, to be honest, there are lots of people who work long hours, including your father. He's often down here whenI finally call it a day."

"Well, he doesn't have anyone to come home to."

---