Page 11 of Just One Kiss

Hannah had been trying to put her family back together since her father had died. He knew from their mutual friends that Hannah's mother's drinking had become a huge problem, much bigger than he'd seen in high school. He felt bad that he hadn't been there for her, although he knew she wouldn't have let him be there even if he'd wanted to. She was barely tolerating him now. But she had let him into her life ever so slightly, and he would take advantage of that. He was going to help her with Brett and her sister. Whatever he could do to make this situation better, he would do. He owed her that much. Actually, he owed her a whole hell of a lot more, but at the moment, this was all he could do.

As an icy wind picked up, he lifted his gaze upward. The tall trees were swaying, the clouds overhead had turned black, and snow was beginning to fall. It would be a good idea to leave sooner rather than later. But first, he had to check with the neighbor.

He jogged down the road to the one cabin in the area that had lights on. He knocked on the door.

A man appeared on the threshold. He appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, his hair peppered with gray, his eyes guarded. "Who are you?" he asked bluntly.

"I'm Jake McKenna. My friend owns the cabin over there—Hannah Stark." He tipped his head toward Hannah's house.

"Okay. You got a problem?"

"A little boy was left on his own in the cabin. We're trying to figure out who left him. Did you happen to see anyone go into the house?"

The man's irritation turned to concern. "I saw a boy and his mom carry some groceries inside. That was a few hours ago. They seemed fine."

"Did you happen to see the woman leave?"

The man scratched his chin as he pondered that question. "I didn't see her leave, but I did see her talking to a guy at the cabin over there." He pointed to the cabin where Trevor had been staying, the one Jake had found littered with empty bottles and fast-food wrappers.

"Was that guy young with long brown hair and a beard?"

"That was him. What's going on?"

"I'm trying to figure that out. What kind of conversation were they having?"

"I couldn't hear what they were saying. They seemed friendly. It wasn't like anyone was scared or anything. That's all I saw."

"What about the woman's car? What was she driving?"

"I think it was a Prius." He shrugged. "I wasn't paying much attention. I came up here to get some rest, some quiet."

"I'll leave you to that. Thanks for your help."

"Sure thing."

As the man shut his door, Jake walked off the porch, taking another look at Trevor's cabin.Was there any chance that Trevor and Kelly might know each other? Both families had owned cabins in the area for a long time. But Trevor was at least ten years younger than Kelly, and Kelly had been gone a long time. It seemed unlikely that they knew each other, but it was odd that they'd had any conversation at all.

He was still pondering that thought when a gale force wind came roaring through the trees, sending snow straight into his face. It was snowing harder now. Visibility was diminishing quickly. He had a feeling they'd just lost their window to get back to town.

He jogged down the road, dodging a heavy branch as it fell to the ground. Another gust of wind almost knocked him off his feet. He opened the front door and had to forcefully close it behind him.

Hannah jumped to her feet as he shook the snow out of his hair.

"It's really windy out there," she said in alarm.

The windows in the house rattled at the end of her statement. "Yes. The storm is here, earlier than I expected."

"We should go now."

"I think we need to wait it out."

"We can't stay here."

"I don't like the wind," Brett said, getting up from the couch to wrap his arms around Hannah's waist. "It's scary."

Hannah patted Brett's head. "It's going to be fine, honey."

No sooner had she finished speaking when a branch hit the roof, sending Brett's arms tighter around Hannah, his face a picture of fear.

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