Page 19 of Hawk

She giggles. “No way. You’d be lost without me. By the time I’m done, you’re going to have enough money for a new car.”

“Say what?” I spare a glance in her direction. Her eyes are shining, she’s so excited at what she’s accomplished.

“I’ve only just started, but I’m finding that you’ve double paid and triple paid some invoices. You’re owed at least twenty thousand four hundred and seventy-five dollars and thirty-eight cents, and the number is climbing. At this rate, you may get free parts for six months,” she says happily.

“How the hell did that happen?” I know I’ve been drowning in paperwork, but I didn’t realize we were getting snowed.

“I think you forget to mark them paid, then you pay them again. It’s from one company.” She gives me the name. We only used them in case of an emergency, and since I started using Guard’s company as our supplier, I’ve noticed our expenses have lessened.

“The fuckers knew I was double paying and didn’t say shit,” I snap.

“It’s not ethical, but in all honesty, it’s kind of your fault. You don’t put what you’re paying for on any of the check stubs, and it’s up to us to keep tabs. Of course they’re going to take the money.”

Yet one more thing I like about Etain: she doesn’t hold back. She calls it as she sees it. I fucked up, and she called me on it.

“I guess I made the right decision in hiring a pro, then, huh?” I tease.

“Best decision ever, Hawk,” she agrees with the biggest shit-eating grin on her face.

“A new car, huh?” I say, and Etain bursts out laughing.

NINE

Stalking

HAWK

Instead of going for a bite, Etain asked if we could grab takeout. I called ahead to Ming Chinese Restaurant. “Egg rolls, Singapore noodles with shrimp, lemon chicken, and wonton soup, for me,” Etain says. How on earth is she going to eat all that? I wonder, but it’s good to see a woman with a healthy appetite.

I throw in a couple more items and hang up. “Ming has good food,” I say.

“For a small town, you do have a lot to choose from,” she notes. “A kickass coffee place, a great pizza joint, great burgers from Johnny’s, according to Sasha, and now a Chinese place. I won’t starve.”

“I don’t mind eating out, but I like cooking when I can,” I reply.

“You cook?” She looks surprised.

“Yeah. And I like it.”

“Do you cook or do what guys call cooking, which is really barbecuing?”

“I do both. I love my grill in the summer. A good steak and potato always work. But I like to bake chops, and I make a mean chili.” Her eyes grow wide. “What about you? You like to cook?”

“I’m pretty good. I like it when I have the time to do it right. I like baking cookies, though. I love the way the house smells of sugary sweetness. It reminds me of home. Mom bakes all the time, and when I go home to visit, the aroma of chocolate chip cookies wafts into the street. I smell home before I can see it,” she says with an expression of longing.

“You miss home.”

“I miss my parents,” she says. “I’m not made for farm life, and I never had any ambition to take over Dad’s business. I think Dad would have liked a son to carry on, but he knows my sister and I were meant for other paths. My parents are great people, and I love them, but I needed to find my own way. I’ve tripped, fallen, and veered off in the wrong direction the last couple of years, but I’m back on course now.”

“What course is that?”

“I want to get my accounting degree. I started it and never finished because I allowed myself to get sidetracked by Robert’s future. At the time, I thought it was the right thing to do. I see now that it wasn’t,” she says with a shrug, but it’s clear that it hurts her.

“I think we all veer off course, as you put it. I’ve had my fair share of deviations and dissolutions, but in the end, that’s what makes us stronger,” I reply as I park in her driveway. The smell of the food makes my stomach grumble.

“We’d better feed you before you faint,” she teases as we go to her front door.

“Would you carry me if I do?”

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