Page 67 of Hawk
Jasmine walked maybe ten feet into the apartment and stopped in her tracks. I watched in stunned silence as she approached and placed her head on Stella’s lap. Zeus cautiously walked up to Jasmine and watched intently.
“How are you, sweet girl?” Stella asked, and Hailey gave her mom a quizzical look.
When the two women stood from the couch, Jasmine shrunk the distance between her and Stella and placed herself directly in line with Stella, always keeping her head and eyes trained on her.
Devlin watched, and I could see the wheels spinning. Finally, he broke the silence by asking, “Stella, why does it seem that Hailey’s dog responds to you?”
Hailey snapped her head to her uncle and back to her mom without speaking.
Stella finally responded, “I had her trained to protect Hailey since I couldn’t be around. She and Zeus are siblings and have both been trained in handling our . . . emotional needs, as well as in defensive training.”
“You were close by and didn’t come and see me? Why?”
Tears fell from Stella’s eyes as she sat down and tried to explain. “I was afraid you would hate me, and I needed to make sure you were okay. After speaking with your Granny Kate in passing, she mentioned you were looking for a companion, so I made sure Jasmine was ready for you. Please . . . please, don’t be mad.”
“You know Granny Kate?”
Stella shook her head as she spoke. “I went into the shelter she worked at, looking to volunteer. It took a few conversations to learn about your connection with her, and I just . . . I just wanted to be able to watch out for you.”
Devlin placed the bags on the floor and pulled a crying Elise into his side as he kissed her head. Seeing all the women crying was becoming too much to handle, but I wasn’t going to leave Stella alone to deal with this.
Hailey sat down and called Jasmine to her, and the faithful dog moved from Stella to. “Thank you. You gave me a best friend. I . . . I just wish you had tried to meet me. But I understand why you didn’t. I need you to know, I never have and never will hate you. The choices you made were what was best for you at the time. But promise me something.” Stella nodded and wiped her tears as Hailey finished. “No more secrets between us. I know there are painful things that neither of us want to discuss, but the only way forward is honesty.”
“I promise,” Stella replied, and both Jasmine and Zeus pushed into their mommies, trying to soothe their sadness.
“This is all too perfect,” said a crying Elise, and DJ walked up to his mom.
“Why you crying, Momma?”
“Momma’s happy, that’s all,” Devlin explained, and DJ seemed appeased with the answer.
The mini-Devlin toddled across the room and found his place between Hailey and Stella. They scooted a little so he could sit between them and enjoy the love from his family and the two dogs. He was so stinkin’ cute, but I could tell he was going to be a handful.
Devlin carried the food into the dining room, and I offered, “I’ll help get lunch set up while you visit.”
Stella gave me a breathtaking smile, and I cast a quick glance to Jacob before I walked into the other room. If I was going to get the madman to back off, now was the time. He was busy pulling containers out of the bags as I approached.
Without turning his head, he asked quietly, “How’s it going, Hawk?”
“Do you have eyes in the back of your fuckin’ head?” I joked, and he glanced over his shoulders and chuckled.
“In a manner of speaking, yes,” he replied as he turned his attention back to the food.
Stepping closer, I began to help him as I spoke. “I need you to back off on looking for Hailey’s father.”
He cut his eyes to me and then glanced over his shoulder to the living room before saying, “I’m going to need you to explain why.”
“I can’t go into too much detail without violating Stella’s trust, but trust me when I say, nothing good can come from your digging.”
I tried to be vague, but Devlin refused to accept my response. He motioned his head toward the kitchen and grabbed the empty bags. I followed him, and when we were completely out of earshot, he turned his knowing eyes to me.
“You know more than you’re saying, Hawk. I need you to fill me in, so I can protect them from whoever it is you’re afraid may cause them harm.”
“No one will cause them harm as long as I’m around, and I’m not giving you anything more than my word. You need to let it drop. Neither Stella nor Hailey needs the problems that can come from looking into a person who took advantage of a fourteen-year-old girl.”
I could see his wheels spinning as he stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Do you know who Hailey’s father is? Because whoever hurt my sister is going to pay,” Devlin threatened, and I shook my head.
“The man who hurt her can’t hurt anyone ever again.”
