Page 10 of Love At Peace

I never came out and demanded any rules. I was open and patient. Time and time again, I opened my doors to Nevaeh and let her crash on my couch and have a meal. Without ever getting answers about where’d she go and where she’d come from, she knew I was a safe haven. And with Heather, I opened up and lowered my guard, letting her see that I wasn’t preying on her or forcing her to bend to my will. I’d taken a careful approach with her because she was so damn skittish.

“This has to stop now,” I vowed as I let myself into my cabin.

If Heather would shut me out, fine.

I’d search for Nevaeh and grill her to fill me in. It didn’t sit right with me how she’d changed so drastically, seeming sick and then all of a sudden healthy and perky.

Wherever she was hanging around in Burton, I would find her, and she’d start talking.

I changed out of my work clothes and grabbed my keys. I hadn’t driven to Heather’s because I thought that walking there would give me time to rehearse my ideas on how we could make up and get over this fight. I walked and thought, taking time to pose all those alternatives that I’d considered—if Nevaeh wasn’t the one who’d gotten on her laptop.

Whatever happened to Heather’s laptop, we’d figure it out as a team. As partners. Two heads were always better than one. And if it looked like Nevaeh had done it, I’d plan with Heather on how to approach her and have her disciplined.

I anticipated her being defensive and not listening, and that was also why I didn’t park there after work. If she saw my truck, she might not have pulled in, waiting for me to go. Then again, it wasn’t as if I was hiding, standing at her front door and waiting for her in broad daylight.

Turning to leave again, keys in hand, I opened the door and damn near plowed over Gavin.

“Whoa. Whoa.” He held his hands up.

I staggered to the side, stopping short so we wouldn’t be knocked down. “Hey.”

“You in a hurry to get somewhere?” he asked, laughing. As soon as he saw my face, serious and not in the mood for jokes, he sobered. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

He was probably here to hang out or something. “Now’s not a good time,” I replied.

“I can see that. What’s going on?”

I shook my head, then raked my hand through my hair. “I...” It was too damn much to explain and I didn’t have time for it. I intended to find my niece and settle this bullshit.

“I was coming by to see if you wanted a ride to the bar to watch the game,” he said.

Shit. And the Niners were playing tonight too. I sighed and shook my head again. “No, not tonight.”

“Well, I can see that. What’s going on?”

“I need to find Nevaeh.”

“Uh-oh.” He raised his brows. “Want help?”

I looked at him, appreciating that simple offer. Yes, yes I did want help, and I didn’t have my head so far up my ass to turn him down. Even if he couldn’t assist in finding my niece, or she was hiding too well, it’d help to talk to him.

“Sure.”

He nodded as I closed my door. “All right. You got any leads on where she’s staying?”

I glared at the ground. “No. But according to Heather, she ‘heard’ that Nevaeh is hanging around her ex.”

“The douchebag from Chicago? Davis?”

“David,” I corrected.

“Huh.” He got in the driver’s door to his truck as I opened the passenger side. I climbed in, realizing how smart it would be if he drove. Nevaeh wouldn’t be on the lookout for his truck compared to mine. I could, hopefully, catch her off-guard.

“You sure you don’t mind driving around looking for her?”

He started the engine. “Nah. I don’t mind. San Fransisco is just going to get their asses kicked by the Patriots tonight anyway.”

I rolled my eyes.