Page 11 of Love At Peace

“You got any clue where to look for her? Or him?”

“No.”

“Where’d Heather hear that? That she’s with him?”

“I don’t know.” I sighed a long exhale, realizing I had to catch him up on a lot more to get him on the same page. “Maybe start down Main Street and work out from there. We can look for that bike she’s been using.”

“A bike could be easy to hide.”

And she’s hiding a lot.

“When’s the last time you saw her?” he asked.

“At Heather’s. And that’s the issue.” As he drove into town, I filled him in on the latest. How Nevaeh seemed ill then well. How Heather’s laptop was compromised and she suspected Nevaeh got onto it.

“Could it be a random hack?” Gavin guessed as he turned down another street. He went slowly, and we both scanned the sidewalks and streets.

“I wondered that too.”

“Then again, maybe not. I bet the bank’s got pretty strong firewalls and cyber security methods to ward out hackers from anywhere.”

“True.” I nodded, still scoping the scene. “But it’s possible.”

“Anything’s possible. Including the possibility of Nevaeh being the one who did it.” He cleared his throat, seeming nervous to incriminate her. “I’m just saying... She hasn’t ever really given you many reasons to trust her.”

“She’s given me no reasons to trust her,” I admitted, hating that reality. “I’ve been too lenient for too long.”

“Come on, man. Don’t be hard on yourself. She’s not a minor. Not your minor. How could you be expected to parent her when you’re not her parent or guardian?”

“I’m still family. I’ve always been in the background.”

“Not really. You were working in a different state. Hell, didn’t you say that you didn’t even know Nevaeh was born until she was already three years old?”

“Five,” I said. That was how shitty the communication had been between me and my brother and his wife. “But this is bullshit. If she got onto Heather’s laptop, it’s got to be to get money. That’s a way bigger crime than shoplifting or stealing cash from my place. I won’t sit back and let this go. No way in hell.”

“Of course not.”

“And if she’s going to be an obstacle to me and Heather getting along, then that’s it. I refuse to lose Heather because of the stupid shit Nevaeh wants to try.”

Gavin laughed lightly for a moment. “Damn, man. Listen to you.”

“I mean it,” I emphasized.

“Hey, I heard you. But are you hearing yourself? What happened to Mr. Bachelor?”

“Heather happened.” I shook my head, hating that she could have such a pull on me. Even knowing she was mad and perhaps overreacting to something that could very well just be a rumor at this point, I missed her. I hated the memory of her crying.

I had to make things right with her.

“I won’t lose Heather because of something my niece could’ve done,” I repeated, more like reconfirming it with myself.

He slowed to turn down another street. “You think there’s any truth to it?” he asked. “Nevaeh and David?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s always had a shitty taste in guys.”

“Didn’t you say a couple of years ago that she was dating some idiot who ran up a ton of credit card debt in her name?”

“Yeah. In Texas. I don’t know how the hell she even got all that credit to begin with. She was only sixteen then.”