Page 8 of His for the Holiday

“Sawyer,” he said reluctantly, tears glistening in his eyes as they held mine. “My brothers are Logan and Duncan. My mommy is Emery Brunson-Marty and I really want to go home.”

“Of course.” I held out my hand for him to shake. “Well, I’m Sutton Megill, but I was born an Ashbury and this is Winnie. My daddy is David Ashbury. He’s a friend of your grandfather’s. Do you know him?”

“Yes.” The boy sniffed. “He lets me borrow books from his store sometimes.”

“That’s good to know,” I said. “I’m working at that store now too, so perhaps you and I will get to see a lot more of each other, huh? You like reading?”

He dipped his chin in a nod. “I’m learning how to, but I like the pictures.”

“That’s as good a start as any, laddie.” It slipped out before I could stop it and I sighed, but then held my free hand out to him. “I tell you what. Why don’t we all walk home together? Winnie and I live on the same street as your grandpa. Where do you live?”

“With my grandpa,” he said, eyeing me for another beat before he nodded and slid his hand into mine.

Deliberately ignoring Hawk and my rapidly pounding heart, I glanced at Emery’s other two boys. Twins, it appeared. “Are you with us?”

“We’ll get ice cream,” Winnie promised and I laughed but I didn’t contradict her.

The kids fell in line and Hawk and I walked in awkward silence, but when we got closer to downtown and Winnie started riling them up about ice cream, he suddenly spoke up. “I have to take the boys from here. Emery said they couldn’t have ice cream until they clean their rooms or something. She said she’s asked them, like, a million times.”

I chuckled before I could stop it, then averted my gaze and nodded, pulling Winnie a little closer to my side. “Say goodbye to your friends, Win. Their uncle will take them from here.”

Sawyer still seemed hesitant, but he went with his brothers, reluctantly waving goodbye to Winnie as we parted ways. As we were crossing the street, I glanced back at them to make sure Sawyer was still okay, but what I saw instead was that Hawk was looking at me. And despite my intentions of checking on his nephew, I was looking at him too, but I quickly turned away.

Gosh, for a woman who just got her heart stomped on, I sure am eager to insist it happens again.I groaned.

Hawk Brunson could be trusted for only two things, and that was hurt and disappointment. As much history as we shared and as many good times as we’d had, none of it could erase how it’d all ended. The man he’d been growing into, even back then, hadn’t been as good as the boy he’d once been. I had no more room for bad guys in my life.

Winnie, however, my fiery and observant child, was quick to point out the obvious. “Why are your cheeks so red, Mam? Who was the grumpy man who tried to kidnap Sawyer? You said you know him, but I’ve never met him. He never came to visit us in Stonehaven.”

“No, honey. He didn’t,” I conceded. “He went to school with me and he’s Emery’s brother. You’ll meet her soon. She’s Sawyer’s mom.”

“Is that like my little brother?” she asked. “The grumpy man is Sawyer’s mom’s little brother?”

“It’s similar,” I said, gutted but trying to put on a brave face. “Hawk is Emery’s older brother, though.”

Winnie had never even met her little brother, whom her father had conceived with my best friend back in Stonehaven. While still being married to me and before we’d even been separated.

It stung to even hear Winnie refer to the baby as her little brother, but I supposed that was what he was. Calen had told her about him and she was far too young to understand the complexities of the situation.

Thankfully, we got to the bookstore soon after, stopping next door to grab Winnie’s ice cream. She went off to read in the garden while I helped my dad for the rest of the afternoon. I got right back into inventorying the new stock and carefully arranging it on the shelves, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Hawk.

Eventually, when my dad came up to check out the new display, I glanced at him and the question just burst out of me. “Did you know Hawk Brunson is back in town?”

Dad paused. “No, but I’m not surprised. It’s about damn time that kid pulled his head out of his ass and came to help Henry.”

“Henry?” I frowned. “What’s wrong with him?”

Dad’s features tightened with pain. “He’s in pretty rough shape. Parkinson’s, according to Emery. He’s never talked about it to me. He’s still determined to work and all that, but it’s getting worse.”

Sorrow filled me at the thought of the man who had always been so strong, capable, and independent suffering such a crippling disease. Obviously, I didn’t know how bad it was, but I felt awful for Emery, who I assumed had been taking care of their dad alone considering my father had said that it’d been about time for Hawk to come.

I even felt a little bit bad for Hawk himself. Back in the day, he and his dad had been peas in a pod. Instead of going to college, Hawk had stayed behind to help his dad with their tugboat business, and eventually, he’d become a second captain.

The way I’d heard it, word had gotten out about his exceptional skill and he’d been recruited by a company out in California. After that, I was pretty sure I’d heard a rumor that he’d started his own shipping company and that he’d done really well.

I had no idea how much of that was true, but I didn’t plan on finding out. Hawk was probably only in town for a few days, and all I needed to do was stay the hell out of his way.