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She shook her head. “No.” She hadn’t mentioned anything about Patterson, and she shot Hawk a thunderous look to make sure he did the same. “Just some random person out for kicks, I guess.” She wasn’t going to share that she’d been attacked, and someone had broken in twice.
That thought stopped her cold. How had they gotten in? The security gate was still locked when she arrived. She would have to ask Hawk later when Gus wasn’t around. To say it was troubling was the understatement of the century.
Hawk sent her a questioning look, but she ignored it. He turned and took a step toward the elderly man. “I’m Thane Hawkins, Hawk to my friends.”
“Hi Hawk. I’m Gus.” The men shook. “Are you a friend of Remy’s?” He glanced at her and cocked an eyebrow.
Remy blinked. Gus had the wrong idea. He was always trying to get Remy to settle down, find a good guy and make a life together.
“No,” she said.
“Yes,” Hawk answered.
He looked at her, and she shot him another look. “That is, he’s a friend of Lacy Carmichael. You remember her, don’t you, Gus? Anyway, Hawk here just stopped by to help me with some legal stuff.”
“On a Saturday?” Gus frowned. He didn’t believe any of it.
Hawk shifted on his feet, and for the first time since Remy had met him, he seemed a bit unsettled, not the austere calm that drove her a bit nuts. He cleared his throat and said, “I, er, started to do some work for Remy, and I had some questions. I live in the neighborhood so I thought I would drop by and get the details I needed. Once I saw this, I thought I should maybe stay and help.”
Gus nodded approvingly. “That’s mighty nice of you. I’m sure Remy appreciates it.” He looked around again. “Well, I guess we’d better get down to work.”
“No, Gus, the place is a mess. It’s too…” she’d been about to say dangerous but he was already glaring at her. “That is, I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself. You know you’re still getting over that fall from last spring. He’d fallen and it had almost been the end of him but her grandfather had helped him get back up on his feet and he’d bounced back as well as any ninety-seven year old could.
“You never mind. I’m here to help out.” He went down the stairs and set his hat and gloves on the counter. He took off his coat and slung it over Remy’s on the back of the stool.
She wanted to argue with him but she knew it would hurt his feelings. Maybe if he just stayed in one area and didn’t do much.
“Why don’t I clear a path to the kitchen and make us all a nice cup of tea?”
She shot Hawk a look.Help!
“I’ll help with that,” Hawk volunteered.
Remy just stood there staring at the two. How had this happened? The elderly gentleman should not be doing too much physical labor, and she didn’t want him to know the truth. Also, she wanted Hawk to leave. Having him around just put her on edge. She was too aware of him standing there in his ass-hugging jeans and soft blue sweater that made his eyes seem brighter.. Now, he and Gus were getting on like a house on fire, as her grandfather used to say. There was no way in hell she could ask Hawk to leave now. Gus wouldn’t let her and in truth she needed all the help she could get.
“Shit,” she mumbled under her breath. This day was just not getting any better. What else could go wrong?
CHAPTERFIVE
Hawk helped the elderly gentleman stack books so he could make his way to the kitchenette. The problem was the kitchen was also a disaster.
“Um,” Hawk said, “you know what? Maybe you could put the books in order for us? I’ll bring you a stack and you can put the books in order and tell me what shelf to put them on.” He smiled encouragingly.
Gus snorted. “Young man, I’ll have you know I was a cook in the Navy. I can handle kitchen cleanup.”
Hawk tried not to smile. “I’m sure you were very good, too, but it’s a lot of work and—"
“I’ve got it. You just go help Remy with the books.”
Coffee grounds, tea bags, and cookie bits were strewn over every surface. It was like they pulled everything out and jumped on it, then kicked the debris over everything. He was worried the old guy would slip and fall on all the crud on the floor.
“Go on.” Gus made shooing motions with his hands. “I’ve got this.”
It wasn’t Hawk’s place to argue, but he was not too pleased about the whole thing. He went back out to the front of the store to start stacking books on the top of shelves. Why he was still here was a bit of a mystery. He should have left her to clean up her own mess. It had nothing to do with him.
Except Lacy had asked him to help. Of course, she had no idea that all this would happen. She wouldn’t expect him to stay and do all this work, and his shoulder still ached from yesterday. The last thing he needed to do today was physical labor. He straightened, stretched his back, and glanced around the store. It would take days to get back in order.
Remy was standing in the corner sorting books. Her shoulders sagged, and she looked sad. There were already dark circles under her eyes. She was all alone in this. He needed to stay and help her if for no other reason than she’d never get it done if she didn’t have help. He went back to picking up books.
