The Coltons of Shadow Creek

A well of pain and sadness that had never been filled.

Whatever had carried her through the morning—the vague sense of unreality at Hawk’s suspicions juxtaposed against the strange reality that had always been her life as a child of Livia Colton—vanished like smoke.

And all that remained was the very real and mounting evidence that her entire life had been a lie.

* * *

Claudia excused herself from the table and headed down the small hallway that speared off the kitchen. Hawk knew she needed space and Mac seemed to sense the same, as both men remained in their seats. Her footsteps faded as quiet filled the kitchen. Hawk took in the hard set of Mac’s features and his hunched shoulders and for the first moment since taking the case, felt shame. What had he done to this family?

He knew the pain of having your world destroyed, ripped away from you with nowhere to land. An unopened parachute of emotion that laid you out flat, killing the life you had and the world as you knew it.

And now he’d done that to these good people.

Whatever he may have imagined in his mind—or fabricated after reading the Everything’s Blogger site—he had to reframe and rethink. The Coltons he had met were good people. And Mac Mackenzie was one of them.

“I’ve brought this on all of you.”

That dark, enigmatic gaze stayed on his, not giving an inch. “Yes, you did.”

“I’m sorry for that. More sorry than I can say.”

That direct stare softened, but didn’t lose any of its power. “Were you serious about what you said? About the Krupids being good people who were given a bad deal.”

“Serious about every word. They just want closure and some sense of relief.”

Something Hawk understood with every fiber of his being.

“I believe you. You strike me as an honest man. The way you talked about that family. The way you look at my daughter.” Mac waved a finger. “And make no mistake about it, that woman is my daughter as sure as if she were born to me.”

“I know it, sir. I can see that.”

“Then answer me something. Why is this case so important to you? There’s a fire in you. I saw it outside when you recounted the story of this young woman’s life. This poor Annalise.”

“I want to make it right.”

“Why? Lots better ways to make a living than hunting down trails that have gone cold. In fact, I’d imagine it’s the worst sort of job for an honest PI trying to make a living.”

“You’re right. And I do take the hot ones that close faster, too.”

“So tell me why. I’ll grant you, the Krupid family deserves answers. I even understand they deserve those answers, whether or not it hurts my family in the process. But you owe me the truth.”

Whatever he was—whatever had brought him to this moment—depended on his honesty. And his willingness to open up. Claudia Colton deserved that.

And so did the people who loved her.

Hawk knew it as surely as he knew he’d been living like a ghost for the past four years. Knew it equally as surely as the fact that he’d felt some sense—some stirring, really—the moment he’d seen Claudia’s photo on that damnable blog post.

“I lost my wife four years ago. She was kidnapped and murdered, then abandoned in a field in a big suburb outside of Houston.”

The words were scratchy—raw—and rarely spoken, but it didn’t make them any less true.

“No one should have to live with that or lose their loved one that way. There’s a sadness in me for your wife, Mr. Huntley. For you, too. A true, deep sadness.”

“Thank you.” He believed Mac, saw the sincerity in the quiet, grooved lines of the man’s face. “I’ve never found who did it. I was on the force at the time and the police worked long and hard, but every lead they pursued went cold. Every damned lead I pursued did the same.”

Hawk drew in a breath, willing himself through the rest of the telling. “It took me two long years to accept that. To pull myself out of an empty life and decide I could die in the bottom of it or I could give Jennifer closure in another way.”

“So you work others’ cases.”

“Others that have a chance of being solved, yes.” Hawk ran a finger over the handle of his mug. “I’m sorry if this news hurts your family. I’m sorry for that, more than I can say. But it’s why I’m here.”

“Livia Colton ruined a lot of lives. She tried to ruin mine and it ripped her a new one when she realized she’d only made mine infinitely better.”

Hawk laughed at the wry smile and the epitaph Mac added to punctuate his point.

“She’s the reason I have my son and the amazing women and men who I think of as my children. Livia gave me that and nothing can take that away. Nothing can change that, including any lies she told along the way. You do what you need to do. You find the truth for this family and you find the truth for my Claudia. She’s tough. She’ll stick.”

“Thank you.” Hawk thought of the woman he’d observed all morning and knew Mac’s words for truth.

“I only have one question for you, then.”

“What’s that?”

“Are you tough? Will you stick?”

“I’ll do both, sir. And I appreciate the opportunity to prove it.”

Chapter 5

The bedroom walls had long since been painted over, from cotton candy pink to a soft gray that matched her mood. Claudia had shared this room with her sister Jade, and she could still see the two of them, perched atop their matching bunk beds Mac had built with his own two hands. He’d crafted desks into the bottom portion instead of beds and she and Jade had giggled from their chairs over homework, gossip about boys and all the things young girls worried over.

The beds had been moved over to Knox’s house and his son, Cody, slept in one of them. The sturdy oak had done her and Jade well and it was nice to know another generation of Coltons slept on Mac’s solid and loving work.

Instead of the bunk beds, she sat on the end of a large double, moved in after this became a guest bedroom. She still used it from time to time, as did the rest of her family.

But boy, there were days she missed those bunks.

Life had been confusing back then, in the days after her mother had been arrested, but it had been safe, too. And just like Mac’s soothing presence during her swim lessons, as long as she stayed underneath his roof, she knew no harm would come to her.

The knock came first, quickly followed by that voice. Rich and deep, it sent an involuntary shiver down her spine.

Hawk.

“May I have a minute?”

She waved him in, moving over to give him room on the end of the bed, but he chose to remain standing.

“I’m sorry for what’s happened today.” He held up a hand. “That’s not true. I’m sorry for what happened so many years ago that has made today possible.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Maybe not, but I’m the face of it. And I’m the one who owns the responsibility for connecting the dots.”

“Maybe.” She considered the large man who stood in the doorway of her room. The weight of responsibility hovered around him and she saw the genuine grief that he was responsible for finding answers. Odd how that thin layer of regret helped her deal with her new reality.

It was also comforting to know he’d not shown up out of a sense of vengeance or self-righteousness or even some sort of professional mission. So many others—especially in the early days after her mother had first been accused—had marched through town and on into her mother’s home, La Bonne Vie, with a barely veiled sense of glee.

Hawk Huntley had simply shown up to do what was right. To make another family whole.

“Carrying the news doesn’t make it any less true that my mother created those dots.” Claudia laughed, the sound wholly unexpected and sort of creaky as it bubbled to her lips. “If I can even call her my mother anymore.”

“Nothing can change that. Nothing can change your family, Claudia.” Hawk did move forward then, taking the seat next to her on the edge of the bed. The mattress tipped with his weight and she was struck immediately by the warmth of his body and the solid reassurance of having him next to her.

“And even if you were adopted, we don’t know Livia’s reasons for it. Annalise is dead, so you weren’t simply taken from her if she is your mother. Her body was identified when it was delivered to the county morgue in Houston.”

“What was her cause of death?”

“She was never autopsied. And her body was cremated before the Krupids could claim her. But the coroner had photos and the proper proof. She did die.”

“So who rushed through the paperwork? Why wouldn’t the next of kin have been given her body?”

“One more mystery that kept the family certain something else had happened to their daughter.”

“And likely at the hands of one more public official my moth—” she stopped, amended “—Livia paid off.”

Claudia did some quick math. She was twenty-six and Livia wouldn’t have been much older than her at the time of Annalise’s death. Her mother’s crimes had begun at a shockingly tender age, along with her early marriages, the births of her children and her endless string of affairs.

Had love been a part of any of it? She wanted to think better of her mother, but Claudia doubted it. Livia’s string of romances had been about manipulation and greed and money.

The capture of her uncle Matthew had made huge news in Texas after he’d been caught as one of the state’s most notorious serial killers. And even with all he’d done, he’d counted his sister among one of the few people he’d never cross.

What did that say about all her mother was capable of?

“So what comes next?”

“Until your mother escaped from jail, the first step would have been a conversation with her. Since that avenue’s closed to us we need to see what we can find out from others.”

“She wouldn’t tell the truth, even if she was still in jail.”

That fact stung, but Claudia knew it all the same. Matthew had played similar games with his children throughout the long years he’d spent in prison, the withholding of information one more source of power.

Or believed power.

No, Livia would never voluntarily reveal her choices or what she might have done to influence the course of Claudia’s life.

“You believe that?”

“I know it. She can’t be persuaded or cajoled. And there is simply no reasoning with her. If I’m going to get the truth, I’m responsible for finding it.”

“Then a DNA test is the next step.”

“But Annalise is dead. How could we do that?”

“Her parents have mementos. And a small keepsake of her hair from when she was a baby. We have what we need to do the test. But DNA technology is also sophisticated enough to test off the grandparents, as well.”

“Then I guess that’s the next step. I want to know the truth, Hawk. I want answers.”

“Then you can count on me to help you find them.”

Midday sun streamed in through the bedroom window, backlighting him with a golden glow. The attraction she’d done her level best to ignore rose up, heightened by their close proximity and the headiness of the moment.

They’d only just met, yet the power of all they’d shared had such weight. Such tremendous heft.

It was her life. And the lives of several others that had stayed in some sort of imbalanced stasis for far too long.

And this man was finally the one who had the power to shatter that immobility.

Drawn in by the firm lines of his jaw and the stiff set of those broad shoulders, she wanted to reach out and touch him. Wanted to pull him close and lose herself for a few glorious moments in time.

How could someone who’d thrown her life into such turmoil seem so appealing? And so very, very right?

* * *

Breath suspended, Hawk stared into warm gray eyes that promised a host of things, from welcome to surrender, to the one emotion that scared him the most.

Redemption.

He didn’t deserve it and never would. He’d once been fortunate enough to have the total trust of another person. More, he’d had the total trust of a woman who believed he’d protect her. Always.

Only he’d failed.

He’d failed to keep her safe. He’d failed as a police officer tasked to keep his community safe. And he’d failed in all the time since, unable to bring Jennifer’s killer to justice.

He had no right seeking redemption or anything else in the eyes—or arms—of Claudia Colton.

More, he had no right taking advantage of her as he did his job.

Standing, he moved away from the bed and the temptation that filled him at their nearness. “I can make the calls about the DNA test. There’s a facility about a half hour from here I’ve used before. All I need is a cheek swab and your permission.”

Confusion replaced the warmth he’d seen in her eyes before they rapidly shuttered, closing off any hint of emotion. “I’ll go with you.”

“You don’t need to. You don’t need to be involved in this.”

“But I am involved.”

Hawk struggled to come up with something—anything—to push some distance back between them. “No, you’re not. Not unless the test comes back conclusively.”

“Now you’re suddenly doubting the outcome?”

He didn’t doubt the outcome. Not for one moment did he doubt that Claudia Colton was the daughter of Annalise Krupid. But he needed some space. Some breathing room.

Some air.

Before he could come up with any response the heavy slam of the kitchen door and the echo of voices barreled down the hall. The noise grew, followed on quick heels by a small boy who burst into the room. “Aunt Claudia!”

“Cody!”

Claudia shot off the bed, pulling the small boy into her arms. He was a ball of energy and was covered in a layer of grime; a horse smell immediately filled the room. Claudia seemed oblivious to it as she pulled him close. Hawk marveled at the move and her obvious lack of concern for the high-end clothing that was going to need a severe cleaning when the little boy got done.

The boy’s attention shifted once more as the hug ran a moment too long for his liking, his focus shifting to Hawk. “Who are you, mister?”

“This is my friend Mr. Huntley.”

Hawk wouldn’t have said his real reason for being there, but Claudia’s death glare over the top of Cody’s head ensured he’d keep her secret. There was no use adding to the pool of people who knew anything until they were sure.

“Are you Aunt Claudia’s boyfriend?”

Claudia’s skin blushed a delightful pink and Hawk decided to see if he could heighten that shade a few degrees. Even though he already knew the small sprite who stood before them, he decided to play the moment as if he were new to meet the family. “I am. And who are you?”

“Cody. Cody Raff—” The little boy stopped and shook his head before his smile grew wide in his face. “I’m Cody Colton.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Cody Colton.” Hawk stuck out his hand, charmed when the handshake that came back was firm and solid.

“Cody! You can’t just barrel on in to someone’s room. You need to kno—” The female voice, tinged with exasperation, faded as a tall, slender woman, clad in jeans almost as dusty as her son’s, came around the corner. Pretty hazel eyes widened, her eyebrows inching toward her forehead as she took in the room, and Hawk easily recognized Cody’s mother from the blog.

“Allison!” Claudia rushed forward and gave the woman a hug, that sweet blush maintaining its steady wash of pink over her cheeks. Hawk ran through the players in the Colton family in his mind before settling in on the newcomers. This had to be Claudia’s sister-in-law Allison.

Allison kept an eye on him, her smile growing as she pulled from Claudia’s arms. “I’m Allison Colton. And you are?”

“Hawk Huntley. I’m a friend of Claudia’s.”

“A New York friend?”

“He’s her boyfriend, Mom!” Cody shouted the words before adding, “And he doesn’t look like a New Yorker to me. He’s wearing boots.”

Claudia ran a hand over her nephew’s hair before pointing him toward the door. “Why don’t we go see what Grandpa Mac has in his cookie jar and we can all sit down and get to know each other.”

“I think that’s a great idea.” Allison crossed the room, her hand extended. “I can’t wait to get to know Mr. Huntley a bit better.”

As Hawk took her hand in his, he had a feeling his already interesting morning had nothing on his afternoon.

* * *

Where had the boyfriend reference come from? And why hadn’t she corrected Hawk once Cody’s face lit up in glee at being the first to know a secret? And why, oh why, did that small devil perch on her shoulder, whispering that she really didn’t want to correct her impressionable nephew?

Claudia busied herself fixing Cody a plate of cookies from Mac’s cookie jar. The man baked them himself and had a wide repertoire of deliciously fattening recipes, rotated regularly through the jar that looked like a cartoon version of the Lone Ranger’s horse.

She added extras—no one was immune to a cookie from Mac—and already began calculating all the sit-ups she was not going to do after eating one of Mac’s chocolate peanut butter beauties. Allison had already marched Cody to the sink to wash and the boy was busy pouring himself a glass of milk.

“Why don’t you ask everyone else if they’d like some milk?”

Cody’s eyes darted to the table and back to hers. “Mr. Huntley drinks milk?”

“Why don’t you ask him?”

Cody walked over to the table, suddenly shy. She’d seen that swing in his demeanor several times over the past few months. Although they were all so grateful to have him back safe and sound after one of her mother’s goons had kidnapped him, Cody still had moments of apprehension around adults. The encouragement to think of others and interact with adults had been a quiet focus for all of them.

“Um. Mr. Huntley. Um. Would you like a glass of milk?”

“I’d love one.”

“Okay.” Cody smiled and marched back to the counter, reaching for a fresh glass. Claudia couldn’t resist leaning over and whispering in his ear, “Nice job. Now maybe you could ask me and your mom if we’d like some, too.”

“What about Grandpa Mac?”

“He’s back out with the horses so maybe we’ll save his for later.”

Cody dutifully made the requested round of milk, then dropped off each glass around the table. Claudia didn’t miss the way Allison kept trying to catch her eye but she kept her focus on her nephew and off the pointed stares.

“I think you’ve earned first pick of the platter.” Claudia extended the plate to Cody before reaching for her milk.

“So. How did you two meet?”

Whatever subtlety Claudia hoped her sister-in-law might exhibit was nowhere in sight. Instead, Allison seemed to revel in her role as first family member to get the scoop.

Hawk reached for a cookie, his voice smooth and easygoing. “We met through a mutual friend.”

“A fix up?” Allison’s eyes narrowed. “Because you told me you hated those.”

“This wasn’t a fix up. Not exactly.” Claudia squirmed, almost ready to give up the game, but then thought better of it. Livia had created so much heartache and havoc—and Allison had borne the brunt of that as she’d spent endless days worried she’d never see her son again. It would hardly do to add one more to the list of her mother’s sins if Hawk ended up being incorrect.

No, it was better to hold on to this one for a while. And if she had to come clean later, well, her family would just have to understand.

Swallowing back the urge to tell the truth, Claudia skirted Allison’s questions with as much honesty as she could muster.

“I never said I didn’t like fix ups. I said I didn’t want to be fixed up with the three choices you gave me.”

Allison gave Hawk a pointed stare before adding a quick wink. “And now I see why.”

“Are you coming to Uncle Thorne and Aunt Maggie’s wedding?” Cody mumbled around a mouthful of cookies.

“Don’t talk with food in your mouth.” Allison’s reprimand was stern, but the gentle hand she laid on her son’s arm softened the criticism.

Claudia didn’t miss how Allison’s hand lingered there or how love and a subtle longing filled her eyes.

She knows what she almost lost.

Claudia swallowed her bite of cookie, humbled by the thought. And surprised by how quickly her mind shifted to the Krupid family and how much worse it was for them, never to see their daughter again.

They never got one more moment or one more smile or one more plate of cookies.

They never got her. Annalise. The woman who was, quite possibly, her mother.

“So are you here for the wedding next weekend?” Allison picked up where her son left off, an impish smile playing about her lips.

The distraction of her parentage faded as Hawk caught her eye. Since she was unwilling to mention the real reason for Hawk’s arrival in Shadow Creek, it looked like she had a date for Thorne’s wedding. Her subtle head nod was all he needed.

“I certainly am. We’re both looking forward to such a happy day.” Hawk reached over and laid a hand over hers. “Aren’t we?”

“We’re counting down the minutes.”

* * *

Allison and Cody whirled out of the house nearly as fast as they’d whirled in and in less than a half hour after they’d sat down at Mac’s kitchen table, Claudia was putting empty glasses and a plate full of crumbs into the dishwasher. Hawk carried over his and Cody’s empties and added them to the top tray.

“Your nephew is a great kid.”

“He’s wonderful. Knox adores him and I’m so glad they’ve all found each other again. He and Allison nearly lost Cody a few months ago.”

“Lost him?”

“Right before I came home from New York. Cody was kidnapped waiting for the bus. As horrible as it was, the experience brought Knox, Allison and Cody back to each other as a family.”

“And the kidnappers?”

“One kidnapper. A man who was in league with my mother. He helped her escape from jail and when she didn’t pay up he figured he’d get to her through her grandson.”

The haunting thoughts from earlier came back in a rush and the swirl of emotion that she’d battled since coming to Mac’s house caught up with her. Tears she hadn’t even realized were so close to the surface spilled over with little prompting.

“Hey. Hey there.” Hawk was gentle as he reached out, his hands resting on her shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that—” Her breath caught and she hiccuped around another thick layer of tears. “It’s Cody. Something could have happened to him. I knew it. I mean, I understood it. But until I saw him before and realized—”

Claudia broke off, at a loss for how to put into words the myriad of emotions that didn’t want to let go.

The large, gentle hands that gripped her shoulders tugged, pulling her close so that she was flush against his chest. Before she could check the impulse, she wrapped her arms around his waist as he pulled her close.

“It’s going to be okay.” The words were whispered against her head, a promise she tried desperately to cling to through her tears.

“But what if it isn’t? She’s—” Another tearful hiccup gripped her. “What if it’s not? My mother’s still out there. People are still at risk. My family is still at risk.”

Her fears raced faster than she could keep up with them. The questions that whispered late at night through her mind, wondering where her mother was since escaping from prison. The continued fears that Ben wasn’t done with her, determined to wend his way to Shadow Creek to come after her. And now the possible news of her own birth.

When had it all gone so wrong?

And would any of them ever be free from the diabolic influences of Livia Colton?

The tears that had pushed her into Hawk’s arms faded as the rush of adrenaline and emotion worked its way through her system. In its place was the haunting realization of just how good it felt to stand in the circle of Hawk’s arms and lean on him. She was a tall woman and she’d always had a figure her mother had kindly—and not so kindly, pending her mood—dubbed “big boned.”

How humbling, then, to realize he still had several inches on her and his big, strong arms were more than long enough to wrap around her soundly.

She felt protected.

Safe.

And for the moment, she was fighting an increasing attraction to a man she had no business wanting. Aside from the fact they didn’t know each other, Hawk had plenty of baggage of his own and a life he likely wanted to get back to. His visit to Shadow Creek had a purpose.

A goal.

And once he reached that goal, he’d leave Shadow Creek and all its depravity and deceit in his dust.