Love At Peace (Hometown Heartstrings #3)

Chapter 4

Roarke

I walked to the other cabin, so mad and frustrated that I felt like every step I took was harder than it needed to be. A run would’ve been better. Finding a punching bag and letting loose. Something physical to release this anger. It was bottled up and festering inside me, pushing me to want to roar at the world.

Heather didn’t ask for help. And that was the whole problem. She was so stuck in her ways, so damned independent and stubborn that she couldn’t even realize it when she needed help.

“I never asked for your help.”

I’d never forget her shouting that at me so fiercely.

“Fuck this,” I muttered to myself.

I couldn’t let this be the end of this. It killed me to leave and walk away when she was crying, but there was not a single damn thing I could do about that. She’d yell if I dared to knock on her door. She’d lash out if I opened my mouth to say anything at all, deaf to any comforting words I could offer her.

I wouldn’t get anywhere if I tried to talk to her now. But I’d be damned if I gave up.

If Nevaeh got onto her laptop—for any reason—then I’d make sure she was disciplined and caught.

If Nevaeh was causing any strife in Heather’s life, I’d step in and make her stop.

This bullshit had gone on too damn long. I was sick of not having answers. Of being in the dark. When Veronica cheated on me and tried to manipulate the situation she’d caused, I felt like it was one bombshell being dropped on me after the other. That feeling of being the only clueless one sucked, and I wouldn’t let myself be so easily conned again.

I didn’t think that Heather was conning me. I couldn’t make the same connections as she was. I didn’t see why it had to be such a deal-breaker if Nevaeh was shacking up with David. Again...because she wouldn’t talk to me. She wouldn’t tell me just why things with David were so scary still. I wasn’t dumb. I could guess and speculate that he’d abused her to some extent. But she had to explain.

Nevaeh did too. I wouldn’t assume she was innocent. I could see how Heather was likely pissed that I was trying to defend my niece. It wasn’t that, though. I had to be sure she wasn’t reaching for any old clue and jumping to conclusions.

Facts. I wanted some damn facts and answers—from someone. It was far past time to get some. As I strode toward my cabin, I shook my head at the odds that I’d be facing woman trouble times two. Both of the women in my life were too secretive for my liking.

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.

“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.”

The headache happened right during my divorce. Right before I moved here to work at the Grand River.

“Nevaeh’s not the smartest girl when it comes to guys. Maybe she would be so stupid to hang around Heather’s ex. I don’t know.” I narrowed my eyes as I focused on looking for that bike, for any sign of my niece. “And I don’t care. I’ll cut ties with her. I know I shouldn’t. She lost her dad, and her mom. I’m all the family she’s got left now. But I’m not solving anything like this. I’m not helping her. I’m enabling her to know she always has a place to sleep and eat, but she’s got to grow up and stop this bullshit.”

“It’s hard. Tough love is...tough.”

It was. “If I don’t put my foot down and take a harder stance with her, she’ll just continue down this path. A worse path.”

“I agree, man. I agree. It’s not easy, but you’d only regret it if she keeps this shit up and causes more issues. Heather told her boss that Nevaeh was by her computer, right? They’ll be looking at her?”

“I don’t know. From what I heard in that call, it sounds like Janelle is going to let the bank’s IT team look into it. Maybe she’s assuming something else could have happened beyond their reach.”

We obviously didn’t talk about it today. She’d come home furious and defensive with this news about Nevaeh being with her ex.

“Well, maybe Marty or someone’s already going to be looking for Nevaeh if that’s the case,” Gavin replied gently.

“And if that’s how this is going to shake out, then so be it. I’ll help Marty bring her in.”

I hated to be in this position, but there was no way I’d turn a blind eye to something criminal happening.

Nor would I stand back and let my niece’s drama ruin my chances with Heather.

We deserved an opportunity to be together, and I’d fight to make that happen.

But first, I had to get some answers somewhere.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like I’d be getting any from Nevaeh.

Wherever she was hiding, wherever she was staying on this chilly November evening, she was concealed well.

I had no clue where she was.

And I had no clue what to believe anymore.

All I could think of was how silly it seemed to ever believe in love again.

Too bad that’s where it’s going. I envisioned Heather, feeling worse when the last image I had of her was with her so furious and defensive, tears gathering to spill.

Because of me .

I’d pushed the woman I was starting to love away.