Page 15 of Natalie's Nighthawk

He watched as her face fell. She was unable to hide her disappointment at his answer. The whole truth was there wasn’t anybody he wanted to see again from his hometown except for his little chickadee, and that had shocked him. He’d allowed his fears and insecurities to keep him away, telling himself that it had only been a few hours he’d spent with her that afternoon. A few hours and one scorching hot kiss.

“Well, there was one person,” he admitted, squeezing her shoulder. Her face brightened hesitantly. He loved that he could read her expressions so easily. “But I was terrified to see her again, afraid I’d be disappointed.” Throughout the years, he’d thought of her often. But then his thoughts had turned to images of her happily married with a litter of kids. Those thoughts depressed him so much that it was easier to just stay away from her.

“I don’t understand,” she said, her brow creasing.

“I was afraid I’d find her happily married with two point five kids.”

“Ha!” she snorted. “Couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“Really?” He asked hopefully. Even to himself, he sounded like a lovesick schoolboy.

“Really. I was engaged once. It ended badly.” She shivered again, and a dark expression clouded her eyes. He wanted to delve into the reasons for the dark look, but he could see the exhaustion weighing on her. He should go and let her get some sleep, but he couldn’t seem to pull himself away from her.

Graham heard voices drift towards them and moments later, David and Maddie came into view. Natalie stood up quickly. “I didn’t realize it was so late, I really should get to bed. I’ve got school in the morning.”

“Okay,” he said, already missing her warmth immensely. He knew he couldn’t stay away this time. He couldn’t go another twelve years without seeing her again. “I’d like to see you again. How ‘bout I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?”

She blushed but grinned with pleasure. “I’d like that.”

“Great! Pick you up at seven?”

“Can we make it six since it’s a school night?”

He smiled. “In that case, I’ll have to make sure to get you home before curfew.”

They joined Maddie and David at the steps to say their goodnights. Graham longed to kiss her but didn’t want to embarrass her in front of her sister. He told himself it was too early for kisses. He couldn’t just kiss her after knowing her again for one day and then leave. He needed to do this right.

“Don’t be a stranger,” Maddie was saying to David.

“Oh, I’ll be back. Especially now that I’ve found the best burger joint in the state!” They all laughed as the girls turned to go in while the brothers walked quickly back to the restaurant where they’d left the truck.

“So … what was that between the two of you?” David asked.

“What?” Graham feigned indifference.

“The intensity off the two of you was hot!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Graham wasn’t ready to share with David. It was too new. Even he didn’t entirely understand what had happened today. It would take some mulling over.

“Right,” David drew out the word.

Chapter 5

Promptlyatsixthenextevening,GrahamwasatNatalie’sdoor, his stomach in knots. He’d been unable to sleep the night before, the day by the lake endlessly repeating through his mind. As he escorted Natalie to a quiet booth in the corner of Jolene’s, his anxiety surprised him. He was unaccustomed to feeling unsure in any situation. He’d placed the Natalie he knew from that afternoon on a pedestal for so many years that he was afraid the Natalie of today wouldn’t compare. He was worried too, that if she were everything he’d remembered and dreamed, he might do something to mess it up. After placing their orders, Graham took a deep breath to calm his nerves, and asked about her teaching.

“I love it. I really do,” she explained. He sensed her hesitancy.

“But …”

She smiled. “But I do miss having more time to work on my own things. As I said, I’d like to open my own studio and take on the students who genuinely wanted to be there.”

“So why don’t you?”

“Money. Time. There’s never enough of either.”

He could understand that. It had taken a substantial amount of capital and a generous inheritance from his grandmother to start up Nighthawk. He and David had been shocked to discover their battle-axe of a grandmother had been a multi-millionaire. She'd horded away an inheritance, investing wisely, building her portfolio until she had a nice fat nest egg, the majority of which was left to her grandsons upon her death. It made sense to the brothers to pool their money and build Nighthawk together. David, having been a business major in college, had the wherewithal to invest wisely, which had allowed them to build Nighthawk slowly.

They still relied on the generous donations they received to keep the day-to-day operations running, as well as the fees they charged for their training sessions, but they’d occasionally had to dip into their investments to add to their business. So far, they’d been able to develop an urban rescue training area that consisted of buildings that looked like they’d been destroyed by various disasters. The previous summer, they’d added several climbing facilities, both indoors and out. There was also a large building they used for offices and classrooms, and the four-story dorm complete with dining hall and industrial kitchen.

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