Page 50 of Natalie's Nighthawk

Mary sighed. “Aww, isn’t that sweet?” She turned to her husband then. “Imagine that, Dear. At least one of our sons had manners back then.”

“Hey!” David cried.

“Don’t worry, Kid,” Graham told his brother. “I’ll give you some pointers.” Everyone laughed until the sound of the doorbell interrupted them. Natalie and Maddie met each other’s eyes, wondering who that could be at this hour.

Natalie opened the door to find her father standing there, suitcase at his feet. “I … I was hoping I could talk to the two of you,” he said nervously.

Mary stood then, “That’s our cue to leave, boys.” They packed up their belongings as William wandered the living room, going from painting to painting, studying each one. David left with his parents, and Graham stayed behind but went upstairs to give them privacy.

“Why didn’t you ever tell us?”

“We didn’t want to worry you. We didn’t tell you because …”

Natalie had had enough tiptoeing around. “You abandoned us,” she told William flat out. “It seemed to us that you didn’t want to have anything to do with us anymore. Me? I was used to it. You and mom hadn’t wanted me around for years. But Maddie, she didn’t deserve any of it. It wasn’t her fault the tornado hit. It wasn’t her fault she was hurt. It wasn’t her fault she lost her leg. It was like she was suddenly damaged goods to our mother.”

William took a moment to mull that over before responding, his lips pressed together in a tight line. “You’re right. We did abandon you. I see that now.”

“Why did you always take her side? Why did you always blindly follow her lead?” Natalie wanted to know the answer to Maddie’s question herself.

“I guess I was tired. I’d spent so many years early in our marriage fighting her, it was easier to do as she wanted than to continue to fight her; I gave up.

“What you’ve both been through and survived,” he shook his head. “It’s nothing short of a miracle. And look at you both now. You’re thriving. Such strong women. Now that I know everything, and don’t think I’m not just a little peeved that you didn’t tell me what happened, but now that I know … I’ve missed so much. All this time, I could have been getting to know the amazing women you have become. I’ve made mistakes, I’m only human, but I hope you can forgive me. I regret …” he broke off, unable to finish as emotion overwhelmed him. Natalie was shocked to see tears swimming in his eyes.

William gathered both his girls in his arms, and they accepted his hug. “You should know, I’m done. Saturday, I will escort Debra back to Florida. But that’s it.”

“If that’s what you want, Dad, we’ll support you. We want you to be happy.” Maddie assured him.

“I don’t want to stay in Florida. I hate it there. Too hot. And don’t get me started on the mosquitos!” The girls laughed. “I was hoping one of you would let me stay a while, until I can find my own place.”

“You can stay with me,” Maddie said. “I have the guest room. We turned Natalie’s guest room into our gym.”

As William hugged them again, Natalie mused on all that had happened that day. She’d lost a parent. She’d have to grieve for that later. But at least they were beginning to mend things with the other parent. That was beyond what she had expected from this weekend.

Chapter 17

AsGrahamwaitedwhile Natalie talked to her father, his mind raced. Not only was he worried about how Natalie was feeling about the fight with her mother, but he also couldn’t get the words from that simple sheet of paper found on Natalie’s car out of his mind. Somebody had threatened his woman. The question was … who? After tonight’s conversation about her ex, Graham had to wonder if he was behind everything. Perhaps orchestrating a plan from prison to terrorize Natalie for his downfall.

And then there were the dealers Erik had worked for. What if they were behind the threat? After the trial, they had to know it was Natalie who had flushed their product. He made a note to ask Deputy Ian about that avenue of investigation. Did they ever find the dealers Erik was working with?

All the unknowns had his stomach seizing with fear. He’d just found Natalie again and discovered his feelings for her ran deep. He couldn’t lose her now.

After holding an exhausted Natalie in his arms all night, Graham had agreed to take William on a tour of Nighthawk. Natalie was thrilled her father had shown an interest. The two sisters and his own parents had joined them. It was an unusually warm day for late November as they had watched David go through the paces on the outdoor climbing wall while Graham was on belay. William showed particular interest in the climbing facilities and asked to try it out for himself. Just as they had with Natalie, they had given William a quick lesson.

He took to it immediately and quickly reached the top; the elation on his face at having accomplished his first climb was evident, and unless Graham was mistaken, Will was hooked.

Later, the Ghannons, the Whitakers, the Nighthawks, and Lauren were all at what had become their usual table at Jolene’s. Will and Tim had just declared the place to have the best burgers in the northern hemisphere, for which they received Jolene’s deeply southern ‘bless your heart.’ They were all enjoying Jolene’s latest brew, developed for the holidays. This time the beer had a tart cranberry flavor to it. It was excellent, as were the tunes playing from the old-fashioned jukebox in the corner. Jolene’s was quickly becoming his new favorite place to hang out.

Natalie was sitting next to Lauren, trying to engage her in conversation. He’d known Lauren a long time; they’d spent many hours together at the various disasters they’d both been assigned. Their close friendship had grown in the past couple of years when Graham had talked her into leaving the Red Cross and coming to work with him. She’d become a valuable asset to the Nighthawks. It was natural for him to want his best friend and his girlfriend to develop a friendly relationship.

Girlfriend. The word hit him suddenly. He guessed there was no getting around that. Natalie was most definitely his girlfriend.

Of course, he and Natalie hadn’t hadthatdiscussion yet. The one where they clarify what they were to each other. Graham was more than ready to commit, but he wasn’t sure if she was. He thought she might, but there was always that bit of doubt that lived with the darkness inside of him.

Then there was the worry that had plagued him recently about his ability to juggle his job and a girlfriend. He didn’t want one to suffer because of the other. He would have to find a balance. Having Natalie in his life made everything that much better. Nighthawk was important to him, but so was Natalie. He wanted more than anything to keep them both.

“Graham has told me you’ve known each other for a long time,” Natalie was saying to Lauren when he refocused on the conversation. “How did you meet?”

Lauren sighed, answering slowly. “We were both assisting at a flood in Ohio.”

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