Page 69 of Natalie's Nighthawk

They grew quiet then. Maddie broke the silence. “Jeez, Emma. You’ve done it all, haven’t you? Is there anything you can’t do?

“Dance,” Emma replied, eliciting giggles from the girls.

“Sitting here with us girls must be so boring,” Maddie mused.

They all laughed. “Actually, this is just what I needed. Being in such a male-based career, I haven’t been able to make many female friends.”

“Hey, what about me?”

Emma smiled. “Except for Jolene. Master Chef. Best friend extraordinaire.”

“That’s more like it.”

As the women chatted, the bar started to fill up with the dinner crowd. Jolene left them to see to her duties with her staff. “I can’t believe we’ve been sitting here all day,” Maddie remarked.

Natalie put her phone back in her pocket, having just answered a text. “The guys are on their way. I told them to just meet us here. Might as well have dinner too. That way, we don’t have to cook,” Natalie finished with a wink.

“I’m curious about something you said earlier, Emma,” Maddie started. “You called Jolene a Master Chef. Isn’t that term usually reserved for those hoity-toity chefs in big fancy restaurants?”

“Jolene never told you about her previous job?” She looked shocked. When the sisters both shook their heads no, she continued, “She was a celebrated chef in a famous restaurant in New York City. Her dishes were revered.”

“I wonder why she never told us.” Maddie mused.

“I’m not exactly sure,” Emma replied. “She’s been pretty closed up about things since she left New York and wouldn’t tell any of her friends what was bothering her. I always wondered what happened.”

They grew quiet then, each lost in thought about their friend. The men entered Jolene’s not long after. Natalie felt her heart flutter at seeing Graham. He looked so hot dressed in jeans and a Nighthawk t-shirt. This time it was royal blue which made his eyes an even icier blue.

He made a beeline for her and gave her an intense kiss. Guess he missed her as much as she missed him today. Most of the Nighthawks had joined them for dinner, too, so they grabbed a few extra tables to push together. Thankfully, the owner didn’t mind. Natalie introduced their new friend, Emma, to the group.

“Emma climbs mountains. Can you believe that?” Natalie was telling Graham and David. “I have a hard enough time believing I can reach the top of your climbing wall. I can’t imagine scaling a whole mountain.”

Emma perked up. “You have climbing facilities?” she asked Graham, obviously interested. Natalie guessed that maybe it’d been a while since she’d climbed.

“At Nighthawk, yeah,” Graham answered. “We use it to train with ropes and the proper climbing and rappelling techniques. We never know if we are going to have to do any climbing for a rescue.”

“Not as good as training on the real thing,” David chimed in. “But we’re limited here in southern Michigan.”

“True,” Emma agreed. “Ever been up to Silver Mountain in the UP? There are some nice routes there.”

“We have a family cabin not too far from there,” Graham informed her. “Don’t get up there near as often as we’d like, though.” Natalie could see regret flash through his eyes. She knew he blamed himself for ruining their weekend together.

“Tell you what,” Graham continued. “Why don’t you come out to Nighthawk tomorrow. You can show us what you’ve got on the wall.”

“I would love that,” Emma responded excitedly.

“Love what?” Jolene asked as she joined them again.

“Graham’s gonna let her use our climbing facilities tomorrow,” David answered.

“Ooh. Can I come?”

“Seriously,” Emma teased. “All those years I tried to get you to come out with me in college. Andnowyou’re finally ready?”

“I’m just a slow joiner,” Jolene replied good-naturedly.

They agreed to meet here in the morning to take her out to Nighthawk. The rest of the evening was filled with lots of banter and teasing. Natalie felt suddenly overwhelmed. This, right here, was everything. Good food. Good friends. The love of her life beside her. And just a few days ago, she thought she’d never have this again. Her eyes filled with tears.

Graham, ever astute to her emotions, leaned closer to her. “You okay?”

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