Long Way Home (16 page)

“Of course.”

Her ready acceptance threw Callen off. Never mind that he’d been alone as recently as two weeks ago. “She said yes.”

“It’s a good start to winning her back.”

Now Callen got it. Mom was looking for grandchildren, and for some reason he’d become the acceptable candidate. Callen had counted on Declan taking the lead on this one.

But the baby didn’t solve everything, and he needed his mom to understand that. “Grace lied to me.”

“Clearly I can’t judge her for that.” His mom stepped back. “I can only tell you what I see. Baby or no, you love this woman.”

“I don’t know.” That was one more thing he couldn’t deal with right now. He did; he knew he did; he had for what felt like forever. That didn’t mean it
should
happen.

“Yeah, Callen. You do.”

By any objective standard Callen Hanover was incredibly hot. Tall with brooding, dark good looks, bright green eyes and a body toned by years of hard, physical work.

Grace often thought about how much her father would have liked him. Callen was loyal and hardworking. There was nothing lazy about him, and he’d overcome a rough upbringing in a respectable way her dad, the lawman, would appreciate.

Right now she was the one doing the appreciating as she watched him shovel piles of heavy dirt into a strange hole in the middle of his backyard. He’d been at it for hours without cease while she did some research work on a particularly awful triple homicide in the Catskills from a decade ago, all from her chair in the upstairs library at Shadow Hill.

Or that’s what she was supposed to be doing.

Despite the cold snap, with temperatures dipping into the low fifties, Callen stood out there and worked. He’d abandoned the navy long-sleeve shirt about fifteen minutes ago. Now he had on a gray tee that pulled across his back and highlighted every muscle.

“You’re staring.” Leah laughed as she made the comment from the doorway.

Grace didn’t even pull her attention away from his forearms and how they strained as he lifted. “He’s ridiculously hot.”

And what he could do with those hands. It was almost criminal. Soon she’d probably gain enough weight that getting naked might not sound so great, but right now she couldn’t get enough of him. She’d stayed one night at the house so far and hadn’t even thought of trying the guest room bed. Put her suitcases right in his big room at the top of the stairs.

“Looking like that is one of the few positive things they inherited from their father. Of course, Kim looking as good as she does didn’t hurt either,” Leah pointed out as she traced a finger over the window.

Grace assumed Leah was lost in thought over the sight of Declan moving wheelbarrows around, since her gaze moved as he did.

“That guy was an asshole,” Grace said, because she felt like it needed to be said.

Leah snorted. “No kidding.”

Just mentioning Charlie’s name made half the household tense. Thinking about him made her angry. All those victims. All that wasted time. The head games he played on Callen that she now got stuck trying to unravel.

Grace wanted to be respectful because he was their father and all, but really, the man was a monster. He scammed everyone. Stole money from lonely wealthy widows, set up fake investment accounts and pocketed the proceeds. Exchanged car titles and grabbed silver and pretty much any expensive thing not bolted down that was worth stealing.

He worked his way across the country, using alias after alias, and changing the scam to make it harder for law enforcement to tie all the crimes together. He’d finally been caught and was headed for trial when he died with almost no assets to his name. Many FBI agents still believed he’d faked that, too, but after Callen left she checked the records. Saw the photos.

No, Charlie Hanover was definitely gone. But the fallout lingered on.

Thinking about one patriarch brought another one to mind. Segueing into this topic probably wasn’t a great idea, but Grace did it anyway. “Speaking of fathers, I had a run-in with your dad.”

Leah rested her head against the window frame. “I heard.”

Not feeling the need to say more, Grace went back to staring at the man who filled her every thought. Tom walked over and the three of them worked in unison down there, but she definitely had a favorite.

Music blared on the radio, and every now and then one of them would go over and switch the station. Seemed their tastes didn’t match at all.

“Did he call me names?” Leah asked as the hard rock beat echoed in from outside.

Without meaning to Grace sucked in a large gasp of air.

Leah made a rough noise in her throat. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She moved so that her back balanced against the wall and she faced Grace. “He spent so much of my life being angry, I thought because my mom left him to run away with Charlie and Charlie stole the town’s money. I made allowances and excuses and got wrapped up in his hatred for Declan and his brothers.”

Grace tried to remember the specifics from the file after spending so many months purposely trying to forget them. When Callen left she spiraled. Despite being gone from the FBI, Walker handed her the official file on Charlie. She’d heard bits and pieces on the news, of course, but he’d never been part of her caseload.

Her interest spiked when she fell for Callen, but then she tamped down on it, wanting to know him for him. That all crumbled when he walked out, and she was willing to look at anything, uncover any bit of information to track him down.

Nothing pointed to Marc Baron or his wife. His name was likely on the long list of victims, but Grace didn’t even try to memorize that.

“I think the hardest thing was figuring out my dad wasn’t who I thought he was. The decency I believed in was an illusion.” Leah turned her hands over and stared at the backs. “He acts one way and makes all these grand statements, but none of that matches with his past or his present.”

“I can’t imagine.” Her father had always been the same person. No trauma or game playing.

“I think that’s why I love Declan so much.” A smile played on Leah’s lips as she glanced out the window in Declan’s direction again. “He is exactly who he seems to be.”

“I like him.” Grace meant that. She also liked how he looked at Leah and how they were together.

“Me, too.”

The more she thought about Leah’s comments, the more she realized her description of Declan worked for Callen, too. “Callen is the same way. His past is messed up, but when everything is on the line he steps up. So long as you don’t cross him.”

“Nah, he talks tough, but he forgives.” Before Grace could ask how she could get that treatment, Leah continued. “We had a run-in and there was no reason for him to trust me, but he fought for me to stay with Declan.”

Regret and a bit of jealousy twisted in Grace’s stomach. Leah forgave Mallory for hiding the truth about her relationship with Walker. Sounded like Callen forgave Leah for something. Grace wondered what she had to do to take a turn.

“He’ll fight for you, too, you know.”

Leah wasn’t wrong. Deep down, Grace knew that, which was why she risked it all and came after Callen as he ran. “Because of the baby.”

“Oh, please.” Leah snorted. “He has no idea what to think abut the baby. Don’t get me wrong. He will love the baby and protect it—he’ll be an excellent dad once the kid is here. Until then, if he can’t see it and understand it, he’ll fumble around.”

Grace wasn’t sure if that was supposed to make her feel better or not. “Not exactly what I want to hear about the man who’ll help me through labor.”

“He’s rock solid.”

“I know that. I really do.” His stability wasn’t the issue. Him wanting her back was. “My fear really is that he’ll stay because he thinks he has to, which isn’t exactly wrong. I did threaten him and will get really violent if he tries to run.”

“And I’ll help you, but my point is he’ll be there for you . . . because he loves you.”

Grace wondered how it felt to have that knowledge and hug it close. Leah clearly had that comfort level with Declan. Anyone looking at them could see the love.

Grace didn’t have that comfort. “He’s never said it.”

“Fear.”

She was getting tired of that emotion. “Is it wrong that I sometimes want to hit him with that shovel?”

“Lord, no.”

They both laughed but Grace spoke up. “I knew I liked you.”

“Then trust me. He’s all about doing the right thing, but it’s not an obligation to him. It’s who he is. As if his DNA rebelled against Charlie’s.” Leah nodded to the yard dotted with holes and dirt piles. “That’s what this stupid yard project is all about.”

Somewhere Grace lost the connection. “What?”

Leah’s eyebrow rose. “He didn’t tell you?”

“Clearly not.” Though, to be fair, he’d barely shared anything with her, so it wasn’t a surprise he had skipped over the strange holes.

“I’m thinking it’s time for Callen Hanover to learn some communication skills.” Leah was halfway across the room before she glanced over her shoulder and motioned for Grace to follow. “Come on.”

***

Callen glanced up in time to see Leah and Grace step off the back porch and head toward him. Watching Grace walk trumped any other activity. He’d work at midnight if that’s what it took to free up time like this.

With her hair swinging in the breeze and her black skirt tightening with each step, she looked like a woman on a mission. That appealed to him, though his confidence did falter when he realized she’d brought reinforcements. Taking on Grace in any argument proved tough enough. Grace plus Leah could be lethal.

Callen glanced over at Declan. The appreciation for Leah and her slim jeans was tough to miss. The smile gave him away. So did the way his gaze traveled all over her.

Rolling out that charm that came so naturally to him, Declan nodded in welcome. “Ladies. Enjoy the show?”

“I knew you knew we were watching.” Leah walked straight into Declan’s arms and kissed him. Forget the dirt and filth. She either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“Thought about doing a little striptease but I didn’t want to make Callen look bad.” Declan kept an arm around Leah.

“I’m holding a shovel.” Callen thought pointing it out wasn’t a bad thing. With his size and training, Declan could outmaneuver and outshoot him, so Callen stuck with empty threats.

“I like your boots,” Declan said with a nod in Grace’s direction.

Callen followed his gaze and recognized the motorcycle boots. Black and scuffed, she’d worn them around for weeks before declaring them perfectly broken in. When a neighbor suggested they were too informal for dresses and skirts, Grace started wearing them every day. Passive-aggressive, maybe, but the memory made Callen smile.

Grabbing on to his arm for balance, Grace lifted a leg and wiggled her foot around. “Cool, aren’t they? Callen bought them for me.”

Declan’s smile couldn’t get any bigger. “Did he now?”

“Where did Tom go?” Leah asked.

That seemed to suck the amusement out of Declan. “In the house. Probably to call mom.”

“You poor thing.” Leah snuggled in closer to him, wrapping her hands tighter around his arm. “Your beautiful young mother is dating.”

Not ready for a second round on his mother’s dating life, Callen tried to move them along. “Find another topic.”

“Fine.” Leah glanced at the dirt pile next to his feet. “The holes.”

She already knew, and he wasn’t ready to fill Grace in. With their history, he didn’t want her having free rein of everything at Shadow Hill, especially the information they were collecting.

But he’d learned enough to know saying that out loud might get his ass kicked, so he went for stalling. “What?”

Leah looked around, her gaze jumping from one dirt mound to another. “If she’s going to live here, she should know.”

Not necessarily.
Callen sure didn’t remember making that agreement at the breakfast table before Grace moved in. He looked to Declan for reinforcements but his brother kept his expression blank. No help there.

“I sense a lack of trust.” There was nothing blank about Grace. The anger sparked in her eyes and threaded through her shaking voice.

Leah shook her head. “And a heavy dose of stupidity.”

Finally snapping to attention, Declan lowered his arm from around Leah and let his gaze wander from person to person. “Maybe we should wait—”

“No.” Too late and the wrong tack. Callen knew better. He looked to Grace. “Is this a test?”

“Do you need to take one?” she snapped back.

“You’re having a baby together and living together but you can’t trust her with the information about what’s happening in the yard?” Leah stepped between Grace and Callen as she delivered her speech.

Declan caught her arm and brought her back to his side. “Leah, ease up on this.”

“Callen doesn’t need to tell me.” Grace crossed her arms over her stomach. “He’s made it clear his tolerance of me has limits.”

This was not the time and place for this argument. And that shot hit lower than Callen expected. “That’s not fair.”

“Then tell her about the holes.” Leah glanced at Declan. “Do not look at me like that. You Hanover boys have serious trust issues. Sometimes you have to be dragged back to reality.”

“I have a reason to be wary.” There, he said it. Not that it was the first time. Callen had been really clear on this point.

“I was out of the FBI before we met. I never passed information to Walker.” Grace ticked off the information without breaking eye contact with him. “What else do you want to know?”

“This isn’t the time.” He wanted to lose himself in her, enjoy her. Take care of her. Trusting her was a much harder road.

“It’s never the time. That’s the point. I’ve tried to talk and you’ve pushed me away.” She hesitated, clearly going for a dramatic pause. “Well, when you bother to talk at all. You don’t seem to have any trouble doing anything else with me.”

That struck too close. “Grace, that’s enough.”

“Ask me any question.” She turned away from him then. “Declan? It’s your turn.”

Leah grabbed his arm again. “Don’t you dare take her up on that offer.”

“It’s okay.” Tension vibrated off Grace now. She moved around, looked from person to person. It was as if coming outside had unleashed all the frustration she’d had tied up inside her. “If I’m carrying your child and your niece or nephew, you have a right to know things. So, ask.”

Declan finally stepped up, literally and figuratively. Putting Leah at his side, he finished off their tight circle. “Okay, let’s take a breath.”

“Only child. Father was in law enforcement, but he died. Mom is gone and has never really been in the picture.” A wild energy spun around Grace now. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks bright and pink. “Sexual partners? College jobs? What else do you need?”

The breeze blew and somewhere nearby a building creaked, but they were all frozen. It was the sort of horrified silence that came when a person unraveled. Not that she was out of control. Quite the opposite. She threw out the pieces without missing a beat. She had their attention and wasn’t relinquishing it.