Nighthawk & The Return of Luke McGuire by Justine Davis, Rachel Lee Read Free Book Online Page B

and walked between her flowerbeds to the porch. He was a big man, bigger even than Craig Nighthawk, with the same inky black hair and dark eyes. His face, too, spoke strongly of his Native American ancestry. “Just thought I’d drop by and see how you’re doing.”
    Over the last three years, Esther had become fond of Micah Parish. He was the deputy who most often dropped by to check on her, claiming it was on his way home. Esther knew better. “I’m doing just fine, Deputy. Would you like something to drink?”
    He favored her with a smile. “I could do with some of that iced tea.”
    “I’ll be right back with it.”
    Guinevere wanted out. She stood impatiently at the door, chuffing eagerly. The dog was fond of Deputy Parish, who always had a minute or two to play fetch.
    When she returned a few minutes later with tea for the deputy, man and dog were sitting companionably together on the steps, Guinevere soaking up a good scratch behind her ears.
    “Thanks,” Parish said as he accepted the tea. “If Guin ever has pups, let me know. My kids would love one.”
    She knew Micah had three children. He’d mentioned them at one time or another, and she found herself wondering about them. “How old are they?”
    “Sally’s seven. Jacob and Jeremy are three.”
    “Twins? Your wife’s hands must be full.”
    “She seems to love it.” A smile settled deep in his dark eyes, and Esther felt a twinge of envy for the contentment she saw reflected in his face. “Faith swears her entire purpose in life is to look after me and the kids. I reckon that’ll change some when the kids get older, but for now we’re all loving it.”
    “I imagine.” For her own part, Esther couldn’t imagine spending her life looking after other people. She’d been forced to spend entirely too much of her childhood doing exactly that.
    “So, is everything all right with you?” he asked her.
    “Well, yes.”
    But he must have heard her hesitation. His fingers paused on the dog’s neck and he turned so he could look directly at her. “That sounded qualified.”
    “Well…” She hesitated, thinking of the letter that had kept her up most of the last two nights. “I guess it is.”
    “Anything I can do?”
    “I don’t know.” Much as she wanted some reassurance, she didn’t know how much she wanted to explain. Micah Parish seemed like a nice man, but…did she want to bare so much of her soul to him?
    He scratched Guinevere’s ears again, then ran his palm down the dog’s back. “I don’t stop by here because I’m uninterested.”
    “No, I realize that.”
    He nodded, looking out over the prairie toward the mountains. “Sometimes it’s not good to be alone.”
    She hesitated, not certain if he was speaking obliquely to her or about himself. She waited to see what he might add.
    “I spent a good part of my life alone, psychologically and emotionally. That’s the worst kind of aloneness, feeling like you have nobody to turn to or depend on. If you need someone, there’s more than one person you can turn to. Me. Nate Tate. Janet and Abel Pierce. You’re not alone, Miz Jackson.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Nothing to thank me for. I’m just stating a fact. So whatever’s troubling you, when you get ready to talk about it, give one of us a call.”
    “Actually…” She needed someone to tell her she had nothing to fear. She needed to hear that almost as much as she needed to breathe. Not that she would believe it, but she needed to hear it anyway. “My father…got out of prison a while back. Last year sometime. I don’t want him to find me.”
    “Can he?”
    “Someone in my agent’s office gave him my address recently. I just found out about it.”
    He looked at her. “Are you hiding from him?”
    “Trying to.”
    “Why?”
    “He was…he was in prison for killing my mother.”
    He nodded. “I see. But maybe he learned a little something.”
    “Maybe.” But she didn’t believe it. She remembered his temper all