Page 52 of Night Moves
I love you for who you are–My priceless child—not for what you do.
Whoa.He leaned back. He’d really have to give that some thought. But not now. Now hedidneed to be doing something. Finding a killer and keeping the kids and Natalie safe.
“I should go in and check on the children,” Natalie said. “Your mom has been watching them a long time, and I can’t take advantage of her like that.”
“I’ll walk you in.” He couldn’t resist tucking a stray strand of hair that landed on her cheek behind her ear before clasping her hand and leading her toward the door. He might be enjoying holding her hand, but he squeezed it and let go before opening the door. No way he would encourage his mother’s matchmaking.
She was in the kitchen, and a new savory smell filled the cabin. Willow sat on the couch with Drake’s father, that same large bin of Legos resting between them. Willow’s lip was between her teeth again, and Drake didn’t know how she could stand the chapped skin there. But obviously it brought her comfort. Logan and Sadie must still be napping as they were nowhere to be seen.
His mother looked up from a bowl of dough she was forming into a ball.
“Dinner smells great. I know we only ate a little while ago but…” He grinned and patted his stomach.
“You always were the son who appreciated my cooking the most. Maybe because you burn it off so fast and come back for more.” She chuckled and turned her attention back to the dough.
His dad got up and joined them, lowering his voice. “Willow’s in a funk. Not sure what’s going on, but something is.”
Drake looked at his dad. “I see you tried your usual trick to get a kid to open up.”
His dad glanced back at Willow. “You mean the Legos?”
“Yeah.”
His dad arched an eyebrow. “You knew about that, huh?”
“Was pretty obvious.” Drake grinned. “We were down or troubled by something, and out came the Legos. It took a lot of time to build whatever item you came up with and gave you plenty of time to ask us pointed questions.”
“He’s right, dear.” Drake’s mom smiled. “You thought you were being the stealthy detective, but we all knew. I often wondered why you didn’t build Legos with the criminals you arrested.”
They all laughed, and Willow stared at them as if she took their good humor as a personal assault. Drake could see that. He’d have been sulking as a kid, and he could remember times he wanted to stay mad and his family went on enjoying life without him.
His father’s smile faded. “Might’ve worked on you kids, but Willow didn’t bite.”
“Let me try.” Shocked at the fact that he was offering to help a kid, Drake started across the room. He stopped in front of Willow. “Since you’re not using the Legos, mind if I build something?”
She looked up at him. “Whatcha gonna build?”
Yeah, what?Something an eight-year-old girl would like. “I think I’ll make a castle like inFrozen.”
“You know aboutFrozen?”
“Sure, who doesn’t?” he said, thankful that one of his fellow deputies had a daughter who was obsessed with the movie.
Willow frowned, her adorable freckled face screwed up tight. “You don’t have the right colors. It needs to be pink and purple.”
“True. But I can pretend.” He smiled. “Say. You know what? I might get it all wrong. Can you help me?”
“I s’pose, but you haveta listen to me or it won’t work.”
“I can listen.” Feeling thankful for the breakthrough, he offered a prayer for guidance and picked up the bin. “How about we go to the table so when the little kids get up, they don’t get into them?”
“The pieces are too small for them,” she said as she slid off the couch. “My mom always told me to make sure to put them away so they wouldn’t eat them.”
“Sounds like your mom’s pretty smart.” He opened the bin then dumped some of the Legos onto the scarred oak table that had lived in his parents’ walk-out basement for years.
He sat and felt eyes on him, so he looked up to find Natalie quietly assessing him from the kitchen where she remained. He nodded, and she jerked her gaze away as if she didn’t want him to catch her looking at him. She was struggling too. Maybe fighting feelings that were developing between them. Having her return his feelings should make Drake feel good, but it didn’t. Not really. Not when he knew it added to her struggles right now. She didn’t need to have another hardship in her life.
“We can pretend the blue is purple,” Willow said, drawing him back. “And the red can be pink.”
