LITMIR.BIZ

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      “Mom said it would be easier to buy a new one.”

      “Can’t argue with that logic. Better watch out,” Nick said. “I’m going to turn the water on to see if I can figure out where the leak came from.”

      “It came from the bottom.”

      “You sure? Not from any of the pipes or maybe this faucet?” He squatted and pointed to the brass faucet at the bottom of the tank.

      Austin squatted, too, mimicking Nick’s stance. “Nah. It sort of poured out of the bottom.”

      “Let’s double-check.”

      He stood, reached up and twisted a handle. No sooner had he moved back than water streamed out from the bottom of the tank.

      “Damn.” Nick stepped over the water to shut off the valve again.

      “Told you,” Austin gloated. “Sir,” he added quickly, when Nick glanced over his shoulder at him. But Nick noticed he was fighting a grin.

      Which was good. The times he’d been around Austin, the kid had seemed too serious. Too mature.

      Neither of which any nine-year-old boy worth his salt should be.

      Having already figured out the water heater was toast, Nick stepped over the small puddle of water. “Got any towels handy so I can clean up this mess?”

      “Sure.” Austin ran off, coming back almost immediately with a large bath towel.

      “Thanks.” Nick knelt and mopped up the water. “Do you play baseball? We have a short rec league that starts soon. Sign-ups are this weekend if you’re interested.”

      Longing filled Austin’s eyes. “I don’t play baseball.”

      “No? What about midget football? Or if you’re into skating, we have a youth hockey league—”

      “No!” Austin’s hands were now fisted at his sides, his shoulders rigid, his lips a thin line. “I mean…no, thank you. I…I don’t want to play any sports.”

      “Hey, it’s no problem.”

      Austin nodded and blew out a breath. Either he had a personal—and vehement—hatred of organized sports or there was a whole lot more going on with this kid than Nick had realized.

      “So, you’ve lived in a lot of difference places?” Nick asked. Austin shrugged, which Nick took to mean yes. “How are you liking it here?”

      “It’s okay.”

      “Where did you live before you moved to Kingsville?”

      When he got no response, Nick glanced up. Austin shrugged again. “Just around.”

      Nick tightened his grip on the towel. Obviously Austin took after his mother in more ways than just his eye color. Trying to get to know him was like trying to convince Britney to stop dressing like a sixteen-year-old pop star. Both were exercises in futility.

      And frustrating as hell.

      “Around, huh? What about that town you mentioned earlier? Serenity Springs? How long did you—”

      “I have to go,” Austin said, his face red, his eyes suspiciously shiny.

      Nick straightened, the wet towel in his hand dripping onto his shoe as he watched Austin race up the stairs. You’d have thought he’d suggested the kid go play in traffic or something.

      He walked to the washing machine and dropped the towel into an empty laundry basket. There was something going on with Faith and Austin. The kid had looked so guilty when he’d mentioned Serenity Springs, it was as if he’d just blurted out a state secret.

      Nick already knew they’d moved around a lot before settling in Kingsville. Britney had gleaned that much information from her employee. But not much else. Nick hadn’t really wondered about it before. He’d figured they hadn’t found the right place to settle.

      But now…now he couldn’t ignore the little voice in the back of his head. The one telling him there was more to the story. The one whispering that maybe Faith and Austin were running from something.

      Or someone.

      CHAPTER FOUR

      STEPPING ONTO THE first stair, Faith stopped short when Austin came barreling around the corner. “Hey,” she said as he took the stairs two at a time, “I was just coming down to see how things were going.”

      Because though she’d been telling herself he was fine, she couldn’t stop worrying. He’d rarely been alone with any other adult since they’d left New York, and she’d made sure he was never alone with a man. Nick was the golden boy of Kingsville. Well liked. Honorable. A man people turned to when they needed help. But she knew all too well that a spotless reputation was no guarantee of a man’s true nature.

      “It’s going fine,” Austin mumbled, brushing past her.

      She caught up with him by the sink. “Are you sure?” She searched his face. His cheeks were pink and he kept his gaze averted. Her fingers tensed on his shoulders. “Did something happen? Did—did Nick say…or do…something to you?”

      Austin pulled away from her. “No.”

      “If someone upsets you or makes you feel…uncomfortable…you need to tell me.”

      “Nothing happened.”

      She straightened at the tone in his voice. “I’m glad to hear that. But how about you lose the attitude? Or at least save some up until you hit your teens.”

      “Sorry,” he said, as the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs reached them.

      “I have some bad news.” Nick set his toolbox down by her most prized flea-market find, an antique pedestal table with a distressed white finish. “I also have some almost good news.”

      “Can I finish reading my comic now?” Austin asked.

      “Sure,” Faith said slowly. “But only for fifteen minutes. Then I’m going to need you to set the table and take the garbage out.”

      “Yes, ma’am.”

      “Bye, Austin,” Nick called as the boy walked away. Her son lifted a hand but kept right on going.

      “I’ll take the bad news first,” she told Nick, vowing to talk to Austin about his lack of manners once they were alone. If he said nothing had happened in the basement, she had no reason to doubt him, but she couldn’t shake the feeling there was more going on than her son had told her.

      “You need a new water heater,” Nick announced.

      “I figured as much.” She washed her hands and began mixing the ingredients together for meat loaf. Cold, raw beef squished between her fingers. “I appreciate you taking time out of your day off to look at it.”

      He stood at the counter next to her. “Don’t you want to hear the almost good news?”

      What she wanted was to show him the door. Too bad she had a part to play. “Of course.”

      “I called a friend of mine. He can get you a new water heater at cost. Plus, if I help him install it, he’ll give you a break on the labor.”

      “Why would he do that?”

      “Because I asked him to.”

      She was becoming even more jaded than she’d realized if the idea of someone doing a friend a favor made her suspicious.

      She shaped the meat mixture into a small loaf, set it in a glass baking dish and washed her hands. “I wouldn’t feel right imposing on him, or you, that way.”

      It was funny how things worked out. She’d spent most of her life searching for a man to take care of her, and now when a guy did offer his help, she couldn’t

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