Susan Mallery - Sweet Spot

She turned to Hawk and Brittany and forced a smile. “It’s all lovely. Did Serena make these herself?” she asked, pointing to the stitched sayings.

Brittany nodded. “She was teaching me how to cross-stitch when she died.”

“Handmade projects give a house a real homey feeling,” she murmured, not sure what else to say. Hadn’t Hawk ever wanted to move on? Keeping Serena’s memory alive was one thing, but this?

“Serena was into flowers and lots of bright colors,” Hawk said. “I thought about changing a few things, but didn’t see the point. This is the home she left for us.”

And why would he want to change that? Nicole thought, stunned by what she was seeing. Until this second, she’d never thought of Hawk as a widower. She’d known his wife had died, but hadn’t considered he was still in mourning. Or at least living his life the way Serena would have wanted it. He always seemed too powerful and take-charge. This was totally unexpected.

The house was a shrine to Serena and screamed to any guest that she shouldn’t bother getting comfortable. The crowded photographs on the wall proved there wasn’t room for anyone else.

The tour of the downstairs continued. The house was large with a big family room, an equally massive eat-in kitchen, a library and a study Hawk used as a home office. Even there Serena’s touch was visible. Silk flowers nestled up against football trophies.

Nicole felt as if the walls were closing in on her. When Hawk suggested they step outside, she was grateful to be able to breathe again.

But her relief was short-lived. While Hawk fired up the barbecue and then opened a bottle of wine, Brittany led the way to Serena’s special garden.

“She loved flowers,” the teenager said. “She planted them every year. My dad and I plant the same ones. We want her garden to look exactly as it did when she was alive. There’s herbs, too. Every time we use them we’re reminded of her.”

Nicole murmured that it was all so lovely, but on the inside, her head was spinning. What was Hawk trying to prove? That no one would be welcome in his life who wasn’t Serena? Did he even know what he was doing? Telling anyone who visited that she would never measure up to the memory of his late wife? Had he brought her here to warn her away?

DINNER TURNED OUT to be more pleasant than Nicole had thought. Talk turned to something other than Serena, although she ate her steak with the constant need to look over her shoulder to see if someone was watching. She did her best to shake the feeling of not being welcome, telling herself that Hawk wouldn’t have invited her if he hadn’t wanted to spend the evening with her.

After they’d carried their plates into the kitchen, Brittany led the way into the family room.

“I want to show you something,” she said, sitting on the sofa.

Nicole reluctantly settled next to her, wondering if home movies would be next.

She was close, she realized, as Brittany pulled several photo albums off built-in shelves and set them on the big coffee table in front of the couch.

“Aren’t these great?” the teen asked, flipping open the first one and pointing to a high school dance picture showing a very young Hawk and a pretty brunette. “They were so in love. They’re only sixteen here. Look at their smiles.” She sighed.

Nicole murmured that the pictures were lovely and wondered if the problem was her. Was she overreacting to the situation? Maybe she was just sensitive because of Drew.

No, she told herself. Remembering was one thing, but living in a shrine was totally strange.

Brittany flipped pages, pointing out ski trips and her dad after his team won the state football championship. “He was MVP,” she said proudly.

“Impressive,” Nicole said.

There were prom pictures, then a series showing an increasingly pregnant Serena.

“They couldn’t get married when they first found out she was having me. She was only seventeen and her parents wouldn’t sign anything saying it was okay. So they waited until her birthday.” Brittany sighed. “My dad said he would stand by her no matter what.”

A romantic version of what had to be a difficult time. “It had to be hard for her to fight with her family,” Nicole said.

“I know. It’s kinda sad. They never forgave her for marrying my dad. Even though they were totally in love and their lives were perfect. I don’t see my grandparents much. Dad says it’s their loss.”

“I agree with that,” Nicole told her.

Brittany gave her a quick smile, then turned the page. “That’s me. I was born in Oklahoma, where Dad played football at Oklahoma University. This is the house we lived in. It’s small, but cute. My mom and dad were so lucky. They got to be together all the time, they had a baby they loved.”

Which sounded a little too movie-of-the-week for reality. “I’m sure it was a struggle,” Nicole said carefully. “Being that young, away from home, with a new baby. They had to have been scared.”

“Maybe.” Brittany dismissed her words with a shrug. “But they had each other. Dad talks about those early years all the time. How much fun they had. The boosters were really great, getting mom a job, helping with babysitting. College football is really big there and Dad was a star player.”

She turned another page. “Everyone said they were too young, that it wouldn’t work out, but it did. My parents were in love until the day my mom died.”

Nicole ignored the reference to Serena. Being in this house made it impossible to escape her. But there were other issues. She excused herself and went into the kitchen to help Hawk with the cleanup.

“Brittany showing you pictures?” he asked as he loaded the dishwasher.

“Yes. Everything is well documented.”

He laughed. “Serena liked taking pictures and having them taken. I’m not as into that. People are going to think Brittany is twelve forever.”

“I doubt that.” She collected glasses and carried them over to him. “She talked a lot about what it was like when you and Serena first got married. How wonderful everything was.”

He looked at her expectantly, as if waiting for her point.

“It had to have been difficult at times,” she said, trying to sound casual. “You were both young and away from home for the first time.”

“Maybe, but we had a lot of local support. It was good.”

“Brittany seems to feel it was almost magical. As if with enough love, everything is fine.”

He raised his eyebrows. “And?”

“She’s a seventeen-year-old girl with a steady boyfriend. Don’t you want to be talking about consequences? Not every teenage pregnancy ends with little forest animals singing and dancing. Not every young marriage survives.”

He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “You’re cute when you’re worried.”

“And you’re ignoring my point.”

He gave her an indulgent smile. “I’ve got this covered. Brittany’s a good kid. We talk. I know what’s going on in her life. She and Raoul aren’t having sex yet. I’d know if they were.”

It wasn’t his fault, Nicole thought, trying not to take any of this personally. He was a man. A father, but still a man. He saw what he wanted to see.

“Hawk, you didn’t even know Raoul had been thrown out of his foster home. He’d been living in that abandoned building for weeks. Weeks in the summer, when it’s warm and they were alone for who knows how long with no distractions. Are you sure about the sex thing?”

He straightened. “Nicole, I know you’re trying to help, but this isn’t your concern. Brittany and I are close. We talk and I trust her. You’re not a parent, so you’re just going to have to believe me on this one.”

She ignored the dismissal. “I raised my sister from the time she was little. I would say I have experience.”

“Look how that went.”

She stiffened. “It was a different circumstance.”

“I know my daughter a whole lot better than you do. Nothing’s going on with Raoul.”

Nicole was willing to bet a lot that he was wrong. “Why wouldn’t it be? You’ve taught her that young love heals all. You’ve taught her that getting pregnant at seventeen is just the beginning of the adventure.”

“I’m not going to talk about this anymore,” he told her.

“Why? Because there’s only one point of view? Because only you get to be right? I actually hope I’m wrong, Hawk, because if I’m not, both of you are going to learn a hell of a lesson.”

He stared at her. “What is this really about?”

“What?”

“You have an agenda. You must. You’re putting way too much energy into my daughter’s personal life. What’s your real problem?”

She couldn’t believe it. She was just trying to help. To be a friend. But could he see that? Of course not.

“You’re my problem,” she told him. “I’m going home.”

She walked to the front door, half expecting him to follow her and tell her to wait. That they could talk about the situation and find common ground. But he didn’t.

NICOLE CAME HOME from work in as crabby a mood as she’d left that morning. Nothing specific had gone wrong-she just felt out of sorts with the world.

She knew the cause was her stupid fight with Hawk, which bugged her. It wasn’t like they’d gotten really angry with each other. They’d just disagreed. So what? People did that all the time. Why would she care more when the other party was him?

But she did care and that bugged her even more.

She walked into the house through the back door and heard the sound of voices and laughter. Raoul was there with his friends.

In her present mood she wasn’t excited about a house full of teenagers, but she’d given him permission. It wasn’t like any of them were doing anything wrong.

She debated a glass of wine to help her relax, but it was too early and she didn’t want to drink in front of the teenagers. So she settled on chocolate, always a good soother. She poured M &Ms into a bowl and grabbed a diet soda. After all, balance was important.