Savage Redemption (3rd in Savage Series)

Chapter Five

"Why are you so tense and on edge?" Lily asked her husband as he paced back and forth on the porch. Sarah thought it was great fun as she marched behind him but Lily was getting dizzy watching the two of them.

"I am not tense or on edge." Hawke replied as his pace increased. Allie looked up from the book she was reading and nodded.

"Yes you are. You always pace when you're tense about something." she said. Hawke stopped pacing instantly and Sarah laughed when she ran headfirst into the back of his long legs.

"Do it again, daddy!" she exclaimed. Hawke shook his head and tousled her thick black curls.

"I am going to go hunting." he said. He gave both Sarah and Lily a gentle kiss to the forehead and then laid a gentle hand on Lily's slightly rounded belly before walking off the porch and into the woods with Wolf beside him.

"Janna stay." he told the excitable beast as she tried to follow him as well. "Protect." he added while pointing back at the porch. Janna turned and started back toward the cabin only to be distracted by a butterfly as it glided on the breeze past her nose. Hawke shook his head and walked away as she chased and snapped at the poor insect.

He didn't really need to hunt but his mind had been racing for weeks and he was beginning to lose his sanity. He had not told Lily or Allie that Jack was coming home and waiting on the boy to show up was testing his patience and resolve. Should he tell his wife and sister-in-law? Of course he should. He knew he should but that did not change the fact that he wasn't going to.

Maybe it was because Hawke was scared that the boy wouldn't really show up. Lily and Allie had both cried for a long time after Jack had left and though neither of them had talked about him or mentioned his name in years Hawke knew they still missed him. He didn't want to get their hopes up and have the boy let them down yet again.

Hawke tried to say that he didn't care whether the boy came or not but he knew he was lying to himself. Hawke thought about Jack nearly everyday. Hawke had always loved silence and quiet but he found he missed Jack's nearly constant rambling when he was out in these woods hunting and trapping alone.

Hawke shook his head to clear his thoughts and focus on hunting. Lily would know without a doubt that something was bothering him if he came home empty handed.

888

"Gavin is going to be arriving tomorrow." Lily said keeping her voice light and carefree as if she was talking about the weather. She watched Allie's face to judge her reaction and she didn't miss the tightening of her jaw or the widening of her eyes as she looked down at her book.

"Yeah he is." Allie replied. Lily looked back down at the hole she was mending in one of Hawke's shirts.

"Have you thought about what he asked you?" she asked innocently. Allie let out an irritated sigh and laid her book in her lap.

"That is ALL I have thought about." she replied.

"So…."

"So what? What am I going to do?" Allie demanded. "You sure are nosey today."

"I'm not nosey, I'm your sister and I'm worried about you. You don't act happy and when the man you love asks you to be his wife, you're supposed to be happy."

"I'm happy as hell." Allie replied as she stood up.

"That's a bad word." Sarah scolded, looking up from her dolls. Allie smiled down at the girl.

"Sorry." she said with a shrug. Then she looked back at her sister.

"I am happy. I'm just not sure yet that I'm ready to get married. I mean Gavin and I haven't spent a whole lot of time together. How do I know he's the man I'm supposed to marry?"