Chapter 8
Hannah
“I got a call on my way here today,” I told my mother as we were eating breakfast at her house the next morning. “From Annelise Kendrick. She said she’s desperate to get her hair cut and her nails done for an appearance in New York. She wants to fly in and out the same day, so she won’t have a lot of time to get anything done in New York. She asked me to come to her place tomorrow.”
I’d nearly choked when I’d answered the phone.
I was used to having influential clients, but not someone as uber famous as Annelise Kendrick. The Annelise Kendrick.
To be honest, she’d sounded…nice. And she’d actually introduced herself as Anna Remington.
My mother smiled broadly as she stirred berries into her oatmeal. “That’s wonderful, Hannah. You’ll like Kaleb’s wife. I’ve met Anna several times. She’s a sweet girl, and Millie treats her daughter-in-law like she’s an adopted daughter to her. Were you able to take the appointment?”
That sounded like something Tanner’s mother would do.
I’d always adored the woman myself.
“Of course I took it,” I assured her. “I can’t think of anyone who would turn down an appointment with someone like her. I’ll be there for a while. Lauren Collier is going to be there, too, and Anna asked if I could squeeze Lauren in at the same time.”
I didn’t exactly have to juggle clients to get them on my schedule. I didn’t have much on the books for the next week.
Luckily, I had the money to afford being slow for a while.
I’d anticipated it, and my partners had paid me well for my part of our business.
Still, that money wouldn’t last forever, so building my business was becoming a priority now that my mother was well.
“You’ll love Anna,” my mother told me. “And you already know Lauren.”
I had a sneaking suspicion that Tanner had something to do with this sudden appointment, but I wasn’t about to complain because he or Kaleb had suggested that she use my services.
I took a bite of my whole grain bagel as I watched my mother eat her oatmeal.
No one would ever know that she’d just recovered from heart surgery.
She was in great shape because she exercised every day, and I’d just colored her hair to a pretty silver blonde color, and cut it into a stylish, shorter cut that suited her face.
“Why is it that you never really dated after you lost Dad?” I asked her curiously. “You were still a young woman when he died.”
She’d always been an attractive woman, and still was at the age of seventy.
She shrugged. “Probably for the same reason you didn’t date much in Seattle. I never found another man that I wanted to share my life with. I had you and Sweet Mornings to keep me busy. Your father was my soulmate. If I couldn’t have the same kind of relationship again, I didn’t want to settle for something mediocre. I’ve always preferred to be alone. I’m content with my life as it is.”
That was true. Her life was full of activities and friends, and she’d never really seemed lonely.
“I dated in Seattle,” I informed her.
She sent me a glance that only a mother could give to her daughter. “Once or twice in seven years. You call that dating?”
“I tried,” I said with a sigh. “My heart just wasn’t into it. I think I needed time to get over Tanner.”
Ultimately, every man I’d tried to date got compared to what I’d had with Tanner. Not intentionally, but that spark had just never been there with anyone else.
I hadn’t slept with another man since Tanner, but I wasn’t about to discuss my sex life with my mother.
“Are you sure you ever really got over Tanner?” my mother asked, concerned. “I heard that you two were at The Mug And Jug last night together.”
I rolled my eyes. I’d forgotten how fast the gossip could spread in this town.
“He wants to be friends,” I confessed.
“That would help your business here,” she said thoughtfully.
“I’m not sure I can be his friend,” I confided. “We have too much history. I’m not brokenhearted anymore, but I’m not sure I can get that close to Tanner.”
“Then let him be your friend,” she suggested. “The Remington boys have changed a lot over the years, but you don’t have to give him your trust right away. He needs to work to earn it after the way he treated you.”
“He didn’t always treat me that way,” I said wistfully.
“Which is the only reason I’m telling you to let him prove himself,” she answered. “He was good to you for a long time, until he lost his head over his company. He has his head on straight now. All of those boys have been there for Millie since their father died, and they do a lot for the people in this town. It took a while, but they all grew up. How did it go when you saw Tanner last night?”
“He acted like the old Tanner, sort of,” I admitted. “In fact, he was probably more thoughtful than he’s ever been, but it’s impossible for me to forget what happened, Mom. The breakup wasn’t entirely his fault. I needed to grow up, too. But it was a really painful time in my life that I’d like to just forget.”
“I don’t think you’ll ever completely forget it,” my mother mused. “But better memories with him now might help drown out the old stuff. Tanner hasn’t dated another woman since you two broke up, Hannah. Maybe he never really showed it, but I think he was probably heartbroken, too.”
I looked at her in surprise. “He hasn’t been with anyone?”
I hated myself for asking for that clarification, but I wanted to know.
Tanner had a very healthy sexual appetite, and it was hard to believe that he hadn’t been with another woman for that damn long.
She shook her head. “Not that I know of, and Millie would know. She’s itching for grandchildren. She’s hopeful now that Kaleb is married, but I think she’s given up on Tanner and Devon.”
“It’s not like he hasn’t dated because he’s been pining over me,” I said drily. “It’s been over seven years, Mom.”
She raised a brow. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes,” I said emphatically. “He just wants to be my friend. He’s trying to help set the record straight in this town.”
“And do you plan on letting him be your friend?” she probed.
“I’m going to ride bikes with him today. He has extra bikes at his house,” I said reluctantly because I knew she’d misinterpret the outing as something more than what it was. “But that’s it. I miss my bike, and I’d rather not be twiddling my thumbs in my apartment.”
“You still think he’s hot, baby girl,” my mother informed me.
“Mom,” I groaned. This was not the kind of conversation that I wanted to have with my mother.
“Don’t deny it,” she insisted.
“There isn’t a single woman in the world who wouldn’t think that Tanner Remington is attractive,” I argued. “But that doesn’t mean that I want to jump in bed with him again. It just means that I’m not blind.”
“I think that’s why you’re afraid of being friends with him,” she said. “I think you’ve forgiven him for being a jerk, but you’d rather avoid that lingering attraction. Honestly, I don’t blame you for being cautious.”
“Don’t you think it’s wiser to avoid him?” I asked curiously.
“Not necessarily,” she disagreed. “Always doing the safe thing can make you miss out on opportunities in life.”
“What does that mean?” I asked her, perplexed.
She reached out and took my hand. “That means that you need to figure out for yourself how much risk you’re willing to take in your personal life, baby girl. I don’t want to see you get hurt again, but I want to see you happy. That’s a tough spot for a mother to be in. There’s a big part of me that wants you to stay safe, but there’s also part of me that wants you to be fearless so you get everything you deserve in life.”
I squeezed her hand. “Well, I don’t want Tanner Remington. He’s my past, not my future.”
She smiled at me. “Then let him be your friend. Have fun with him. You haven’t done anything for yourself since you left Seattle. You’ve been too busy taking care of me. I feel guilty about that.”
“Don’t,” I told my mother adamantly. “You’ve taken care of me for my entire life. And you’re so stubborn that you didn’t let me do very much when I was staying here with you after your surgery. You also had a lot of friends who were eager to take care of anything you needed.”
Mom sighed. “Living in a small town can be exhausting sometimes. All of the gossip and everyone knowing your business. But it also has advantages. People help each other in Crystal Fork. It’s not like that in the big cities.”
Crystal Fork was an interesting town.
The people here were loyal to each other when one of their own needed help.
On the other hand, they had no problem gossiping about each other.
“There isn’t a lot to do in this town except trade news about each other,” I said jokingly.
My mother rose and picked up her dishes to take them to the kitchen. “I suppose that’s true, but I’ve always liked the security of knowing my neighbors.”
There were good things and bad things about Crystal Fork, but overall, the heart of this town was good.
There were a lot of people like Silas and Charlie here.
I just wished those other people were always as openminded and as observant as they were most of the time.
“I’d better get going,” I told her as I took my dishes to the dishwasher and loaded them. “You have to get ready to go out, and I told Tanner that I’d head out to his place around eleven.”
Mom turned to me. “Have fun, and don’t overthink this whole situation with Tanner. I know this move from Seattle back to Crystal Fork hasn’t been easy for you, Hannah. I want you to have friends. I want you to have fun. I just want you to be happy.”
I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her, grateful that this woman was my mother.
I leaned back and kissed her cheek. “I’m happy,” I told her honestly. “I have you here. It’s just taking some time for me to adjust.”
Mom patted my cheek gently. “You need more than just your mother. Try to be nice to Tanner and give him a chance. I’m not defending what he did or how he acted, but we all make some stupid mistakes sometimes.”
I stepped back and scooped up my keys and my purse from the kitchen counter. “Are you saying I should forgive him?”
“Maybe not yet,” she mused. “But maybe you could give him a shot at proving himself. It seems like he’s trying awfully hard to make things up to you.”
My mother had always adored Tanner, so her suggestion didn’t really surprise me.
“It’s just a bike ride and a day in each other’s company,” I reminded her. “I’m not saying we can actually be friends.”
“You won’t know unless you try it out,” she said softly. “Just…be careful.”
“I’m always careful,” I said with a smile. “I’ll stop into Sweet Mornings before I go to my appointment tomorrow. Call me if you need help. And no more trying to set me up to see Tanner again.”
“No need,” she said saucily as she headed for her bedroom. “That plan already worked out extremely well. You and Tanner have been seen together, and people will realize that the two of you have no hard feelings. That gossip will spread fast.”
I let out an exasperated breath, but I was smiling as I headed out the door.