Chapter 37 – Hannah
It's Wednesday night, which means only one thing: BOOK CLUB! We’re on week two of our Hockey romance, A Slap Happy Shot to The Heart. Cheesy name, even cheesier book. It’s like one of those cliché Christmas movies. It's so bad that you can’t stop reading, knowing the train wreck is inevitable.
The door swings open, and Greyson walks in with one of those foam ten-gallon hats on, “Howdy, pretty lady.” He says it with the most horrific country accent I’ve ever heard while twirling his pretend mustache. Tate is standing behind him, looking so painfully unamused. What is happening, and how are these two so vastly different? Abby walks around the corner and stops short as she takes in the scene in front of us.
“Yeah, there’s not enough alcohol in this house for me to touch whatever this is with a ten-foot pole.” She turns on her heel and walks back towards her room. Looking over my shoulder at Greyson, silently asking if he could fill in the gaps for me, he just shrugs and puts the boxes of pizza on the island before wrapping me up in a big hug.
“Why, darlin’, you are looking mighty fine tonight.” I pull the tip of his hat down and kiss him deeply. I missed him; they’ve been gone for the past five days, and while we talk on the phone every night, it’s not the same as being with each other. The time, the distance, it messes with your head sometimes.
Luckily, he talked me down from my freakout a few nights ago. It’s hard to retrain your brain, but I have a feeling it will all be worth it in the end. At some point, you have to stop being the victim in your own life, pull on your boots and shovel some crap.
“Missed you, handsome.” He opens his mouth to speak but stops when the door slams open. I jump and hide behind him, thinking someone’s breaking into the apartment.
“What the hell are you wearing, Wilder?” I know that voice peeking around Greyson; my doorway is filled with Hawks players. Their hands are filled with food and drinks, and. Freaking jumping jackrabbits; they all have copies of the book we’re reading.
Straightening out from behind my hiding spot, I put my hands on my hips and tap my foot like I’m irritated. “What is going on here?” Samuels literally jumps up from his place in the middle of the pack, his head appearing and then disappearing with each jump.
“Wilder told us about book club. We assume our invitations got lost in the mail. So here we are; this book is awful, by the way.”
I crack a smile, “Yeah, Greyson picked this one. Our last one was about a hot cowboy. It was magical.” Suddenly, a book goes flying across the room, smacking Grey in the chest.
“What the heck was that for?” He whines as he rubs circles over where the book hit him.
“You made us miss out on hot cowboys?! What were you thinking? You just yee’d your last haw , Wilder. Out of the circle of trust! I mean, I shared my face masks with you, but you couldn’t share your hot cowboys with me? I thought we were friends.” Oh, Monroe. Always the class clown.
I’ve never seen such a death stare on Greyson’s face. Abby appears in the hallway, I’m assuming, to see what all the ruckus out here is. She pales as she sees all the men standing in our living room. Tate has his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the opposite wall, and gives them a tight nod of acknowled gment.
“Abby! How could you keep the hot cowboys from us?! We’re supposed to be a family.” Andrews sticks out his bottom lip and pouts like a child.
“Wilder, your book-picking privileges have been revoked. I’ll freaking show you slap happy.” Before anyone could move, Reed smacks Greyson in the back of the head. Abby quickly covers her mouth to hide her laughter. Tate’s face doesn’t move, but his eyes shine just a bit brighter, and Greyson is standing there in shock.
“Hunt is the gold standard for boyfriends everywhere,” Abby says with no-nonsense in her tone. There’s a whine from the group of men that have moved to spread out between the couch and our dining room table. I turn around; Monroe has his knuckles in his mouth.
“You alright over there, Monroe?”
He shakes his head quickly back and forth before huffing. “You guys seriously read Hell or High Water and didn’t invite us?” Samuels and Reed gasped.
“You guys suck!” Andrews calls from the other side of the room, his hands cupping his mouth to make his voice louder. All at once, it hits me like a ton of bricks. This is it; this is what I’ve wanted my entire life.
I’ve wanted a place to belong; I’ve wanted someone to love me for me, not for what I did or could do. I’ve wanted a family, one who is there for me time and time again, people to joke and laugh with. People who actively choose to be part of my life, not because they have to be, but because they want to be. They see me, they know me. And that’s enough for them.
The guys are taking turns reading the parts of the two main characters while we stuff our faces with pizza, chips, and mozzarella sticks. My heart is so full, and I find myself finally understanding what Megan has told me time and time again. “Family is more than blood. It takes heart; it’s the constant decision to be present in people’s lives, to help shoulder the burdens they struggle to carry alone.”
I lean against Greyson; he wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me in closer. Leaning my head on his shoulder, I watch the chaos that is now ‘Framily Book Club’ with a smile on my face. “Thank you for showing me I’m worthy of love, for not giving up on me when I gave up on myself. You are the best man I’ve ever known, Greyson Wilder.”
He kisses the top of my head, at the same time, he squeezes my hand, “I love you, Hannah Lowery,” his eyes well up as he looks down at me. “You saved me from myself, you gave me something to fight for, and you best believe I’ll fight for you and for us as long as there’s breath in my lungs.”
I settle back against him, watching as food gets thrown across the room. Harley darting in every direction to pick up the scraps. And for the first time in what might be ever, I simply exist. Wrapped in the arms of a man who loves me, surrounded by people we’re lucky enough to call friends, I can’t think of anything better.
Life is good.
Life is beautiful.
Life is so much better on the other side of wild.
The end.