Epilogue
I never really minded the long away stretches during the season, but now I hate knowing Hannah’s home alone just waiting for me. I don’t know how JJ does it. She told me she was fine spending time with the girls, but I could hear it in her voice that some nights she found it hard, especially the night Calgary had a thunderstorm. I told her to go to the ranch and that my mom and sister would love to have her over, but she didn’t want to impose herself. The next day though, she said she was spending the next storm at the ranch.
I can’t wait to be home, in my bed, with her cuddled up against me where she belongs. I also can’t wait for her to agree to move in with me. I asked her once and she said it was too quick, whatever that means, and since then I’ve been dropping hints at every opportunity, but she still hasn’t budged.
“You ready to see your girl?” Levi asks me, pulling me out of my thoughts as the players ahead of us start getting off the plane. I hadn’t even realized we’d landed.
“Fuck yeah!” I say. “I am not a fan of these long, away stretches anymore,” I say, earning me a laugh from Levi and a slap on the shoulder from JJ.
“Join the club,” JJ teases.
Finally, walking out of the airport after what feels like years, I spot Hannah leaning up against my truck looking hot as hell, waiting for me with a small smile on her face. And just like the first time I saw her, a weight I didn’t realize I was carrying was lifted off my shoulder.
“Hey there, Pretty Girl,” I softly say the moment she’s within arm’s reach. Without hesitation, she throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist.
“God, I’ve missed you,” she says, pulling away a little to slant her lips against mine for a kiss that cannot be considered appropriate to be seen in public.
Right on cue, I hear Levi say, “Get a room! Preferably not at my place!” This makes Hannah drop her legs and pull away from me blushing.
“Let’s get you home,” I say, grabbing her hand and opening the passenger door for her. I can’t wait to be home. Surprisingly, Hannah doesn’t say much on the ride to my house. Usually she’s full of questions and stories of what I missed while I was away. I’ve had to make sure she wasn’t sleeping a couple of times. Finally, we get home and she’s out of the truck faster than I can say Home Sweet Home. I wonder if she’s feeling alright.
She’s already in the house by the time I grab my suitcase and make my way into the house. It doesn’t take long for me to find her though. She’s just leaning against the kitchen counter with Hagrid and Daisy beside her.
“Are you okay? You seem . . .” I start, but my eyes wander back to Daisy. What the . . . “What’s Daisy doing here?” I ask, completely confused. She’s never been in my kitchen. She always stays at Levi’s whenever Hannah stays here.
“Well, turns out she gets along great with Hagrid. Never wants to leave. We actually spent the last five nights cuddling in your bed,” she answers nonchalantly as if it’s a normal occurrence to have her cat in my home. “Sorry, cuddling in our bed,” she says, wagging a finger between her and me.
“Five nights . . . our bed? What are you talking about?” Instead of answering, she grabs Hagrid under her right arm and hooks her left around Daisy and makes her way upstairs with me trailing behind them, confused as ever. I swear this woman lives to keep me on her toes, and I swear it’s gotten worse the more time she spends with my little sister. I have to watch those two together.
“Hannah, what are you talking about? I’m not even going to pretend to know what’s going on right now,” I say, walking into my bedroom, where she’s sitting right in the middle of the bed, not a cat in sight, looking at me expectantly.
That’s when I noticed her light blue throw pillow up against my pillows and her favorite pink blanket carefully folded and placed at the foot of my bed. And the slippers that she religiously keeps at Levi’s house because his floors are so cold are carefully placed on the nightstand on what has become her side of the bed.
“What are those doing here?” I ask, pointing at the blanket and pillow.
“Well I figured I couldn’t just leave them at Levi’s place, they don’t really match his decor. Plus that’s my favorite blanket,” she answers me cryptically.
Did she move in? Holy shit, she moved in, I realized as I make my way towards her. “Is there anything you want to tell me?” I ask her, before climbing on my bed and lying on top of her until our noses are touching.
“Not that I can think of,” she says, flashing me a smirk before running her hands along the back of my neck, bringing my lips down to hers. As always, what started off as a sweet and innocent kiss, quickly turns into a mess of lips and tongues as hands roam freely.
I pull away to remove my shirt and to pull hers over her head, but the second her shirt clears her head she puts her hand on my chest keeping me away from her as she says, “Wait, grab the journal for me?”
“Right now?” I ask.
“Yes, right now. Please?” What the hell is she up to? Intrigued as to why she wants the journal instead of just telling me she moved in with me while I was away, she sits up and grabs a pen from the nightstand beside her. She holds up one hand for the journal and pats the bed beside her telling me to come sit with her.
“Are you gonna tell me what's going on now?” I ask, settling beside her as she opens the journal to the first page.
Looking at me with a big smile, she makes a show of opening the pen and crossing out item number three: Move in with Ian .