Chapter Three
Hanna arrived home and found her mom, Amelia, sitting at the kitchen table. She was shocked that her mother hadn’t fallen. The woman was so incredibly weak that she could barely hold a spoon anymore. She’d even pulled the IV stand with her.
“Mom, what are you doing? You should be in bed.”
“I need to go over this with you.”
Hanna set the bags down and looked over her mother’s shoulder. “What is it?”
“It’s my will.”
Oh, my God. She couldn’t deal with that right now, she thought. She was still getting over the fact that her mother was dying, and she had very little time left with her.
“Mom ... can’t we...”
“No. Hanna, I don’t want to upset you, but it won’t be long before I pass.”
“I can’t...”
Amelia turned to her daughter. “I need to do this, baby. I know it’s upsetting for you, but it’s one of the things I need to finish. It’s stressing me out, honey.”
Hanna gritted her teeth and pulled a chair beside her mom.
Her mother patted her hand. “Good. This will says that the ranch goes to you, but if you don’t want to live here, I have a few buyers interested.”
“What about Shasha?”
Amelia sighed. “Your sister has already received her inheritance. After your father left, she cleaned out my checking account.”
Hanna’s mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me?”
Amelia shook her head. “No. There was over ten thousand dollars in it.”
Hanna sat back, stunned. How could her sister do that to their mother? “Oh, my God. How in the hell was she able to do that?”
“I’m not sure, honey. But I don’t want you to worry about it now.”
“Has she done anything else?” Hanna asked.
“Yes. She’s also stolen things from the house. I had to change the locks a few times because she’d let herself in when I was gone and take the television or microwave.”
Hanna had a problem understanding everything. It was just too awful. Who did that to their mother?
“I wish you had come to me.”
Amelia smiled at Hanna. “You were getting your life together. You were engaged to Lucas and finishing school.”
“So? We could have made it work.”
Amelia gripped Hanna’s hand. “I took care of it. Now, enough of that. If it’s all right with you, I was going to give Shasha the car, but that’s it.”
“I like that idea. I don’t need it.” Her mother's car was a few years old, in good shape, and had low miles because she rarely drove it, so her sister should be pleased.
Amelia nodded. “Good. Everything in the house is yours.”
“Mama, I can’t stay here after ... you know.”
“I know, baby. There’s nothing for you here.”
Hanna nodded. “Does Shasha know about the will?”
Amelia nodded. “Yes, I told her. I don’t think she believed me, but she knows.”
“Is there anything else?”
Her mother shook her head. “No, that’s about it.”
Hanna watched her mother start to sag in the chair and stood to catch her.
She helped her mom up and walked her and the IV stand to the hospital bed on one side of the living room.
After making sure the older woman was comfortable and covered up, she bent forward and kissed her mom on the cheek.
“Get some rest. I’m going to make soup. We can talk about this later. ”
“I think I will. I’m going to need more morphine soon.”
“I’ll get it.” Hanna got the medicine from the back of her mother's kitchen utensil drawer. They’d had to hide it because they were afraid that if Shasha visited, she’d steal it. When she got back, her mom was dozing. She added the right amount to the IV before tucking the blanket around her.
She kissed her mother's forehead. “I love you, Mom.” But her mother didn’t hear because she was already asleep.
Hanna walked into the kitchen and started to unpack the grocery sacks. The sob caught her by surprise. She rushed into the bathroom, closed the door, sat on the toilet lid, and buried her face in a towel. She didn’t want her mother to hear her cry, but she couldn’t hold it for another moment.
She cried for several minutes until the tightness in her chest loosened. She took several deep breaths before she stood and washed her face with cold water. She glanced at herself in the mirror above the sink and cringed. Her face was blotchy, and her eyes were red and swollen.
“I will make it through this,” she vowed to herself as she stared at her image in the mirror.
“I’ve survived the bullies in school, the abuse my father inflicted when he was drunk, going off to college by myself, marrying, and then losing my husband after only two years.
I need to be strong enough to keep Mom comfortable until she goes. ”
The picture of Blake suddenly appeared in her head.
It startled her so much that she gasped.
She was confused. A crazy thought popped into her head that she almost wished she had Blake there to support her, and she didn’t know where that came from.
He’d be the last person to want to help her, and she knew she didn’t have it in her to ask.
She walked back into the kitchen and started the soup. After the pot was full, she put it on the back burner to simmer for an hour. Her mother probably wouldn’t eat much of it, but it was healthy and easy to digest.
After checking on her mother, she went out to her car and got a change of clothing.
She’d learned the hard way that if she kept anything in the house, her sister would take it, so she kept everything but what she was wearing in her SUV.
She’d bring her small bag in with all her cosmetics, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion, use what she needed, and put it back in the locked vehicle.
She only left out her toothbrush and paste, but she had extra if Shasha took it.
She changed into her sweats and the t-shirt she slept in, then put her dirty clothes in her car. She kept them in a bag for when she had enough for a load to wash.
She checked her mom, sat in the recliner, and picked up the book she was reading.
It took nearly thirty minutes for her to realize she hadn’t read a single word.
Her thoughts were filled with Blake. Damn, he looked good.
Even more handsome and manly than she remembered.
There was not a trace of the boyish look left.
His five o’clock shadow had something to do with that.
She couldn’t remember him having whiskers in high school.
He had a muscular build, but now his chest seemed twice as wide.
Even his face had filled out and had become harder and more masculine.
Hanna needed to stop thinking about him. He wanted nothing to do with her, and frankly, she couldn’t take any of his snide comments. She was too close to the breaking point. She glanced at her mom.
She wondered how long her mother had—a day, a week, maybe a month?
At her last appointment, the doctor told her it could happen at any time.
The cancer had spread through her body and was in her brain and liver.
It was Hanna’s job to take her home and keep her comfortable until the end. The less pain her mom felt, the better.
Mercifully, she was able to work anywhere. She was a graphic designer and only needed her computer. Her boss had been very sympathetic and told her she didn’t need to go into the office until after her mom passed.
Hanna thought she should get her computer out of her SUV, but was too tired to do any work.
She’d even had a locked box bolted down in the back and kept everything of value locked inside.
She didn’t trust her sister not to break into her vehicle.
She knew the alarm would go off, and it was incredibly loud, so she knew it would wake her, and she’d have a few seconds to race outside and catch her sister.
She knew she’d try to do something like that. She just didn’t know when.