Chapter 51 Hannah
HANNAH
Thomas has his hand pressed against my back as we walk up the front steps of his parents’ house. It’s a cute two-story house with flowers decorating the front porch.
“I know this is hard for you,” Thomas says, rubbing my back soothingly. “But I am here for you. I’ll be by your side the whole time if you need me to.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, unable to raise my voice higher than that.
Thomas doesn’t knock on the door, entering without any preamble. He guides me into the entryway where we kick off our shoes. The low chattering of voices gets louder as we walk into the living room.
The room is filled with people, some I recognize and some I don’t. Gramps is sitting on the couch, Josie on his right side, and there’s a small bundle in his arms, which must be the new baby. Two young girls are standing in front of him, wide smiles on their faces.
“Hey guys,” Thomas greets.
All conversation ceases as heads swivel to us. I wince internally as eyes take us in.
I try to smile, to wave and greet them, but nothing comes out. Thomas reaches down, taking my hand. He squeezes my palm, looking down at me with a smile. He mouths, “You’ve got this.” and I know that I do. With him by my side, I can do this.
“Thomas!” people call, and the two young girls run across the room to him, wrapping their arms around his legs in a giant hug.
He laughs, scruffing their hair and bending down to give them proper hugs. I let go of his hand for a moment, and step back, only to be met face to face with Thomas’s mother.
“Hi, honey,” she says gently, holding out her hand. “I’m Nikki.”
“Hi,” I reply, my voice soft as my heart beats loudly in my ears. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“You too.” I shake her hand, but barely another moment passes and Thomas is by my side again.
“Mom,” he greets, holding his arms out for her and giving her a hug. They embrace for a moment, and I stand next to him, too afraid to branch out even a little and say hi to the people I’ve met before.
Tears run down Nikki’s cheeks as they pull apart, and she swipes at her cheeks. “Oh, my boy, I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’m home now,” Thomas soothes, stepping back and taking my hand again. We walk further into the room, and Nikki introduces me as Thomas’s fiancée to the group.
There’s a lot of people here, and while I recognize a lot of them, It’s still a little nerve-racking.
Nikki introduces me to her husband, Richard, and the neighbors, Gabriel and Jane.
They’re both older couples, and it takes a moment to sink in that they more than likely knew my parents.
Why wouldn’t they? Julia and Thomas are the same age, and I think Marley has an older brother the same age as him, too.
The realization hits me harder than I expected.
Thomas sits down on an empty couch, pulling me down next to him.
I sit on the couch beside him, wanting so badly to curl up into his body, but I don’t.
I sit straight, only holding his hand as I take in all of these people.
Marley and Beau are in the corner playing with their twins, Fallon and Jason sit side by side on the floor against the other couch, and everyone relaxes into easy conversation.
The focus isn’t all on me, and for that, I appreciate them.
Perhaps Thomas warned them about my social anxiety, or maybe they don’t feel the need to interrogate me, but it’s nice.
I feel like I can slip into the conversations as they happen, and not feel pressured to be involved or come up with answers on the spot.
Everyone chats for a bit, every so often asking Thomas questions about our time away. He deflects to me a few times for answers, including me in the conversation, but otherwise, I stay quiet.
Fifteen minutes later, a timer goes off, and Nikki and Richard head into the kitchen, the two young girls who I’ve figured out are Fallon and Jason’s daughters, Presley and Lennie, following.
They call out to us and everyone starts to shuffle into the dining room.
Thomas holds me behind, only speaking when everyone is out of hearing range.
“How are you doing, baby?” he asks, pushing a strand of hair away from my face.
I nod. “I’m okay, I think. It’s a lot, but everyone is so nice.”
“They are. They love you already.”
I withhold the scoff that wants to escape. How could they love me already? I’ve been here thirty minutes, and in that time, I have barely said ten words.
“Don’t give me that look, Hannah,” Thomas scolds.
“What look?” I retort, furrowing my brows.
“The look that says you don’t believe me. It took me weeks to get you to stop making that face every time I called you beautiful, but don’t worry. I’ll break you of the habit here, too. They love you. How could they not?”
“They hardly know me.”
“You’re easy to love, Hannah.” Thomas cups my cheek, swiftly kissing my lips, not giving me time to process his words before leading me into the large dining room.
A huge wooden table takes over the room, with more than enough room for everyone at the table, including high chairs. I have no idea how it’s possible to make a table this big, but then I suppose Andrew made it, so it makes sense that he could do a custom size like this.
Thomas pulls out a handmade chair for me, and sits down beside me. A bowl of fruit is passed around, and Thomas scoops some onto my plate and his, passing it along to Jason on his other side. Gramps is on my right, pouring a very large amount of sugar into his coffee.
The ham and cheese egg bake is passed around, and everyone takes one or two squares, dishing up plates for the kids and Andrew dishes up for Josie, who is holding baby Cooper.
Once everyone is eating, conversation continues throughout the group again. I pick up on random bits and pieces of it as I munch on the food, trying not to draw attention to myself. Thomas chats with everyone, telling them about Ron and Dottie, and all the animals, including the chaotic Dave.
Everyone laughs, the young girls loving the stories.
A piece of me misses the safe house and the secluded world that Ron and Dottie provided, but an even bigger piece is loving being home.
I’m loving the fact that Thomas and I are getting back to our normal lives, despite my earlier freak out about it.
We both go back to work tomorrow, and I cannot wait.
I’ve missed Miles, and I look forward to chatting with him and hearing what I’ve missed in these last six weeks.
"So, kiddo, you ready to get back to work?” Gramps asks, nudging my shoulder and pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Oh, yes,” I reply, pushing the food around my plate. “I was actually just thinking about that.”
“You’re good at your job,” he says with a wink.
“Thanks,” I laugh. “Have you been staying out of trouble?”
“Sure have,” he responds.
“You sure about that?” Thomas joins in.
“I’m offended,” Gramps replies. “It’s not my fault I have poor balance in the morning.”
“I think you did it on purpose,” Thomas replies, resting his arm around the back of my chair, his fingers resting on my shoulder, drawing patterns on my skin.
“You think I fell on my ass on purpose so I could get you out to my apartment with a pretty young girl who is perfect for you?” Gramps says, his voice feigning shock.
“I think you did, but I don’t know how to prove it,” Thomas states, pointing his fork at his grandfather. Meanwhile, I’m trying to hold back my laughter.
There’s really no way he fell on purpose on the off chance that I was on duty and arrived at the scene with his grandson, but I suppose with a man like Earl, you never know what he’s capable of.
After we clean up from brunch, we all make our way back into the living room, and this time, Thomas and I sit next to each other on the floor.
He pulls me into his body, and I lean against him.
Josie strides across the room. “Do you want to hold him, Hannah?” she asks, and if she didn’t say my name, I would honestly be questioning if she asked me, or not.
“Um, sure,” I reply, holding out my arms. She places the swaddled infant into my arms, and I pull him close to my chest. It’s been a long time since I’ve held a baby, but it all comes right back to me.
Cooper makes little noises, and I can’t help but stare at him.
Thomas rests his head on my shoulder, staring at his nephew.
He’s the perfect mix of Andrew and Josie, but I can see little hints of all the brothers in him.
He has Thomas’s nose, Beau’s brow line, and Jason’s ears.
It’s fascinating to see how genetics come into play.
“He’s so cute,” I whisper.
“Isn’t he?” Thomas answers, kissing the side of my neck.
A new voice distracts me from staring at Cooper. “Are you going to be my new Auntie?”
Lennie. She’s about six, if I remember correctly.
“Umm,” I pause, unsure of what to say.
“Someday, Lennie,” Thomas answers for me, but his reply only makes my heart stutter. He’s said that he wants marriage and life with me, but hearing him say so casually that I’m going to be an aunt to his niece someday, really brings it all into focus, makes it real.
“Soon?” she questions.
Presley joins her at her side. She’s a bit taller than Lennie, and her dirty blonde hair is wavier. They aren’t sisters by blood, but they are in all the ways that count. “Hannah, you’re really pretty,” Presley announces, garnering the attention of the entire room.
I swallow thickly. “Thanks, Presley. So are you, sweetie.”
“My mom said you were really pretty, but I didn’t believe her until you were here. She was right.”
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she,” Thomas adds, kissing my cheek.
I wish I could hide away from the sudden attention, but I’m holding Cooper, so I can’t even fidget with my hands.
I smile awkwardly, and Presley sits down at my right side. Her fingers twirl around the soft red hair on Cooper’s head.
Arlo, one of Marley and Beau’s twins, walks unsteadily toward us. He flops down into Thomas’s lap, leaning over to place one of his tubby hands on Cooper’s stomach.
“Baby,” he says in his own baby talk.
“You’re right,” Thomas replies. “Baby Cooper.”
Arlo scoots closer to me, and I think he’s trying to get a better look at the baby, so I adjust him so he can see better, but instead, he tries to push Cooper from my arms. “My,” he says, pushing at Cooper.
“Arlo, gentle hands,” Marley says, scooting over to us.
“My,” he repeats, this time, landing in my lap and settling in. I shift Cooper to one side, wrapping my arm around Arlo with my free arm. Arlo nuzzles his head into my chest. Did he want me?
I look up to Marley, who has a camera in her hands.
“Can I?” she asks, and I nod, smiling. She takes a few pictures of us, all wrapped in Thomas’s big arms. Arlo curls into me, repeating “my” every few minutes when someone tries to bring his attention elsewhere.
Not even his sister can get him away from me.
Marley takes Cooper, and I figure that Arlo will go with her, following wherever the baby goes, but instead, he curls further into me, his little fingers clasping at my shirt.
“I think I might have to fight my nephew for you,” Thomas jokes.
“I thought he wanted the baby,” I say.
“Nope. He wanted you. I knew he did. Like I said, you’re easy to love. Everyone can see it.”