Chapter Sixteen
“Uh, do you have the manual there?” Hannah called to River, as she carried over an armful of lightbulbs, stakes and a couple boxes of screws.
“I think Bailey has it on her phone,” River called back, pulling a face as she reached Hannah. “It’s one of those downloadable ones.”
“Oh, they’re the worst.” Hannah sighed. “Why can’t they put a paper manual in the box?”
“My thoughts exactly,” Bailey cut in as she followed River out of the main entrance to the lodge.
“I printed it out. Here, let’s see where we need to get started.” Bailey appeared from behind them.
Hannah grinned as the women joined her along the edge of the path they were working on today.
Together, they were setting up some solar-powered lights that would lead the way through the darkness if there were any issues with the generators again.
It had been River’s idea, and Hannah had agreed to help her at once.
After the tumble she’d taken, even though it just scraped up her knees, she didn’t want anyone else to possibly come to harm if the power went out again.
None of them really knew what they were doing, but between the three of them, she knew they’d figure it all out and get them working in no time.
She had been working and living alongside River and Bailey for months now, and having the women around felt like second nature to her.
They had become close in their time together, and though Hannah knew eventually they would likely move on to other things, she was glad for their company.
Especially now. It had been nearly a week since she and Xavier had been driven off the road, and she was still trying to wrap her head around it.
They were no closer to finding out who might have done it or why.
And it had left Hannah feeling spooked and worried.
She was looking over her shoulder all the time now, waiting for something else to happen, worried she wouldn’t be able to stop it if it did.
Putting in the solar lights was as much an attempt to get her mind on to something more useful as it was to make a difference around the lodge, and River seemed to know that Hannah needed something to distract her.
As they laid out their tools and started to read through the instructions, River glanced over at Hannah, a concerned expression on her face. “You all right?” she murmured quietly.
Hannah sighed. River was perceptive when it came to people’s emotions, and it was clear she had good reason to be concerned about Hannah.
Hannah shook her head. “Not really,” she admitted. “I… These last few days have just been a lot, that’s all.”
“I can imagine,” River agreed as Bailey dropped the instructions and joined the conversation.
“We’re doing everything we can to get to the bottom of it,” Bailey assured her.
Hannah managed to smile at her. “Yeah, I know,” she replied. “And I appreciate it, I really do. It’s just that… Well, it’s not just me I’m worried about.”
“Oh?” River prompted her, curious.
“No. Xavier, too,” Hannah admitted. “He’s been having these…nightmares. I think what happened to us out on the road is really getting to him. I just wish there was more that I could do to help.”
River and Bailey exchanged a glance, and Bailey cocked an eyebrow. “Nightmares?”
“Yeah, there’s just been a lot going on lately.
Between the recent fire, the generators and then the crash…
” Hannah trailed off, trying to answer without divulging details.
She knew that the others there at the sanctuary knew Xavier had troubles in his past, but it wasn’t her story to share.
If he wanted everyone to know the particulars, that was his choice.
She wasn’t going to break his trust in her.
“He just feels responsible for everyone here, you know?”
“Understandable. So, that’s why he’s been seeing Sarah?” River asked.
“River!” Bailey protested her nosiness. “That’s not our business.”
“No, that’s okay,” Hannah tried to ease the rising tension. “It’s just not for me to discuss. I’ve been trying to help, but I can only do so much.”
“That explains the nightly visits, then.” Bailey waggled her eyebrows at Hannah.
“Bailey!” River scolded her in return. “That’s not the issue here.”
Hannah snort-laughed at them both under her breath. She reminded herself that they wouldn’t be so nosy if they didn’t care about her and Xavier.
“Hey, I’m just saying, I’ve seen Xavier come out of your cabin every day this week,” Bailey replied, holding her hands up. “I wondered if that meant the two of you had finally done something about…well, the obvious.”
“What’s obvious?” Hannah asked, but she couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“How much the two of you like each other,” Bailey explained. “I mean, it’s written all over your faces whenever the two of you are together.”
“Is it?” Hannah replied, laughing.
“Yeah, come on, even Lawson can tell,” River pointed out.
Hannah glanced back toward the lodge building. Yeah, she had to assume that her brother had figured out what was going on between Xavier and her.
After the crash, Lawson had tried to talk to her, but she’d shut him down and then left with Xavier.
So, even if he didn’t know specifics, he had to suspect.
But, surprisingly, he hadn’t confronted her yet.
She hoped to keep it that way for a bit longer, they all had enough to worry about right now.
“I think we’re giving it a real shot this time,” Hannah confessed.
River reached out to give her arm an excited squeeze. “Oh, I’m so happy for you guys,” she gushed.
Bailey chuckled. “Plus, I think that means I’ve won the betting pool,” she added.
Hannah’s eyebrows shot up. “The betting pool? On when we were going to get together? Don’t tell me that was a real thing!”
“It isn’t,” River assured her. “We’re just happy for you, that’s all. The two of you deserve it.”
“Thanks,” Hannah replied. She felt her cheeks get warm from all this attention, but honestly, it felt good to share how thrilled she was about what they had going on. It had been crazy, these last few months, but if there was one thing she was sure of among all of the madness, it was him.
It had always been him.
“Anyway, we need to get these lights set up,” Bailey announced, crouching down on her haunches and grabbing a screwdriver. “River, can you hold this in place while I screw it in?”
“Oh, why don’t you get Hannah to do that?” River joked. “She’s the expert after all.”
“Huh—hey!” Hannah’s cheeks warmed as she protested, and all three women burst out laughing.
Hannah could already feel herself starting to relax, starting to believe that everything was actually going to be okay.
No matter what the outside world threw at them, Warrior Peak had a solid base of people who pulled together when they needed each other most, and she was beyond grateful that she was a part of it.
They set to work putting together the lights.
It was a pleasant day, one of the first of the year, with the sun attempting to peep out from behind some clouds.
It took a few attempts to get the lights right.
Hannah managed to put the first one in back to front, and they had to take it apart and start all over again, but soon, they got into a pace and had almost filled one side of the path with new lighting.
As Hannah straightened up to catch her breath, she noticed someone wandering out of the main entrance.
And as soon as she saw who it was, she felt herself tense.
Jed. She’d almost forgotten about him in the midst of everything else.
She wasn’t sure what it was about him, but there was a part of her that really didn’t like the way he strolled about this place.
She had tried to brush it off as best she could, not wanting to assume anything about a man she hardly knew, but it was getting harder and harder to ignore.
Most of the people here kept their heads down and focused on themselves when they first arrived, but he seemed intent on garnering the attention of anyone he was able to.
He made his way over to the women and greeted Hannah with a nod. “How’s your head?” he asked, smirking as he gestured toward the bandage still covering the wound from the accident.
She reached up to touch it—she had almost forgotten it was there. “It’s getting better, thanks,” she replied. “How are you doing?”
“Good,” he responded, that too-easy smile covering his face again as he looked between the three women. “It’s starting to feel like home here. Fresh air, good food. And when you’ve got a therapist who looks like that, how can you complain, right?”
He laughed, but none of the women did.
Hannah stared at him, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
How could he talk about Sarah like that?
She was amazing at her job. And yeah, she was beautiful, but it had nothing to do with the relationship she had with her clients.
Hearing him speak about her in that way… it didn’t sit right with her.
“Anyway, I’ll leave you ladies to it,” he remarked, and he headed down toward the cabin he was staying in.
Hannah waited until he was out of earshot. “Well, that was gross and uncalled for.”
“Wasn’t it?” Bailey agreed. “Why is he talking about Sarah like that? And to us.”
“He gives me the creeps,” River added. “I don’t like him. I haven’t liked him since he got here. It seems as if he’s just lurking around sometimes. Watching.”
“Really?” Hannah replied, relieved. So, it wasn’t just her who had noticed how off he seemed.
It wasn’t that he acted less nervous or insecure than most of the other guests.
While he did seem cockier and more self-assured, that didn’t necessarily bother her.
It probably wouldn’t have even stood out to her at all if it were anyone else.
“Yeah, I noticed him standing off path the other day, kind of back in the trees. Like he was watching something, or waiting. When he saw me, he turned around pretty quickly and walked off. It was weird.”
Hannah and Bailey exchanged a worried look at River’s words.
“Cade thought something seemed off about him, too,” River added. “The more I see of him, the more I think he was right to have his doubts about him. I definitely don’t want to be alone with him.”
“I haven’t seen a whole lot of him,” Bailey interjected. “But if you guys think there might be a problem there, I’ll speak to Aaron about it and see if there’s anything he can do to keep a closer eye on him.”
Hannah felt a little guilty for even considering speaking to Xavier about this, but at the same time, she didn’t want to ignore what might end up being a problem.
If she had learned anything these last few months, it was not to brush aside the emotions that she didn’t want to deal with.
Good or bad, she needed to deal with them and share her thoughts when something was bothering her.
There was no harm in the three of them being cautious and watching their step around the guy, right? If there was truly nothing going on, then there was no harm in just asking the guys to keep an eye on him for a while.
“I’ll speak to Xavier about him, too,” Hannah added, deciding that she needed to say something.
She didn’t want to divide Xavier’s focus any further right now or give him more to be concerned about, but at the same time, if there was something worrisome going on around the sanctuary, he would want to know about it.
He was part owner, after all, and he and Lawson worked hard to keep out trouble and give their guests a safe place to recover.
He wouldn’t want anybody there feeling uncomfortable or threatened in any way by another guest.
Jed was probably less careful about what he said to the women, and he might put up a front when it came to the guys so they didn’t get suspicious or look any further into his reasons for being there.
“Guess we should get back to work,” Bailey remarked, gesturing to all the lights that still needed to be put into place.
Hannah nodded in agreement and tried to push the comment Jed had made about Sarah to the back of her mind. But it troubled her. There was something off about that guy. And she needed to find out what it was before anything came of it.