Chapter Eighteen
“Do I really have to spend the whole afternoon in the office?” Lawson complained as he pulled the door shut behind him. “When we’re just getting the first sunshine of the season.”
“Yes, you do.” Hannah laughed at her brother, pointing firmly to his chair behind the desk. “Go on. Sit down. I want to talk about the finances.”
“Good news, right?” he asked her a bit nervously.
“Yeah, great news actually,” she assured him with a nod.
She had been taking care of the finances at Warrior Peak Sanctuary since they opened.
She had never imagined she would be any good at it, but there was something oddly satisfying to her about crunching the numbers, seeing how everything came together and what all was impacted with the changes they implemented.
Watching as the sanctuary started to really thrive.
She was sure they would need to hire a full-time accountant eventually, the bigger they got and more money they brought in, but for now, she seemed to be doing a decent job keeping on top of it all.
The bills were getting paid and employees got their salaries and their guests were being taken care of in a way that helped them recover and reacclimate to their lives in positive ways.
Those were the most important things right now.
“Good,” he replied, sitting down in his desk chair and grinning. “Thank God I have you around. I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t here to keep on top of the practical stuff.”
“Yeah, you’re lucky,” she teased and pulled out the papers she had been working on earlier in the day. She had just finished looking at the intakes and outgoings for the previous year, and it seemed like they were doing exceptionally well.
Along with the funds they received from grants, they worked with several non-profits to raise funds for the upkeep of Warrior Peak.
Since the place was originally Xavier’s family home, he’d used the family money he’d inherited along with money he and Lawson had scraped together to get them started.
Over the past few years, they’d continued to grow from word of mouth and additional donations from previous clients after their time at the lodge.
Lawson and Xavier had also agreed to rent out spaces in the paddocks at some clients’ requests, so those who had horses of their own could bring them and tend to them while they stayed at the sanctuary.
It became an additional layer of therapy to some, to bring something familiar that they loved and cared for to help ground them.
Even Sarah thought it was a great idea, and it had worked out well so far.
“This is the first year we’ve had enough left over to start thinking about building another expansion,” Hannah explained, placing the papers on the desk in front of her brother and running her finger along the numbers to show him just how well they were doing.
“I was thinking maybe a separate office for Sarah next to the main lodge here, so she and her clients would have more privacy.”
Hannah paused and searched Lawson’s face for his immediate reaction to her idea.
She didn’t usually give specific input to new additions; that was his and Xavier’s territory.
But she just knew this was a good idea. It would be good for all the people who made appointments with Sarah, especially if they were reluctant to do so, wondering what others thought seeing them visiting her office space at the lodge.
“I’ve been doing some research and thought the empty section of land right next to the lodge would be perfect.
It would be more secluded and quieter for her patients than having to deal with all the extra noises in the hallway and at the front desk when new people arrive.
They’d have more privacy to focus on their needs and recovery.
We could even add a connecting hallway between the spaces so clients didn’t have to go outside in bad weather. ”
“I think that sounds like a great idea, Hannah,” Lawson agreed, peering down at the numbers and squinting slightly. “How much do you think it’ll cost?”
“We’d need to reach out to local contractors and get some estimates to get a better idea of that,” she explained.
“But I think we could easily cover it with the amount of profit that’s come in these last few months especially.
And maybe even see what additional funds would be necessary if we wanted to do a whole therapy space down the road, hire more therapists. ”
Lawson leaned back in his seat, nodding as he listened to her.
For some reason, she always found herself a little nervous when she came to her brother with ideas like this.
She figured it was a result of him being the older one in the family, the one she turned to for guidance.
He had always been around to make the big decisions and put plans in motion.
“You want me to start sending out some feelers?” he asked.
“If you’ve got the time, that’d be great. If not, if you’ll write me out a list of specifics I should inquire about, I don’t mind doing it,” she offered.
Ever since she and Xavier had started seeing each other properly, she had felt beyond nervous about how her brother was going to react.
She was sure he knew about it by now, given that the others seemed to have figured it out, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still worried about what he was going to say.
In fact, she had called him in to talk finances in the hopes she could get him alone long enough to speak about what was going on with Xavier.
“You trying to get on my good side?” he asked bluntly, always able to see right through her.
She sat back in her chair and clasped her hands in front of her, feeling a buzz of anxiousness in her chest. “Uh, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about,” she admitted.
He grinned. That annoying, knowing, brotherly grin that told her he had already guessed where she was going to take this conversation. “Let me take a wild guess,” he remarked. “You want to talk about Xavier?”
There it was. She nodded, trying to keep her gaze steady.
He didn’t seem as angry as he had before, but did he know the extent of their involvement?
Was he trying to look the other way? How would he respond when he found out that they had basically been living together since the accident the week before last?
“Yes, it’s about Xavier,” she confessed, her voice wavering slightly as she spoke.
She could still remember the look of thunderous anger on Lawson’s face when he had found out last time about them kissing.
As upset as he was then, it was hard to believe he would just suddenly let it go.
Of course, she hoped his feelings had changed and things were different this time, but she wouldn’t know for sure until she brought it up.
However, no matter what he said, it wasn’t going to change her mind about pursuing a relationship with Xavier now.
She wasn’t going to let her brother dictate how she lived her life, no matter how angry he was about what she was doing.
She was falling for Xavier, hard and fast, and she wasn’t going to let a damn thing get in the way of that.
“I know that my interest in Xavier has caused issues in the past,” she explained, not taking her eyes from his face as she spoke, watching every little reaction, every shift in his expression.
“And I know that you’re just being protective of me.
But I… The two of us are together now. Really together.
We’ve had feelings for each other for a long time, and I’m not willing to ignore them anymore, and neither is he.
And neither of us want this to get in the way of our relationships with you.
I want your blessing for this, as my brother. If you’ll give it to me.”
He paused for an excruciating second before he responded. A smile spread wide across his face. “Of course you have my blessing, Hannah.”
Her eyes widened. “But I thought… I mean, the way you reacted before—”
“I wasn’t thinking straight back then, and I’m sorry about that,” he admitted.
“We should have spoken about this way before now,” Lawson rose from behind the desk and rounded it to stand in front of his sister.
He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the desk.
“I saw how much Xavier was struggling after he’d lost his brother, and all I could think about was you being the front line to have to deal with that.
You’re my baby sister, and I was concerned about what might happen, how it would affect you. ”
Hannah reached out and squeezed his forearm.
“I care about you both so much, and I want you both to be happy, but I just couldn’t see how he could be with anyone without pulling them into all his struggles.
I didn’t think witnessing all that would be good for you.
” Lawson swallowed heavily, and she could tell how hard it was for him to even talk about his best friend like that.
But Lawson had been there with Xavier from the start. From the moment he had arrived home, when he had been forced to deal with the loss of his brother while also dealing with his parents blaming him and, as a result, having no one to stand by his side and help him through his grief.
Hannah knew Lawson had done his best to be there for Xavier, but what Xavier had really needed was the support and care of his family since they were all dealing with the same grief and loss.
Her brother had seen how much he struggled, and it was no wonder he had been so protective about letting his little sister get too close.
“He’s been working with Sarah, and he’s doing so much better now,” she assured him. “It’s amazing how far he’s come. He’s actually started talking about Max to me for the first time.”
Lawson’s face lit up. “Really?” he replied in amazement. “Damn, I never thought we’d get to that point. That’s wonderful.”
“I know,” she murmured, and she felt a swell of pride when she thought of how well Xavier was doing.
And he was only just getting started, there was still so much room for him to grow.
Hannah wanted nothing more than to see him come out the other side of it a better, stronger man.
A man who didn’t blame himself for what had happened, finally free of the guilt he had carried for so long.
“I’ve been trying to convince him to talk to Sarah about all of this for so long,” Lawson remarked, shaking his head. “I didn’t think he was ever going to actually do it, but you must have changed his mind. You must have given him a reason.”
She lowered her gaze, smiling at the thought.
The fact Xavier was willing to put himself through something as tough and demanding as therapy now that they were together meant the world to her.
It felt like an investment in their future as a couple, his intentions clear—he wanted to make sure she got the best version of him, and he was putting in the effort to bring that version to life.
“So, you’re really okay with us?” she asked her brother, shifting in her seat.
“Hannah, I just want you to be safe and happy. If being with Xavier is what you really want and you have no doubts about being with him while he deals with his trauma, then I will not stand in your way,” he replied sincerely. “Hey, it’s going to keep my Christmas card list short, right?”
She couldn’t help but burst out laughing at that part.
That was so typical of Lawson to turn all of this tension and stress that had hung in the air between them into a joke.
“Yeah, guess so,” she agreed, and she stood up to give him a hug.
“It really means a lot to me, you know that, right? I wouldn’t want to be with him if I thought it was going to be a problem for you. ”
“I know,” he replied and pulled her close. “And I appreciate that. I’m sorry for trying to get in the way of it before, but I’ve learned my lesson. I can see how good the two of you are together. I’m not going to cause any trouble, I promise.”
“Thank you,” she murmured into his shoulder. “And please don’t start pulling out my baby photos and telling him embarrassing childhood stories about me, okay?”
“Hey, it’s my job!” he protested and pulled back with a laugh. “I’m your big brother. If I don’t embarrass you in front of your new boyfriend, who will?”
She giggled, but at the back of her mind, she felt a warmth tingling through her at the sound of that word. Boyfriend. She and Xavier hadn’t put a label on their relationship yet, but she liked the way it sounded, liked the way it felt. She could definitely get used to that label.
For so long, she had been alone. She had watched the women around her get close to men, fall in love, develop partnerships that would last a lifetime.
She was happy for her friends but terribly envious at the same time.
She never thought she’d have that kind of happiness for herself.
Now, she got to include Xavier and herself into that equation.
“I should get going,” she told her brother, stepping toward the office door. “Can you talk to Xavier about this, too? Make sure he knows you’re okay with it?”
He nodded. “Of course I will.” Then, as she opened the door and walked into the hall, he called after her, “And I’ll make sure to tell him what a brat you are!”
“Don’t you dare!” she yelled back over her shoulder, but she was already laughing. This was the last detail she needed to fall into place to feel totally confident about moving forward with Xavier.
She felt like a huge weight had been lifted. They didn’t have to worry about hiding anything from anyone. They were free to be open about their relationship to everyone and finally be happy together.
Her feet felt as though they barely touched the floor as she skipped off down the corridor, a grin so wide on her face it felt as though it might burst. She knew Lawson was going to speak to Xavier, but she couldn’t wait to celebrate the good news.
He was already taking steps to heal himself, working on his mental health and coming to terms with his past. This would be another good step forward.