Chapter 21 – Hannah
Chapter Twenty-One
HANNAH
“ H old on.” Michael jumps out of his truck and hurries around the front of it, but I already have the door open by the time he reaches where I’m at on the passenger’s side.
“I can get out,” I laugh.
“Okay.” He steps back, but his hand is still outstretched. So I take it.
“Only because I want to touch you,” I clarify, getting out of his truck and planting my feet in my driveway.
He grins. “I don’t care about the reason, as long as you’re touching me.”
Pushing onto my tiptoes, I kiss him long and good. Love and carnal desire swirl through me, and the kiss deepens. His strong hands find my waist, where they dig into my shirt. He’s holding back, probably conscious of the fact that Carol is undoubtedly watching us through the window.
But I don’t really care. I’m happy, and I want the whole world to know.
Breaking the kiss, I gaze up into his eyes. “Thank you for driving me home.”
“I don’t have to leave. I can just hang on you like this. Like a backpack.” He demonstrates, draping his arms over my shoulders.
Laughing, I playfully shove him off. “You have to get to work.”
“Oh yeah.” He grins wickedly. “There’s that.”
I slide my hand down his arm, feeling the firm muscles popping beneath my fingers. “I’ll miss you.”
He dips his face and locks gazes with me. “Same,” he breathes, like it’s the most important word he’s ever spoken in his life.
Hard as it is, I step away from him. “I’m going to go in now.”
He closes my door and follows me around the truck, his hand on my back, eliciting delicious shivers. “Okay if I watch you walk in?”
Laughing, I shake my head. “Yeah, sure.”
I feel his gaze on my back like it’s a physical touch, and when I get to the door, I give him a wave. Still smiling, he climbs into his truck, waves goodbye, and drives off.
Magical, romantic moment over. Time to face what’s waiting in my house.
Taking a deep breath, I open my front door.
A couple days of rest at Michael’s was exactly what I needed, but I still feel a little guilty about leaving my aunt home by herself. Michael told me she stopped by, and we’ve texted a little since then, but there’s been no real conversation.
She looked so crushed in the hospital, like she couldn’t possibly comprehend why I would want to be anywhere but with her.
I want to explain my reasoning, and I’ve spent the last day putting a little speech together, but as I walk into the cottage and find her scrubbing my fridge, I discover I’ve forgotten English.
“Hi.” She straightens up and takes off her rubber gloves. “How are you feeling?”
I swallow, my words slowly coming back to me. “Better. Still a little tired.”
“Maya is back home. Did anyone tell you?”
“Yeah. She’s doing well, Alexis said.” Pulling out a chair, I take a seat at the table. “Thank you for helping out at the shop. Without you and Flick, it just… I would have had to close it.”
“Of course.” She fills up the teakettle. “Tea?”
“Sure.” I lace my hands in my lap. What I need to say feels like a sickness climbing its way up my throat.
Carol sets out two mugs and drops a tea bag into each one. She seems just as uncomfortable as me, except she’s trying to beat the feeling back by staying busy.
“About the hospital…” I clear my throat.
“Hannah. I understand.” For the first time since I walked through the door, she stops moving.
“I don’t want you to think… It’s not that I don’t want you around.”
Carol sits across from me. “I talked to Michael. Well, he talked to me. Made me see some things.”
I blink in surprise. “Like what?”
Sighing, she runs her fingers through her loose hair. “I’ve been treating you like you’re still a kid, assuming you need me when you don’t.”
“I would much rather you do that than not care at all.”
She smiles wryly. “There’s an in-between, and it’s where I’ve been failing you.”
I bite my lip, appreciating her admission but hesitant to agree. It sounds like she’s already been hard on herself, and I don’t want to kick her when she’s down.
“I’m going to back off.” She laces her hands on the table. “Not hover so much.”
“You don’t hover. You’re all the way in Oregon?—”
“I hover when I’m here.” She gives me a hard look. “You’re too nice to tell me that, but your boyfriend isn’t.”
I look down, my face warming in pleasure at hearing Michael be called my boyfriend. “He’s pretty up front.”
“In the best way. He’s a good guy. And Katie is a sweet girl. I’m glad you have them here. Your friends, too.”
There’s a hint of wistfulness there, and when I look up, her eyes are misty.
“You don’t need me like you used to, Hannah Banana,” she says, “and that’s okay. You know how to handle your health, your life.”
Reaching across the table, I take her hand. “I still want you around.”
She pats my hand. “I know, and it’s even better to be wanted than needed.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Thank you,” I whisper. “For telling me this.”
The teakettle whistles, and she gets up to pour the water. “It was all Michael. He made me realize some things.”
My heart fills with glitter. I could sing Michael’s praises all day long, but that would probably exhaust her.
“Thanks,” I say, reaching for the tea she sets in front of me.
“I’m going to head back home tomorrow.” She takes her seat and blows on her tea.
“What? No. You don’t need to go.”
She lifts her hand. “I know, but it will be good for us. I have a list of things to get to back home anyway. I’m thinking of running for HOA president.”
“You’d be good at that.” I grin.
“Right?” She winks. “I’m so bossy.”
“In good ways.”
She sips her tea. “You’re doing good here, kid. Your mom would be proud.”
A complex tornado of emotions crashes through me. I’m feeling everything at once—appreciation, sadness, hope, joy, love—but that’s too much to express, so I just settle for a “Thank you.”
Over Carol’s shoulder, a cardinal comes to the window and pecks at the seed suet hanging there. Another cardinal calls for it, and the first one takes off, wings flapping, suet swinging from the rapid departure.
“This is good tea.” I take another sip, and Carol nods and murmurs in response.