Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“This is a house.”
“It is,” I agree.
“I can’t afford a house. I might only be able to afford a room somewhere for what I’m paying right now.”
I ignore her and get out of the car, because she’s not paying for shit anyway so the conversation is pointless. When I open her door, I hold out my hand to help her out, and as soon as it’s closed behind her, the front door of the house opens, and a beautiful woman who doesn’t look too much older than Hanna steps out in high boots, jeans and a sweater with a smile on her face. Her blonde hair with streaks of almost-white running through it is pulled back from her face that looks just like her daughter’s.
“Mom?” Hanna whispers, her head flying back, and her eyes meet mine for a brief moment before she takes off running.
As the two women crash into each other and embrace, Hanna’s dad steps down the stairs and stands back, watching the two of them with a soft smile and his arms crossed over his broad flannel covered chest. My parents are not as cool as Hanna’s. My mom dresses and looks like the teacher she is, and my dad, the same, only with a receding hairline he refuses to give up on.
Walking up the sidewalk, I sidestep the women, who still haven’t let each other go and are both now crying, and walk up to Trevor. He and I have talked a few times since the first time I answered the call from Hanna’s mom. It’s never been anything too serious, mostly him just checking on his girl and making sure she’s good. Information I’m sure he could get from her or her mother, but my guess is that, in his way, he’s feeling me out, checking to see that I have my finger on her pulse and am taking care of her.
I get it. I’ll probably be the same if Hanna and I ever have a daughter. And yeah, double standards suck, and without a doubt, women are the stronger of our species in a lot of ways, but they still need to be protected differently than men do so I can appreciate his need to look out for her.
“Walker.” Trevor uncrosses his arms and holds out his hand when I’m less than a foot away.
“Trevor.” I take his hand, and he pulls me in for a one-armed hug and a pat on the back.
“Thanks for calling us.”
“She needed this,” I tell him, turning to find Liz now holding her daughter’s face in her hands as she speaks quietly enough we can’t hear what is being said.
“If you haven’t figured it out by now, my girl is stubborn as fuck. If I were to tell her this fucking house was on fire, she’d still check the door handle to see for herself.” He doesn’t sound the least bit disappointed. Actually, he sounds proud. “She will never admit she needs anything from anyone, even just a hug from her mama.”
“I’m starting to get that,” I mutter, and he pats my back.
After Liz wipes the tears from Hanna’s cheeks, she pulls her in for another hug, then lets her go and turns to face us. The moment her eyes land on her husband’s, they get wet. It’s obvious Hanna wasn’t the only one who needed this reunion.
“Hey, Dad,” Hanna says quietly, walking to her father, who immediately engulfs her in a tight hug.
“Mrs. Mayson.” I hold out my hand to Liz, and she rolls her eyes at me before giving me a hug.
“Thank you for calling.”
“Anytime.” I let her go, and Hanna moves from her dad’s arms to mine and tips her head back to look up at me. She doesn’t say a word. She doesn’t need to. Her gratitude is written all over her gorgeous face. “Happy?”
“Yeah.” She nods. “How did you pull this off?” she whispers.
“All I did was ask,” I whisper back, and she drops her forehead to my chest for a brief second before looking over at her parents.
“How long are you here for?”
“Until you fly to Florida. We’ll be on that flight with you.”
“Really?” Her face lights up.
“Really.” Her mom smiles.
“Awesome. That means that you can help me look for an apartment. I haven’t been able to find anything.”
“I think your guy already took care of that for you.” Her mom waves toward the house. “I didn’t have a chance to really look around before you got here, but from what I saw, it’s perfect.”
“You already rented this place?” Hanna’s eyes come to me, and I don’t know if I should say yes or no, because her expression is giving nothing away.
“If you hate it, we can find something else, but I’m sure you noticed that Douglas lives right down the block. I figured you’d like that. Plus, they allow pets, so you keeping Mizzy won’t be a problem.”