Charming Hannah (Big Sky 1)

“No, you wouldn’t,” he says quietly.

Okay, I wouldn’t. But I wouldn’t blame him if he did.

He kisses my temple and then reaches to grab a stethoscope off the countertop.

“Here, put these in your ears.”

I do as I’m told and wipe my nose on a tissue. Brad holds the other end over his own chest and I immediately hear his heart, strong and sure in my ears.

“Do you hear that?”

“Of course.”

“Close your eyes.” I do as I’m told, and he begins to talk. I’m swept up in the sound of his deep voice, his strong arms wrapped around me and his heart beating in my ears. “This is the heart of a man who loves you more than he ever thought he could. I didn’t know what I was missing until you came into my life, Hannah. This heart believes in you, admires you, and takes so much joy in you.”

Tears continue to fall down my face, but I don’t care. I press my cheek to Brad’s shoulder and keep listening.

“When I thought my heart would break earlier this summer, when I had to tell a friend that his child was gone, you were there to help me recover from that. You held me, and you soothed the pain, Han. This is a grateful heart.”

He pauses and kisses my temple.

“This heart is strong. Listen to how steady it beats, how sure it is. It’s brave and true, and it always does the right thing, even when it’s hard. It’s healthy, Hannah. So healthy. It’s going to beat for many more years to come.”

I open my eyes and am surprised to discover that at some point he moved the stethoscope to my own chest. The strong, healthy heart I’ve been listening to is my own.

“You always manage to make me feel better. You bring so much to my life, Brad.”

“Do you still want me to bail?”

“No. I might trip you if you try to leave.”

He kisses me again and sets the stethoscope aside. “You are not broken, sweetheart. You’re not a hot mess. You’re a human being, and sometimes life is just hard.”

“Yeah. I feel bad for Drake and Grace. They were there when the patrolmen came.”

“I’m glad they were,” he admits. “I’d hate to think what would have happened if you’d been alone.”

“My dad died.”

He nods, and I assume that Drake told him.

“He’s been dead to me for a long time. I’m not terribly sad that he’s gone. Does that make me a bad person?”

His lips twitch into a smile. “No. You’re not a bad person.”

“They said that I’m the only surviving relative, so I’m responsible for his body.” I swallow hard. “I don’t want to deal with that.”

“You don’t have to. There are options.” He cups my face in his hand gently. “Is it that he was in Montana that triggered all of this?”

“Probably,” I admit, feeling angry about that again, but not willing to throw myself into another episode. “He was coming here to try to get something from me. It wasn’t any other reason. He was probably broke. But I would have told him no and sent him packing.

“I hate that he was so close to my home. I made a place for myself here, far away from him and all of the chaos he caused. I made a way for myself in this world without him. He wasn’t welcome to invade the safety of the life I’ve built.”

“That makes sense,” Brad says. “We’ll deal with it, together. Just like we dealt with this together.”

“I didn’t want you here,” I admit, and he cocks a brow. “Grace said if she pulled something like that, Jacob would spank her ass red.”

“I’m considering it,” he replies, and my eyes whip up to his. “You scared me. And when I arrived, they wouldn’t let me back to see you because I’m not family.”

“I didn’t think of that. Grace wanted to call you, but I wouldn’t let her. It goes back to what I said earlier, I didn’t want you to have to see me like this. It’s embarrassing.”

“If I were in an accident, and cut my leg open, would it make sense to you that I wouldn’t want you in the emergency room with me because I was embarrassed about the way it happened?”

“How did it happen?” I ask, playing devil’s advocate.

“You’re missing the point.”

“No,” I confess. “It wouldn’t make sense and I’d be tearing the place apart to get to you.”

“I was about to try that, but Fran says she can take me and I’m inclined to believe her.”

I laugh at the thought of the little nurse going up against Brad.

“I’m glad you came.”

***

“Sadie hasn’t left my side since we got home.”

It’s several hours later, and I’m curled up on the couch with Sadie’s head in my lap. She’s snoozing and I just can’t stop crying. She wakes up now and again to check on me, whimpers a bit, and then falls back to sleep.