Kyle couldn’t believe that he hadn’t seen Hannah since he’d dropped her at Alice’s Saturday afternoon. They’d exchanged a few texts and he’d talked to her on the phone Saturday night, but after he’d convinced Butch to head to the river with him—predictably winning the older man over with a few innuendos about what had made Kyle lose track of time—he’d been called to the hospital in York because nine-year-old Jake Harper had been taken in for an emergency appendectomy, and Kyle needed to check on him.

He’d wanted Hannah to come to his room at Ty’s when he got back, but she’d told him her neck was still bothering her and had turned into a bad headache, and that she and Alice were settled in with a movie. He would have felt comfortable going over and joining them, but he realized that Hannah needed time with her family too. He offered to write her a prescription for something, but she said she had what she needed. So he’d headed to Ty’s alone. Which was fine. Kind of. He was beat. The girl had kept him up most of the night.

He’d gone to bed with hot memories of the night with Hannah playing on a reel like an erotic movie.

He’d headed to her dad’s place on Sunday, unable to keep from washing the windows as promised, but he hadn’t run into her there, and he hadn’t even finished the job before he’d been called to put some stitches into Cody Bracken’s forehead. Once Cody was bandaged up, Del Cotton had called to ask if Kyle would stop by and check on his wife’s complaints of lung congestion.

And for the first time in all the time he’d been the physician in his beloved hometown, Kyle wanted everyone to just leave him alone.

He wanted to be with Hannah. And not do a damned thing except kiss her from head to toe.

So when Derek reminded him that Kyle had promised to help Derek remove a tree stump from Harold Kitchner’s front yard, Kyle almost lost his cool.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Derek asked as he tossed pieces of wood into the back of his truck.

“Nothing. Let’s just get this done.”

“I thought after you got laid, you’d be all mellow and chill,” Derek said.

Kyle pushed the plastic goggles he was wearing to the top of his head. “How do you know I got laid?”

“Um, you and Hannah disappeared together overnight and I was only allowed to call her cell and no one else seemed to know where you were? If you didn’t get laid, you’re really doing something wrong.”

“Maybe we talked all night.”

Derek laughed. “Yep, doing something wrong.”

“Talking is good.”

“Yep. So is kissing and fucking. As long as you’re doing some of all of those, you’re okay.”

Derek was his best friend, and knew everything there was to know about Kyle and Hannah. Well, almost everything. He didn’t know about Hannah’s neck. Or even her accident. Kyle had never shared that with his friend. Again, Hannah had told him she was fine and, in part because he wanted to believe her and in part because he needed to believe her, since he’d been up to his eyeballs in his residency and hadn’t had time for anything else, he’d taken her at her word.

Kyle suddenly stopped with a huge chunk of wood in one hand and a chainsaw in the other. He’d needed to believe she was okay because he’d been up to his eyeballs in other responsibilities. And he’d been so used to her being okay. Being strong. Being at his side.

He hadn’t questioned if she was really okay because he didn’t have time for it if the answer was no.

“You okay?” Derek asked, realizing suddenly that Kyle had stopped moving.

“I just…Hannah and I…” He looked up at his friend. “I’m in love with her.”

Derek tossed the piece of wood he was holding into the truck and clapped his gloved hands together. “Yeah, man, I know.”

“And I’ve let her down.”

Derek frowned. “How?”

“I didn’t go after her.”

“You couldn’t have.”

“I should have anyway.”

Derek turned toward him fully. He took a deep breath. “Yeah, you should have.”

Kyle stared at him. “What?”

Derek shrugged. “She was your girl. You wanted her forever. You should have gone to Seattle.”

“I was in residency. I couldn’t just drop everything and leave.”

“You would have been written up or something, yeah, but they wouldn’t have kicked you out. You would have had to grovel or work extra shifts or something, but hell, Kyle, you work extra shifts anyway. It’s like you’re afraid if you sleep too long or go more than fifty miles away from this place, that it’s all going to fall apart and everyone’s going to get sick and die and it’ll be all your fault.”

Kyle swallowed. “People could get sick and die without me.”

Derek shook his head. “Man, they’re going to get sick and die anyway. That’s how life goes. I mean, what you do matters, of course. And you make all the sick and dying stuff better here. But shit man, it’s not like it’s your fault when it happens.”

“It could be my fault,” Kyle said. “If someone gets sick and I’m not here, they could die.”

Derek shook his head. “Sometimes I think you should have become an accountant or something. Then you could have everything lined up nice and neat all the time and the answers would always turn out the way you expect and you wouldn’t have to feel so fucking responsible for everyone. Only if they get thrown in jail for tax fraud or something then.”

Kyle scowled at him. “We were talking about Hannah.” Because he’d never admit that there were definitely some appealing things about the idea of being an accountant. Two plus two always equaled four. And accountants didn’t get pulled out of bed at three a.m. And accountants didn’t have to watch the faces of people they cared about when they said the word cancer. And…all those spreadsheets.

But accountants also didn’t get to deliver babies and see people walk again after surgery and get to watch the faces of people they cared about when they said the cancer’s gone.

“Yes, Hannah. Well, you fucked that up,” Derek said bluntly.

“She wanted to stay in Seattle.”

“So you should have gone to Seattle.”

“To stay? Forever?” Kyle demanded, even as his heart thumped in his chest.

“If necessary,” Derek nodded. “There are sick and dying people there too.”

“But not my people.”

“People who could have become your people.”

Kyle let out a breath. “Why didn’t you ever say this before?”

“Because I’m your best friend and I love having you here and this town needs you and you need this town.”

“But you think I should have gone after Hannah.”

He nodded. “Because I think you need her more.”

Kyle sighed. “You never hold back from telling me when I’m making a mistake. Why didn’t you tell me to pull my head out of my ass?”

“Honestly?” Derek asked. “Because I really thought she was going to come home too. I couldn’t imagine her not needing you.”

Kyle felt his heart squeeze hard. But she had needed him. She just hadn’t told him. Because they hadn’t told each other that stuff. They hadn’t needed each other. Everyone else needed them.

“Fuck.” He threw the piece of wood. “I have to go over there.”

Derek sighed. “Knew I should have told you all of that after the stump was out.”

Kyle started to reply, but suddenly both of their phones beeped. They pulled them out simultaneously and read the messages that had come in.

“Dammit.”

“Fuck.”

They dropped their tools and jumped into the truck. Derek headed for the fire station. Kyle would ride along in the ambulance.

Not that there was ever a good time for a car accident out on the highway, but he was going to have to put off seeing Hannah again.

Son of a bitch.

* * *

After working at the scene of the accident, accompanying the two teenage boys Kyle had known all their lives to the hospital, consulting with the families, and waiting for news from the surgeon who was operating to stop the internal bleeding in one of the boys, Kyle felt like he’d put days in instead of just hours.

He’d texted Hannah a couple of times, telling her what was going on and that he’d wanted to see her, but he didn’t know when he’d be back to Sapphire Falls.

She’d assured him it was fine and that she and Alice were going to bed early because Alice had to be at the hospital at six a.m. the next morning for her hip surgery.

Alice’s hip surgery.

Kyle shoved a hand through his hair as he read Hannah’s last message on his way to the bathroom for a much-needed shower. Damn. It wasn’t that he’d forgotten, but in the flurry of the day, he hadn’t been thinking about it. He’d intended to see Alice tonight and reassure her about any last-minute jitters. But it was now ten p.m. and Alice should be fast asleep.

He’d just have to see them in the morning at the hospital. Because, of course, he’d be there prior to, during, and following the surgery. It was going to go fine. He knew that. But he wanted to be there for Alice. And now for Hannah. It just felt like sitting and holding her hand during the waiting period was the right thing to do.

He hadn’t always been there for her. He was still a little stunned—probably stupidly—by that realization, but it was true. He’d always counted on Hannah to be the other half of their very solid whole. She’d been part of the foundation for their families and the other people who had gotten used to counting on them. It was strange—and that really was stupid—to think of her as one of the people who might need him.

But he wanted her to need him. And he wanted to need her. This was what they were going to have to figure out to be together, but he knew they could do it. Just like she’d asked for his help with scrubbing Alice’s cabinets and then showed him how to work on the knots in her neck and shoulders, she could show him what else she needed and how he could help. And he could do the same. Because he needed to be falling asleep with her in his arms after a day like today. He hadn’t seen her, hadn’t been around, but he needed to hold her at the end of a day of them both taking care of other people.

Kyle showered and fell into bed, hardly able to keep his eyes open.

But his last thought before he drifted off was that he was going to see her tomorrow, and as soon as it was even slightly appropriate, he was going to ask her to stay in Sapphire Falls. With him.

Kyle got to the hospital at five. He wanted to check on the two boys from the car accident and get his other rounds done before Alice came in. The boys were both stable and awake when Kyle got to their room, and he was able to take a deep breath, knowing they’d both be fine.

By the time he got to the pre-op area, he was feeling good. It had been a big weekend, but Butch had gotten to fish, the rest of Sapphire Falls had been tended to, the tree stump was mostly out, the McIntires’ windows were mostly clean, and…he’d fallen in love.

It was interesting to think that he’d fallen in love with Hannah, but that was exactly what had happened. Maybe he’d fallen in love again, but this felt different than before. He’d loved her, but he wasn’t sure he’d been in love with her.

There was no question now.

When he stepped around the curtain to the area where Alice was supposed to be, he felt his smile die almost immediately.

Alice was there. She was ready to go. But sitting in the chair beside her bed was Ben. Not Hannah.

“Hi, guys,” Kyle greeted with a forced smile. Maybe Hannah was just getting coffee in the cafeteria.

But he knew in his gut that wasn’t it. Ben wasn’t supposed to be here. He’d only be here if Hannah wasn’t.

“Hi, Kyle.” Alice gave him an almost relieved smile. “I’m glad to see you.”

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t stop over last night,” he told her, sitting down on the edge of her bed and taking her hand. “There was a car accident.”

“I heard,” she said. “Trevor Graves and Zach Turner. Are they okay?”

Of course she’d heard. He nodded. “Yep, they’ll both be fine. It was a little scary there for a bit.”

“Zach’s grandmother was beside herself,” Alice said with a nod. “I’m so glad they’re alright.”

“They are. Now how about you? I wanted to talk everything through one more time to be sure you’re ready,” he said.

“I’m fine,” she told him with a wave. “You’re here now. I’m okay.”

“Where’s Hannah?” he finally asked.

Alice frowned. “She’s not feeling well. She’d been dealing with pain and headaches since Saturday, and she was apparently up all night with a horrible migraine. She was throwing up and everything.”

Kyle felt his own frown. “Really? She didn’t tell me.” Her neck was still bothering her? And how could he not feel responsible since he was the reason she’d slept on the floor without her regular pillow? And there had been…some pounding. He’d tried to be gentle, but when you were buried in a hot woman you were in love with and she said, “Harder, oh my God, harder”, you went harder.

He cleared his throat and focused on that hot woman’s very sweet grandmother.

“I told her she should call you and ask you what to do, but she said it happens a lot and she didn’t want to bother you since there isn’t really anything you can do,” Alice said.

Kyle worked not to overreact to that. But that was, quite simply, bullshit. “I’ll check on her later,” he told Alice.

“But you’ll be here during my surgery, right?” she asked, squeezing his hand.

“Of course.” He wanted to drive straight to Hannah and demand she let him help her. But Alice needed him here.

Then he thought about that. Why did Alice need him here? He wasn’t doing the surgery. He was here to give her a pre-op pep talk and he’d be by to see her afterward. He’d be there every day in Sapphire Falls to help with whatever she needed. But during the surgery? There wasn’t a reason he needed to feel responsible for being here.

And Hannah needed him.

“You know what?” he said to Alice, sandwiching her hand between his. “On second thought, I think I’ll head over to check on Hannah once you’re back in the OR.”

Alice’s eyes got wide. “You won’t be here?”

“You’ll be in excellent hands,” he told her. “And you know that. And Ben is here for you.” He glanced at Hannah’s dad and got a nod and a smile. And for a split second he wondered if there were people in his life who hadn’t done more, simply because he hadn’t let them. He was always the one to jump in first and handle everything, not giving anyone else a chance.

Well, this was Ben’s chance.

“I’ll be back to see you later, but it sounds to me like Hannah might need me a little more right now,” Kyle said, stretching to his feet.

“Oh, well, Kade’s with her,” Alice said.

Kyle fought his scowl. Michael Fucking Kade. Great. “Well, I need to see her,” he said, honestly. He glanced at Ben. “You let me know if you need me to bring anything over when I come back,” he said.

“No problem. I’ll be here. I’ll let you know how things are going,” Ben said.

Kyle nodded and started for the door.

“Hey, Kyle?” Ben called out.

He turned back. “Yeah?”

“I’ve got this. You take care of my girl, okay?”

“I intend to, Ben. I fully intend to.”

* * *

When the knock sounded on the door to Kade’s room at Ty’s place, Hannah knew exactly who it was.

Dammit.

She was facedown on Kade’s bed, topless, and had needles sticking out of her neck and shoulders.

Kyle was going to love this.

“Are we pretending we’re not here?” Kade asked. They were only partway through the treatment.

Hannah sighed. “He must know that we are. Grandma probably told him.”

“I thought you said he’d be with her the rest of the day.”

“I thought he would be.” Kyle had left her grandmother’s side to come see Hannah? That was…unexpected.

The knock sounded again, louder this time, and was accompanied by, “Dammit, Hannah, let me in.”

She couldn’t turn her head to look at Kade. She couldn’t turn her head to do anything. Her neck had been locked up since Saturday night, and her head and back had been pounding since. She’d gotten sick last night, and her right arm was tingling. Frankly, she was a damned mess.

She did not want Kyle to see her like this. But it was time. This was part of her reality, and with the way things had shifted between them, he needed to know about this before he said things like “there’s more where that came from” or “you’re the only one I want here.”

Being in that house had changed things for her. Having her in that house had changed things for him. And they had some stuff to figure out.

“Let him in,” she told Kade.

“Okay.” He didn’t sound sure, but he stood from where he’d been kneeling with one knee on the mattress beside her.

She heard the door open and Kyle say, “What the hell is going on?”

“Come on in. Nice to see you too,” Kade said dryly.

“Hannah?” Then a second later, she heard, “Holy shit.”

“I’m fine,” she said from the bed. She was lying on her stomach with her face in a circular pillow designed to keep the neck straight. She hated that she couldn’t see him. Then she thought maybe that was best.

“Okay, first off, you need to fucking quit telling me you’re fine,” he said from right next to her. “I’m sick of that. You have to tell me the truth.”

She took a deep breath. He was right. “Then I’m miserable. I can’t sleep and I can’t help my grandmother. I can’t even be with her today at the hospital. I’m pretty much useless to everyone. I can’t spend a hot, spontaneous night on the floor with you without paying for it. It all sucks. Is that what you want to hear?”

He was quiet for a moment. “Yeah. I guess that’s what I want to hear,” he finally said.

She felt the tears welling up. She’d been in pain for a day and a half now. Kade had come over and done some work on her last night, which had helped, but then she’d woken up sick to her stomach.

It had been over a year since she’d been so close to asking for pain pills, but knowing that her grandmother needed her, and that Kyle was right there in town and would do anything to help her, had been the strongest temptation she could remember. Kade had come over to do some acupuncture and massage, but he’d really been there to keep her from seeing Kyle. She’d been avoiding him, not because she didn’t want him to see her like this—though she didn’t, really—but because she was too afraid she’d beg for drugs.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I’m sorry I let Grandma down. I’m sorry Dad had to go instead.”

“Hannah,” Kyle’s voice sounded strained, “your dad isn’t upset about being there. And your grandma is fine. She’s right where she needs to be, doing what she needs to be doing. You don’t have to be the one that took her.”

She bit her lip on her first response to that, but then finally said, “You always think you have to be the one doing everything for everyone.”

She heard the long breath he took in. “Yeah, I know I do.”

“I was always that person too.”

“Yeah, I know.” There was a long silence. Then Kyle said, “Will you please let me give you something? Let me help you?” She felt him move closer to the bed. “This is killing me to know you’re hurting and to see you like this.”

Exactly. She knew that seeing her like this and not being able to do anything would be torture for him. “The needles are bothering you?” she asked.

“Um, yeah.” He took another shaky breath. “They really fucking are. Please let me do something. Something else.”

Hannah swallowed hard. This was the moment of truth. “All you can do is be here with me,” she said. That was the biggest hurdle between them. The miles, the time, everything else was a nonissue if he could accept that there was nothing he could really do but be there for her and try to understand. She lifted one arm, reaching her hand out. “Will you watch the rest of the treatment?”

There was a long moment where she wasn’t sure he would take her hand. But finally, she felt his big palm against hers.

“Yeah, I can try.”

“You don’t have a needle phobia, do you, Doc?” Kade asked.

“I didn’t think so,” Kyle said. “Turns out maybe I’m not as tough as I thought.”

“Well, no worries,” Kade told him. “Hannah here is the toughest girl I know.”

Hannah felt her heart squeeze. Kade was a really good friend. “These don’t hurt,” she told Kyle. “They might look weird, but it doesn’t hurt. And it does help.”

He didn’t reply.

She felt Kade move in on her other side. He started again, feeling for the right spot and then inserting the very fine needle. She also felt Kyle squeeze her hand. Hard.

She squeezed back. “Relax, okay? It’s good.”

“I honest-to-God think I could probably watch this happen to anyone else, Hannah.”

That was sweet. And a huge problem. “I was hoping to teach you some of this.”

She felt his grip tighten again. “I don’t know, babe.” He was clearly trying to sound nonchalant. “I stick needles into people for lots of reasons—immunizations, cortisone, to drain things. But, holy shit, this is hard to watch.”

Kade hit a sore spot as he was feeling with his fingers just then, and she gasped and tightened her grip on Kyle.

“Sorry, hon,” Kade said softly, easing the pressure.

“Jesus.” Kyle let go of her hand, and she pictured him shoving it through his hair. “Hannah, baby, please let me give you something. It’s so much easier. I respect you wanting to do this naturally, but sometimes you need some extra help.”

Kade inserted the last needle. “I’m going to let you guys talk.”

Hannah sighed. Yeah, okay. It wasn’t like she was going to get up and run after him anyway.

“Talk?” Kyle asked, as the door shut behind Kade. “Is something else going on?”

“I wish I could look at you,” she said. But this was probably better. “I have something I have to tell you.”

“Okay.”

She could hear the tension in his voice.

“Kyle, I know…this is hard for you. I know that you want to help, but…this is what works for me.”

“I get it. Or at least, I’m trying to get it,” he told her. “It’s just a little crazy, right? I know exactly what to prescribe. I hate that you’ve been miserable for two days. I hate that I had something to do with it. At least let me do what I can do.”

“There’s nothing you can do,” she said bluntly.

“Come on, Hannah. Have you ever tried—”

“I’m an addict,” she broke in. It was time to have this over. “I got hooked on pain pills right after my accident. I was trying so hard to come back from it, and get back to school and work. I was trying so hard to stay on track for you, and everything here, and they were the only thing that kept me going. And I probably would have stayed on them if it wasn’t for a home health treatment I did one day. I was at this lady’s house and I was helping her to bed and I noticed her pain pills on her bedside table and…had to actually fight with myself for several minutes to keep from taking some of them after she fell asleep.” That had been the low point. The point where she’d realized that she’d lost herself and that she had to do something fast or she’d never find her way back.

Kyle was completely quiet. He was no longer touching her so she couldn’t even read his emotions that way. She went on.

“I was this close to stealing from a patient, Kyle. And, thank God, that was a line I wasn’t ready to cross. I went to a support group meeting that night instead. And I met Kade, and we helped each other through getting clean. I’ve been off of everything, fully, for almost two years now. But…I can’t use them anymore. So I have to rely on alternative medicine. And ninety percent of the time it’s enough. There are just times when things flare up and I just have to get through.”

He was still quiet, but she heard him drag in a deep breath.

“There really is nothing you can do,” she went on softly. “Except learn some of this, maybe. Or you don’t have to. I can find someone else. But I just need you to understand that there will, definitely, be times when I can’t be there for my family like I used to be, and this whole thing, this pain thing, is a part of me now. And you can’t fix it.”

Finally, he spoke. “Jesus, Hannah.”

Yeah, well, that was one way to summarize it.

“You were addicted to narcotics?”

“Yeah.” She tried really hard not to try to read his tone. Was he disappointed? Disgusted? Angry? Sad? Because she felt all of those things when she thought about her addiction.

“And you didn’t tell me that either?”

“No.” She felt the tension building in her neck and realized that they were going to have to start over with the treatment. “And I should have,” she admitted. “I know that I made all of these decisions for both of us, without even giving you all of the information or a chance to decide for yourself what you wanted to do. And I wish I could say that I would do it differently if I had to do it over again. But I’m not sure I would.” She paused. “Believe it or not, I stayed away because I loved you. Because I wanted you to have the life you’d always wanted to have. Even if it was with someone else,” she added quietly.

“Hannah—” His voice sounded pained.

“But I told you now,” she said quickly. “I didn’t think you needed to know everything then. I thought that was easier. But now maybe there’s a reason why you need to know what my life looks like, and will keep looking like.”

He was quiet again for several seconds. Then he said, “Is there a reason I need to know what your life looks like and will keep looking like?”

“I guess that depends on your reaction to all of this,” she said honestly.

He blew out a long breath. “I don’t want you to find someone else to do this stuff,” he said. “I fucking hate the idea that someone else can do something for you that I can’t.”

She felt a wave of relief spill over her. “Kyle, that means—”

“But yeah, I’m not good at not fixing things. And I have so many people that need me all the fucking time.” He sighed. “I would want to be there for you. But then there are always all of these things…people. I’ve been trying to get to you for two days as it is.”

She swallowed back the tears. “I know. I would be one more thing to take care of. I wouldn’t be much help with all of the things you do. The things you love doing.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“But it’s true.”

They were both quiet. Then she said, “I think in the past, we made the mistake of making our relationship about everyone and everything else. But when I think about doing it differently, I wonder if we would have been together if not for all of those projects and things we had in common.”

He didn’t say anything.

“We didn’t really talk. We didn’t really do anything that didn’t involve our families or some assignment of some kind.”

He still didn’t reply.

“And now,” she continued, “I’m…a mess. And you have plenty of other messes in your life. You need a partner. You need someone who can get out there and do all of those amazing things right by your side.” She paused and had to swallow against the tightness in her throat before she could continue. “And that can’t be me.”

“Hannah—” His phone started ringing just then. He blew out a frustrated breath. “I need to—”

“I know.”

“Ames,” he said a moment later. “Yes.” Pause. “No, I’m in Sapphire Falls.” Another pause. And a sigh. “Yes, I’ll be right there.” There was a beat, and he said, “David Butler collapsed at the diner. He’s conscious now but I need to go take a look.”

“Of course.”

“Hannah, I—”

“Go, Kyle.” She swallowed. “Go help the people you can. There’s nothing you can do here.”

“Right.”

The next thing she heard was the door opening, the sound of Kyle and Kade exchanging a few words, and then the door shutting again.

“You okay?” Kade asked a moment later.

“Nope,” she said honestly.

* * *

“I can’t believe you’re not coming with me,” Hannah told Kade later that night. After her neck had released. And she’d cried. And she’d gone to visit her grandmother. And she’d realized that she had to go back to Seattle. The longer she stayed, the harder it would be to leave. Just like Kyle had wanted. And there was no reason for her to stay. Everything was fine here. No one really needed her. Which worked out well, considering she was pretty much no good to anyone.

“Hey, I’ve got a book club meeting next week and I’m set up to talk to Officer Hansen about police procedures in Sapphire Falls tomorrow. And your grandmother and Ruby expect me at poker next week too. And I’m rolling on this book. I can’t mess with what’s working.”

Hannah couldn’t believe it. She was going back to Seattle and Kade was staying in Sapphire Falls. “Fine. Whatever. Good luck writing a book without me around.”

Which should have been funny. Kade was the one who thought he couldn’t write without her. But nothing was funny right now.

“Don’t be mad. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.”

“It’s fine.” She was feeling better. Her grandma was out of surgery. Her dad seemed almost happy to be there with his mom. The acupuncture treatment had helped. And Hannah had realized something very important—she simply couldn’t be one more thing that Kyle had to worry about, take care of, and not quite fix.

As she’d told him when she’d first confessed about her neck, with other patients, he was able to go home at the end of the day and get away from it all. With her—he’d be living with the frustration of not being able to fix something that affected someone he cared about day in and day out.

She zipped her suitcase. “So, I’m taking the rental. You can get another car?”

“I’m not worried,” he told her.

That was vague. But whatever. She needed to get out of this town.

“Call me when you get home,” Kade told her.

She nodded, unable to speak suddenly. She’d call him when she got to Seattle. She was actually leaving home right now.

Crap.

Blinking against the tears, she pulled the bag off the bed. As she passed him, Kade pulled her in for a quick hug. “You don’t have to leave.”

“I don’t want to be one more thing for Kyle to worry about.”

Kade pulled back, but he kept his hand on her shoulder. “I’m only going to say all of this one time. This town is…special. And, while he may have an inflated ego and be a workaholic and take on more than he needs to, Kyle Ames is a good guy who I think really loves you, and who can handle what you throw at him. You surprised him with some stuff today. Give him a chance to process it. And then, if he can’t poke you with acupuncture needles—which is actually hilarious, by the way—I’ll just keep doing it.”

She frowned. “Yeah. I know you will.”

“But you’ll have to stay here for that to happen.”

“Here?” She looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m staying.”

“For two more weeks.”

“I’m coming to Seattle in two weeks. For a few days. But I’m coming back here.”

She blinked up at him. “You have to be kidding me.”

He shrugged. “I like it here. This book is going great. And I have an idea for a sequel.”

Hannah rubbed her forehead. Kade was staying in Sapphire Falls? Really?

But yeah, probably. If the book turned out well, she could see him wanting to stay.

She was suddenly jealous of her best friend. He could just stay. Just like that. There was no reason for him not to. Nothing specific to go back to Seattle for. He could work here. He could live here.

And so could she.

Except for the tiny issue of being a burden to the man she loved.

“Kyle will think I’m staying because of him.”

“Good. Because you should be staying because of him,” Kade said. “Jesus, you think you should stay because of me? Girl, you need to get your own life. I can’t be everything to you all the time.”

That actually made her crack a smile. “I don’t want to be a problem.”

“So don’t be a problem.” Kade shrugged.

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks. Very helpful. I’ll just get over everything.”

“Good.”

“Kade!”

“You need to get over this idea that you can’t need anyone for anything here,” Kade told her, unfazed. “I don’t get that. I’ve been here for two weeks and everyone in this town gets to need other people for stuff. Except you. Why is that?”

“That’s not true,” she told him. “I’m not the only one.”

“Well, you and Kyle, right?”

She sighed. “Yeah.”

“And what would you do if he needed you for something?”

“I’d do whatever I could to help him.”

“Then you can’t leave.” Kade lifted a hand to the side of her face. “He needs you, kiddo.”

God, she really didn’t want to leave.

“And one more thing,” Kade said. “I really think that your grandmother, mom, dad, best friend,” he said, pointing at himself, “and probably nearly a hundred other people here would be offended to think that you can’t need us.”

She couldn’t help it. There was hope bubbling up in her chest. Dammit. She took a deep breath. “You really think he loves me?”

“I think he loves you more now than ever,” Kade said. “You know each other now. You’re older and wiser and all of that shit. So yeah, I think he loves you and, if he can come to terms with the idea that not everything goes according to plan, then I think this is the real thing.”

She felt tears pricking her eyelids. The real thing. God, that sounded good. And Kade was right. This was different than what they’d had before. This was…more. They’d both grown up in a nearly perfect town with everything always falling into place for them. Now they’d both had some things go wrong—okay, that was an understatement—and they’d gotten through it. They’d had to talk things out. Confess their flaws. Face that they’d both been wrong about some things. They knew each other better now. And they knew themselves better.

The only thing left to find out was if Kyle could, in fact, deal with the idea that things would not always go according to his plan—and if he could be okay with that.

“Okay,” she finally said. “I won’t leave. Yet. But if you’re wrong, you have to swear to me that you’re not going to use the name Aquamarine Ridge.”

“Oh, sure, no worries,” Kade said. “I’ve already changed it.”

“You have?”

“Aquamarine Cove is much better.”

She blinked at him. “Cove? In Nebraska?”

“Yeah, kind of like a town named something falls…where there is no waterfall at all.”

Okay, he might have a point.

She let herself think about Kyle—and staying and needing him—for the first time since he’d left Kade’s room earlier. She’d put it out of her head, convinced it could never happen. But now… She looked at the clock. It was after nine. He’d been gone all day. No doubt something had come up after he’d checked on David at the diner. And at some point, he’d been back to see Alice, but he hadn’t been there when Hannah had. She’d been relieved and disappointed at the same time.

She knew that he’d been working all day. Helping people. Making them feel better, in a variety of ways.

But when he was done, finally at the end of the day, done with everything, then what? Who was there for him? Who did he talk to, who rubbed his neck?

She pulled her phone out and dialed Derek’s number. She could call Kyle, but she needed to see him in person, and she thought maybe it would be best if she showed up without announcing it.

“Hey, Hannah.”

“Hi. Do you know where Kyle is?”

“Um…”

“What?” She frowned.

“He’s not with you yet?”

“Yet? I haven’t seen him.”

“Are you in Seattle?”

Her heart thumped. “No. I’m still in Sapphire Falls.” She frowned. “Why?”

“He’s on his way to the airport.”

“The airport? Why?”

“He was sure you were leaving.”

Hannah processed that. Kyle had assumed she’d leave. And she’d been on her way. He’d known that her first instinct was to leave.

She hated that.

“No. I’m…um, staying.”

Derek blew a breath out. “That’s awesome, Hannah. Seriously.”

“Thanks.” She was still a little nervous about it, but it felt right. “But Kyle’s on his way to Seattle?”

“Well, Omaha. He can’t be there yet,” Derek said. “I’ll try to stop him.”

Hannah started for the door. “Yes, tell him to turn around. And I’ll meet him halfway.” She swallowed. “Which is exactly what we should have done three years ago.”

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Hannah was just on the other side of York when she saw Kyle’s truck heading west. She started honking and flashing her lights, quickly turning into a parking lot so she could change directions.

In the rearview mirror, she saw his brake lights, and then his truck whipping a U-turn in the middle of the next intersection. She pulled over underneath a tall light and waited. Kyle pulled up next to her a minute later. He didn’t even turn the truck off as he burst out of the cab. She met him between their vehicles.

Kyle gathered her into his arms, burying his face in her neck, and just held her. She wrapped herself around him, as much of her body against his as she could get.

They stayed like that for several long, sweet minutes.

Finally, Kyle pulled back with a huge, deep breath. “You were still in Sapphire Falls?”

“You were on your way to Seattle?”

He cupped her face. “I realized there are a hell of a lot of things in this world that I can’t fix or control. But there is one thing I can—being with you, wherever you are. I didn’t do that last time, and I’ve been chasing this idea of fixing everything around me since. Now I finally realize that I’ve just been looking for a way to fix my heart. And the only way to do that is to be with you.”

“Wow,” she said softly after a moment, “that was really good.”

He gave her a little grin. “Three years too late, maybe, but I’m glad I finally realized it and said it.” His expression sobered. “And this… I love you, Hannah. I’ve always loved you.

Her eyes filled with tears. “I love you too. So much. I’ve never stopped.”

“God, I should have come after you. I should have said to hell with my residency if it meant not coming to you.”

She shook her head. “It’s over now. All of that is over.”

“You know, I go around thinking that I’m doing all of these amazing things for others, but you, God, you gave everything up—your hometown, your family, me, your happiness, so that I could have the life I wanted. The life I thought I wanted,” he corrected. “The truth is, I’ve been working my ass off in part because I’m trying to fill the gaps. The lonely, empty gaps in my time and my attention and my energy and my heart where you’re supposed to be. And I feel good about my work, but it hasn’t...worked,” he said with a small smile. “Because nothing can fill in for you.”

Hannah felt a tear roll down her cheek. But she wasn’t about to say anything to interrupt this amazing monologue.

Kyle’s thumb caught the next tear and wiped it away. “Please stay and let me try to take care of you. I’ll get better at it. And there’s always Hope and her shop for the stuff I’m not good at.”

“And Kade,” she said.

Kyle frowned. “What?”

“He’s staying in Sapphire Falls too.”

Kyle rolled his eyes and sighed. “Great.”

She laughed softly and covered his hands with hers. “It is great. Because I’ve finally found the one thing you’re not good at.”

“Oh?”

“Sticking me with acupuncture needles.”

He gave a little shudder. “Yeah. I think you might be right.”

She squeezed his hands. “But you don’t have to be good at that. It just so happens that I can need a lot of people. Just like they can need me. Maybe not for washing windows, but for other stuff. Like talking and laughing and learning new things.”

He gave her a look that was so full of love, she felt her breath catch. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there after your accident.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t know I had a needle phobia when it comes to you.”

She laughed. “I’m sorry that we’re not back in Sapphire Falls right now in our house.”

His expression softened. “Now see? There’s something else I can fix. Right now.” He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, heading to his truck.

“We’re just leaving the rental car here?” she asked.

“Is it in your name or Kade’s?”

“Kade’s.”

“Then yeah, we’re just leaving it here.”

And when Hannah insisted on sleeping on the floor at their house that night, Kyle didn’t protest—much. But he did insist on giving her a very thorough full body massage. Twice. And when she woke up in the morning without a single twinge of pain, she wasn’t surprised at all.