Green Mountain Collection 1 by Marie Force (31)

After a restful night of dreamless sleep, Hannah enjoyed her first cup of coffee in the kitchen, which boasted a spectacular view of Butler Mountain. She missed Homer and their morning routine, but every time the sorrow threatened to intrude, she tried to think of him with Caleb, which always made her feel better.

Her thoughts returned again and again to Nolan and the time they’d spent together and the surprisingly sensual man who lived beneath his equally sexy exterior. Though she’d known him most of her life, he was still an enigma to her in many ways because he didn’t talk endlessly the way Caleb had, sharing every thought that popped into his always busy mind.

Nolan was much more reserved, self-contained in a way that kept him somewhat removed from the rest of them even when he was right in the middle of the fray with their group of friends. There was so much she didn’t know about him, so much she had yet to learn about him, and she couldn’t wait to see him again.

The phone rang on the counter, jarring her out of her daydreams about Nolan. Her brows knitted when she saw the veterinary clinic’s phone number on the caller ID as she took the call.

“Hi, Hannah. It’s Myles.”

“Hi, Myles.”

“I hope I’m not calling too early.”

“Not at all. I’ve been up for a while.”

“I was thinking of you, because of Homer and everything . . .”

“That’s very nice of you. I miss him, but it’s nice to think of him being reunited with Caleb. They were such buddies.”

“Yes,” Myles said, his tone hushed. “They certainly were. So, um, the other reason I called is I wanted to ask if maybe you might like to have dinner sometime.”

Hannah winced and closed her eyes. “It’s so nice of you to ask, Myles.”

“I hear a but in there.”

“I’m seeing someone.” Hannah cringed as she held the phone tighter. If she had her druthers, her personal life would remain just that—but that was almost impossible in a small town like Butler, where everyone knew her and Nolan and where everyone would be interested in them as a couple.

“Is it Nolan?”

“Yes.”

“I thought I might’ve seen more than friendship between you two the other night, but I wasn’t sure. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make things awkward between us.”

“You haven’t. I appreciate you calling and everything you did for me when Homer died.”

“I was happy to help out. Give me a call when you’re ready to bury him, and I’ll take care of everything for you.”

She’d already invited him to the funeral in appreciation of his special care of Homer as he aged. “Thank you so much, Myles. I’ll call you next week.”

“Sounds good.”

Hannah put down the cordless phone as the doorbell rang. Was it going to be that kind of day? She went to the front door and opened it to find her sisters, Ella and Charley, holding cups of coffee and a bag from the bakery. “Why are you ringing the bell?”

“We were told we’re no longer allowed to walk right in,” Charley said with her typical bluntness. She shared her lighter coloring with their brothers Will and Wade, while Ella had dark hair and eyes like Hannah and Hunter. “And of course we had to come over to find out why.”

“Of course you did,” Hannah said, amused as she stepped aside to admit her younger sisters.

When they were settled around the kitchen table, Charley broke out warm cinnamon buns and put them on the plates Hannah provided.

The cinnamon scent made Hannah’s mouth water as her sisters watched her warily.

“Are you going to make us drag it out of you?” Charley asked.

“Stop being such a bull in a china shop,” Ella said. “She’ll tell us when she’s ready to.”

“Um, hello, this is Hannah,” Charley reminded Ella. “She’s never going to be ready to tell us, so we have to pull it out of her. Just like always. Remember how long she’d been sucking face with Caleb before she admitted he was her boyfriend?” Charley looked at Hannah, stricken by what she’d said. “I’m sorry. Bad example.”

“It’s okay to talk about him, Charley. I’d hate for you or anyone to think you can’t mention his name around me. You know that.”

“You don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to,” Ella said, kind as always. Hannah had never, ever heard her say a bad word about anyone. Ever. “We mostly wanted to see how you’re coping after Homer died.”

“I’m okay. He’s with Caleb, and that makes me happy.”

Ella’s eyes shone with unshed tears as she got busy with her breakfast.

“She might not want to know why we have to knock now, but I still want to know,” Charley said over a mouthful of sweet confection. “Just for the record.”

“It astounds me at times that you two came from the same parents,” Hannah said.

“It astounds me on a daily basis,” Ella said dryly, making the three of them laugh.

“You guys love me,” Charley said. “You know you do.”

“Someone has to,” Hannah said.

“Insult me all you want. I still need to know what you’ve been up to, big sister.”

“A little of this, and a little of that,” Hannah said, gratified when both of them stared at her.

“With who?” Charley asked.

“It’s actually whom,” Ella said.

“Shut up!” Charley said, tossing a napkin at her. “We’re just getting to the good stuff.”

Hannah shot them a withering look. “Whom do you think?”

“Nolan?” Ella asked hopefully.

Hannah nodded and then covered her ears when they started shrieking.

“Hail freaking Mary,” Charley said. “Finally! Was it good?”

“Charley!” Ella said. “Don’t you dare ask her that!” Even as she said the words though, Ella stared at Hannah seeming to hope she might share the dirty details.

Charley scowled at her. “Why not? If anyone deserves a good lube and filter job from the hottest mechanic in Vermont, it’s Hannah.”

Hannah was too busy laughing to reply to that audacious statement. A lube and filter job? Where did Charley come up with this stuff?

“He is pretty hot,” Ella agreed. “He’s all dark and broody and mysterious.”

“And built like a brick shithouse,” Charley added. “Don’t forget that.”

“True,” Ella said. “And I love the hint of silver in his hair. You can tell he’s going to be a hot older guy, too. You know how some guys get handsomer as they get older?”

Charley nodded in agreement.

“Nolan will be like that. Don’t you think so, Hannah?”

“Oh you two remembered I was here?”

“Stop being all secretive and spill the beans,” Charley said.

“What did you hear?” Hannah asked, stirring cream into her coffee.

“Mom said we have to ring the bell at your house from now on,” Ella said. “That’s all she said.”

Hannah was thankful for her parents’ discretion, but unfortunately they’d told her sisters just enough to whet their appetites. “The night Homer died, Nolan had come over to go to dinner and he ended up staying with me. They came in the next morning, and he was still here—on the sofa and fully clothed.” Did they look disappointed or was that her imagination?

“And nothing happened?” Charley asked.

“I never said that.”

Charley smacked her palm on the table, making the other two startle. “I knew it! Do tell!”

“You don’t have to, Hannah,” Ella said, eyeing Charley warily.

“Yes, she does,” Charley said. “We’ve waited years for her to start dating again. I want every detail.”

“You’re not getting every detail,” Hannah said. “All I’ll say is I like him, I like being with him and I like kissing him. That’s it.”

“That’s so awesome,” Ella said dreamily, a wistful expression occupying her face.

“So you haven’t . . . you know . . . done it yet?” Charley asked.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but no,” Hannah said.

“Are you scared to do that with someone else?” Ella asked.

Her question went straight to the heart of Hannah’s deepest anxiety about getting involved with someone new. If last night’s emotional meltdown was any indication of what might happen during the actual act, she had good reason to be worried. “A little.”

Ella’s hand covered Hannah’s on the table. “You should take your time and go really slow.”

“No way,” Charley said. “Just do it and get it over with. Until you do, it’ll be all you think about—and worry about.”

They both made good points, and Hannah had certainly considered both scenarios. “We’re taking it slow.” The memory of his hand inside the front of her jeans chose that moment to pop into her brain, launching a bolt of heat that settled between her legs. “For the most part.”

“Oh my God!” Charley said. “You just turned bright red! What were you thinking about?”

Hannah shook her head. Some things were far too personal to share, even with her sisters. “I’ve said all I’m going to say.”

“You’re no fun,” Charley said.

“For once, I have to agree with her,” Ella added.

“Gee, thanks a lot,” Hannah said. “You know I count on you to be the voice of reason with her.”

Ella shrugged. “I can’t help being curious and also happy for you. He’s a really nice guy.”

“Yes, he is,” Hannah said, smiling over her coffee mug.

“So I have a bit of gossip about one of our brothers,” Charley said with a mysterious grin.

“Which one?” Ella said, pouncing.

“Colton.”

He was the last one Hannah would’ve guessed. “Colton Abbott, man of the mountain, has done something gossip-worthy?”

Charley leaned in and kept her voice down, as if someone other than her sisters might hear her. “According to Mom, he shaved off his beard and cut his hair, and Mrs. Andersen told me she saw him shopping at the mall in St. Johnsbury—for clothes.”

Ella and Hannah stared at Charley, their mouths hanging open.

“He’s got a girlfriend!” Ella said.

“I know, right?” Charley said. “One more thing . . . He asked Mom and Dad to take his dogs this weekend because he was going to be ‘away.’”

“Away where?” Hannah asked, truly astounded by this information.

“He didn’t say, and they didn’t ask.”

“We need to have a talk with Mom about her prying skills, which are definitely not what they used to be,” Hannah said.

Charley nodded in agreement. “No kidding. I already told her I was very disappointed in her. She said he’s a grown man, and he has a right to his privacy.”

“Since when does anyone with the last name of Abbott have a right to privacy?” Hannah asked.

“What she said,” Ella replied gravely.

“Exactly!” Charley seemed pleased that her sisters finally agreed with her on something. “We’ve got to do some serious snooping to get to the bottom of this.”

“I can’t believe he left the mountain for a whole weekend,” Ella said. “He never does that. He only comes down on Sundays for dinner and to do his laundry.”

“Apparently, he’s coming down for something else these days,” Charley said with a dirty grin.

“Wow,” Hannah said, sitting back in her chair. “This is truly stunning. And no one has any idea who she is?”

“Nope,” Charley said. “Or if they do, they aren’t saying.”

“Very interesting,” Hannah said. “At least I’m not the only one you all are talking about.”

“We’re talking mostly about you,” Ella said.

“Fantastic,” Hannah said.

Her sisters left a short time later to get to the store before Hunter got pissed at them for being late. He was big on family members setting the right example for the rest of their employees. Hannah agreed with him, but she didn’t share that opinion with Charley or Ella.

Hannah had just settled into her studio to attempt some work for the first time in days when her brother Wade came in. Apparently, he hadn’t gotten the memo about the new knocking rules. “Hey,” Hannah said, pleased to see the most elusive of the Abbott siblings. His long dark blond hair was secured with a leather tie, and even though it was just barely spring, he wore a hoodie over a thermal shirt along with cargo shorts and sandals. While he most closely resembled Will, his face was more angular but no less handsome. “What brings you by?”

He bent to kiss her upturned cheek. “I was away the other night when Homer died. I just heard when I got back to town, so I came right over. Are you doing okay?”

“I miss him, but he was ready to see Caleb again.”

Wade’s lips tightened as he nodded, keeping his focus on the beads on her worktable. The emotional wallop of Caleb’s death still caught all of them off guard from time to time, and Wade was no different. He’d adored Caleb in his own quiet way and had been as devastated by his loss as the rest of their family.

“So you said you were away. Somewhere fun I hope.”

“Just down in Rutland for a few days.”

“What’s down there?”

“Some friends.”

“Female friends?” Hannah asked in a teasing tone.

Wade shrugged and continued to stare at the beads. He was always quiet and intense, but it didn’t require much insight to see that something was troubling him.

“What’s wrong, Wade?”

“Nothing. You’ve got enough going on. You don’t need to be taking on other people’s crap, too.”

“If you’re upset about something, that’s not crap. I’d be happy to listen if you need to talk.”

He wanted to. As she abandoned her stool, and took him by the hand, she could see that he wanted to very badly. She led him to the small sofa she kept in her studio and sat next to him.

Wade leaned forward, his chin propped on his hands.

Watching him, Hannah became more concerned with every minute that passed in silence.

“There’s a woman,” he finally said. “A very special woman.”

“How did you meet her?”

“At a yoga retreat.”

Despite the razzing from his brothers, Wade had been into yoga for years as part of his health-conscious lifestyle. “What’s her name?”

“Mia.” He seemed a million miles away. “We have a lot in common. She’s vegan like me, into fitness and yoga and rock climbing. All the things I love.”

“Sounds like she’s perfect for you.”

“Yeah.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“She’s married.”

Hannah gasped in shock. “Oh, Wade! And you’re seeing her anyway?”

“Not like that. Just as friends.” He swallowed hard and seemed to be grappling with his emotions. “I think he’s abusing her, but I can’t prove it, and she won’t talk about it.”

Hannah’s mind raced as she tried to process what he’d said. “What makes you think that?”

“Little hints, clues here and there, stuff she says about him that make him sound like a controlling asshole. Bruises on her arms.” He released his hair from the leather strap that held it and buried his fingers in its depths. “You can’t tell anyone, Hannah. This can’t be fuel for the family gossip machine.”

“You have my word I won’t tell anyone.”

“Remember John Junior?” Wade asked, referring to the dog their father had found along the side of the road and brought home to join the family. True to their father’s obsession, the dog had been named after one of the Beatles.

Surprised by the shift in topic, Hannah said, “What about him?”

“You know how we had him for all those years, treated him well and still, every time we went to pet him, he shied away like we were going to hit him?”

“It used to make me sad that he had so little faith in us even after all that time.”

“He was trained to be afraid of people at an early age. Mia is like that, too. She can’t bear to be touched, shies away from hugs, flinches at the slightest noise. All the signs are there, but she won’t admit anything is wrong, and it makes me crazy that I can’t do a damned thing to help her when I know she’s in trouble.”

“When you spend time with her,” Hannah asked, treading lightly out of fear that her always-reticent brother might stop talking, “how does that go? Where does her husband think she is?”

“At yoga. We meet at a restaurant twenty miles from her house so there’s no chance of running into anyone she knows.”

“And these meetings . . .”

“All we do is talk. I swear to God, that’s all we’ve ever done.”

“Do you talk to her between meetings?”

“By e-mail. She can’t take a chance on calling me, but she has my numbers at home and at work and my address and every possible way to get in touch with me. Just in case.”

“In case of what?”

“In case she ever needs me.”

“Wade—”

“Don’t. Please don’t tell me I’m playing with fire because I already know I am. But what am I supposed to do? Forget she exists and go on with my life like I never met her? You have no idea how much I wish I’d never met her, because she’s all I think about.” His voice broke ever so slightly. “And I can’t have her.”

Heartbroken for him, Hannah rested her hand on his shoulder. “Has she talked at all about leaving her husband?”

He shook his head. “We don’t go there. I have a feeling she’s afraid to even consider it.”

“There has to be somewhere she can go to get help.”

Turning to face her, he said, “You think I haven’t tried that? But she won’t even admit something is wrong, so how am I supposed to get her help? It’s a fucking mess, and I’m smack in the middle of it even though I know I shouldn’t be. I can’t seem to help it though.”

“There’s nothing wrong with caring about someone or trying to help them.”

“Yes, there is if it puts her—and maybe even me—in danger of some sort. I can’t even think about what might happen to her if he ever discovers we’re friends. The thought of that keeps me awake at night.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“A year this month.”

“Wade! Oh my God! A year?”

“Trust me, there’s nothing you can say that I haven’t already said to myself. But you really can’t tell anyone, Hannah. I mean it. I only told you because I had to tell someone, and you’re the only one who isn’t all up in my grill all the time trying to get me to be like the rest of you.”

Hannah tugged on his shoulder, encouraging him to let her hug him.

He sagged against her, seeming so defeated and exhausted that she ached for him.

“I’m here. No matter what happens, I’m here, and I’ll do anything I can to help you—and Mia.”

“Thanks, Han. And for listening, too.”

“Any time.”

“I’d better get to work. I’ve been off the last few days, and I’m sure the place didn’t shut down while I was gone.” Fittingly, he ran the health and wellness portion of the family’s business.

“No such luck.”

He kissed her cheek. “I’ll let myself out.”

“Keep me posted on what’s going on?”

Nodding, he got up and left the room.

Watching him go, Hannah feared for Mia—and for him.