Chapter Thirteen
“We’re all worried about you.” Hannah almost lost her dinner as her father cornered her while she looked out the front window.
She turned from her view of an escape. “There’s nothing to worry about, Dad. Marty moved to Maryland. He really is out of my life this time.”
Her father narrowed his eyes. “We’re not worried about Marty.”
“Okay,” she said slowly, not at all liking the way this conversation was going.
“This young man you’ve been keeping company with, you need to stop encouraging him.”
With each beat, her heart grew heavier, sinking in her chest. “You’re not worried about the man who came after me with a broken bottle in a dark parking lot, but you are worried about Mason. The guy who kept Marty from attacking me.”
“Don’t get hysterical. We’re all glad he was there that night, but why was he there, Hannah? Because he’s stalking you.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “That’s all in Troy’s imagination. Mason’s really wonderful. You’ll see.”
“You know you aren’t the best judge of character. You thought Dalton was an underachiever, and he just sold his second novel. You thought Marty was promising, and… Well, look at how that turned out.”
How was she supposed to argue with that? Her college boyfriend had turned out to have a hidden talent, and her last boyfriend had turned out to be a married creep. “Mason is thoughtful and kind, and he’s been amazingly supportive through this whole mess.”
Her father shook his head and swirled his brandy. “You need to be more careful. We don’t want to see you go through another crisis. We want you to be happy, get married, start a family. Your priorities are in all the wrong places. You need to be looking for someone more suitable.”
She did not want to know what her parents considered suitable. “I’m very happy with my life.” And she was, especially lately.
“You don’t want to be married, have children?”
“Maybe someday, but they don’t just fall from the sky.”
“And you can’t work for them if you’re always at work.”
“I’m not discussing my promotion.” She turned back to the window and glanced at her watch. Of all the nights to be late, why tonight?
“Here you two are.” Molly’s voice rang across the room. “Come into the family room; we have an announcement to make.”
Hannah was grateful for the save. Another minute with her father, and he might have found out what hysterical looked like. Why was nothing she did ever good enough?
She looked around the family room at the reason why. Perfection surrounded her. Her older sister, Beth, sat with her two boys, both wearing white button-down shirts and ties that were still clean. Beth’s husband poured sparkling cider and passed the flutes around. Troy held Molly close to him as if she were a doll that might break at any moment. Even her parents looked perfect standing shoulder to shoulder in their holiday best.
She was alone, just as she’d been growing up. Always alone in the middle of a crowded room. Her father tilted his head and whispered a secret to Beth. Her mother reached out and squeezed Molly’s hand. Wasn’t she supposed to have gotten over this by now?
Sometimes she deluded herself into thinking she had. But then there were moments like this when she saw the emptiness clearly. She wanted Mason here tonight to prove she wasn’t alone anymore. That someone cared about her. They didn’t need to know he was with her because of the sex. She just wanted him to be here so for one moment she wouldn’t be so lonely in the middle of them.
Troy cleared his throat, pulling her from her pity party. Molly was smiling so brightly Hannah couldn’t help but smile back. She didn’t want her sisters to be any less happy. She just wanted some of that fullness for herself. She shook the cobwebs from her head. Turning thirty was turning her into a sap.
“We’re glad everyone could be here tonight. We have an announcement, and we wanted to tell everyone together.” Troy looked down lovingly at Molly. He could be a nice guy when he wasn’t nosing into her business.
Molly turned to the group. “We’re having a baby!”
Beth was so excited she nearly knocked her youngest to the ground.
Hannah rose and hugged her sister. “I knew you couldn’t like chili that much.” She stepped back so her mother could rub Molly’s nonexistent bump.
The sparkling cider was gone in one long gulp. Having her family this excited would make a much better impression on Mason. They could all talk about the impending arrival instead of whether or not he was stalking her.
“When are you quitting?” Hannah froze as her mother’s words hung in the air.
“Why would she quit?” she heard her voice say before she bothered with eye contact.
“Because, Hannah, she’s going to have a baby. Family is more important than a simple job.”
“Molly doesn’t have a job, Mother, she has a successful career. She is very good at what she does, and there is no reason she can’t continue to work and be a mother.”
“She’ll want to be with her baby.”
Molly broke into the conversation. “She is in the room. This is a conversation for another time.”
Hannah stared her mother down. She wouldn’t let her guilt Molly into giving up her career. Rage boiled inside of her, her blood already on simmer from her conversation with her father. They would not pressure Molly, too.
Her mother broke the gaze first. “If you’re going back to work, we’re moving back. Someone has to take care of this baby.”
“Mom, that’s not necessary,” Molly said looking at Hannah. “I’m planning to work until I’m due in May. Then I’ll take a couple of years off.”
Hannah’s head hung as she marched from the room and up the stairs. She tried to make out the emotion choking her. Disappointment, jealousy, pride? She couldn’t quite tell. But whatever it was, it made her sick.
Even the frantic folding and hanging of her laundry couldn’t calm her. Nothing short of a screaming match with her parents could unload this much resentment and anger. Hannah knew she was smart and hardworking and good enough, damn it. Why did they always make her feel like she’d never measure up?
They knew enough to stay out of her way as she made three trips to get all the laundry into Kate’s car. Mason finally arrived as she carried the last of it out of the house.
“I have to get out of here. Now.” Hannah shoved a basket of laundry into Kate’s car and turned to face him.
…
I’m only ten minutes late. “Shouldn’t you be putting this stuff in the truck?” he asked.
“What? Why?” She snapped the words so harshly he took a step back.
Mason exhaled slowly. “Because you’re dropping the car off for Kate at my folk’s house.”
Hannah looked up at the night sky. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”
He unlocked the back door of the Bronco and placed the laundry basket on the seat, doing the same with an armload of clothes on hangers and another basket. His laundry basket. She’d done his laundry?
When he closed the door, Hannah was waiting for him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. “I will do anything you want, anything for a week, if you don’t make me go tonight.”
What the hell happened here? He held her close, tucking her head beneath his chin. He hated when she felt this way. Hated when she tried to barter sex for understanding. Hated that she thought she had to.
“We’ll be fast at my folks. Just drop Kate the keys, and we’ll be gone.”
Hannah shook her head and looked at the ground. “I’m being such a baby.” Her whisper was barely audible as she pulled away and wiped her eyes. They’d made her cry? What was wrong with these people?
He tilted her chin to look him in the eye. “What happened?”
She lowered her lashes. He felt her taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself.
He stepped closer, pressing his body against hers. “It’s just us out here. You don’t have to put on a brave face.”
She dropped her shoulders but didn’t look up. “You want the good news or the bad news?”
He rubbed her arms. “Both.”
She lifted her chin, a slight grin playing on her lips. “My baby sister is pregnant.”
Mason gave a slow smile. “That must be the good news.”
“Yeah.” She sniffed. “She’s quitting her job.”
Mason shrugged. “Some women do, especially when their kids are babies.” Hannah tried to pull away, but he held her firm. That must be what this was about. “I don’t expect you to.”
She shrugged him off and stepped away. “Mason, we haven’t even been dating a month.”
Hearing the front door open, they both turned and watched Troy approach. With a sideways glance at Mason, he turned to Hannah. “I’m not going to let you take this from her. She’s been worried about your reaction for months. You go back in there and fake it if you have to.”
Where did this clown get off? He balled his fists at his sides. “Don’t tell her what to do.”
Hannah stepped closer to him, wrapping her fingers over his clenched fist. “We were just about to make our goodbyes.”
Troy narrowed his gaze at Mason. “Don’t say hello, and you won’t need a goodbye.”
“He goes in or I don’t,” Hannah said before he could speak.
Troy threw his hands in the air and marched back into the house.
Mason turned back to Hannah. “Who does he think he is?”
“He thinks you’re dropping the kinky cards to scare me so you can save me.” She feigned a whisper.
Mason rolled his eyes. “That’s ridiculous.”
“I know. But I can’t exactly tell him how I know the cards aren’t from you without getting too graphic.” Her eyes danced with meaning.
Mason smiled. He was having the same problem convincing his father Hannah wasn’t dropping the cards herself.
“You don’t have to go in there if you don’t want to. I won’t blame you, knowing what they think you’re doing.”
Mason pulled her toward the door. “They better get used to me.” Swinging her arm, he toyed with the box in his pocket. This night was not going as planned.
…
“You’re really very charming.” Hannah slammed the door to Kate’s car to punctuate her statement. She walked to the Bronco, stood next to Mason in his parents’ driveway, and tossed her bag through his open driver’s side door.
“Why do you sound surprised?” Mason slammed his door with a grin.
“Charming me out of my panties is one thing, but you wrapped my mother around your little finger in less than a minute.” She’d never seen anyone disarm her mother so fast. And her father actually shook his hand when they left. It was nothing short of miraculous.
He reached for her hand, pulled it between them, and played with her fingers. “I’m glad you’re in a better mood.”
“Me, too.” She let out a long sigh. “I’m nervous.”
“Me, too.” He laughed.
Hannah rolled her eyes. “They’re your family. What do you have to be nervous about?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve never done this before.”
Why did she never know what he meant? “This? What are we going to do?”
A slow smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “I’ve never brought someone home for a holiday.”
“What? Why not?” Even she’d done that. Once.
He leaned back against the truck and pulled her to him. “I only just found you.”
Her expression softened. “That’s a wonderful line, but can you be serious for a minute. What about all the women you took on trips?”
She felt his body rise and fall as he laughed. “All what women?”
As if this were funny. “The women in your pictures.”
He pressed his forehead against hers. “Oh, so you did snoop. I wondered what you’d find.”
She pouted at having given herself away. “Are you going to tease me or answer my question?”
He tightened his grip, pulling her up on her toes. “You’ve really never traveled, have you?”
She shook her head, realizing at some point he’d pinned her arms to her sides.
“When you travel, you meet people and take pictures so you’ll remember them. I’ve never taken a woman on vacation before.”
She wiggled against his grasp. “You’re freaking me out here.”
“Mason, I thought I heard you out here.” A beautiful older woman scurried out of the garage, her arms laden with Tupperware. Hannah recognized Mason’s mother from the photos. Mason must have inherited her hearing, because they were barely speaking above a whisper.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Mama.” Mason only squeezed Hannah tighter, lifting her completely off the ground. Fantastic first impression. He must be telling the truth. He obviously hadn’t done this before.
“I saved you some of everything, but I don’t want your brothers to see.” She rounded the truck and peered at the laundry in the back seat.
“I’m her favorite,” Mason whispered loud enough for the world to hear. Finally, he put her down. “Let’s hide it in the back. I brought a cooler.”
Hannah stepped back, glad her feet were once again firmly on the ground. She watched the quiet interaction of mother and son as they packed the morsels away.
As if he felt how starved for affection she was, Mason moved to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Hannah, this is my mother, Mary Jean.”
The older woman’s cinnamon-brown eyes warmed over her as she leaned in for an embrace. Her stomach fluttered as she felt soft lips against her cheek. “We’re so glad you’re with us tonight, Hannah. We’ve all been dying to meet the woman captivating Mason.”
When she pulled away, her smile was wide and genuine. Not at all monster-in-law. Hannah tried to force a smile, only to realize her cheeks had already complied.
“Come on inside, you two. I’m sure Kate will be glad to see a familiar face. I’m afraid the boys haven’t given her a moment to herself since she arrived.”
Mason took Hannah’s hand and swung it between them as they followed his mother into the house. The sound of boisterous laughter hit her harder than the warm air rushing out of the door. She was swept away by the whirlwind of introductions, thankful when Kate finally grabbed her hand and pulled her down on a patterned sofa.
“I’m so glad you’re here. If I have to tell one more person where I went to college, I’m going to scream.”
Kate was positively glowing. Maybe she was in love with Derek. “How was Vegas?”
Kate grabbed for her wineglass from the coffee table and drained it in one swallow. “Have you seen Derek?”
Hannah shook her head. Derek was the only McNally she hadn’t seen in the last five minutes.
“I need to find him. Honey, I will be right back.” Kate got up, leaving Hannah alone on the couch in a crowd of people she didn’t know. She crossed her legs and placed her folded hands on her lap. She wished Mason had told her to change. Everyone wore jeans and sweaters, while she was still wearing the dress from the more formal Thanksgiving meal with her family.
As he slid next to her on the sofa, she realized why. He hadn’t thought to change from his work clothes. He looked exactly as he did the first time she’d laid eyes on him.
Mason flashed her a smile. “So what do you think?”
She had no idea what to make of anything when he smiled at her that way. “They all have brown eyes,” she whispered in his ear.
“Very observant, Miss Daniels.” He pulled her away from the couch and up the stairs.
If he was pulling her upstairs for a quickie, he had another think coming. “Where are we going?” she asked, running into the back of him when he stopped short.
He stepped behind her and directed her attention to the collage of pictures on the wall. “There he is.” He tapped a framed snapshot of an elderly man sitting on the floor playing Lincoln logs with a tow-headed toddler. “Francis Mason, meet Hannah Daniels.” Hannah leaned closer. The old man’s eyes were definitely blue, but she’d never know if they were the same blue.
“You have his eyes?” she asked, turning to face him.
“So I’ve been told.” He backed down a step and looked her in the eye. “Would you look at that?”
“What?” she asked, not caring about the answer. His gaze was almost hypnotic the way it rolled across her face.
“When I’m down here, we’re exactly the same height.” Her gaze focused on his mouth. She suddenly realized she hadn’t kissed him in three days. Not since Monday night. Where had the time gone?
But she couldn’t kiss him here, now. She settled for tracing his lips with her fingertip, her stomach clenching as he leaned in. Maybe it wouldn’t look so bad if he kissed her.
“Hands where I can see them, Mason. The rules don’t change just because you move out.” Mac’s words were gruff and caused a blush Hannah was sure extended to the roots of her hair, but Mason’s father smiled as he walked by them.
Mason pulled back. “That man must have radar.”
…
Marry me. The words echoed in his head. It wasn’t what he’d planned, and he knew she deserved more than a whisper on his parents’ staircase, but he just wanted to get it out. He’d only gotten the ring yesterday, too afraid she might find it if she went snooping.
Kate had been so helpful, telling him the size and the style Hannah liked. She would like the ring. He wanted to get married the first week she had off and honeymoon in New Zealand for the other two.
Her parents were in town until her birthday, a week from now. There’d be time to clear it with them later. First, he needed to convince her to trust herself, him, and them.
“Hannah?”
“Everybody, can I have your attention?” Derek jumped on top of the coffee table to address the crowd. “Now that everybody is finally here, I have an announcement to make.”
“First, I want to thank Mason and Hannah for introducing me and Katie.” Derek looked down and smiled. “I looked at this woman and thought, wow. This must be a mercy date.”
The family laughed, and Mason took Hannah’s hand.
“Before we even left the bar that night, I told her I was in love with her. It was the most amazing night of my life, and then she got on a plane the next morning.”
As the crowd sighed, Mason noticed Kate was blushing, and he squeezed Hannah’s hand. “I called her incessantly, harassing her until she agreed to see me again. Last weekend in Las Vegas. Before she changed her mind, I talked her into marrying me right then and there.” Mason gave Hannah’s hand a final squeeze and stepped down the stairs to congratulate his brother.