The Country Guesthouse (Sullivan's Crossing #5)(22)

  Owen was all too aware that he was counting the days. Counting down, actually. At first he was thinking they had ten days left and that seemed like plenty. Then it was seven. Then it was five.

From the first moment he saw Hannah, he was smitten and the more time he spent with her, the more he was intrigued. Her skin bronzed up at once, glowing in the warm Colorado sunshine. She had some freckles on her cheeks that made her look fresh-faced. She wore no makeup and pulled her hair back in a simple ponytail, and when she let it loose, it fell below her shoulders. She was beautiful, long-legged and athletic. Her smile was contagious, her laugh loud and unrestrained.

Every day they swam, hiked, took pictures, looked at the pictures they’d taken. Hannah and Noah read together every afternoon, often in the hammock. They all went to the market together and got ice cream. They had breakfast, lunch and dinner together. Then he would sit on the porch with Hannah after Noah went to bed. He wasn’t sure what part of each day and night he loved the most.

Sheila called him late one night just as he was getting ready to turn in. “How was Taiwan, Owen?”

“Oh, Sheila, I guess I should have called you. I never thought... My trip was canceled. Severe flooding. At first they wanted to delay it five days, but I couldn’t see making the effort then.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “Did it cost you a fortune?”

“Nah, I’ve learned to always insure the trips. The places I like to go are sometimes isolated and inhospitable.”

“What’s your next trip, then?” she asked.

“This is the best. Hang Son Doong, the largest underground cave in the world. Vietnam. I’m going on an expedition. I’ll be gone two weeks, about one week in the cave. Look it up sometime—it’s amazing.”

“Didn’t you have someone renting the house?”

“I didn’t cancel them,” he said. “I’ve been staying in the barn. And I’m glad I didn’t cancel—they needed this place. It’s a young woman and her boy. They’re in a challenging place—his mother was her best friend and she passed away suddenly. They’ve known each other, the boy and Hannah, but he’s only five and on top of that he has a mild case of CP affecting both legs. Smart as a whip, this kid. Romeo has been helping him adjust to what will be a new life.”

“And are you helping them adjust, Owen?” she asked.

“He’s a brilliant, hilarious kid,” Owen said. “Kind of reminds me of someone. You know?”

“We’ll always miss him,” she said. “That’s something we’ll live with forever.”

He laughed, though not with humor. “You do it so much more gracefully than I do. I buried myself inside myself.”

“I don’t know that I’d consider my coping graceful. I became a roaring dragon. As for you, it sounds like at the moment you’re not buried,” she pointed out. “Rather, you seem to be surfacing a bit.”

“Noah probably brings that out,” he said. “He’s so alive. So funny and engaging. Despite his vulnerability, his neediness, he might be the strongest one of us on the property.”

“I’d say we’ve come a long way, both of us. And what’s she like, Owen?” Sheila asked.

“When we first met, she’d only had Noah for a few weeks and she was still on shaky ground, trying to figure out how to be a mother. She’s a single woman and though she’d promised her friend, this was the last thing she expected. This little retreat has been good for them. I can see the difference in her confidence already.”

“How much longer will they stay?”

“Five more days,” he said. He wondered if his voice lowered in some despair. “She lives in Minneapolis.”

Sheila was quiet for a moment. “Maybe they’ll decide to stay a little longer. Since it’s working out to be good for both of them.”

“I don’t know,” he said. “She keeps talking about all the details she has to get in order so she and Noah can get back to school and work and, you know, real life.”

Sheila laughed. “Sometimes real life is way overrated.”

And sometimes real life is what and where you make it, he thought. “How are Lucas and your girls?”

“Lucas works too hard on the foundation, but he’s getting so much accomplished. And the girls are busy and happy. We should book some time at your cabin and come for a visit. Soon.”

“Sheila,” he said with a laugh. “What kind of woman visits her ex-husband? With her new husband?”

“It takes a special ex-husband,” she said. “Listen, this woman and her boy—”

“Hannah,” he said. “Hannah and Noah.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t let them get away. Life’s short.”

“I know. Listen, I was just getting into bed but I’m glad we got to talk.”

“Ah. That’s Owen telling Sheila to mind her own business.”

“Not at all. Say hello to Lucas for me. Tell him to slow down—the work will never go away.”

“Speaking of work, are you getting any good pictures lately?”

“Fantastic pictures,” he said. “I’ll email you some. No, wait—I’ll email you some after the cave.”