The Country Guesthouse (Sullivan's Crossing #5)(27)

Their routine was full, exhausting for Noah. The little guy had an hour or two nap most days. There had never been so much life in Owen’s home before.

Then he was down to a week left. Then a couple of days.

“You know, you can stay longer if it will help things,” he said to Hannah.

“Thank you, that’s very sweet. But staying on any longer is like running away from a reality Noah and I really should face. Are we invited back for a visit?”

“Many visits,” he said. “You are always welcome.”

She was feeling so comfortable and content that it all seemed too good to be true. Then there was a strange occurrence—she saw a missed call on her phone. Wyatt. There was no message. No text. She decided it must have been a pocket dial. But it brought back that uncomfortable feeling—maybe I’m no good at knowing a good man when I find one.

A couple of hours with Owen made her stop worrying about that. Or stop caring, she wasn’t sure.

She went to bed, night after night, telling herself it was time to go. And then it was. She told Noah they had one more day.

  The next morning, Hannah woke up to the sound of drizzle. It would be good for the flowers and vegetables in Sully’s garden, but it was a shame that on their last day with Owen, they’d be driven inside. On top of that, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

“I said I’m not hungry! I don’t want stupid cereal!” Noah said angrily.

Hannah was stunned. The perfect child had gone sour. “Would you like eggs? Toast? Pancakes? I think we have some—”

“I’m not hungry,” he yelled, hitting the table with his fist and tipping the cereal bowl so that milk and Cheerios ran all over the table and dripped on the floor.

“I guess what you want is a time-out. Go to your room. I’ll be in to talk to you in a minute. After I clean up.”

“I. Want. Romeo!”

“I don’t think they’re up yet. If I have to drag you to your room, I will. Let’s move it.”

“I don’t want to,” he said. Then he burst into tears.

Hannah left the spilled milk and crouched beside Noah’s chair. She felt his head. “Are you feeling sick?” she asked. “Do your legs hurt? Are you still tired?”

“I’m nothing,” he said, grinding his little fists into his eyes.

“Why are you in a temper?” she asked. “I’ve never known you to be so awful and mean.”

“You’re mean!” he said.

“Okay,” she said, picking him up. “You need a little time alone and I need to clean up the mess you made. I don’t want to see you until you’re ready to apologize. And I know you know what that means.”

He started to struggle and kick. He had his heavy tennis shoes on and got her a good one in the shin.

“Boy, you might be in here all day,” she said, depositing him on his bed and closing the door on the way out. She vigorously rubbed her shin, then limped to the kitchen.

A couple of minutes later there was a knock on the door and she opened it to Owen and Romeo. Romeo had a towel draped over his back, sopping up the drizzle. “Was that Noah screaming?” he asked.

“Yes, Mr. Cranky Pants came to breakfast this morning.”

“Is he like that often?”

“No! I have no idea what’s wrong. I hope he’s not coming down with something. We’ve been together 24/7 for over two months and I’ve never seen behavior like that before. Not even with losing his mother.”

“Maybe it was bubbling up,” Owen said. “If it was, it’s good to get it out.”

Romeo sat beside Owen, quiet and stoic. In fact, it looked to Hannah as if the dog frowned slightly. “Want some Cheerios, Romeo?” she asked, standing aside with a rag in her hand. The dog very happily cleaned up the rest of the mess on the floor.

Hannah poured Owen a cup of coffee and they sat at the table.

“Why does your coffee taste so much better than my coffee?” he asked.

“Because you didn’t make it. You want me to mess you up some eggs?”

“I’ll wait awhile, maybe eat with Noah. When he recovers. What are your plans for the day?”

“I was hoping Noah would play outside and I could gather up our stuff. We’re going to get our bath and shower tonight, and in the morning we’ll just dress, have a little breakfast and hit the road early.”

“I can entertain him in the barn with pictures,” Owen said. “Hopefully it’ll clear up later.”

“I want to go over to Sully’s and say goodbye,” she said.

“You’ll come back here for a visit, won’t you?”

“Of course! Yes! I promise!”

“I’ll look forward to it every day.”

“I don’t know when, Owen. I have to figure out some things at home first, you know. I have to find my comfort zone. Our comfort zone. Then I can try to plan a visit with you. That will give Noah something to look forward to.”

“And me,” he said. “I’ll be sure to give you the dates I’m going to be away so you... Come when I’m here, okay? I can help with Noah and Romeo won’t be with my sister, and you know Noah wants Romeo here. You take his wet suit in case you want to take a dip in one of those icy Minnesota lakes...”