The Country Guesthouse (Sullivan's Crossing #5)(46)

He shrugged. “Rent it? Sell it? Let it sit for six months or a year while you give yourself time to be sure? While you see if this is as good as it feels? I’ll pay the mortgage.”

“Owen, you’re acting a little crazy...”

“Hannah, I’m pretty well-off,” he said. “It’s meaningless without a family. Shit, I was trying not to say anything that would pressure you.”

She laughed a little. “Owen, the last few months have been lifesaving for me because of you. I’m facing a whole new life with Noah and because of you, it’s been sane and manageable. I worry about taking advantage of you. But since I’ve been helping in the studio a little bit, I’m less worried about that.”

“Will you think about this while I’m gone?”

“As soon as you tell me what ‘this’ is,” she said.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “It’s whatever you want it to be. It can be just like it is now, two people sharing a house, a dog and a boy...”

“And having fabulous sex,” she added.

He grinned. “It can be a commitment, if you want. Or when you want that—I’m not in any great rush as long as you’re staying. It can be a commitment with an agreement that Noah’s trust will be managed only by you—we seem to be up to our necks in lawyers if we need documents drawn to protect you and Noah. ‘This’ can be us being a team that works together. Anything you say.”

“I will think about all of that, yes,” she said. “I want you to go to the biggest cave ever. And we’ll work on this project when you’re home.”

“Will you be lonely?” he asked.

“I’ll miss you just awful but I have PT, counseling, an active boy and dog and brand-new friendships. Maybe we’ll finish reading Treasure Island. I’ll be too busy to be lonely.”

He pushed her hair behind her ear. “I think you belong here.”







There is no doubt that it is around
the family and the home that all
the greatest virtues...are created,
strengthened and maintained.

—Winston Churchill



9


A feeling of belonging had long been an issue with Hannah, but she hadn’t quite realized it until Owen said it. Was it a place? A person? Was it a talent or profession? A group like the First Baptist Church, AA or the Boston Pops? The first time she was conscious of not belonging had been when she was about six and her mother had the second of her two new daughters and someone said, “Hannah’s not even the same color, is she?” Hannah’s hair and eyes were brown to their white blond and blue. Her skin tone was slightly more tan and rosy than her sisters’, who were ivory. And, of course, Hannah was adopted, but there were good records—she was supposed to be of French, German, Danish and Portuguese descent. Yet she’d always felt different. And why should she trust biological parents who gave her away? They might have tossed out some nationalities without knowing anything.

Owen wanted her to think about staying...with him. And she would. She couldn’t help it; she could think of little else. But she was also going to think about belonging in a larger sense, like what she was committed to and what and who was committed to her.

Owen left early in the morning but even though the sun was barely up, he wouldn’t leave without kissing Noah goodbye. “I’ll be back in ten days,” he said. “Will you take good care of Romeo?”

“I can do that,” Noah said sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

“Remember, when you leave him home, tell him how long you’ll be gone.”

“Sure, okay,” he said.

Owen rubbed the big dog’s head. “You take care of Noah,” he told the dog. “I’m counting on you.”

“You excited, Owen?” Noah asked.

Owen shrugged. “I’d sort of like to put it off. I’ve been having too much fun lately and I think I’m getting lazy.”

“Hannah says everyone has jobs to do,” Noah wisely lectured.

Owen laughed. “She’s a slave driver,” he said.

“Am not,” she said from behind him. She stood in the doorway, watching him say goodbye to Noah.

“Are, too,” he said, his lips lifting in a smile. “Noah, my car is packed. I’m going to say goodbye and get out of here before I talk myself into staying.”

“We’ll come on the porch,” Noah said, giving Romeo a pat on the rump to get him up.

Noah reached for his crutches and Owen scooped him up. “I’ll give you a lift,” he said. “You can sit with Romeo on the porch and try not to get in my way while I say goodbye to Hannah. I have some serious kissing in mind.”

“I’m starting to think you like all that kissing,” Noah said.

“Me?” Owen asked. “Nah. I just don’t want her to feel ignored.”

“That was a total fib,” Noah said and Owen tickled him.

Noah and Romeo waited patiently on the porch while Owen and Hannah kissed and hung on to each other beside Owen’s truck. Owen lifted her chin and looked into her brown eyes. “I want you to have fun, stay busy, be around the people you like, fill your days and if you think of it, take pictures of Noah and Romeo. And listen, if there’s Wi-Fi anywhere, I’ll email, but I’ve been told that’s unlikely. But I want you to have fun so it goes by fast.”