The Country Guesthouse (Sullivan's Crossing #5)(75)

“We both know you’re pushing it. If I see you here again, I’ll talk to the judge. I’ve already warned the school principal to watch out for you.”

“Now, that was rude!” Victoria said, but she got into her car.

  Victoria didn’t show up the rest of the week, and Noah’s first week was very positive. On Friday night when Hannah was snuggling him at bedtime, he said, “I wish I could tell my mom.”

“I wish we both could,” Hannah said. “But I always feel like she’s near. When I start to think about her, I feel her. My heart feels a little bigger.” She smoothed back his hair. “I get the feeling that she’s kind of happy about the way things are going—we’re all happy, healthy and trying hard to live the kind of life that’s good for us. This was what she wanted for us.”

“I miss my mom, but I never had anything like this,” he said. “It’s kind of like a family with a mom and a dad. I know you’re not really my mom and Owen isn’t really my dad...”

“And Romeo isn’t really your brother,” Hannah said with a laugh.

Noah giggled. “But it’s like he is,” he said.

“We’re doing all right, aren’t we? We’re making the best of things.”

“I like it like this,” Noah said. “Even if it’s not really...”

“Noah, if it’s really a family to us, then it’s really a family. I love our family and Owen loves our family. We’ll stick together, the four of us. That’s how we’ll be okay—we’ll stick together.”

“My mom would like it,” he said. “It’s what she wanted. That’s why she wrote it down. I just can’t figure out how she knew about Owen and Romeo.”

Hannah felt a catch in her throat. “Those darn angels,” she said. “They know everything.”

  “Noah said the sweetest things at bedtime,” Hannah told Owen. She buried herself in his embrace. “He said this was what his mom wanted and that’s why she wrote it down.”

“Sometimes that kid baffles me with his understanding.”

“I know. He said he liked our family even if we’re not really one.”

“We are as far as I’m concerned,” Owen said. “We might not have the usual documentation, but it couldn’t feel closer to the real thing for me. And maybe, when you and Noah are ready, maybe we’ll make it legal. It might give us that extra solidarity we need when someone like Victoria comes along.”

“Is that what you want, Owen?” she asked.

“As long as I can lie beside you every night, I have my first wish. I believe in us, Hannah. You, me and Noah—we’ll be okay together. Anything I can do to protect us, that’s what I want. I love you.”

“How did I find you?” she asked. “You have been so good to us.”

“I think the house and the dog found you,” he said. “Thank God.”

  On Saturday morning, Victoria called. She wondered when she could see Noah. Hannah had been expecting this. “There’s a coffee shop not far from the courthouse in Leadville,” she said. “Let’s meet there for pie and coffee this afternoon at two. My treat. We should have a little visit before you see Noah again.”

“Is something wrong?” Victoria asked.

“Are you free to meet?” Hannah pushed.

She asked Owen if he could keep an eye on Noah while she met with Victoria, and he nodded but lifted an eyebrow in question. “I think it’s time Victoria and I have a discussion about what will and won’t be tolerated.”

Owen just smiled, but his eyes glittered.

At two sharp, Victoria showed up at the coffee shop. Hannah already had a cup of coffee and greeted Victoria with a smile, though the older woman didn’t reciprocate. “Thanks for coming, Victoria. Let’s get you some coffee or tea...”

Victoria seemed a little stiff. She knew something was coming and that was another thing that bothered Hannah—Victoria somehow seemed one step ahead of everyone.

When coffee was served, Hannah spoke. “We’d better have a talk about your expectations, Victoria, because it’s already very clear that your plans and mine are not even barely similar. Noah agreed to a visit with you because I asked him to. He’s so polite and he likes to please, but he was very honest—he didn’t enjoy it very much. He was obviously uncomfortable, as was I. Not that you did anything wrong, just that he doesn’t know you and doesn’t understand why you suddenly want to be a part of his life. And lurking around the elementary school when you don’t have permission to see him—that has to stop. Fortunately Noah didn’t notice but frankly, it creeps me out. It’s like you’re stalking this innocent little boy.”

“I only wanted a glimpse of the grandson who has been denied me.”

“Well, it has to stop. I don’t know when you last had a friendly relationship with Erin, but I know you hadn’t seen her in years. She said she called you now and then and that’s all. Noah is the priority here. He’s recovering from his loss, but—”

“I lost my daughter!” she exclaimed hotly.

“And I lost my best friend—and we were best friends up to the day she died, never an unkind word between us! But Noah is a child! And he’s the priority! If you’d like to call me to ask how he’s getting along, I’ll be happy to take that call. No more than once a week.”