A Place to Call Home (27 page)

With her hands safely on her hips, and not around his neck choking him, she said, “I thought I should get out of your house.”

 “Why? Did we bother you that much? I admit my boys are a handful but they’re good kids.”

“Of course they are,” she said, her heart mellowing at mention of the boys. Staring down, she realized his eyes had become the deepest blue she’d ever seen them.

“Then why’d you hurt them, Hannah?” he yelled standing right in front of her, toe to toe.

“What?” Her heart pounded. She would never. “Hurt them? How’d I do that?”

His strong arms crossed while his feet dug in and refused to budge. “You left with no warning. Just a note and voice mail. Oh, and what a note. I’ll paraphrase. Had to go on emergency business trip. Please change plans. Need apartment renovated by the time I return in a week. That should be plenty of time.” He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him, her toes barely touching the floor. “What the fuck would you know about how much time a particular part of the renovation should take?”

“Austin,” she said softly.

“Shut up! Christ. I spent the first half of the week trying to convince the boys they did nothing wrong.”

“I’m so sorry.” She paled. “I’ll talk to them.”

“The hell you will.” He pointed his finger in her face. “You’ll stay away from them.”

“Oh, Austin. No. This isn’t what was supposed to happen by me taking a week off,” she said, her voice cracking.

The glare he gave her seemed vicious. “What are we, another fucking business adventure like your restaurants?”

“What?” Tears stung her eyes. “No. I left because there was a fire.”

“So? Businesses have fires all the time. Owners don’t have to be there. You have a manager, don’t you?”

She fell silent.

“Don’t you?” he demanded.

“Yes, but—”

“But nothing,” he roared, cutting her off. “You didn’t need to go. Face it, Hannah. You did what you always did. You ran from here and us but you couldn’t stay gone since this project is still ongoing.”

Hannah’s body shook beyond her control. How could she have screwed this up so badly? Why hadn’t she realized she’d handled the entire situation wrong?

“I left because I fell in love. With all of you.” She stared at him, trying to blink the tears away, but they only slid down her cheeks. Her heart skipped a beat, but she swallowed her fear of admission. “I fell in love with you and your boys and got scared. I needed time to think.”

He stared at her. His features hadn’t softened, his eyes hadn’t lost their darkness, his lips didn’t slip into a smile.

Tremors shook her until she thought her knees would crumble under her. She ripped out her heart, laid it at his feet and he said nothing.
Nothing!
“It’s okay, Austin. You don’t have to say it back. I wasn’t even going to admit it but you’re so upset.”

He dropped his hands from her arms like he’d touched fire. “Save your cute words, Hannah. I fell for a lying bitch once. I’ll never do it again.” His harsh tone dug deep into her heart, the final blow to her already bruised ego. He stomped back to his desk.

“Austin!”

“And wipe those fake tears away. Leave.” His arm flew out, aiming at the door. “Now.”

His voice shook her to the bone. How could he not believe her?

“Austin!”

He didn’t glance at her, only back to his papers. “Thanks for stopping by, Hannah. I always like it when I get laid.”

That did it. How totally wrong for him to treat her like this. Wrong to stomp on her heart when she just bared it like she’d never done to anyone before. “You are the most obnoxious, arrogant, bastard! I hate you!” Her body shook, rage and fear mixing to form doubts in every decision she had made since coming to Charleston. What a fool she had been to open herself up to this kind of hurt, to worry about losing something that she couldn’t be sure had ever been hers to have.

“Love me. Hate me. Come on, sweetheart. Make up your fucking mind. But do it elsewhere. I don’t want to even look at you.”

His cell phone rang and he retrieved it from his pocket.

“You didn’t have to be cruel, Austin. If I hurt you or the kids it certainly wasn’t intentional. Not like you just did to me. But I’ve gotten over worse. I know how to move on.”

He answered his cell phone as she grabbed her purse and bit back the tears. No way in hell would she cry in front of him any more. She would never give him the satisfaction. She marched across the room, chin held high, dragging the last shred of her dignity.

“Don’t move him,” he said and rose from his chair. “I’ll be right there.”

At the door, she paused, the tone of his voice, the panic in it, caught her attention. She swung around to face him, her heart pounding. “What is it, Austin? One of the kids?”

“Luke,” he said, running past her.

Chapter Thirty-One

Hannah followed Mac outside and jumped in his truck without asking. Mac drove furiously fast through town, coasting through stop signs. She didn’t dare distract him by talking.

“It’s Luke,” he said, sparing her a quick glance. “Ryan said he fell and got hurt bad.”

“Oh no,” she gasped. Images of blood had her heart stopping. How hurt? Sweet Luke must be so terrified. And here she was distracting his father when he should’ve been getting home to his kids. She wanted to stomp Mac’s foot onto the gas pedal to get them home faster.

Home?
Oh, God. One thing at a time
.

Mac skidded into the driveway and ran from the truck without turning it off or shutting the door. Hannah stayed right behind him. Luke’s cries emanated through the house while they ran in. Mac fell to his knees in front of Luke who lay on the couch holding his arm.

“What happened?” Mac yelled to Ryan who sat next to Luke’s feet, as pale as a ghost.

“He fell out of the tree in the backyard.”

“Jesus Christ, Ryan! Why weren’t you watching him?”

Ryan’s gaze darted between his dad and Luke, but he remained silent while Mac scrutinized Luke’s injuries.

“Is it just the arm that hurts, Luke, or somewhere else?” Mac spoke softly.

“Oww. Just the arm,” Luke sobbed.

Mac shot Ryan a stern look then turned to Hannah. “Grab a couple of pillows and get out to the truck.”

Hannah’s heart hammered against her breastbone. Following Mac’s instructions, she dashed upstairs, grabbed the pillows off his bed, and returned seconds later. When Mac lifted Luke, Hannah stepped back, giving them room, and then hurried out of the house after them.

“Daddy, Hannah’s back,” Luke said amid sniffles.

“I know, buddy. We’ve got to get you to the hospital.” Mac carried him to the truck. “Ryan, up front. Hannah, I need you to sit back here with Luke and keep his arm on the pillow like this.” Their gazes locked. “Okay?”

“Absolutely.” Grateful that the injury hadn’t been worse, Hannah took slow breaths to calm her trembling body. While she had been most concerned with Luke, her heart broke for Ryan who walked slumped over with his head slung low. She glanced at Mac who still leaned over his youngest. “You okay to drive?”

“Yeah. I’m fine, he said, and turned his attention back to Luke. “Listen, buddy, I don’t want you to be scared. We’re going to take good care of you. Okay?”

Hannah climbed into the back seat and Mac lay Luke down so his head rested in Hannah’s lap. Mac adjusted the pillows to cushion Luke’s left arm.

“I can’t get his seatbelt on him in this position,” Mac said to Hannah.

She wrapped her arm around Luke’s ribs and held him firmly. “He’s not going anywhere. I’ve got him.” She peered up into Mac’s eyes, recognizing his worry, his nervousness.

Shutting the rear door, he jumped in the driver’s seat and drove toward the hospital.

“I’m glad you’re back, Hannah,” Luke said. Tear-stained tracks ran aver his dirty cheeks. His bright blues eyes had reddened with his crying. “We missed you.”

“I missed you guys too.” She raised her head and caught Mac’s stare in the rear view. “All of you,” she said.

He glanced away from her.

“Ryan,” Mac yelled. “Where’s Aidan?”

“He’s at Catherine’s house.”

“I’ll put a stop to that. He’s supposed to be around to help out.”

“Dad, he was. He just went over her house for a bit. He hadn’t seen her all last week, remember, since you guys worked all day and night to get Hannah’s apartment done.”

Oh, God. How much trouble had she put Mac through last week? She never would’ve had him work on the apartment if it had been too much trouble.

“Don’t care. He was supposed to be home and that’s where he should’ve been,” Mac yelled.

“It’s my fault, Dad,” Ryan said. “Luke and I were just outside goofing around.”

“Goofing around?” Mac hollered louder.

Ryan cringed.

“And Luke almost got killed. Good job,” he said, not hiding his sarcasm.

“Austin, it was an accident. They didn’t do it on purpose. Ryan wouldn’t want to see Luke get hurt,” Hannah said. She wanted Ryan to know she would be here for him too.

“Don’t you dare try to defend them,” he growled, glaring in the mirror. “If I want advice on how to raise my sons, I’d ask for it and I didn’t hear me asking.”

Holding her head higher, she urged herself not to let her temper show. With anger raging at his rudeness, she forced herself to react without an argument. “So is that your nice way of telling me to mind my own business?”

“Pretty much.”

“I see,” Hannah said, turning her attention to his middle child. “Ryan, you did a good job calling your dad for help right away and making sure Luke remained still until we got there.”

Someone had to tell the boy that he’d helped Luke. The poor kid needed comfort too, and if she had to give defy Mac to ensure Ryan knew it, then so be it. Mac could take his hostile attitude and shove it. She’d had just about all she could take from him at the moment.

When Mac shot her a warning look again in the rear view, she glared at him, daring him to confront her again.

“Luke,” she said, rubbing his head with her fingers. “You’re going to be all right, sweetie.”

“Sure he is,” Mac complained. “Kid probably has a broken arm.”

“What’s done is done and can’t be changed. So you need to calm down,” she said. Oh, she didn’t know how much longer she could hold her tongue, but she promised herself she’d try her best—at least until the kids were out of ear shot. If he gave her much more of his crap, he’d be glad they’d gone to the hospital because he’d need a doctor of his own.

“Oh, really? Is that your input of wisdom?”

His words insulted her, and her anger seethed. She
should
ignore him, but her temper won. Just a little bit.

“Shut up, Austin.”

When they finally arrived at the hospital, Mac hurried around and opened the door to pick up Luke.

“Hannah, I want to stay with you.”

Mac glared at Hannah. “Come on, buddy, we’ll get you fixed up.” He lifted Luke into his arms and hurried into the ER.

“Hannah, will you make me blueberry pancakes?” Luke asked while they stood at the Triage desk inside.

She glanced at Mac. “I don’t think I’ll be staying over, honey.”

“Please,” he begged.

“How about blueberry muffins? But only if you do what the doctor says and be a big boy. I’ll be in the waiting room with Ryan while your dad stays with you.”

“But I want you to stay with me too.”

A lump formed in her throat and tears threatened to erupt from her tired eyes. “I’ll be here, Luke. We have to wait here. Go now,” she said, and leaned up to kiss his forehead before Mac followed a nurse to the back room.

“Ryan, call Aidan,” Mac said. “Tell him he better be in the waiting room when we come out.”

Ryan pulled out his cell phone and made the call. Shortly after, Aidan arrived, entering through the sliding doors into the waiting room. Concern shrouded his face, and his gaze darted back and forth, scanning the room.

Spotting them, he hurried over and said, “Where’s Luke? How is he?”

Ryan stood beside Aidan and filled him in on what happened.

“Hannah, I’m surprised to see you here,” Aidan said after Ryan sat again.

She didn’t miss his cool tone. Like father, like son. “I had some business to take care of out of state. I always planned on coming back, Aidan.”

He shrugged and relaxed a little. “Whatever.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Ryan echoed.

Well, she should’ve expected their reaction based on their father’s earlier. “Ryan, Aidan, I owe you an apology.”

The two boys looked at her without speaking.

“A really big apology. I’m sorry for the way I up and left without telling you in person. All of you deserved better than that. But I did try to. Aidan, you were getting supplies with your dad. Ryan, you and Luke were at the lake. I guess I was nervous about the Greenville restaurant. And I’ve never had anyone who cared if I came or went.”

“We care, Hannah,” Aidan said, his voice soft. He slouched in the waiting room chair, his serious expression so much like Mac’s.

“Yeah, we all do. ” Ryan glanced at his brother then back at Hannah, his mouth set in a firm line. “We missed you.”

Her heart melted and the tears welled in her eyes. God, they were such great kids. “And I missed you guys a whole bunch. I should’ve called, even if I was mad at your dad for not talking to me the first night I called.”

“We were mad at him too,” Aidan confessed. “When we asked to call you he said no, that you were busy with your life.”

“Actually he said running from her life,” Ryan corrected.

Hannah cringed. Mac had nailed that one on the head. “I always planned to come back. It was an emergency trip for urgent business. That’s all. Don’t be mad at your dad. He means well.”

“Maybe now that you’re home, he’ll be in a happier mood,” Ryan said.

Did he just say home? But she wasn’t home. She didn’t have a home.

“Yeah, don’t bet on it. He’s gonna chew our asses for what happened to Luke,” Aidan said. “Jeesh, Ry. What were you thinking? You know how Luke is. You can’t take your eyes off the kid or he’ll find trouble,” Aidan scolded his brother.

Hannah laughed. That last statement was something Mac would say about her. Seemed she and Luke had much in common. Must be why she liked him so much.

Ryan gawked at his brother. “Dude, do you realize how much you just sounded like Dad?”

Aidan appeared horrified. “Shut up.”

§
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Mac and Luke emerged two hours later with Luke’s arm in a sling.

“No breaks, just badly bruised,” Mac announced while Aidan and Ryan surrounded Luke.

Hannah hung back. He cringed. No doubt she didn’t want to get close to him any time soon. Not after the way he’d treated her. He wanted to kick himself.

“You had us worried, bro,” Aidan said. Then nervously glanced at Mac. “Sorry I wasn’t home, Dad.”

Mac peered at Hannah, who wouldn’t even look at him, then to Aidan. “We’ll talk more later, son. I’m just glad our little buddy here is okay. Although we have to talk about this urge he has to climb trees,” Mac said, lowering his head to Luke.

When Luke smiled, Mac returned a big smile of his own. He’d aged ten years after getting that phone call. Chalk today up to one bad day.

Luke tiptoed over to Hannah and took her hand. “I’m walking with Hannah.” He took her hand and led her from the hospital, walking to the truck.

Mac hit the automatic unlock with his key remote and held the back door open.

“I’m sitting with Hannah,” Luke announced.

Mac turned to her and offered a half smile. She’d been a huge comfort to Luke, and now the boy clung to her. “We just have to drop Hannah off at my office and then we’ll head home.”

“Why your office?” Ryan asked.

“Because that’s where we were when you called.” Remembering their argument, Mac cringed again.

How the hell would he ever make this one up to her? Now that he’d had the chance to calm down, he felt like the biggest heel for how he’d treated her back in his office. He didn’t have to be Einstein to figure out she refused to talk to him since she gave all her attention to the boys who asked her one question after another about her trip.

Yeah, make sure you tell them how their dad royally screwed this relationship up.
He had no one but himself to blame if she never wanted to speak to him again. The stabbing pain in his chest had Hannah O’Leary written all over it.