A Place to Call Home (7 page)

With the confidence of a desired woman, Hannah leaned across the seat. She softly scraped her knuckles over Mac’s cheek and whispered in his ear, “Then only kiss me after hours.”

Chapter Eight

They walked into the diner and were seated immediately, the waitress practically drooling over Mac.

“Hey, handsome. I was wondering where you took yourself off to.” She smiled at Mac then gave Hannah a once-over.

“Been working, Candy. You know me,” Mac said, smiling too brightly.

“I’ve missed you coming in here. What’s a girl to do when the most handsome man in town disappears?”

Hannah wanted to puke at the adoration the waitress displayed.

Mac laughed, a slow, lazy laugh. “You think too highly of me, Candy. Could we please get coffee and I’m ready to order. Hannah, you ready?”

“Not hungry,” she said. “Just coffee please.”

“Oh, honey. Don’t be jealous. Me and Mac go way back.”

“Far from jealous,” Hannah said, barely able to keep from gritting her teeth.
As if. Anyone can tell from a mile away that hair comes from a bottle. And cleavage like that didn’t form naturally. If she leans over any farther, odds are she’ll topple over. Wouldn’t that be a sight?
“I’d like my coffee please.”

“Give me the roast beef sandwich,” Mac said. “And bring her the turkey and Swiss wrap.”

Hannah’s jaw dropped. “Are you deaf? I said I’m not hungry.”

Candy looked back and forth between them, her pen hovering over her notepad.

“Just bring it,” Mac said simply, watching Hannah. “She’ll eat it.”

“Whatever you say, handsome.” Candy quickly disappeared.

Hannah mimicked her words and Mac laughed.

“Jealous?” he teased.

“Of a waitress named Candy?” She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Pft. Hardly. You obviously enjoy it when a woman falls all over you.”

“Hardly.”

“Give me a break. I watched you suck up every compliment she gave you.” Hannah stopped talking when Candy returned with their coffee.

“I’ll leave you sugar, Mac, even though you’re sweet enough already.” Candy winked before leaving them alone.

Hannah stared at him. “You’re unbelievable.”

“What?” he said, sipping his coffee.

“
You’re sweet enough. You’re so handsome
. If I had an appetite, I would’ve lost it by now.”

He laughed. “I can’t help how someone else speaks.”

Hannah ignored him.

“For the record,” he said, a fire lighting his eyes. “I’m much more interested in the women who I have to chase a little to catch.”

She crossed her arms and stared out the window, ignoring the silly conversation. How dare he flirt in front of her with a trollop named Candy?

Five minutes later, their food arrived and Mac dug in hungrily while he watched her. “I’m the father of teenage boys, Hannah. I’m pretty good at dealing with the silent treatment.”

“No silent treatment going on. Just not interested in talking about the women in your life.”

“Women? Honey, there are no
women
in my life other than my family.”

When Mac’s hand covered hers, she jumped, all the fears and vulnerability of her past flooding back. While she enjoyed his touch, the unexpected contact startled her. She had long ago learned to fear human touch.

When she froze, his brow furrowed. “Hey, what is it, Hannah? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

She certainly felt like she had. The past swept over her, bringing with it the fear of being powerless under the touch of a man, of being hurt or trapped by someone stronger than her. “It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired is all.” She snatched free her hand and placed it in her lap.

“Like hell. Try again.”

She squirmed and grabbed the turkey Swiss wrap from the plate in front of her. “Can we not talk about this anymore? I just want to eat.”

His eyes studied her while he chewed and swallowed. “Now you want to eat, huh? Well, if that were the case then you’d have to pick the food up and put it in your mouth. Don’t expect it to jump in there by itself.”

She purposely took a big bite to prove she felt better, but when the food hit her tongue she wanted to throw up. She made a face. Why did he have to ask about her past?

He grinned mildly. “Serves you right, trying to force-feed yourself when you’re upset.”

How could he be so in tune with her? That drove her crazy. She didn’t like to be so transparent to people. Especially to him.

Mac and Hannah sat silently for a few minutes. To her relief, he didn’t force the issue. He continued eating, greeting people who passed their table, but glanced at Hannah every few seconds. His gaze interrogated her, the heat of his stare slicing through her like a laser, trying to unwrap the layers she had built up over the years. It was as though his eyes kept saying
well
? Like he expected her to blurt out everything she hid inside. Like she could feel comfortable doing that with him.

“What is it, Mac?” she asked while picking at her sandwich.

With a napkin, he wiped his mouth. “Just waiting for you to start telling me about yourself.”

Of course, she had already figured that out. “Fine,” she said suddenly, her voice low. “What do you want to know about my past?”

Mac looked at her casually, sipped his coffee then said, “Everything.”

She put her sandwich down and leaned her elbows onto the table. “I’ve got to warn you it’s not pretty.”

“Neither is mine. So what? Spill it.” He looked at his watch. “Talk while you eat, since I need to get back to work. And don’t give me any crap about manners and not talking with your mouth full. In the real world we have to multi-task, so eat and speak. I’m all ears.”

Hannah hesitated. “You make me want to pour my heart out to you,” she said sarcastically and promised herself she wouldn’t do that no matter how laidback and easy to talk to he was. She swallowed a bite of her wrap, unable to look him in the eyes. “I don’t come from a good family. My parents aren’t nice.”

“Okay. That’s boring. Anything else?”

Her mouth opened, but she struggled to speak. “That was rude.”

“Nope. I’m just not in the mood to hear empty stories. I only like the truth.”

“I don’t even know you.”

“Thought that’s what we’re trying to do here. Get to know each other.”

“No we’re not. You’re supposed to be taking me to pick up my car. But you had to feed your face first. If you want a story then you tell it.” No way would she tell her past to this man. He’d run away from her faster than ever.

“My story would take a hell of a lot longer than lunch.” His words dripped of pain, instantly easing her defensive nature. Suddenly, she didn’t feel quite so exposed. How could she remain angry at someone who might relate to how she felt about digging up the past?

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Mine too. I don’t like to talk about my past, Mac. Some things are just best left there.”

“Fine. Then tell me about the Hannah of today.”

“No.”

He laughed hard. “I’ve got to say, your stubbornness is surprisingly appealing.”

She couldn’t help but smile. It would be so easy to bare her soul to him with those eyes and that smooth voice encouraging her. She smiled slightly, giving in a little. “My mother has many problems and my father is a violent man, Mac. I don’t like to talk about him,” she admitted, shame consuming her.

When she looked up, Mac stared at her with a thoughtful expression, not judging her like she had expected.

“If I don’t talk about him, then I can forget a lot of bad things. Okay?” She prayed he’d pry no further.

“Okay.”

When memories of years gone by surfaced, she let out the breath she had instinctively held.

Mac’s face hardened and the dangerous look returned to his eyes. “I can tell you that the sheriff and his deputies in this town won’t put up with him being a threat to you. All you’ll need to do is call them. I can also tell you I won’t put up with him trying any crap on you so he better hope the sheriff gets there before me.”

She smiled. That was the nicest thing he could have said to her. “There shouldn’t be a problem. Nothing I can’t handle anyways,” she lied, remembering the bruises her father had inflicted countless times before.

“If your dad comes around here, you give the sheriff a call. Then call me.” His curt nod offered reassurance.

She smiled, her heart warming. “Don’t tell me you’re starting to care about me, Mac.”

“Now I wouldn’t go that far,” he teased. “Just don’t like to see women scared is all.”

“You care about me. Just admit it.”

He smiled and grabbed for the check when Candy placed it on the table but Hannah proved to be quicker. “My turn.”

He frowned. “Like hell. Give me that check, Hannah.”

“No.”

“I said—”

“I don’t care what you said, Austin,” she interrupted. “You paid the other day. Now it’s my turn.”

His grim expression told her he wasn’t used to sharing the bill. “That’s not how I do things.”

“Really?” She glanced at him and continued to count out the amount written on the tab.

“Really.”

“Too bad because that’s how I do things.” She slapped the money and tab on the table between their dirty dishes and stood. “Now let’s go. I have a busy afternoon and would like my car.”

He mumbled something incoherent and followed her out. Stepping from the diner’s air conditioning and onto the sidewalk simulated jumping into an oven. The sun beamed brightly, and a soft breeze stirred the humid air.

“Oh, Mac. How are you?” A small, thin woman practically flung herself into Mac’s arms and Hannah stepped back, the woman apparently another one of his groupies.

“Hi, Sandy. I’m doing fine. You’re looking as beautiful as ever.” He quickly pecked her cheek with a chaste kiss.

Hannah mimicked his words in his head. The guy oozed too much damn charm.

Sandy looked over to Hannah. “Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt your date.”

“It’s not a date,” Mac and Hannah said at the same time and then glared at each other.

“Sandy, this is Hannah O’Leary. She’s just arrived in town. I was about to drive her to the mechanics since she’s had a bit of car trouble.”

“You’re always rescuing some helpless female, Mac, I swear.” Sandy glowed like a schoolgirl in her yellow sundress.

“I’m hardly a helpless female,” Hannah injected.

Mac huffed.

“Well, I’m not,” Hannah said with bite.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” Sandy said. “It’s just that, well, I owe my life to Mac and, well, it’s a long story. You probably don’t have time.”

“She’s right,” Mac said to Hannah. “I have to get back to work.” He attempted to take Hannah’s elbow and walk.

Hannah shrugged out of his grip. “Hold on a minute. I want to hear about your hero status.”

Mac groaned.

“I’ll be quick,” Sandy promised in her cheery voice. “Mac’s best friends with my brother, Clay, and has been forever. Well, one hot summer day we were all at the lake. I was only seventeen. Mac and Clay were twenty-two. They never minded me tagging along. Well, I slipped off the dock into the lake and didn’t know how to swim. Mac was the closest. You should’ve seen him. My head was bobbing above water when he ran down the dock and dove in. Just like that his strong arms lifted me out of the water and saved me. I’ve never been so scared in my life. But he was so calm, I just couldn’t stay afraid for long.”

Hannah smiled at the bubbly lady and turned to Mac. “You’re just a natural born hero, huh?”

“Oh, hush,” he said with a friendly warning in his eyes when she laughed. Mac turned to Sandy. “Now I think that story is getting old, Sandy. If I didn’t get to you then your brother would’ve only seconds later, so I’m not that big a hero. Now I really must say goodbye.” He kissed her cheek again.