Almost Midnight (7 page)

“Yeah, can ya read it to me too?” Fritz stood at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes shimmering with mirth.

Tanner narrowed his gaze as he stuffed Max-the-Bear into his father’s stomach. “If you want to eat, you gotta work.” 

Fritz raised his white brow, squeezing Max beneath his arm. “Well, now, this should be interesting.”

Hannah slipped the book back onto the shelf and sneezed. She had been at the library for over an hour, and her head cold medicine was making her woozy.

If she didn’t need the money so badly, she’d head home and submerge herself in a nice, warm bubble bath. But if she lost her tutoring job, the library would be her only hope to pay the bills until Reach Medicals came through. Even taking the taxi tonight had squeezed her pocketbook.

Still, if worse came to worse, she would seek out another position in one of the big cities. She would hate to move her mother again, but there wouldn’t be a choice in the matter.

“Pssst, over here.”

Hannah knew who it was before she turned around and peered through the open shelving beside her. Her amused gaze widened as she pretended to stuff a book in front of the woman’s nose.

Candy, more like a sister to Hannah than a friend, was a petite brunette with chocolate brown eyes the size of saucers and a heart the size of the Rocky Mountains.

Hannah sneezed. “Can’t talk right now.”

“What do you mean you can’t talk right now?” Candy whispered, sticking her head through the shelf. “I have a surprise for you.”

Hannah tipped her head in the direction of her boss, a gray-haired lady standing guard behind the counter. “Mrs. Gould is blowing smoke my way as we speak.”

Candy let out a disapproving snort. “That dragon. Give me a break. Her face looks like an old leather shoe. Probably practices that daggered scowl in the mirror like snow white’s stepmother. And her hair looks more blue than gray! What’s that about?”

Hannah bit her lip to keep from laughing. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Candy shook her head, picked up a book, and pretended to look at it. “Never mind Dragon Lady. You won’t be here for long. I’ll bet you’ll be getting that job at Reach Medicals sooner than you think. With your grades, it’ll be a cinch.”

With book in hand, Hannah climbed the nearby ladder to the top shelf. “Hopefully you’re right and that job will come through. The woman in human resources said I had it made. They had some buyout or merger or something, and they’re waiting until things settle down. Then it’s just a matter of time. I’d rather stay in Clearbrook Valley and not have to move.” 

Hannah glanced behind her and stepped down from the ladder, noting that Mrs. Gould had her back to her. “Mom was in the hospital the other night. Observation for some stomach pain. Nothing to worry about.”

Candy stepped around the corner with her nose in a book about Einstein’s relativity theory. “I hope she’s all right. If you let me know when she’s in the hospital, I’ll look in on her.” 

Hannah let out a small laugh. “I’ll do that next time. But Einstein?” Candy was a nurse, however physics was not her strong point.

Candy peeked over the pages and smiled. “You wouldn’t be laughing if she weren’t doing fine. Anyway, I’m here because my brother came to visit. I told him that you might be open for dinner. Nothing fancy and no commitments. He’s going back to Chicago soon, so you don’t have to worry about a long term relationship.”

Hannah groaned, knowing a set-up when she saw it. Dating a man was the last thing on her mind. Even Tanner Clearbrook’s magnetism could not sway her. Now, what made her think of that?

“I’m certain your brother’s wonderful, but with the tutoring, the library, and my mother—”

“Would you look at yourself, girl.” Candy threw a hand to her hip and Hannah raised an amused brow. Candy had a stubborn streak a mile long and had known all about her past.

“You haven’t given yourself time to do anything. Do you want to have another nervous breakdown? I’m not asking you to marry the guy, only go out with him.” 

Nervous breakdown? Hannah turned to hide her face as she shelved another book. A familiar ache grew in her chest. After her husband’s accident, she’d never been the same. It had been three years ago when it happened and going back to school to finish her bachelor degree had been her saving grace.

Of course, the last two weeks working with Jeremy had been a blessing in disguise. Her heart seemed to be opening up again. But trusting a man was an entirely different thing, even if it was just a date.

Candy slapped her book closed and let out a snort of disgust. “Come on, Hannah. Don’t hide from me now. He’s here waiting over by the computers, checking the stocks on the Internet.”

Hannah turned around and rolled her eyes. “All right. I’ll think about it.” Her brows suddenly narrowed in concern. “Oh no, here comes Mrs. Gould.”

Candy pushed her book into Hannah’s hands and gave her friend a mischievous wink. “Don’t worry, I can take care of Dragon Lady.”

Hannah watched in amusement as Candy walked over to Mrs. Gould and asked the older lady for help in researching her family tree - a family tree that included Attila the Hun.

With a sigh, Hannah returned to shelving her books, recalling the comforting sensation of being held in Tanner’s arms earlier that day, if only for a few seconds.

Yet it wasn’t comfort she needed now, it was a job. She had thought Tanner didn’t like her after she had given him that fake phone number, but while in his den, she couldn’t deny the attraction that was between them, even though he had acted like a pompous millionaire, a totally different man than she remembered on the mountain.

However, if she weren’t careful, he could hurt her like Nick had. She and Tanner had battled it out in the den, and he’d made her so mad, she could spit.

But she could fall in love with a man like Tanner Clearbrook, a man who loved his son very much. There was a kindness about him, but his stubborn pride was a definite fault.  He was also a man who liked control, and she didn’t need that again, no matter what the cost.

Of course, her mom had mentioned that dream again. The lady had the dream more than once. And from past experience, her mom’s reoccurring dreams usually held some truth. All right, a lot of truth!  But soulmate? Things like that were just plain crazy.

Besides, Mr. Money Bags was too arrogant for her anyway. He would be more than a complication; he would be a threat to her already fragile heart.

Nevertheless, tomorrow morning, attraction or not, she would probably be sacked from her tutoring job. So be it then. She would still keep in contact with Jeremy.

Anyway, she already decided that some time tomorrow she would make a call to Reach Medicals and check on the status of her application.

After the gingerbread experiment, in which the final product had ended up everywhere in the kitchen but the oven, Fritz and Jeremy had coaxed Tanner into going to the library.

Tanner had accumulated a pile of children’s books and cookbooks while his father, after speaking too loud, was avoiding some blue-haired prune, a lady that had given Tanner the evil-eye more than once since he entered.

They had only been at the library a few minutes when Tanner pushed a book into Jeremy’s hand. He set the rest of the books on a nearby table, and decided to scan the aisles for the green-eyed beauty.

Though his son didn’t know it, Tanner needed to speak to Hannah alone. He needed to reassure himself that the lady wasn’t going to leave her job as tutor. It was obvious Jeremy had made unbelievable progress in the past two weeks since Tanner had been gone, and that progress could only be attributed to Hannah.   

Tanner knew it was best to talk to Hannah as soon as possible, especially after his stupid remarks to her this afternoon. He had to keep her – for Jeremy’s sake. But according to Fritz, Hannah no longer had a cell phone. Too much money. Fritz had insisted on buying her one, but the lady had refused.

She had a landline, but Tanner didn’t want to wait until the lady’s shift at the library ended. So, here he was.

He recalled that night on the mountain and frowned. He would make certain that as his son’s tutor, the lady would have a cell phone, and he would pay for it.  

He’d seen her a few minutes ago, and she’d changed her outfit. She was dressed in a snow-white blouse and a knee length denim skirt, which was accented by a chained belt wrapped twice around her small waist. A set of tanned sandals set off her red toes and she moved with a cat-like grace that had attracted him the first time he’d seen her in town.

He realized that besides teaching Jeremy about life and death, Hannah Elliot had done her job as a tutor well. There was no way his son was going to lose the best teacher he ever had, Reach Medicals or not.

It was absurd. The harder he tried to ignore the truth, the more it persisted. Hannah Elliot had turned his world upside down just like his father had wanted. She was beautiful, but it was more than that. She had a certain something that made him want to be near her. It seemed Jeremy had felt the same way.

Yet Tanner told himself he could control his yearnings, just like he controlled his companies, with pure emotional detachment. It wasn’t like he was thinking of marrying the woman. Jeremy just needed a tutor, and Hannah was darn good at the job. And he had to admit, Jeremy need the influence of a good woman. By keeping his distance, Tanner could make sure his son was cared for properly.

“Hey.” Jeremy tugged on his father’s white polo shirt. “Isn’t that Hannah? Look at that. I think that guy likes her, Dad. Does that guy like her? Huh? He looks pretty big. Wow, look at those huge muscles!”

Tanner’s gaze followed the direction of his son’s arm. He saw nothing until he tipped his head to Jeremy’s level and peered down the adjacent aisle.

He froze at the disturbing sight. Sure enough, he detected one very well built man wrapping his beefy hands around Hannah’s small waist as she stood helplessly on a ladder, looking more like a puppy cornered by a bear than a librarian shelving books.

Something inside Tanner snapped when he noted the predatory look on the man’s face. “You’re right. That is Miss Elliot,” he said to Jeremy, trying to keep his voice controlled. “Looks like she might need some help. Uh, here’s Grandpa. You stay with him. I’ll be back in a minute.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Hannah raised herself on tiptoes and reached toward the far corner of the top shelf. Though the library was small, it used every bit of space it could. But using the top shelves for the books was beyond her comprehension, since most of the patrons could barely reach that high anyway. Of course, she thought glumly, someone had used this shelf because she was now depositing the book
How To Sound Like a Turkey In Thirty Days
in its proper place.

Her body ached from her cold, and it would ache even more since she had to walk a mile to catch a bus back to her apartment tonight. Her car had been towed, and was now sitting in some sleazy gas station waiting to be fixed. She felt exhausted just thinking about it. Maybe Candy could give her a ride home.

Well, what else could go wrong? She could be fired, she thought as she bent to retrieve another book and sneezed, causing her foot to wobble on the ladder. She gasped when two strong hands came out of nowhere, grabbing her waist.

“Gotcha, darlin’,” came a male voice from below. “You’re not gonna fall with me by your side.”

Hannah instinctively gripped the man’s shoulder for support. It took all but a second to recognize the hard muscles beneath the man’s dark blue shirt. A wave of embarrassing heat rolled through her when she met his intense gaze. “Thank you.”

His eyes seemed to see right through her. “You’re welcome.”  

Instantly, she released her grip and turned, then gasped when she started to teeter again. She felt momentary panic when his hands moved to rest on her hips. He paused, studying her face, as if that gave him the right to hold her so intimately.

His lips turned upward in an expression of pure enjoyment. “I’m Alex Richards, Candy’s brother.” 

He didn’t make an effort to move his hands, and Hannah couldn’t move or she would have fallen directly into his arms.

“Candy said she spoke to you,” he said in a more serious tone. “I wouldn’t have rushed over here if I hadn’t thought you were about to fall.”

Hannah eyed him skeptically. “Well, I’m not in jeopardy of falling right now.”

His smile widened, and he continued to keep his hands right where they were. “I was wondering if you’d go to dinner with me. I’m here on a little business. Thought it might be nice to have someone to eat with since Candy has the late shift a couple times this week.” 

His words came out as soft as silk, and Hannah figured that with a voice like that the man could tame a tiger if he wanted to. “I can’t,” she said sweetly. “But thanks for asking.”

“Aw, come on now, darlin’. What’s a pretty thing like you going to do this Friday night anyhow? Candy already told me you weren’t dating anybody.”

“I really can’t.” She put her hands on his and tried to tug them off her hips, but he slipped one hand over hers and chuckled.

“Yes, you can.” 

Even though he was obnoxious, his smile was infectious.

“And you’re going to get yourself in a heap of trouble if you don’t remove your hands,” she said with her most assertive librarian voice.

His dark brows knitted into a frown. “You gonna sick that blue-haired ogre on me and bar me from the library?” 

Hannah managed a smile as his hands slid off her body. “No, but I might lose my job.”

He took two steps back and leaned against a row of books, letting out another mischievous grin, as if knowing it was more than the blue-haired lady he would have to deal with. “Candy said you finished your engineering degree. If you’re looking for a job, I could get you one in Chicago. I have a lot of pull.”

Hannah blinked. His words had hit the mark. Chicago was a great place for an engineering job. It was also noted for having some great hospitals if her mother ever needed treatment again. If Reach Medicals didn’t work out, she would keep Chicago in mind.