The McClane Apocalypse: Book One (40 page)

“Let me see your hands,” he orders rudely. When she extends them, Kelly grasps them very tenderly which is not what she expected since he is so mad. “I told you to be careful. You have to be more careful, Hannah. And where the hell were you going anyways?” And there’s the anger again. He wipes at her hands delicately using a soft cloth.

“I am careful. I don’t need you telling me what to do. I’ve managed to make it around here before you came along to tell me to be careful! I was just going to see Lila’s new kittens. Ouch!” she says in a miff. It stings something terrible when the water gets into her scraped palms. His tone is angering her in turn.

“Sorry, but you’re hands are scratched up pretty good. You were going up in the hay loft? Are you crazy? That’s dangerous!” he practically yells. It’s a good thing they are in the back of the barn where nobody else can hear them going at each other. The last thing the farm needs is another Reagan and John situation.

“Ow!” she screeches when he rubs too hard.

“Well hold still, damn it! You have a piece of gravel stuck there. Ok, I got it,” he says impatiently. “You can go right back in the house when we’re done.”

“You don’t tell me where I can and can’t go!” she hisses right back. Hannah doesn’t recall ever being so angry with someone in her life. And she certainly doesn’t remember raising her voice like this. It’s quite ridiculous, all this yelling.

He soaks the rag again at the sink and then lets the water run over her hands.

“I think I got them clean. You’re grandpa can look at them when you go in,” he tells her more calmly this time. “And, yes, I do tell you where you can and can’t go.” How can he say something so ridiculous with such serious inflection in his voice? If she wasn’t so angry, she’d laugh at this.

“You aren’t my father, Kelly. You aren’t my, my... anything, so I’ll do as I please thank you very much,” she argues. Her voice sounds wimpy compared to his. Oh, why couldn’t she have been blessed with the ability to use swear words so fluently like Reagan? Maybe she could get Reagan to teach her a few to use on Kelly. He’s quiet for a long pause.

“I think we both know that I’m not your father,” he answers sensually. It makes her shiver. “What the hell? Are your knees cut up, too? There’s dirt and blood on your dress.” He notices and grabs up the hem of her cotton dress.

Hannah screeches at him, slaps his hand down and exclaims frenziedly, “What are you doing?”

“Hold still and let me see your knees. You could have dirt and gravel in there, too. You have dirt and blood on the front of your dress in the perfect outline of your knees, Hannah” he explains impatiently and lowers himself in front of her- she can tell by the swish of air that hits her and the change in the proximity of his body to hers. The sound of her name on his lips is too much.

“Well, I don’t need you to check them. Just let me go,” she complains at him. He doesn’t release her dress, so she swats at his hands again. “Stop!”

“Quit being a prude, Hannah. You think I’m gonna lose control of myself over your knees? I think I’ve seen a woman’s damned knees before,” he chides sarcastically.

“Stop swearing! I don’t care how many women’s knees you’ve seen. And leave my dress alone,” she hisses and bats at him again. He simply grasps both of her wrists in one of his giant hands and lifts her dress.

“Hm, yeah, you’ve scraped them. Let me re-wet this rag. And hold still, damn it,” he curses again. He swiftly goes to the sink again and returns to the floor in front of her with icy cold water dripping from his rag. She sucks air sharply through her teeth and grits them against the pain and mostly the cold all the while her dress is hiked up almost to her thighs.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes almost inaudibly, “these aren’t as bad as your hands. You must’ve taken the brunt of the fall with your hands.”

“Better than my face,” she jokes, but doesn’t receive a laugh.

“I lost my cool with you and I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to get hurt like this.”

“I’m not made of porcelain. I’m not going to break, Kelly. I’m a big girl,” she tells him more quietly with a half-smile. His hand stills and his breathing changes.

“I know,” he says huskily. Hannah doesn’t think they are talking about the same thing anymore.

Kelly’s hand stops wiping at her scratched knees, and he places one large, warm palm on the flesh above her knee. It makes her jump. The wet rag plops to the floor with a sound of finality. His other hand mimics the first and rests right above her other knee.

“Hannah, you make me...” Kelly says raggedly but doesn’t finish. His thumbs are stroking her bare thighs feather light. The callouses scrape her delicate skin roughly, but she doesn’t mind. Her own breath is becoming quick, shallow. Seconds tick by at a snail’s pace, but still he doesn’t finish his sentence. He just continues to torture her.

“What? I make you what?” she asks innocently.

Suddenly, he pulls her to the edge of the chair and slides himself between her legs. Her dress is now bunched tightly around her thighs. Kelly moves her as if she weighs as much as one of the children. She’s too stunned to register embarrassment. His hands are on either side of her face, cradling her firmly, holding her in place.

“Kelly?” she squeaks.

“Crazy. You make me crazy, Hannah,” he whispers hoarsely as his mouth swoops down onto hers with a ferocious intensity she’s never experienced before. Hannah is too stunned to move at first, but as he deepens the kiss, her hands rise of their own volition to his biceps which she clings to for dear life.

Second only to losing her eyesight, this is the most life-altering moment of Hannah’s existence. Kelly’s mouth moves on hers with such precision and skill that every nerve in her entire body is ignited. His soft beard scrapes against her chin. She presses deeper into him. His hands leave her face and slide down her back where they rest on her hips for but a second. Then he glides them seamlessly around to cup her bottom and pull her more firmly against him. He groans into her mouth.

He is almost suspending her in air with his two large hands. Hannah is just barely still on the chair when Kelly groans again and yanks her into his lap where he crushes her to him. She straddles his muscular thighs. Her hands find their way to his broad, muscular shoulders where she kneads them. Kelly’s tongue pushes through her lips and caresses the inside of her mouth and tangles with her own. It’s foreign and strange but not as disgusting as she would’ve thought. It ignites yet a whole new flame inside of her.

She allows her hands to travel down the front of him and over his chest and back up again. Her fingers sink deep into his thick, coarse hair as she pulls him even closer until her breasts flatten against his wide, hard chest. A small moan escapes her lips. Suddenly, he breaks their kiss.

“Jesus, Hannah,” he spits out accusatorily and places her in one swift move back onto her bottom on the chair. He is to his feet and across the room in two seconds flat.

“What? What did I do?” she asks unknowingly. Her voice sounds strange, lacking of air as she pulls down her dress again.

“We can’t do that!” he hisses through clenched teeth. He sounds angry again. Angry at her.

“What? Why? Did I do something wrong?” Hannah inquires innocently. “I... I don’t have a lot of exper...”

“Yeah, no shit. That’s the problem,” he says and blows angrily through his nose like Grandpa’s bull.

This is a confusing turn of events. Her body is still craving his touch, her insides are mush, her pulse sky high. His words are pissing her off.

“What’s the problem? I don’t understand you,” she implores him. Her breath is still uneven.

“Nothing. Come on,” he orders and takes her upper arm, pulling her to her feet. He’s not rough, but he’s more firm with her than usual. “I’m taking you back to the house. I have work to do, and I’m sure as hell not going to get it done teaching you stuff you don’t even need to know about.”

He practically drags her back the same route they came, careful not to let her fall. She doesn’t like going so fast. It’s disorienting to say the least.

“Hey, slow down. I don’t understand why you’re so mad,” Hannah pleads as they go. Another stupid cow moos at them, making her jump.

“See? You don’t belong out here. That’s why you got yourself hurt in the first place. You need to stay near the house and not be coming out here and... bugging me. I have work to do,” he growls out at her.

What an insult! What is wrong with him? When they enter the barnyard, Hannah can feel the softness of the grass under her feet again and yanks her arm from his grasp.

“Let me go. Have you lost your mind? What’s wrong with you?” she demands angrily. And here they are arguing again.

He simply grasps her again and drags her to the wide bottom step of the back porch.

“This time stay here. And quit being a nuisance,” he says with disgust and storms off.

“Fine, crazy man! I’ll find someone else to teach me!” Hannah shouts after him. Most people would not have caught his response to her but she hears him quite clearly. He mumbles, “The hell you will.”

“Hannah McClane, what has gotten into you?” Sue gasps from the porch.

Hannah whirls at the sound of her sister’s voice. She swallows hard and blushes. Can Sue tell that she has just been kissing Kelly? Is it something a person with experience can tell?

“Um, um, he... well, I...” she stutters and tries to regain her self-control as she ascends the stairs using the railing for balance.

“First fight, huh?” Sue asks insightfully. “Come and sit, Hannah.”

“Oh, ok,” she says nervously. They sit on the hanging porch swing for a few minutes while Hannah calms down. Sue offers her a drink of her iced tea which she gladly accepts.

“Thanks,” Hannah says appreciatively.

“Sure, no problem. I shouldn’t be drinking caffeine anyways. I need to feed Isaac in an hour,” her sister explains as she swings them using her foot.

“Oh, right. Not exactly good for getting him to sleep tonight,” Hannah says with a light laugh. The iced tea and the motion of the swing are soothing to her frayed nerves. Tea is not something they have very often anymore.

“Wanna’ talk about it?” Sue asks.

Hannah shrugs.

“I’m a pretty good listener, you know,” Sue offers again and nudges her shoulder against Hannah’s.

“I’m just confused,” Hannah says and shakes her head with a frown.

“‘Bout what? Kelly?” Sue prods expertly.

“Yes, he’s confusing for me. I am so much better at understanding other people. He says one thing, does... crazy things and then turns into a madman the next second,” she explains, holding back details.

“Do you have feelings for him, Hannie?”

Hannah nods slightly and screws up her face with discomfort. It’s hard to admit this to anyone, even Sue, who was most of the time like a mom to her and Reagan while growing up. Her cheeks grow hot again.

“It’s ok. It’s good that you like him. Kelly’s a good man. Does he know how you feel?” Sue asks.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter anyways. Not now,” Hannah tells her and turns her head from Sue to hide her emotions.

“Of course it matters, Hannah. You have to let him know how you feel. Men aren’t the most perceptive people in the world when it comes to reading our feelings. Sometimes you have to club them over the head,” her sister explains. Hannah whips her head to the side and feels for Sue’s face. Her last sentence doesn’t make sense. The lines around Sue’s mouth are crinkled. She’s smiling.

“I don’t mean literally, Hannie. They just need to be told directly. Besides, I’ve seen the way Kelly looks at you, honey. He’s smitten. I wish you could see how he looks at you. There’s a whole lot of feeling and... stuff there.” Sue laughs aloud at herself. Hannah’s now more confused.

“What do you mean “stuff”?” she asks.

“Um, how do I put it? Or better yet, how do I put it without scaring you?” Sue vacillates.

“Sue, don’t do that. Please. Kelly does the same thing. He’s always trying to “protect” me,” she air quotes, which Reagan finds annoying and tells her so often.

“Ok, well, he... hm, desires you, Hannah. That’s the nicest way to put it, sweetie,” Sue tells her.

“Oh,” Hannah breathes out. Her eyebrows arch as she inhales sharply.

“Did you already know that?”

“Um, I thought I just figured that one out but apparently I did not,” Hannah tells her. She feels her anger rising again at Kelly as she recalls their encounter.

“Why? What happened?” Sue pries.

“Well, I fell down in the barn. I was going to visit the new kittens and tripped. It wasn’t a big deal. You know me. I do that sort of thing sometimes. I just wasn’t going as slow as I should. And then Kelly helped me up and started ranting and raving at me for not being “careful” enough,” she air quotes again. Ok, maybe she does do that too much.

“Then what happened?” Sue prompts. “And, Hannah, you’re more graceful than the rest of us, silly!”

“He practically dragged me to the back of the barn to clean my scratches. They’re just scratches and scrapes, Sue! He is being ridiculous!” Hannah says with great exasperation.

“Honey, he’s just concerned for you. Men do that. They get angry and irrational when we get hurt or are in danger,” Sue explains patiently. “And then he brought you back here all mad as a wet hen?”

“Yeah, sort of,” Hannah says with a tell-tale blush.

“What aren’t you saying?”

“He may have kissed me,” Hannah blurts.

“May have? Don’t you know?” Sue teases.

“Yes, I know. He did. He kissed me,” she explains.

“What did you think of it?” her sister noses.

“Do you remember when I was seventeen and that boy that I had a crush on at the Dairy Dream in town kissed me?”

“Yes, I remember. You were grossed out and said that you decided you didn’t want a boyfriend after all. That they weren’t all they were cracked up to be. And, of course, Reagan chimed in her two cents and encouraged you to swear off boys like she did. And then Grams yelled at her,” Sue reminisces.

“Well, this wasn’t exactly like that time. This was... totally different,” Hannah remembers.