Worth the Risk (20 page)

The McKinneys must know everyone, have contacts everywhere. Hannah couldn’t believe what they’d pulled together in such a short time. Word had spread beyond anything she could have imagined. To their family, which was enormous, and friends, including the kids’ schools. She knew her students had all done the same, but she never expected this. And not just them, her brothers too.

A tempting smoke billowed into the air from the grill where Zach and three of his fellow firefighters were serving up hamburgers. Two of the McKinney men did the same with hot dogs.

The horses were spiffy, Hazel especially, as she’d let Gracie, Lola, and Allie have their way with making her beautiful. She wasn’t sure the other horses appreciated their froufrou appearance, but Hazel seemed pleased with hers, even the ribbons and beads adorning her mane. A line of children stood waiting for a ride.

The city may have taken their stand, but there were more than a hundred people taking theirs today. Standing with her. Playing horseshoes and Cornhole, and eating funnel cake.

Hannah stood between Luke and Nick as the news van drove away. “I’m so glad that’s over.” She thought it had gone well, even if it was seriously nerve-racking.

“Looks like Whiney’s not getting her share of attention,” Luke teased, standing beside her.

“Her name’s Winnie, moron.” The horse stood at the fence by the nearest turnout pasture tossing her pretty head for her adoring fans. “Did you see the sketch Stephen made?” Everyone had stopped and studied the amazing design he’d given her last night. Some offered to make donations, but that’s not what this was about. It was about convincing the city to let her keep it, to abide by the wishes of an elderly couple even if they hadn’t followed the legally recognized course.

“Yep. Very nice,” Luke said.

Nick grunted. “Maybe.”

She glared at him.

“Fine. He’s not all bad.”

She smiled, knowing that admission had to burn his tongue. “You know, you two are a lot alike. You could be friends.”

“Don’t make me ill.”

Luke smirked, took a drink of the soda in his hand. “He’s just moody because the good doctor’s walking around in tight shorts.”

Hannah followed the men’s gaze to Mia, who was currently working a face-painting station with Abby and Lizzy.

“You going to talk to her or just shoot daggers across the grass?” Luke went on. “If you want her, why aren’t you doing something about it?”

Hannah had noticed her brother watching Mia. Wondered if they’d talked, if maybe Nick was thinking about taking her advice and making things right.

Nick’s gaze never wavered. “I don’t need your input.”

“Oh, I think you do. Unless you want to stand here looking like a damn stalker.”

“Shut the hell up,” Nick said, and headed off in the opposite direction.

“Maybe you shouldn’t give him such a rough time,” she said.

Luke made a sound under his breath. “And why the hell not?”

“Because…” She’d started to say because she was afraid it was her fault they’d broken up in the first place. But the cycle of blame had to stop somewhere. “Never mind.”

“Here comes the object of your affection now.” Luke pointed at Stephen, ambling across the clearing, a little girl on each arm.

“Hey.” Stephen gave her a sheepish smile.

She smiled back. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full.”

“We do,” Lola answered, assuming Hannah was speaking to her, which made them all laugh.

“He’s our chariot,” Allie added.

She tried to fake disappointment, when really she couldn’t have been more proud.

Lola looked between them. “Is she still not your girlfriend?”

Hannah flicked a quick glance at Stephen, avoiding her brother’s eyes.

“She is his girlfriend,” Allie said. “As long as he doesn’t kiss anyone else.”

Stephen’s eyes met hers. “Definitely not kissing anyone else.” To emphasize that, he bent and planted a kiss on her lips right there in front of everyone. Her stomach did a little flip. So much had changed since that day at the boardwalk. But she read, she watched TV. A man wanting a woman, even needing, didn’t equal happily-ever-after love. She really needed to talk to Mia.

“Okay, gorgeous ladies. Where to?”

“Games!” they both said at once.

The day was winding down and Stephen looked around amazed at the way his family had come together for Hannah. He owed them. But then again he didn’t, because that’s what family did.

Everything had gone well other than the several hours he’d been forced to spend with her brothers. At least his own brothers had been there in case it became the Montagues versus the Capulets—which it almost did during a cutthroat game of horseshoes. Though his
own
brothers seemed to get along annoyingly well with all the Walkers. Screw it. He only cared about one Walker.

Was there anything sweeter than waking up with Hannah? Her soft-as-silk body cuddled against his?

Stephen looked up, surprised to see Mia walking purposefully toward him.

“Hi,” she said when she got within a few feet. “I wanted to talk to you before I left.”

Hannah had introduced her as a friend, but she’d also told him she saw her professionally. Another bit of insight into Hannah’s past.

“Actually, I just wanted to say something, I guess.”

“I’m listening.” He braced for whatever it was she was going to say. What he already knew. That he wasn’t good enough for her. Wasn’t good for her period.

“Don’t hurt her.”

“I won’t.” His answer was instinctive, but he almost asked if dreams, daydreams, could hurt a person. If he could be a husband? A father?

Could he hold a newborn baby if he imagined ripping someone’s heart out, smiling while they screamed for mercy? As a professional, what did she think that said about him?

He looked up to find Mia’s eyes narrowed, studying him carefully. “Never mind. I don’t want to hurt her either.”

“She’ll never see herself as beautiful.”

“Are you asking if I do? See her as beautiful?” He glared at Mia, hating what she’d said but knowing it might be true. “She
is
beautiful. But I see her as way more than that.”

Mia stood a moment or so longer before patting him on the arm and walking away.

His eyes tracked over to Hannah and the horses. She wore jeans today instead of riding breeches, which looked just as hot, and a thin long-sleeved shirt, which he now understood. Her hair hung in a thick braid the color of summer wheat. The hair that had been wrapped around his body all night and spread over his chest when he woke.

Lola rode Big Ben, Hannah walking beside her. The child had drawn a crowd, eagerly telling all she knew about how to make a horse go and where to put her feet. Allie sat atop Hazel, her big brother stood beside her, a protective hand on her leg. It looked like he was stepping up as Hannah had hoped.

She’d told Stephen all about it lying in bed one night. How maybe Allie’s brother could come out and ride with her, something they could do together, since there were so many things they couldn’t. Stephen had promised her and himself he’d do everything he could to see that they had the opportunity. And that Hannah was there to see it.

Hannah lifted another small child into the saddle. She was doing too much and she’d be sore tonight. But, he thought with a smile, he’d take care of that in some very enjoyable ways.

“Hey, man.”

Matt and Andrew joined Stephen at the fence, leaving their post at the grill. Surprising to see Matt more than a few yards from Abby. His brother was in major protection mode of his pregnant wife.

“You know,” Matt said, “you keep smiling like that, your face might get stuck.”

“Shut up.” But he was happy. Especially as he remembered soaping her up in a fruity lather this morning, rinsing her off. He’d slept with her sexy ass nestled against his crotch, her breast filling his hand. Had turned to her in the night, hard, throbbing with need and she’d opened to him,
for
him. Yeah, he was happy.

“No, seriously,” Andrew said. “It’s downright frightening.”

“Don’t you guys have anything to do? Where’s Lizzy?”

Matt grinned. “If you call her over, she’ll give you a job. Besides, we’re on break.”

Stephen made a sound of agreement, but kept an eye on Allie’s father moving to stand next to Hannah. He was about Stephen’s age, maybe a little older.

“I see you got a new ride,” Andrew said, motioning to Stephen’s truck.

“Yeah.”

“A little more manly?”

“Shut the hell up.” His sports car had gone with his image but it wasn’t really him. Or maybe it was, just not the him he wanted to be. “What do you drive? A minivan?”

“Don’t dis on the minivan. It’s got doors that open on my command.”

Matt laughed. “Let me know when you boys want a real ride.” Matt gestured to his black Hummer sitting off to the side.

“Hah.” Andrew smirked. “You bought that because Jack said it was cool.”

Stephen raised an eyebrow. “You bought an eighty-thousand-dollar car because a six-year-old said it was cool?”

Matt just shrugged, unfazed. “He liked it. And it is cool. Don’t be jealous, minivan.”

Stephen was no longer listening to his brothers’ smack. He didn’t care for how close Allie’s dad was standing to Hannah, and when his hand touched her shoulder, Stephen saw red.

He’d unleashed a passion in her, revealed it to her, as he’d meant to, but the thought of her
revealing
it to someone else…Just the idea of another man touching her, sharing what they shared—his mind rejected it. But as he watched Hannah with Allie’s father, he wondered if the man dreamed of torturing and killing the drunk driver who’d killed half his family.

Their laughter floated to him and he figured not.

“Uh-oh.” Andrew followed Stephen’s line of sight. “Looks like smiley man has been replaced. Don’t lose it, dude. You’ll upset the horses.”

“Fuck you.” He didn’t want her to smile at anyone else, laugh with anyone else. Stephen headed off to make sure there were no misunderstandings.

“Stephen.”

He was halfway there when he turned at the sound of his name, surprised to see Dave striding toward him.

“Hey, man. What’s up?”

“Just out.” Dave adjusted his sunglasses. “Thought I’d come by and support. Looks like quite a party.”

“Yeah. It’s a good turnout.”

“So where’s the special lady that’s gotten you so off track?”

Stephen felt his jaw tighten. “No one’s got me off track.”

“Ah. Would that be her walking over here with the big bright smile on her face?”

He didn’t like Dave’s tone or the way he lowered his glasses, making a show of checking her out top to bottom.

“Very nice. I can see why you resisted the purchase deal.”

Stephen slid a protective and possessive arm around her as she came to stand beside him. “Hannah, this is Dave Pietro, my partner at Trace Development.”

“And his right-hand man,” Dave added, holding out a hand to shake Hannah’s.

She took it, let it go quickly. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too. So you’re hoping to convince the city they shouldn’t take this property by having a party?”

“Well, it’s more than a party. I’m hoping if people understand what I do here, they’ll want me to keep doing it.”

Stephen felt her tense beside him and tightened his hold. “What she does out here is amazing.”

Dave nodded, smiled. “I see. But couldn’t you do that somewhere else?”

Dave wouldn’t understand what this place meant to Hannah. Didn’t think he knew what Trace meant to him.

“I mean, Stephen here is an expert at finding suitable properties. Closing deals. Did you know they call him The Shark?”

“I’m sure it’s because he’s good at what he does.”

“Yes,” Dave agreed. “I’m sure that’s it.”

Stephen didn’t know what Dave was up to, or if he was up to anything, but he didn’t like the vibe and was glad when he excused himself.

“What was that about?” Hannah asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Did you know he was coming?”

“No.” They walked toward the last clump of people.

“How did he even know where it was?”

“I don’t know.” Stephen took her hand, linking their fingers even as his body tensed with the lie.

“Abby, please. You don’t have to do this.” Hannah put away the leftover condiments while Abby wiped down the counter.

It was after nine, and they were all tired after the long day followed by cleanup and taking care of the horses. Low voices of the men drifted from the front porch through her open door. Stephen had stayed to help, along with Matt and Abby and her brothers. Who were behaving surprisingly well.

“Don’t be silly,” Abby said. “Of course I’ll help. It’s my only contribution. Plus, tonight will be like a vacation since Matt’s parents took all the kids. I was told the McKinney family babied their pregnant women, and they weren’t kidding.”

Right on cue, Matt’s voice came from the front porch. “Abby, come sit down.”

“I’m coming.” She rolled her eyes and made no move to leave. Instead she took a seat at Hannah’s kitchen table.

There really hadn’t been much work for dinner since there’d been plenty of leftover hamburgers and hot dogs. Hannah closed the dishwasher and joined her. “Are the kids excited about the babies?”

“Annie is, Jack couldn’t care less. Gracie has reattached herself to Matt even more than usual. I’m not sure about Charlie yet. And then of course Mary is oblivious.”

“That’s a big family.”

“Yeah.” Abby smiled. “But Matt’s from a big family and I always
wanted
a big family, so…it works.”

Hannah smiled past the knot in her throat. “Yeah. It definitely works.”

Stephen was from a big family too. She’d love any child, but maybe Stephen wanted his own. Maybe she should tell him there was a good possibility she couldn’t have children. Were they at that point yet? The thought of facing him with yet another issue made her sick.

Hannah noticed Abby’s gaze fall to her arms. She’d gotten hot during the cleanup effort and shed the long sleeves she’d worn over her tank top. It was another step. Everyone here tonight already knew anyway.

“Matt told me what happened.”

“I know.” Stephen had admitted to telling Matt about her past and told her Abby most likely knew, as Matt would have shared it with his wife.

“I only want to say I’m sorry. I hope you’re not mad at Matt or at Stephen. I think Stephen needed someone to confide in.”

“I’m not mad.” And she wasn’t. It was more of a relief, really.

A burst of laughter from the front porch pulled their attention and the moment passed.

“Looks like the boys are getting along,” Abby said.

Stephen and Nick sat on the porch. On opposite ends and not talking but at least drinking a beer in the same space. “Not at each other’s throats is progress.”

“Yes. Progress.” Abby turned back to her and smiled. “Stephen seems happier than I’ve ever seen him. Not that I’ve I known him that long, not like the others. When I met Matt…Stephen wasn’t around much. He was hurting. I know Matt worried about him, felt guilty for not being there more.”

“When his fiancée died.” It wasn’t a question. She knew.

“Yes.”

“He must have loved her a lot to cut himself off from his brothers, his family.” So much he couldn’t love anyone else?

“I’m sure he did. I never met her. But people heal.” Abby covered her hand. “They learn to live again. Sometimes, most of the time, it’s finding the right person that does it.”

It was becoming more and more clear to her how badly she wanted to be that person for Stephen.

With more noise and scraping from the front porch, the men came in and interrupted whatever else Abby might have said.

Matt came directly to his wife. “Almost time for the news, girls.”

Zach walked over and turned the TV to the right channel, volume low. They talked around the news, waiting for the coverage of awareness day to air.

“There it is,” Nick said. “Turn it up.”

Stephen stood behind her, hands firmly on her shoulders for support.

“According to sources I spoke with today, the city of Norfolk has no plans to reverse the decision to take ownership of the property in question. And although the council feels for Ms. Walker’s plight, the land does fall under the state’s intestacy laws, which state, ‘When any person leaves property without a lawfully documented will and no legal relatives, all such property goes to the state.’ And in this case they have every intention of acting on that law and moving forward. Back to you, Scott.”

“Son of a bitch!”

Hannah might have smiled at the fact that Nick, Luke, and Stephen all said the same thing in unison, but it was hard to smile when her stomach was sinking. “So that’s it then.”

Stephen gave her shoulders a squeeze and kissed the top of her head. “Not necessarily. Sometimes you just have to find the right chains to rattle. Plus, this was about public pressure, and the public hasn’t had a chance to rally yet. They will.”

“They’re pushing,” Matt added. “We’ll push back harder.”

They talked about it a few more minutes, and after everything they’d done, she worked to keep a smile on her face.

Abby hugged her goodbye. “We’ll go to lunch this week. And Gracie will be out for her lesson on Tuesday.”

“Sounds great.”

Stephen thanked Matt and they did the guy handshake-backslap.

“It was fun.”

Luke and Zach also shook Stephen’s hand, gave manly looks, and left. A subtle acceptance, because it was obvious Stephen wasn’t leaving. At least not with everyone else.

Zach hugged her and walked out behind Luke. “Let’s go, Nick.”

Nick wasn’t giving over so easily. He paused on the porch. “One of these posts is loose.”

He pushed at the wood. She didn’t see it moving.

Stephen straightened from his position against the door frame. “I’ll take a look at it,” he said, looking right at Nick. “In the morning.”

Every muscle in Nick’s face twitched. Jeez. They never got tired of this pissing contest.

When Nick finally drove away, Stephen wrapped her in his arms and she leaned into him. “Do you have to push his buttons like that?”

“Yeah. I do. Does it bother you?”

“Well, it’s not making things any easier.”

He nuzzled the top of her head. “Okay. I’ll try.” She sighed and he read her mind. “It’s not over.”

“I wish I were as confident.” After the news, she wasn’t so sure.

“You’re tired. How about a hot shower, then I’ll rub your feet?”

She angled her head up to look at this man who had come into her life and made everything better. “I can’t believe all you did for me today. The food, the games, the prizes.”

“I didn’t do too much. The girls took over, and that was no hardship. Those women love nothing more than to plan parties, and it’s Lizzy’s dream to take over the world.”

“You paid for it all. Don’t deny it, your sister told me. How can I ever pay you back?”

Stephen’s lids fell heavy and a devious smile crept into his lips. “Oh, honey. Did you really just ask me that?” He shook his head. “I’m a man. There’s always a way you can pay me back. Maybe we can work something out in the shower. Maybe I can rub something besides your feet.”

Later, in bed, she thanked him again, for the day and for everything else he’d given her
.
She never imagined she’d have this, feel this way. Take her clothes off and not be afraid of what he saw. Be held by someone. Lie skin to skin, so close that she fell asleep to the sound of his steady heartbeat.

Not even in her wildest dreams did she think she would have the courage to share a shower, walk around nude, get cookies, and burn up the kitchen table. Stephen had done that because he refused to let her hide. And he was the only man she didn’t want to hide from.

They lay naked now, her back to his chest, his thick arm wrapped around her. She was tired, achy, but more content than she’d ever been.

“Matt’s pumped about the new babies.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I talked to Abby.”

He kissed the back of her head and cradled her breast in his palm. “You’d make a great mother.”

She didn’t answer, just traced her fingers along his arm.

“What?” He pulled her a little tighter against him.

Seconds passed. She couldn’t hide from him and his instincts where she was concerned, so she told him. Relayed what the doctors had said, and before she was even finished, he turned her in his arms, sheltered her with his body until her eyes filled with tears. Maybe more about Stephen’s arms around her than what she was saying. She’d accepted that a long time ago.

“It’s not for sure, but…I would love any child. I could adopt. I’d like to adopt children with disabilities, and I could do that alone.” She was grateful for that but it pissed her off some that they’d more readily let her adopt those children because they were the ones no one else wanted. Every child should be wanted.

“Yes. You could. But you shouldn’t have to do it alone.”

He didn’t say she’d do it
not alone
with him.