Hannah's Home

by Pamela Kelley

  “I’m so glad that I moved back to Quinn Valley. We’re going to have a wonderful life together.”

  David pulled her close to him and kissed her passionately. “Yes, we are. And you don’t have to come fishing again with me if you don’t want to. I know it’s probably not that exciting for you. I don’t know why I like it so much.”

  Hannah leaned over and kissed him again. “I don’t have to do anything. I wanted to come fishing with you, because you love it so much and I love you. We got to spend an afternoon together, in the sunshine, eating good food, listening to music and drifting around the lake. What’s not to like? And now we have tonight’s dinner, too.”

  David laughed. “Have I mentioned that I love you?”

  “Feel free to mention it anytime. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of hearing it.”

  Epilogue

  Christmas Eve, five years later

  David waited until everyone arrived before he and Hannah shared their happy news. They were hosting the Christmas Eve feast at Hannah’s house, or rather their house. Funny how he still thought of it as Hannah’s house even though he’d moved in when they got married and they’d sold his house.

  All the siblings were there, except for Ivy and Nash. They were touring together overseas and couldn’t make it work with their schedules, especially as they were coming back for good in mid-January. Ivy was a mega country music superstar now and always seemed to be on the road. David was happy for her but was also glad that Hannah never got the bug to travel again. She did the occasional mini-tour locally, in Lewiston and Seattle, but that didn’t take much time and she preferred to be at home working on her songwriting and the workshops and classes she was teaching.

  Ryder and Bethany had three small children now and they were running in a circle around the Christmas tree. The littlest, Avery, named after her aunt, was just over a year old but she started walking at ten months and was a speedy little thing.

  Avery and Carter had two children now and they were with the others by the Christmas tree. Maggie and Charlie didn’t have any children and didn’t have any plans to have any. They had a houseful of animals, shelter cats and dogs that they’d rescued, and they loved spoiling their nieces and nephews rotten and babysitting occasionally on long weekends to give their siblings a break.

  David and Hannah had just about given up on having children. They’d gone through multiple rounds of fertility treatments and it had really taken a toll on Hannah, on both of them really. They got their hopes up each time, only to have them dashed when the results came back negative, again. They were on a six-month break and both had decided that maybe it wasn’t worth it to try again. Maggie and Charlie were happy as could be without children. Maybe it wasn’t meant for them, either. So, they relaxed about it and stopped even thinking about it for a few months.

  And then the strangest thing happened. Hannah thought she was gaining weight, she seemed to be hungry all the time. They didn’t think anything of it at first. After all, the family was in the food business and David was constantly bringing home samples of new food to try from different vendors. But one morning as Hannah was getting dressed, he couldn’t help but notice her much fuller figure. Her stomach was still mostly flat, but she was spilling out of her bra.

  “Honey, I’m not sure exactly how to ask this, but have you gained a little weight?”

  Hannah laughed. “I guess maybe I have, a little. I didn’t realize it was that noticeable.”

  “It’s not, when you have your clothes on. Is it possible? I mean, when was your last monthly thing?”

  “You mean my period? Last month I think. I’m not always regular.” She was quiet for a minute then pulled out her cell phone and looked at the calendar on it. And then her jaw dropped.

  “Maybe it’s been longer than I realized. But we haven’t been on any treatments. I don’t think it’s possible. It’s highly unlikely, anyway.”

  “Anything’s possible, honey. Do we have any tests left?”

  “Are you kidding? I bought them in bulk at Costco. I have plenty.”

  “Do you want to check, maybe? Just in case. It’s probably negative, so we won’t get our hopes up.”

  “Okay.” Hannah went off to the bathroom and came back ten minutes later with a dazed look. She held up the test stick. “It’s probably a false positive. That happens right?”

  David knew, without a doubt that it wasn’t a false positive.

  “I think we’re really pregnant.”

  A visit to the doctor the next day confirmed the test results. They waited on telling anyone about the pregnancy until Hannah reached the three-month mark because the doctor said she might be more vulnerable since it had been so hard for her to get pregnant. The doctor wasn’t done giving them good news, though. At their twelve week appointment, she did an ultrasound and they were excited to learn the sex of the baby.

  “It’s a boy!” she announced.

  “We’re having a boy!” David gave Hannah an excited kiss. The doctor had a mischievous look on her face.

  “You’re having a girl, too. Twins.”

  “So, what’s the big news?” Maggie asked. She looked excited and David knew she was hoping they might have baby news. She knew how badly they both wanted it.

  David smiled and looked around the room. “So, we’ve been sitting on this news for a while, but we just went for our twelve week appointment yesterday. We’re pregnant and the ultrasound showed that it’s a boy.” There were cheers and congratulations all around and then Hannah stood and everyone quieted down.

  “And it’s a girl. David and I are having twins!”

  “I am so happy for you both! That’s the best news ever. Twins!” Maggie said.

  Hannah’s mother and David’s mother both looked like they’d won the baby lottery. They rushed over to congratulate both of them and give hugs and kisses.

  Once all the commotion died down, everyone turned their attention to the food. Hannah set out platters of steamed shrimp, chips and dips, crackers and cheese, stuffed mushrooms and a big bowl of Prosecco punch that was very popular. She’d frozen fresh strawberries and grapes and they bobbed in the bowl instead of ice cubes.

  David helped cook the main meal, which was beef tenderloin with béarnaise sauce, roasted potatoes and asparagus. An assortment of cookies and pies waited on a side table for dessert and many glasses of wine were poured, though none for Hannah. She happily sipped a cold glass of sparkling apple cider and didn’t miss the alcohol a bit.

  It was funny how her taste had changed since she was pregnant. She didn’t even like the smell of wine anymore and she used to love it. And she’d been having some odd food cravings lately. Pickles and Grapenut custard were her favorites this week. It changed often.

  She glanced around the room and smiled. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and outside, it was starting to flurry a little. It felt like Christmas. There was a sense of joy and wonder that always came at this time of year.

  Tomorrow they’d be at David’s mother’s house. It was the one holiday of the year that she still insisted on doing all the cooking. And she really was an amazing cook. Hannah was looking forward to relaxing and trying everything.

  She was also looking forward to after everyone left tonight and she and David would have the house to themselves. They always exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve and she’d stuffed his stocking with his gift earlier in the day. She was excited for him to open it and she hoped that he’d like what she’d chosen. She had a feeling that he might.

  Maggie and Charlie were whispering and laughing, and Hannah heard her brother say, “Go ahead and tell them.”

  “So, I have an announcement to make, too. Hannah isn’t the only one that is expecting.” A shocked silence fell over the room and Maggie burst into laughter.

  “No, it’s not that! It’s Jamie and they think she’ll have eight or nine pups soon. There was some kind of mix-up with the shelter that we adopted her from. They thought she was already spay
ed. Apparently, she wasn’t. So, if anyone wants a puppy, we’ll have plenty to go around.”

  “We might want a couple,” Harry said. Marcia immediately swatted his arm.

  “A couple?!”

  “Well, you always want to have two so they can keep each other company.”

  “Hm. We’ll talk about that later. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a puppy.”

  “I think it’s a great idea, Mom. You and Harry can spoil them rotten,” Maggie said.

  “That might be kind of fun. We’ll see.”

  Hannah smiled as three sets of desperate eyes stared at Ryder and Bethany. “Please, please can we each get a puppy?” Eloise, the oldest asked.

  Bethany looked pale at the thought. “I don’t know about that. One, maybe. Two possibly. Three seems a bit much.” She looked at Maggie and made a face. “Thanks a lot, Mags.”

  Maggie laughed. “Sorry.” She looked around the room, “Any other takers?”

  “I might want one, or maybe even two. What do you think, David?” Hannah asked.

  “A puppy or two might be fun. We’ve talked about getting a pet once we got through the fertility stuff.”

  “Okay, just let me know when you all decide.” Maggie cut herself a big slice of apple pie and added a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

  Hannah’s mouth immediately watered. “I’ll take some of that, too.”

  Three hours later, the house was quiet except for the soft sound of Christmas carols playing in the background. All the dishes were done and put away, and David had just added another log to the fire.

  “Are you ready to do our stockings?” Hannah asked.

  “I’m ready.” David pulled both stockings down from the mantle and brought them over to the soft leather sofa where Hannah was curled up under a cozy fleece throw. She had a cup of hot tea by her side.

  “You go first.” Hannah watched as David reached into his stocking and pulled out the first of his gifts. A new tie, navy with embroidered rainbow trout all over it.

  “This is awesome, thank you.” He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss.

  “Keep going,” she urged him.

  He reached back in and pulled out two giant chocolate bars from the UK. They were dark chocolate Toblerone with bits of chewy nougat inside. It was his favorite. She liked them, too. And then he reached to the bottom and pulled out a jeweler’s box and opened it.

  “This is great. I needed a new watch. Thank you.”

  “It’s waterproof and is a fishing watch…all kinds of data for you. Fishing conditions, GPS. It practically tells you where the fish are.” She laughed. She’d seen it online and ordered it months ago for him. It seemed perfect.

  “This is truly awesome. I didn’t even know they made fishing watches.”

  “I didn’t either. But when I stumbled onto it, it seemed meant to be.”

  “Okay, your turn now.” David watched as Hannah reached into her stocking and pulled out two pairs of fuzzy socks. She was always cold and always losing her socks. He’d gotten her two soft pairs, one pink and one blue.

  “I love them, thank you.”

  “Keep going,” he urged her.

  She reached in and pulled out a giant bag of red Twizzlers. Her favorite candy. She liked when they got hard and stale, which made David laugh. She knew it was an odd quirk, but she really preferred them that way.

  “Thank you!” She didn’t have to be told to keep going and reached deep into the stocking and pulled out a slim jeweler’s box. She had no idea what he’d gotten her. Hannah didn’t wear a lot of jewelry. She opened the box and there was a stunning diamond tennis bracelet, sparkling in the firelight.

  “David, it’s too much. You shouldn’t have. I love it, though.” She lifted the bracelet up and draped it over her wrist and then smiled at the clasp. It was two stones that linked together, one pink and one blue. To represent their babies.

  “I couldn’t resist it. It made me think of you and our family.” He helped her fasten the bracelet and she held it up and looked at it from all angles. It was stunningly gorgeous.

  “I don’t want to ever take it off. But I suppose I should. I’m wearing it tomorrow, though. I can’t wait to show your mother.”

  David grinned. “She’s already seen it. She may have been with me when I picked it out. I didn’t want to screw anything up.”

  Hannah leaned over and kissed her husband. “You did very well.” She snuggled into his arms and rested her head on his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair and gently massaged her scalp. She loved when he did that. It was so relaxing.

  “Merry Christmas, David. I still love you lots.”

  “Merry Christmas, Hannah. Love you lots, too. Always and forever.”

  Thank you so much for reading! If you’d like to receive an email about new releases, please join my mailing list.

  My next book, Nantucket White Christmas is available for preorder.

  Have you read my other two books in the Quinn Valley series? Ryder Revisited and Calling Charlie.

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