WindSwept Narrows: #8 Hannah Taylor

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  “Liliana Taylor…her mother is Hannah Taylor, Donovan’s admin,” Eve answered, watching the expression on his face. She’d seen that look before lately, she thought lovingly of Zach.

  “Huh…okay…where were we,” he found his way back into their conversation about the cold and flu season and running a small infirmary for the sick kids to be. When they’d finished the possible layout and number of people she would use, he wandered over to the redhead and dropped to his heels. “Good afternoon, Miss Lili…how are you today?” Noah heard a voice in his head and listened to his own words. He’d called her that before. Yet, he was just meeting her now. And he was rewarded with a beaming smile.

  “I’m good. Are you better?”

  “Better?”

  “Mama said you were sad,” she set the doll down and stepped up to him, her little arms around his neck. “A hug always makes it a little better.”

  “Huh…a hug seems to make it lots better,” he admitted, carefully returning her hug. “I’ve got people to go see…but is it okay if I come back and talk to you again?”

  “Sure. That’ll be fun,” she told him with a nod. “I could read you a story. When my guppy died, I was sad, too.”

  Noah caught himself looking back at the small girl as he left the daycare, one hand up and rubbing his neck.

  He wasn’t able to get back to the daycare for almost a week and when he entered the main play area, the perky little redhead came running up to him, using his legs to hide behind.

  “Shhh…I’m hiding from Justin,” Lili told him, gripping his jeans and keeping just one eye out to look.

  Noah looked down at her. She was very slender, with a nose dotted with freckles that tipped in the air. No one questioned his entering the daycare, since he was there once or twice a week anyway checking on kids.

  “Lunch time,” called out Myra, carefully herding little bodies toward their table.

  “Want to have lunch with me?” Lili looked up at him, very large eyes blinking as she waited expectantly.

  “I think that would be a good date,” Noah said with a nod, talking to the young woman and accepting the lunch bag she held out to him. “Let’s go over here,” he led her to a small table and sunk to the floor. He got her set up before pulling an apple from the pocket of his coat. “That’s a pretty good lunch you have.”

  “Mama made it for me. Want a carrot? I like peanut butter,” she told him, biting into the little cracker she had in a plastic bag.

  “I’m good, thanks,” Noah had been seeing images from his lost weekend that were puzzling, to say the least. How this little girl and her mother came to be mixed up in that time was confusing enough. He had admitted to himself that he had been working up to asking Hannah Taylor out for an evening. Work or something always seemed to get in the way, though. “Lili…where did you meet me?” He knew he might be reaching to expect a three year old to remember, but he had to start somewhere.

  “In the snow,” she answered simply, reaching for her drink box and holding it up to him. “Please.”

  Noah looked at the box and closed one eye, his gaze sweeping the other tables and seeing little straws sticking up through the end. He took the box and removed the straw, stabbing it into the foil for her.

  “Thank you,” she said politely, taking it and drinking.

  “In the snow,” Noah repeated, thinking of the snow coating the eastern half of Washington the weekend of the memorial. “You were playing in the snow,” he said slowly.

  “Yep…we were making snow angels,” she said with a bright grin. “Mama says next time it snows we can maybe go again. Will you come with us?”

  “I think that might be a grand time, Lili,” Noah stared at the child, the image she offered appearing in a corner of his mind. “You have a blue snow jacket…and mama has a silver one…”

  Noah watched her nod happily as she ate.

  He didn’t recall meeting her. He didn’t recall anything in a long stream, just bits and pieces. Noah leaned back on the floor, listening to Lili ramble about the snow, his attention caught on one comment.

  “Juice?” He repeated, looking at her nod.

  “You drink lots of juice. You had some on the table by the bed,” she said with a shrug. “I didn’t like it. It tasted funny,” the little face wrinkled at the memory. “Can I play now?”

  “I think you did great with your lunch, Lili…have fun and I’ll talk to you another time, alright?” Noah gathered the empty bag and handed them to the young woman when he took Lili to her. “Bye, Lili.”

  “Bye, Noah.”

  Noah tossed his apple into the compost inside the cafeteria and bought a sandwich, his eyes skirting the expanse of people. Spotting a pretty redhead alone and writing on a note pad off to the side of the room. He saw the inside of the room at the inn the instant Lili mentioned the juice.

  “Excuse me…mind a little company for lunch?” Noah asked, watching her look up. Her expression went from mild confusion to almost stark terror, he thought, watching her closely. “I’m pretty harmless,” he held out his palm. “Noah Madison.”

  “I…no, of course…please…” she hastily closed the notebook and took his palm. “Hannah Taylor,” she said with a hard swallow, reaching for her bottle of water and draining half of it. “Dr. Madison?” Came the questioning words, her voice a little higher than normal.

  “Hmm…so they tell me,” he teased with a grin. “I work with Anya Sheffield in the health clinic. I don’t see a ring, so I’m hoping I’m not treading on someone’s toes by sharing a table with you, Hannah.”

  “I…toes…oh, no…well…no…” she wasn’t sure in her mind how to answer that one. Technically, she was married. “Company is nice for lunch.”

  “Were you working?” He nodded to the notepad she had closed.

  “No…well…homework, actually…I’m working on a course on natural medicine,” she told him, picking at the rest of her lunch.

  “Going into the medical field?” He watched the way she played with her food, most of the vegetables and pita bread gone. She had very long, slim hands that seemed to be shaking a little. She wore a dark blue suit, the jacket short and her blouse a pale silver.

  “No…but I’m going to split my time between being an admin for Donovan Banner and Francine Kendall. So I want to know…I want information. I have another class to take next month. It’s quite fascinating,” she said, slowly relaxing. He didn’t remember! And inside her was an ongoing argument about whether to be disturbed by that or not.

  “You’re a busy woman. Any time in there for dates?” Noah continued eating his sandwich.

  “The fruit or the activity?” Hannah asked with a grin, staring for a long minute at the sparkle of gold edging his eyes.

  “I think I’ll take this as a good first date,” Noah said with a laugh.

  “I didn’t think doctors had much free time.”

  “The benefits of working for a company…regular hours,” he tipped his wrist up with a shake of his head when the alarm sounded. “And I have appointments, Hannah Taylor,” he stood up and pulled out his phone. “What’s your number? Please…”

  Hannah recited her number and felt her chest thumping when he tapped it into his phone and turned to leave with a grin. She felt like she was sixteen and the hottest boy in school just asked her out! She quickly cleaned up the table and gathered her things, heading to her desk with the afternoon tasks listing themselves in her mind.

  She almost made it back to her desk when her phone chimed. She pulled it from her pocket and stopped walking to read the text.

  “Have dinner with me tonight.”

  “Noah, I have a 3 year old daughter – but you can have dinner with us.”

  “Shoot me the address and I’ll be there.”

  Hannah sent the address to him and hurried to her desk, losing herself in work to avoid thinking about Noah Madison.

  She had the vegetables roasting and the pasta was waiting when the knock came on the door shortly
after five that evening.

  Chapter Four

  “Lili…see who’s at the door,” Hannah called out from the kitchen.

  “I think it’s the big bad wolf,” Lili said after a quiet minute peering through the tiny glass eye on the door.

  “Hmm…” Hannah moved to her side, lifting her to the floor. “I think he would have blown in the door by now.”

  “Then I think it’s really Noah,” Lili said firmly, using two hands and pulling the door open. “Hi, Noah.”

  “Hi there, Miss Lili. How was your day?” He stepped inside the warm and fragrant apartment.

  “I had a fun day,” she informed him and went back to her house and toys spread out on the floor.

  “I think I had a fun day, too,” Noah wandered to the kitchen behind Hannah. “It smells delicious.”

  “I should have asked what you like to eat…” She glanced up from the plates she was getting from the cupboard.

  “Pretty much anything grown…I’m not real particular. Between medical school and the military, you eat or starve,” Noah commented with a crooked grin.

  “Where’s your coat? It’s cold outside,” Lili wandered to stand by them, looking up and reaching for her juice. She carried it to the small table and sat down, quietly waiting for her plate.

  “I think I need it tomorrow,” he agreed, watching curiously as Hannah laid out three pre-packaged choices for the child and let her chose. “They made some really nice apartments here for people.”

  “There are half studio types and others for small families,” Hannah told him. “It’s good for us for now. It’s safe feeling,” she said as she continued in the kitchen, setting out a tray of vegetables from the oven. She had their plates arranged with fresh pasta with cheese and olive oil and roast vegetables brought to the table when the microwave went off. She added a few of the white cubes of roast vegetables and two small pieces of asparagus before setting the plate before Lili, watching closely.

  “What’s this?” She lifted the small green piece and sniffed it.

  “Asparagus,” Hannah answered, not surprised that it was chewed on and spit into the plate.

  “I don’t like a pair of guts,” she declared with a shake of her head, digging into the macaroni and cheese and the known white cubes. “I like the dice.”

  “Dice?” Noah took his seat when she smiled at him.

  “I think someone’s been playing with Uncle Logan again,” Hannah said with a slight shake of her head.

  “He’s teaching me and Scarlet how to count to twenty-one,” Lili announced happily.

  “Twenty-one?” Noah laughed as he took a bite. “I for one really like a pair of guts,” he told Hannah with a wink.

  “I kind of hoped…but she’ll come around in time. At least the parsnips, rutabagas and turnips made it in,” Hannah said with a laugh. “At this age, I take what I can get.”

  “You cook with some good spices mixed together,” Noah commented, nodding when she offered to fill a glass with cold water and ice. He dug into the steamy pasta hungrily.

  “Thank you. It’s a lot more fun to cook for another adult. Usually I pick on fruit and toast,” Hannah shrugged.

  “How did…”

  “How did…”

  Laughter burst out, making Lili look over at the adults.

  “You first,” Noah said with a chuckle. “First dates should come with a page of questions to keep the conversation going.”

  “There’s more pasta and veggies, if you’re hungry,” she told him, taking his plate to the kitchen when he nodded. “How did you get involved with the resort?”

  “That was my question…but…I know some of the principles from our time in the military. I also know Abby is very keen on targeting those returning with no job waiting. The training programs the four of them are putting together will put vo-techs to shame if they don’t keep up,” Noah told her, grinding fresh pepper over the pasta and winding a forkful.

  “It makes no sense to me to not train people in your style and your principles as a business,” Hannah agreed. “Especially if you find good people, to make things even better, keep them. You’re friends with Donovan Banner.”

  “We’ve been a few places together,” he admitted. “He’s a good person. Solid if a little too suit for me.”

  Hannah laughed. “I wear suits.”

  “On you they look good,” Noah said honestly, a tint of pink in her cheeks making him smile. “I think after so much uniform time, jeans and shirts feel good.”

  “I like them. It makes me feel…” she scrunched up her nose a little. “Professional. I don’t know…it just fits.”

  “Then don’t change for anyone,” he said softly.

  “I’ve never lived around so many military people before. Abby and I were friends in New Mexico…the cost of living is much different there,” she said quietly. “We sold most of our stuff when I was offered the job. I love the smells up here…the ocean and beaches and pine trees…”

  “We collect pines,” Lili said from her table, sliding to the floor and carrying her plate into the sink. “All gone.”

  “Thank you…” Hannah began collecting the plates when the doorbell sounded, Lili crossing to climb the chair and look out.

  “It’s the big bad wolf!” She exclaimed, excitedly.

  “Try again,” Hannah told her.

  “It’s Aunt Kate,” Lili jumped down and moved the chair, two little hands sliding on the doorknob.

  “Hi, Aunt Kate…and Uncle Dylan! Do you have it?” She squealed and jumped into his arms.

  “Hi…” Kate looked at the table and the man rising from his chair to Hannah. “We’re not interrupting anything, I hope.”

  “Just finished dinner,” Hannah told her. “This is Noah Madison…my friends, Kate and Dylan Grant.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Noah,” Dylan took his hand before letting his palm pat over his pockets with a teasing gleam in his eyes. He pulled a small metal plane from inside one and held it just out of reach. “I got it!”

  “Let’s go put it on the airport!” Lili declared, jumping excitedly in his arms.

  “Excuse us,” Dylan laughed.

  “Just a quick stop…we’re going to dinner,” Kate looked at Hannah. “I need to talk to you a second…if you’ll excuse us?”

  “I’ll go check out the airport,” Noah said easily.

  “Don’t say anything, Kate, please. He doesn’t remember.”

  “Hey…just an update. I’m arguing with the attorney in charge. He’s claiming he can withhold until he meets the husband.”

  “I…that is not…” Hannah stomped her foot.

  “It is not stipulated and I’ve sent a letter to that effect with a promise to elevate if he doesn’t comply with the letter of the bequest,” Kate put her hand on her friend’s arm. “Relax. It’ll happen. I promise. I just wanted you to know where we are. It won’t happen overnight. Your parents are…are being a pain,” she said politely.

  “I don’t understand why they care,” Hannah paced off the floor in the kitchen. “Ohh…they make me furious. Thank you, Kate.”

  “Better find my pilot,” she said with a wink. “I’m starving!” She called out with a laugh.

  “I left Noah and Lili in charge of the airport, Hannah,” Dylan came out leisurely, laughing at the pair of them on the floor peering into the windows of the plastic airport. “Take care, Hannah. Bye.”

  Noah left Lili on the floor when he heard the strains of music from the other room. He walked into the large living area and leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest as he watched her dance around cleaning up the kitchen and singing. He couldn’t stop the smile on his face when she spun and saw him watching her. Her body came to a stop and she licked her lips, searching her mind for something to say.

  Noah moved to the player and started the song again.

  “The song seems to fit you,” he told her, taking her hands in his and dancing with her around the large open space. “I li
ke some country music, too…somehow this feels like I’ve been here before,” his hand moved from hers to brush the strands of red from her eyebrow when the music stopped.

  “I…we like music…all kinds…mostly Disney,” Hannah said shakily, her voice cracking as his mouth came closer, brushing hers lightly.

  “I’m good with Disney, too, Hannah,” he whispered against her mouth, his palm caressing her cheek. He took a breath before kissing her again, inhaling a scent that brought back the dreams he’d been having. Her palms were against his chest, fingers spread and warm. His other hand slid down her side and around behind her, pulling her close even as his memories showed him more than a kiss.

  “Noah…” Hannah broke off the kiss breathlessly, lowering her head and trying to think. “I…there are…I’m…”

  “It’s okay…” He stepped back and framed her face gently. “I didn’t come prepared for this either, Hannah…”

  She blinked in confusion. “Prepared?”

  “Birth control? I’m taking a guess you’re not on anything…” Noah kissed her when color infused her cheeks. “You’re beautiful…I think I have a weakness for freckles I never knew was there before…”

  “I’m not taking…I don’t like chemicals…” she stammered, turning and going into the kitchen. She needed something in her hands. Something to keep them from shaking so badly.

  “Hannah…” Noah went to stand beside her, tipping his head down to peer into her eyes. “I’m not in a hurry. I’m not seeing anyone else. I don’t have to work tomorrow until four…and it’s supposed to be nice. Chilly but nice…”

  “We usually go to the park and beach,” she answered. “Pine cones and sea shells…”

  “I noticed the little jars in her bedroom,” he said with a smile. “What time?”

  “About ten?” Hannah couldn’t think. Her mind was lost on her calendar.

  “I’ll bring my car over and leave it at the health center. If…you don’t mind some company,” Noah liked the silken feel of her hair against his palm.

  “I think I’d like the company, Noah. I’m not…I haven’t been on a date in a very long time,” she wandered into the living area, sinking to the sofa and curling her legs beneath her.