by Dale Mayer
But it was new and not something he wanted to share or have his friends criticize.
“It’s not that you’re slow, but I think it has to do with all this friends stuff that she’s got you thinking about. That appears to confuse the issue for you.”
Good point. He frowned. “How do I know if her friendship is more than friendship?”
“You already know you’re more than friends. The question is, how much more? The thing is, you don’t have to answer that now. You take a few steps down that road and see how it feels, see what develops, see how it grows.”
“We’ve been dancing around the issue of coming together, separating, coming together … It’s been a unique time.”
“Partly because you’re injured, partly because she works here. So you have a lot of different issues that will be affected. Have you discussed the future at all?” Brock pressed.
Denton nodded. “We were talking about me hooking up with Thomas’s company in Dallas.” They already knew about his friend, had met him over the years.
“Did that make her happy?” Cole asked.
Denton smiled and nodded. “Yes.”
“Good,” Brock said. “Then don’t analyze it too much. Just let it happen. You’ll do fine.” He stood up and grinned at Denton. “I’m really happy for you.”
The men left soon afterward. Inasmuch as Denton appreciated their parting words of wisdom, he couldn’t stop the feeling that he’d done something very wrong. Or that Hannah would take his actions the wrong way.
He stared at his phone. Nope. It would be better to explain in person. He should go to her office, which was something he rarely did. He thought about that for a long moment and realized he avoided her work environment. He didn’t want to intrude with her work the same way she didn’t intrude on his life here because he was one of the patients.
Decision made, he got up and walked to her office. “You left rather abruptly,” he said quietly. “I came to see if something was wrong.”
If he hadn’t been watching her face so closely, he wouldn’t have seen the hurt whisper across her features.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you or make it seem to you like we were only friends, only to my buddies,” he quickly added. “I didn’t think about how you’d perceive it until you got up and left.” Wisely, he withheld mentioning Brock and Cole’s responses.
She shot him a shuttered look.
He sighed. “I don’t want a relationship where I constantly have to worry about what I say, afraid you will take it the wrong way. I would never do anything to hurt you, and I would never do anything deliberately to make you feel bad. If you feel like I relegated our relationship back to friends, I’m sorry because that hadn’t been my intention.”
She studied him for a long moment. “Yet, that’s what it seemed like. And here I’d thought we’d moved past that.”
He nodded. “We have. And it feels … I don’t know … special.”
At her start of surprise, he tried to explain. “I wanted to keep it between us. Enjoy knowing we’re together. They are my friends, but I don’t tell them every single thing. I was afraid that if I told them about us, about how I felt, in some way it would take away the intimacy, the uniqueness of what we have.”
Her gaze warmed. She sat back in her chair and stared at him in surprise. “So, you were trying to distance them, not me?”
He thought about that for a long moment, then nodded. “That’s probably a good way to look at it.” He shrugged and gave her a sheepish look. “They know so much about me that they already understand how close we are. But I didn’t want to discuss it with them. I wanted to keep it just for us, something between us for as long as I could.”
Slowly a smile dawned across her face, and he relaxed, but his gaze was caught on how special her smile was. And he was so damn glad it was just for him.
“It’s probably the one excuse any woman would accept—and be delighted with.” She chuckled. “And in this case, you’re completely forgiven.”
He laughed and mimicked wiping sweat off his face. “I fully expect I will make more mistakes, you know?” he warned. “Please don’t hold them against me and walk away hurt. I will do my best not to blunder, and I will do everything in my power to not make the same mistakes again.”
Chapter 15
Hannah smiled up at him. She had been hurt, but his explanation more than made up for it. “Apparently,” she said, “I have more to learn in this relationship than you do.”
He grinned at her. “Then how about we teach each other?”
Denton opened his arms, and Hannah stood and stepped into them. For the first time, she didn’t care if anybody could see. She didn’t worry what others might think or about getting into trouble. Or raised eyebrows at her unorthodox behavior. This was good. And she’d do a lot to fight for it.
Actually, she’d do anything. He was the one man for her. The road wouldn’t be calm or straightforward, but she’d never been one to take the easy road in anything she did.
Over Denton’s shoulder, she caught Dani glancing up to see the two of them hugging. A big smile flashed across her face, and she gave Hannah the thumbs-up sign.
Hannah pulled back slightly. “Don’t look now, but our relationship is no longer a secret.”
Denton twisted slightly. Several people were peering through the open doorway, wide grins on their faces, followed by Dani, who got up and walked from her office with a wave and a smile.
Hannah chuckled. “My vote is to give them something really juicy to look at. Then no one will have any doubts we’re together.”
“I’m all for that.” He tilted up her chin and pulled her into his arms for a passionate kiss.
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
A kiss full of promise. A kiss full of love. A kiss not just for the moment but forever.
Epilogue
Elliot Carver stared at the letter on his lap. He’d avoided opening it for the last thirty minutes. It was from Hathaway House and—with any luck—Aaron Hammond himself.
He still wasn’t sure he should go, even if a room was available. He’d come to realize that nothing anyone could do would likely help him out. A change of scenery would be good, and if he could make a change, then this would be the best option.
If it was an option.
He’d known Aaron in the military, and like Elliot, Aaron had been injured. Hathaway House had turned his life around to the point that he was now engaged to Dani Hathaway, part owner and manager of the rehabilitation center.
Aaron had been instrumental in bringing in other people, others of the US Navy SEAL brotherhood who were in need. Then the men who served helped each other rehab. And if you were a SEAL, then the hand was held out even farther.
But what if Elliot wasn’t qualified or didn’t fit or failed to meet their medical requirements? So many aspects could mess this up for him. Including his own doubts …
“Aren’t you going to open your mail?” Finn asked, rolling to his side. He was a maverick, like Elliot. Only Elliot felt washed up and thrown away. Finn was new to rehab. New to being injured. He was in a holding pattern, but he had a mess of surgeries coming up. If he kept his positive outlook on life after all that, then Elliot would be happier for Finn. As it were, if Elliot himself could get some sleep, then maybe life would turn around for him.
Right now that looked doubtful.
He shook his head and said, “Maybe later.”
“Hell, no way. You open that. If this works out for you, then maybe I’ll give the place a try. We have to stick together. This is a battle we didn’t train for, so it’ll take all the intel we can get to make it through.”
A groan escaped. Finn was right. Elliot suddenly reached down and snatched up the envelope. If he got an invitation to go, yeah, he would go. All the rest was his fear talking.
And he’d had enough of that crap. All in, all the time. The SEAL motto he now used like a mantra.
He ripped it op
en and pulled out the letter.
His heart slammed against his ribs as he read the first line out loud.
“Elliot, we’d like to invite you to Hathaway House for the rest of your rehabilitation …”
“Hot damn,” Finn crowed with envy. “Go and then tell me how it is. I’ll get started on my own request.”
Elliot stared at his friend and knew Finn was right about one thing. This journey was one none of them had experienced before. They had to learn from those who had gone before.
“Do it,” Elliot said, waving the acceptance letter in his hand. “I’ll meet you there, and we’ll both beat this.”
And the two men shook hands about their future.
This concludes Book 4 of Hathaway House: Denton.
Read about Elliot: Hathaway House, Book 5
Hathaway House: Elliot (Book #5)
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love.
Former Navy SEAL Elliot Carver came to Hathaway House to get help with the lingering repercussions of a mission gone bad. His body is dealing with the physical trauma of a spinal cord injury, while his mind is caught in a loop of painful memories that he can’t sideline, and both won’t let him heal the way he’d like.
Former ER Nurse Sicily Lawrence has just made her way out of a difficult relationship, and the quietness of the night shift at Hathaway House gives her peace of mind. The last thing she needs is to get involved in another volatile union. But she has seen injuries like Elliot’s before, and she knows that a certain type of therapy can help. One Elliot isn’t interested in trying.
Now, for Elliot’s sake, Sicily must push him toward the progress he needs, even it means losing him. And, with time and luck, maybe they can cross the hurdle and find each other at Hathaway House.
Book 5 is available now!
To find out more visit Dale Mayer’s website.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Denton: Hathaway House, Book 4! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.
Dear reader,
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Cheers,
Dale Mayer
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About the Author
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).
She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
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DENTON: HATHAWAY HOUSE, BOOK 4
Dale Mayer
Valley Publishing Ltd.
Copyright © 2019
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1-773361-58-1
Kindle Edition
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