Hannah (The Hawthorne Sisters)
Page 8
Sarah held up the angel. “Nobody will be tall enough to reach.”
“There’s a step stool in the pantry,” Gretta said. “I’ll go get it. You can put it up this year, Sarah.”
“That was Daddy’s job.” She stood looking at her mother.
Gretta swallowed, not wanting the moment to be pulled down. “It’s your job now.” She smiled and went to get the step stool.
Hannah watched as Sarah climbed on the step stool and reached over to the top. Maggie handed it up to her. Hannah helped her guide the placement so it wasn’t crooked. When they were all done, they stepped back and looked at the finished product.
“Are we ready?” Gretta picked up the cord and plugged it in, letting the lights come to life.
They stood silently taking in the display. Something about Christmas always brought them together. It was their favorite time of the year.
“Allie will be coming over for Christmas Eve, right?” Maggie asked.
“Last I spoke to her, she was. I told her to bring Richard with her. They’ll come here Christmas Eve, and then go to his parent’s house on Christmas Day. What about Bryce?” Gretta turned to face Hannah.
“Christmas Eve, he’ll be here. He still hasn’t found Bev, and I think Christmas Day will be hard for him. We may just share a quiet day together at his place.”
“I hope she’s okay.”
“Yeah, me too.”
**
When Allie called, Gretta was heartbroken. She wouldn’t be coming over for Christmas Eve. Richard wasn’t feeling well, and she didn’t want to leave him. He was hung over and not in the mood for celebration. His work party had kept him up late the night before.
She tried to convince her daughter to come without him, but Allie rebuffed. “That wouldn’t be a good idea.”
As Hannah and Bryce arrived, Hannah was surprised that Allie wouldn’t be sharing in the celebration. Allie loved Christmas. It wouldn’t be the same without her.
“So, I have some good news,” Gretta smiled proudly. “The boy that helped us deliver the tree is going to help us with some projects around here. He’s college aged, and comes with good referrals. I went back to speak with him a few days after he helped us set up the tree. He was so polite, such a gentleman. Anyway, he’s going to work weekends here, since during the week he’s in school. Maggie, you might know him. He goes to your school. Anyway, the tree farm he’s working at is only seasonal work. I asked him if he might be interested or know anyone about his age that would be interested in part-time work. Turned out he was looking for some part-time work between his studies.”
“Mom, that’s great.” Hannah was pleased she’d taken the initiative.
“Well, since my Hannah will have her own home to worry about, I thought I should look into that.” She placed her hands on Bryce’s shoulders. “You’ll take good care of my girl, won’t you?”
“The best.” He smiled, looking at his future bride.
Gretta had been baking all day, and placed out an assortment of cookies. Sharing in snacks and stories, they gathered around and shared gifts and memories of Dad. They laughed over cherished family moments, silly things the girls had done, and filled Bryce in on some of Hannah’s moments through life.
Mom pulled out the photo albums and everyone poured over them. The ones that had Dad in them got extra special attention. There was sadness in Gretta’s eyes, but enough time had passed that she pulled herself out of the funk. It was hard to believe this past year had gone by so quickly. She couldn’t imagine life without Tuc. When Tucker Hawthorne asked her to be his bride, she was thrilled. She loved him until his very last day, and he’d given her four beautiful daughters.
Now it was time for Hannah to get married. She wished her daughter the same happiness she’d had all these years.
As the night moved on and laughter and talking was quieting down, Bryce was ready to head home. Thanking the Hawthorne family for a lovely evening, he said goodnight. Hannah followed him to his truck, her hand tucked in his. “Best Christmas ever,” he whispered, pulling her into a hug.
“Right, I’m sure, sitting around with a bunch of gossiping girls spilling over pictures.”
“It was my first Christmas with my future wife.” His lips were warm and his mouth hungry as he leaned in to kiss Hannah.
“If you keep kissing me like that, I’ll never let you go.”
“I hope that’s a promise.”
“I love you, Bryce.”
“I love you.” Kissing her forehead tenderly, his lips brushed against her skin.
On arriving home, he didn’t expect to see his sister waiting for him.
“Beverly?”
“I’m sober,” she shrugged. “Will you have me back in your life?”
Bryce embraced his sister. “Come inside.”
After a long night of talking, Bev curled up with a blanket and napped. She’d share Christmas Day with her brother, but then she’d be heading out. She found a place a town over, and was able to find a part-time job. She was starting over, and working on her sobriety day by day. Bryce was proud of her and wished her well.
Christmas week was a snowy one, and when New Year’s Eve rolled around, Hannah and Bryce decided they’d stay in. They’d share a bottle of champagne, and make a couple of bacon wrapped filets.
Dinner was amazing. Cleaning up, the couple moved around one another putting things away and finishing up.
“I can’t believe how much my life has changed this year.” Bryce pulled his girl close.
“Hopefully for the better,” she grinned.
Bryce kissed Hannah. Closing her eyes, she parted her lips, enjoying the lushness of his mouth tasting hers. Her entire body felt electric when they were together. She felt warm and safe in his arms. Slowly his mouth moved lower, trailing down her neck, nuzzling and teasing her.
Hannah murmured softly, “If you keep that up, I’m going to be in trouble.” Everything inside of her tingled as her breathing slowed, steady and deep. “That feels so good,” she whispered.
Bryce had to restrain himself. He wanted nothing more than to carry her into his bedroom and make love to her. Forcing himself to stop, he took her hand and led her to the sofa.
“I can’t imagine my life without you in it. One day we’ll look back on this, and tell our kids about our lives.”
“One day. I do want kids, Bryce, but I’m not in a hurry.”
“When it happens, it happens. We’ll let nature decide for us.”
“I like that.” That felt right. Hannah’s voice was soft. “I don’t know if I ever said ‘thank you.’ I’m sorry.”
“Thank you for what?”
“I was cold, abrupt, and rough when you saved our home. I appreciate what you did for us, and I’m sorry I was rude at first.”
“Oh, baby, no need. And you did stop by. Don’t you remember that day in the barn?”
“This past year was a blur. So much has changed. I feel like I’ve gone from being a girl to a woman.”
“You’re an amazing woman. You’ve always been, in my eyes.”
“Thank you.” She nuzzled into the nook of his arm.
“You know that it’s going to kill me to wait until spring. I’m ready to call you my wife and make love to you now.” He grinned and squeezed his arm tighter around her.
“We don’t have to wait. We could make love now.”
“No. Let’s wait. We’ve waited this long.” It killed him to say it, but it was the right thing to do.
“The way you kiss me, you leave me aching for more.”
“Mrs. Callahan… I like the sound of that.”
“Me too,” she purred.
“And kids…you’re going to be an amazing mother.”
“Take me to bed,” she whispered.
“You’ll kill me yet. Do you know how hard it is to say no to that kind of offer?”
“Then don’t say no.” She arched an eyebrow at him, flirting with him.
“One of these
days I may take you up on that offer.”
She sighed, exaggerating. “Fine, I’ll behave, but only for a few more months. The minute we get married, you’re all mine!”
“It will be the best day of my life. I’m counting the days until spring.”
THE END
Thank you for taking the time to choose an Ava Catori title. If you enjoyed reading this, be sure to check out other stories in the series. “The Hawthorne Sisters” features four sisters and life with their widowed mother. I’d suggest reading “Allie” next. While they can be read in any order and are each standalone stories, the series runs linear if you like to keep timeframes in order.
To read them in order:
Hannah, Book 1
Allie, Book 2
Maggie, Book 3
Sarah, Book 4
If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review so other people can decide if this book might be right for them. Thank you so much for your time. Be sure to check out the next book in “The Hawthorne Sisters” series. You can find more information at AvaCatori.com. If you’d like to be notified of future releases, be sure to sign up for our mailing list.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12