Whew, an out. “Yeah. I’m not really going to be able to make an educated decision without it. Why don’t you come up with one and get it to me?”
Josie pulled out a notebook from her purse. “Business plan,” she repeated as she wrote the words on the paper.
“Yeah. If you could get it to me, that would be great.” He shut the scrapbook and slid it across the table.
Betty grabbed it and slipped it into her bag along with the Kitty Cuddle.
“We’re going to head to the library tomorrow and figure out how to write a…” she glanced over at Josie.
“Business plan,” Josie repeated.
Logan smiled and stood. “Great. Well, ladies. It was good to meet you. I look forward to that plan.” He reached out and shook each woman’s hand. They stood and smiled at him.
“Your mom was right. You are such a sweet boy,” Josie said, patting his hand.
Logan’s stomach churned. And he was going to be mean to them. He clenched his jaw. He couldn’t let this money turn him into a jerk. He’d make that commitment right now. He wasn’t going to change. He gave Josie’s hand a quick shake. “I’m happy to help.”
Betty smiled. “Until next time.” Both women turned and headed out of the kitchen with Logan’s mom hot on their heels.
Logan made his way over to the sink and filled up a glass of water. The women’s laughter carried from the hall. He heard the door shut and the house grew quiet. His mom appeared in the doorway.
He stared at her. “Mom…”
She held up her hands. “I know. I know. I couldn’t help it, Logan. They’re my good friends.”
“I told you I wasn’t ready for this kind of thing. I’m not ready for people to know I have money.” He downed his glass of water and set it next to the sink. “I don’t want it to change how people treat me.”
His mom walked over to the sink and grabbed his dirty glass. She pulled open the dishwasher and loaded it.
“Ma, I could have done that.”
She nodded. “I know that.” Her smile dropped as her gaze grew heavy.
He reached out and pulled her into a hug. She buried her face in his shoulder. “What’s wrong?” He hated when his mom got like this.
Her shoulders shook. “I’m just worried about you.” She pulled back and dabbed her eyes. “Ever since your dad died, you’ve become quiet. I feel like I’m losing you and Piper.”
“Ma, you’re never going to lose me or Piper. She adores you.”
His mom nodded as she wiped her fingers on her palms. “You say that, but there’s nothing stopping you anymore. With that money, you could go anywhere. I just… want there to be something keeping you here.”
Logan smiled. “And you thought that the Kitty Cuddle was the way?”
His mom laughed. “Well, it’s a start, right?” She pulled back and leaned against a nearby counter.
“It’s… awful.”
“Hey!” His mom reached out and swatted him.
“Twenty-five bucks. Really, mom?”
She nodded. “Well, that’s not their only idea.”
He reached over and grabbed an apple. “I hope not.” He bit into it. He studied his mom. He knew the real reason she didn’t want him to go, but she’d never say it. This family never talked about it. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed his lips. Her shoulders were already slumped. There was no reason to bring her more heartbreak.
He pulled her into a hug again. “Love you, Mom.”
Another sob escaped her lips as she nodded. “Love you, too.”
HANNAH
Hannah stood outside the hospital, tapping her foot. Bert said he was ten minutes out. She glanced down both sides of the road. She wanted to get away from this place as fast as possible.
“Hannah? Hannah!”
Hannah turned to see her mom walking through the sliding doors. She furrowed her brow. What was this about? “Mom?”
“I’m glad I caught you.” Her mom studied her. “I’m sure this goes without saying, but I wanted to make sure it got said.”
Hannah sighed. “What, Mom?”
“No…no visitors allowed in the house.” Her mom dropped her voice as she stared at Hannah.
Hannah inwardly groaned. Was she serious? Way to bring up the past, Mom. Forcing a smile, she stared at her. “Of course. No visitors.”
Her mom folded her arms. “Good. I’ll see you when I get home.”
“Perfect,” Hannah said through gritted teeth.
Her mom turned and walked back into the hospital. Once the doors closed, Hannah let out the groan she’d been stifling. Why did she come back? Tears pricked her eyes as she studied her luggage. What her mom failed to realize was Hannah had also been hurt when Georgia broke their trust.
But, of course, her mom couldn’t see past her own pain to even comprehend her daughter’s hurt. And she wondered why Hannah had left. She chewed her bottom lip. Right now, Ohio with Samson and his proposal looked better than here.
A yellow cab pulled up in the roundabout. Bert smiled and waved at her. She pulled open the back door, shoved all her luggage in, and climbed in after them. “Take me home?”
“Thompson Street. On it,” Bert said as she shut the door, and he peeled out.
Hannah kept her gaze outside of the car. The trees whipped past as Bert merged onto the freeway.
“Wanna talk about it?” he asked from the front.
Hannah glanced at him in the rearview mirror. “How did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Know my situation earlier.”
Bert laughed. “Honey, I’m like a bartender. Except, I get you stuck in my car for a prolonged period of time. I hear every conversation. See every situation. After a while, it becomes like a sixth sense. I can read people.”
Hannah snorted. “Well, you read me perfectly.”
Bert merged into another lane. “It’s pretty classic, your tale.”
“My tale?”
Bert nodded. “So, how did the reunion with your mom go?”
She folded her hands in her lap. That wasn’t something she really wanted to talk about. “Terrible.”
“Wanna tell me what happened?”
Hannah sighed. She really didn’t want to relive the past.
“I get it. It’s just a long ride. Sometimes it can help you feel better to talk about it.” Bert shot her a smile.
“When I was a kid, I invited someone to come live with us even though my mom was skeptical. Let’s just say, Mom had been right. The person was not who she said she was. She ended up…” Hannah grew quiet as the memories flooded her mind.
She had busted into the house in tears because Logan had disappeared after their kiss. She’d searched everywhere at prom for him just to find out he’d left her there. All Hannah wanted was for her mom to hug her and tell her everything was going to be okay. Instead, the cops were at her house. Georgia had taken all of her mother’s jewelry and heirlooms.
Instead of hugging Hannah and helping her feel better, Hannah spent the night getting interrogated by her mom about Georgia’s whereabouts. She’d gone to bed that night with a tear-stained face and a broken heart.
“Ended up?” Bert pulled her from her memories.
“Ended up hurting my family.”
Bert let out a low whistle. “That’s hard.”
Hannah nodded. “Yeah. Especially when I had begged my mom to let her stay.”
“But you were just a kid. She had to know that.”
Hannah shrugged. “For any other mom, that would be true. Not my mom, though. I still get the feeling every time she looks at me, all she sees are the things that were stolen.”
“Stolen?”
“Yeah.”
“Ouch,” he said as he pulled up in front of her house. The sun had dipped behind the horizon, leaving orange and yellow streaks in the sky. He pushed the car into park and turned around. “Well, sounds like you and your mom have some things to work through.”
Hannah pinched her lips together and nodded. “Yep.”
Bert smiled. “You never know. Christmas time is a magical time. Perhaps this year, you’ll be able to put the past in the past.
She fingered the door handle as she let his words sink in. “Hopefully,” she whispered, but inside, doubt clouded her mind. She was willing to move forward, but she was only half the equation.
6
HANNAH
Bert waved at her as he drove away. She sighed and pulled the house key out of her pocket. Slipping it into the lock, she turned the handle. The wreath shifted against the door as she pushed past it with her luggage trailing behind her. She stepped into the foyer, set her suitcase down, and glanced around.
Not much had changed in the seven years since she’d been in this house. The same yellow couch sat parallel with the longest wall. A few decorative pillows dotted the matching armchair and love seat in the room. Besides the wreath on the door, no one would have suspected it was Christmas. There was no tree, no stockings, and no stuffed snowmen that sang and jingled.
Turning, she shut the door behind her. She had to give it an extra shove to press the wreath enough and allow the handle to engage. The ticking of the grandfather clock next to her filled the silence.
“I’m home,” she muttered. The words tasted odd on her tongue. She slipped off her shoes, grabbed her suitcases, and headed to the nearby stairs.
At the top step, she paused. Her mom’s room sat to the left of where she stood, and her childhood room was on the right. Across from it was the guest room—Georgia’s room.
She wheeled her luggage down the hall and glanced into the open door. A lone desk sat under the window with a sleeping monitor on top of it. A few open boxes littered the floor. They were half-filled with manila folders. No doubt medical cases her mom was studying.
To someone who didn’t know their past, there was no sign that there had once been a girl living here. Besides the holes in the walls that had been made by thumbtacks used to hang up the most popular boy band’s poster, Georgia’s memory had been completely wiped from this house.
Hannah’s stomach soured, so she turned and made her way to her door. Reaching out, she turned the handle. As the door swung open, her breath caught in her throat. Nothing had changed. Everything was still in the same place. Even down to the prom dress she’d worn that night. However, it was no longer crumbled on the floor, but picked up and draped on the faded floral armchair.
Her feet made no noise as she walked across the cream-colored carpet. Itching for a shower, she grabbed her toiletries and headed to the adjoining bathroom. She flipped on the shower and steam filled the air as she undressed. Stepping into the hot water, she allowed it to roll through her hair and down her back.
Fifteen minutes later, she was clean and dry. Back in her room, she slipped into her satin pajamas and looked around. Just as she thought, her bed was still covered with all the stuffed animals she’d collected over the years. Memories of a happier time when her parents were together and her mother didn’t hate her.
The urge to run away from her past filled her chest. She swallowed and turned to the window. Toward the only place she’d been able to disappear to as a child. Grinning, she unlocked the latch and slid the window open. She glanced down at the roof of the deck below her. She swung her leg over the window and slipped out.
When her feet landed on the shingles, she took a deep breath. The air had cooled. The ocean could be seen in the distance. She sat on the roof and tucked her feet underneath her. Out here, she felt free.
“Wow. It’s been awhile,” a deep voice said.
Her heart picked up speed as she whipped her head to the side. Logan sat, leaning against his house with a smile playing on his lips. Their decks ran parallel with each other and ever since they were kids, this was their secret hangout spot.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his folded knees. “I thought you might come out here.”
Hannah stilled her pounding heart. “You were waiting for me?”
His face grew serious for a moment, as if there was something he wanted to say, but then he shook his head. “It’s been an emotional day for you. I figured you would need to escape.”
“You know me well.” She shot him a smile, and his gaze softened. His familiar blue eyes stared into hers. Heat raced to her cheeks, and she cursed them. The final rays of the sun danced across his face. She hated what seeing him did to her insides.
After a few seconds, he cleared his throat. “How’d it go?”
She was thankful he decided to change the subject. “How did what go?”
“The reunion? With your mom?”
Logan was the only person who understood her relationship with her mother. He’d been there through everything. The divorce. Georgia. Everything. It felt odd and familiar to sit across from him. Part of her had longed for it. The other part feared it. Her stomach twisted. This was how her heartbreak had started—with her trusting him.
“Better than with you.”
He smiled. “You mean your suitcase didn’t self-combust at the hospital?” he asked.
She giggled. This was the Logan she remembered. “Nah. Apparently, fate decided to leave that tidbit for you.”
“I’m lucky.”
She chuckled as she studied him. What did that mean? “Yeah, it’s been awhile since you’ve seen my underwear, huh.”
Even in the encroaching darkness, she could see him blush. “They’re definitely not the My Little Pony pair I flew from the flagpole at camp that summer.”
Hannah laughed. She’d been so mad at him when he did that. Especially since she had been trying to impress Patrick, the cute guy that was visiting his grandmother. “Agh, you made me so mad that summer.”
Logan grinned. “You were trying to impress that guy. What was his name? Paul?”
“Patrick.”
Logan clapped his hands. “Patrick, that’s right. Patrick the jerk. I couldn’t believe he cheated on you.”
“Well, cheated might be a little bit of a stretch. He only kissed me, and then I found him kissing another girl.”
Logan stretched out his legs as he leaned back on his hands. “Regardless, that jerk should have known not to kiss you and then leave you like that. So not cool.”
Hannah pinched her lips together as she studied Logan.
His gaze fell to her as the air grew silent. Suddenly, his eyebrows shot up. It seemed that the memory of prom night finally caught up with him. He opened his lips as if he wanted to say something, but Hannah wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it.
“It’s okay. It wasn’t like we were serious or anything.” She needed to change the subject before tears welded up again. “So, is Tim or Bobby staying with you guys?” Logan’s two younger brothers were always bothering them growing up.
“Nope. Tim’s in grad school, and Bobby…” Logan’s voice trailed off.
Her eyes widened. “What happened to Bobby?”
Logan cleared his throat and glanced over to the setting sun. “He died five years ago.”
Her heart ached. “He did?”
Logan nodded. “Yeah. Car accident. It’s been really hard on Mom and his little family.”
All Hannah could do was nod as she glanced down the kitchen window where light spilled onto the ground below. That little girl from earlier must be Bobby’s girl. What an awful thing to have happen to a family. She hated the silence that surrounded them so decided to change the subject. “Did you get into Notre Dame like you’d always wanted?”
His face steeled as he glanced out to the ocean. “Nah. I never left. I stayed to take care of my mom and Piper.”
Her heart felt as if it would burst. What an amazing uncle he was. Taking care of his deceased brother’s daughter. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, her phone rang. “Hang on,” she said as she reached into her pocket, but Logan didn’t seem to notice. He, too, was pulling out his phone.
LOGAN
Logan tried to fo
cus on Jimmy’s words, but his gaze kept slipping back to Hannah. He tried to ignore the way her brow furrowed as she stared at the roof, nodding her head. He tried to ignore the way his heart pounded as he remembered the kiss they’d shared seven years ago. It was still as fresh in his mind as if it had happened yesterday.
“So, yeah, Doc says I’m gonna be out of commission up until the wedding. Something about major road rash and skin needing to heal,” Jimmy said.
Logan dropped his gaze from Hannah. “Dude, why were you boarding days before your wedding?” He’d roll his eyes at his best friend’s choices, but the truth was, he wasn’t at all surprised.
Jimmy’s raspy laugh filled the air. “You know I can’t stay away—”
“Or grow up!” Sandy called out in the background.
“Sandy with you?” Logan asked.
“Yep. She still has to head out of town for the next few days. Apparently, jewelry can’t wait until after our wedding—”
“Don’t even start. Your boarding is what got us into this mess!” Logan could hear the bite in Sandy’s voice as if she were standing right next to him.
Logan laughed. They fought like an old married couple. “What do you need, man?”
Jimmy sighed. “What I need—”
“Is to grow up!” Sandy jumped in.
There was a scraping noise followed by Jimmy’s muffled voice. “Will you knock it off? How am I going to ask him with you piping up all the time behind me?”
More scraping and more muffled voices. Logan waited, allowing his gaze to fall back on Hannah who was smiling as she held the phone up to her cheek.
“Sorry. She’s agreed to be quiet. There were things I needed to get done while she was gone, but now it’s against doctor’s orders. Would you be willing to do them for me?”
Logan swallowed. He was never good at wedding planning stuff. When he had his shotgun wedding with Charity, she took care of all the details. “I don’t know, man. I’m not that—”
“Don’t worry. Sandy’s asking her maid of honor to help.”
Logan laughed. “I get to hang out with Patricia?” He and Jimmy used to drive her crazy as kids, getting into all of her makeup and painting faces on their baseballs.
Forgiving the Billionaire (A Clean Billionaire Romance Book 2) Page 4
