The Anderson Brothers Complete Series

by Kristin Coley

  “The boy has decided to quit law school, and Miss Hannah is keeping the baby,” Joe declared, full of pride.

  “Oh my word!” Martha exclaimed, grabbing my face between her hands. I saw the tears in her eyes, as she told me, “I couldn’t be happier for the two of you. I prayed every night for you and Hannah to find your way.” She let my face go and grabbed me in a hug, as Joe settled a hand on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around Martha’s girth and pressed my face in her soft gray curls. It felt good knowing they supported our decisions.

  Martha finally released me, waving her arms, as she blinked back her tears. “This needs cookies and milk. Get yourselves up to the house,” she demanded, as she bustled back to the house herself. Joe and I settled in behind her. We knew when we’d been commanded.

  “Hannah? You are now living with a law school dropout,” I called out as I came in, dropping my keys on the table.

  “Hey,” I heard behind me, my mouth dropping open, as I turned around. She was wearing the dress she’d modeled for me weeks ago. I’d been right about how it fit. The material hung gently over her rounded stomach, while the peach color set off the glow in her cheeks. She gave me a slow twirl, staying steady in her ballet flats.

  “You said it was a celebration. I thought I should dress up a little bit,” she said shyly.

  “I’m going to be the envy of every guy tonight” I told her, sweeping her into a hug. I noticed she was wearing makeup and her hair was loose and wavy.

  I brushed my lips across hers, smelling strawberry lip gloss. Her breath stuttered slightly at the touch of my lips, and I deepened the kiss. We’d kept things platonic, since our last out of control kiss. But tonight was about celebrating, and that included us becoming a couple. A couple that kissed one another. I shifted to accommodate her belly, my hand cradling her head, as my tongue explored her mouth. Her hands settled against me, one of them sliding under my shirt to touch the skin on my back. She strained up, as I lifted my head slightly. Her lips were swollen and her cheeks flushed, causing me to groan and capture her mouth again. I pulled her lower lip into my mouth, sucking, as she gasped.

  Her mouth had haunted my dreams, since the night we kissed, and if I were honest, I’d admit her mouth had starred in my dreams far longer than that. Finally, I pulled away from her lips and pressed our foreheads together. “I need to stop,” I said, listening to her soft pants. “You’re all dressed up, and I promised you a celebration.”

  “I don’t mind staying in,” she whispered, her soft breath brushing my cheek.

  “Not helping,” I growled, reaching down and tugging her earlobe between my teeth. I traced my tongue along the curve of her ear, as she moaned, pressing into me. I pushed myself away, controlling my desire. We weren’t going to be intimate anytime soon. Our relationship was still new and fragile. We needed to take it slow. Granted, my body didn’t agree, but I could handle the tightness in my jeans. She was worth the wait.

  “I’m going to take a shower and clean up. You look too nice not to go out,” I told her, as she blinked away the haze of desire. “A cold shower,” I continued, as her lips curled into a sexy smile.

  “I’ll be waiting,” she promised, giving me a saucy wink. I groaned and laughed at the same time, as I headed to take the fastest cold shower of my life.

  I scrubbed the sawdust off me and threw on a pair of khakis and a dark blue button-down. I wanted her to be proud to be seen with me.

  As I came out of the bedroom, I heard a low whistle. “You clean up nice, stud. With your bacon making skills and those looks, I’d say you’re a catch,” Hannah said, smirking at me. I noticed her eyes lingering on my body, as she said it.

  “Guess it’s a good thing you caught me then. All this muscle might have escaped you,” I teased her, flexing my arms. She reached up and ran her hand along my bicep. “I’m one lucky lady.”

  “So long as you remember it,” I answered, patting her on the butt. “Now let’s go while I still can.”

  We headed to a steak restaurant for our celebration. Hannah mentioned her doctor told her to up her iron intake, and that a steak seemed the perfect choice to her. I privately thought she was more interested in the yeast rolls they gave you, but I wasn’t complaining.

  After we settled into the booth and gave the waiter our order, Hannah gave me a direct stare. “So what are we celebrating? The end of your days as a potential lawyer? Or was there more?”

  “Oh, there’s more. I am done with law school, as of this morning. I stopped by Joe’s after I left the school to talk to him about working more. He and Martha send their congrats about us keeping the baby, by the way.” She gave me a quick smile at that news. “We celebrated with cookies and milk, and then Joe dropped a bomb on me.” The waiter came back with a basket of rolls, so I paused until he left. Hannah grabbed a roll and started buttering it, gesturing with the knife for me to continue.

  “Joe asked me to be his partner.”

  Hannah’s eyes widened and she dropped the roll. “What? That’s incredible. It’s your dream. This is fantastic. What did you say?” I handed the roll back to her, smiling at her stream of questions.

  “I said yes and thank you,” I told her, leaning back against the booth. “He told me he’d been thinking about it for a long time, but didn’t want to say anything, if I was determined to be a lawyer. He even had papers drawn up. I’m going to go over them, but it’s more than generous. He wants to gradually move everything over to me and fully retire in the next five years.”

  Hannah put her hand over her mouth, and I saw the glisten of tears in her eyes. “Do I need to get my handkerchief out?” I asked her, only slightly joking. She shook her head in the negative, so I kept going. “The business can easily support us. It’s more than I dreamed of. Joe assured me we could keep the hours flexible, especially with a new baby.”

  “This was amazing. I can’t believe they’d do this,” Hannah said, in amazement. “What am I saying? Of course I can believe they would. Two better people I’ve yet to meet.” She looked up with a slight shake of her head, her face glowing with happiness. “We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?”

  I reached over and took her hand. “Yeah, we are.” I paused and continued, “We’ve got things to work out with Colt and my parents, but we’re going to make it.”

  I saw a flicker of sadness when I mentioned Colt, and it ripped at my heart. We hadn’t talked about Colt, since deciding to keep the baby. I didn’t know if she wanted Colt back in her life, or how she felt about him.

  “We need to talk about Colt.” I jerked my head up when I heard Hannah say it. It felt like she was reading my mind.

  “You were thinking about him,” she replied, knowingly. “I can tell. You look guilty when you think about him.” She looked away from me and said quietly, “Guilty as I feel.”

  “No, you shouldn’t. We made the choice, and we had good reason,” I said as convincingly as I could.

  “But it’s different now,” she answered, with a slightly twisted smile. “We want to keep the baby, and we’re a couple. Two things Colt has no idea about. No matter how good our intentions were, we’ve betrayed him, and he won’t forgive that easily.”

  I tightened my grip on her hand, as I closed my eyes. A sick feeling washed over me at her words. We had unintentionally betrayed my brother in the most fundamental ways.

  “I don’t think we should tell him yet,” she continued, and my eyes popped open in disbelief. After what she’d said, I thought we would tell him immediately. “Hear me out. We still haven’t told your parents, and Colt’s doing great at school. Knowing any of this won’t help him, or change the situation.”

  “But are we making it worse, waiting to tell him? Keeping this secret?” I gestured between us. “Keeping us a secret doesn’t sit well with me.”

  “I know. I don’t like it either, but I can only imagine how difficult this will be for Colt. Just because I want to shout about us from the rooftops doesn’t mean that I want to do i
t at the expense of Colt’s happiness. He deserves our discretion,” Hannah argued, her face tight.

  I could tell she was torn. We’d backed ourselves into a corner. Even though we’d been trying to protect Colt’s future, we had to admit what we’d done. There would never be a good time, but I understood her point. Telling him in the middle of his first college football season wasn’t the best time. It would be more detrimental than anything. But I couldn’t escape the feeling that a ticking time bomb was hanging over our head.

  “We’ll do it your way. When do you think we should tell him?” I asked, reluctant. “We need to have a date. I don’t want this to linger indefinitely.”

  “I agree. After the baby is born?” she offered. “Football season will be over, and he can escape back to college if he doesn’t want anything to do with us.”

  “Okay.” I nodded in agreement and pushed aside my discomfort. We were here to celebrate, and the future would take care of itself.

  “Did you look at the dessert menu? Because there’s no way we’re leaving without dessert,” I told Hannah, forcing a smile.

  She looked relieved at the change in conversation and gave me a shy smile in return. “Of course I looked at the dessert menu. But I couldn’t decide between the brownie a la mode and the peanut butter pie.”

  “Then we’ll get both and share them,” I declared, grabbing a roll from the basket. Hannah reached over and brushed her fingers against my hand, stilling it.

  “Thank you. I know this isn’t easy and your life has changed in so many ways for me. I’m asking you to continue betraying your brother, when I know it’s the last thing either of us wants. But I can’t imagine doing this without you. I don’t want to do this with anyone but you.” She paused and looked at her hand resting on mine before looking into my eyes and telling me, “I love you.”

  I was choked up at her words. She had answered questions I didn’t know I’d been thinking. Her consistent courage at being honest about her feelings left me in awe. She kept herself wide open, and it humbled me. She continued softly, “I needed to tell you that. I don’t want there to be any doubts about how I feel about you.”

  “You amaze me. You never stop opening your heart even with everything you’ve endured. Even though your parents abandoned you and Colt left for college, you trusted me with your secret. You lived in your car in an attempt to protect my brother from finding out. You faced down your parents to make them drop the charges against me. Don’t doubt I know what you’ve sacrificed, and it’s an honor to be with you.” I gripped her hands and held her gaze. “I love you. I’ve loved you longer than I probably realized. And no matter what happens, we’re in this together.”

  I imagine to anyone looking at us we both have ridiculous smiles on our faces. I hadn’t thought this evening would have us declaring ourselves to one another, but with our words I felt the last hesitations leaving me. Our path was determined. We walked together now, and we’d face whatever came by each other’s side.

  On Friday, I got a call, while I was finishing a dining room table. When I checked the caller ID I saw it was my dad. I didn’t get a good feeling about the call, and I knew I was right when I answered.

  “Hey, Dad. What’s up?” I answered.

  “What the hell is going on? I pulled up my account and saw a credit from your school. I called them up, and they told me you’ve withdrawn,” I heard him shout.

  “Dad,” I attempted to say, as he continued, “Is this a joke? A mistake? It better be a mistake, son.”

  “Dad,” I attempted again, finally shouting, “Dad. Listen to me. It’s not a mistake.” I paused, and he remained silent, so I continued. “I was planning on telling you Sunday at dinner. I quit law school. I don’t want to be a lawyer. I never did. I just never knew how to tell you.”

  The silence dragged on, feeling colder by the second. Finally, he spoke, “This is about that girl isn’t it? She can’t destroy just one of my sons. She needs to destroy both of them.”

  “No, Dad. This has nothing to do with her. And she hasn’t destroyed anyone. She was only trying to protect him,” I told him, attempting to stay calm, in spite of his insult to Hannah.

  “If she’d wanted to protect him, she would have had an abortion and no one would have been the wiser,” he said coldly. “Do not think I will continue to support you or that girl,” he spat out. “You’ve disappointed me, son. You’re throwing your future away and I will not be a part of it.”

  “DAD!” I shouted, angrily. He wouldn’t even let me explain.

  “Don’t bother to come on Sunday. You’re not welcome in my house. If you decide to see reason, you can come by the office and we’ll discuss your future.”

  “And what do you mean by reason, Dad?” I said slowly, my anger building at his words, his complete disregard for my feelings.

  “I mean, get rid of Hannah, and go back to law school. Then we can talk,” he told me.

  I felt my jaw clenching, “And if choose not to see reason?”

  “Then you are no longer my son.”

  The silence was deafening, as I pulled the phone from my ear and hit end call. I’d made my decision.

  That night I got home, and Hannah was grumpy. She’d made a low grade on her calculus test and was afraid she wouldn’t be able to bring her grade back up.

  My mood was equally as bad. I couldn’t get my Dad’s words out of my head. I thought he respected Hannah after what she’d done to get her parents to drop the charges against me. I’d had no idea he blamed her for ruining our lives. The truth was, she hadn’t ruined anyone’s life. In fact, she’d only made my life better.

  I watched her stomping around the kitchen muttering about stupid tests and how her back hurt. She was pale, her mouth pinched in pain, and she paused to rub her lower back. Watching her try to hold everything together eased my own frustration.

  My dad was an ass who couldn’t see how incredible Hannah was. He’d never bothered to listen to me, and while I didn’t like how our conversation ended; I’d make the same choice again.

  I hopped up from the barstool I was on and went to the freezer. I grabbed frozen chicken pot pies and threw them in the oven to heat up. Hannah stood there watching me. It was her night to cook dinner. We traded off dinner and dishes, but tonight she needed a break.

  I grabbed her hand and led her to the bedroom. I had her lay down on her side and rubbed her back. She groaned and I eased up, but she said, “No, no, keep rubbing. Hurts in a good way,” she sighed, as I continued rubbing, her hand stroking her belly. I saw the baby roll, and I smiled. Her belly was getting bigger, the baby’s movements more apparent to me.

  It was difficult for me to picture our future with a baby in it. I knew it was coming, but I had nothing to compare it to. It was easier while she was pregnant. The baby was almost abstract for me. I was jolted out of my thoughts when Hannah said, “What did I do to deserve you?”

  I gave a soft laugh and told her, “And here I was thinking the same thing.”

  “You were asking yourself what I did to deserve you, too,” she said, with a smile in her voice.

  “Ha, no. What did I do to deserve you?” I corrected her quickly.

  “Something bad?” she questioned, turning slightly to look at me. “It seems like I’ve done nothing but disrupt your life, while you’ve done nothing but save mine.”

  “Not true,” I whispered to her, gathering her close. “You filled the empty places I didn’t know I had; gave me the courage to follow my dreams; awed me with your strength; and humbled me with your love.”

  I reached over and captured the tear suspended from her eyelash.

  “Those words are exactly what I meant when I asked what I did to deserve you,” she told me with a soft sigh. “And I’m thankful for whatever it was.”

  I placed a soft kiss on her temple and continued holding her. She brought me peace. My dad’s words didn’t cut so deeply when I was holding her in my arms.

  “You going to tell me wha
t happened?” she asked, a few minutes later. I didn’t ask what she meant. She could read me as well as I read her. She might have been distracted by her own stuff when I came in, but she recognized my pain.

  “My dad called me. He found out I quit law school.”

  “I take it; it didn’t go well.”

  I swallowed hard, “No. That would be an understatement. He told me I wasn’t his son anymore.”

  I refused to tell her what he said about her. Those words would never cross my lips. I wouldn’t expose her to that pain. It didn’t matter that they were untrue. She’d absorb them into her heart, and they’d never let go.

  “He was angry. He didn’t mean it.”

  “He wouldn’t even listen to me. He never gave me a chance to explain,” I told her, the memory cutting through me.