The next one was another one she recognized. It was Michael from work. She pressed play.
"Hi Hannah, it's Michael. Hey, uh, I sort of owe Jason Lane a favor for getting my daughter backstage at that concert, and, uh, he called me this morning to see if he could collect on it by having me leave you a message telling you how wonderful he is." Michael laughed. "He seriously called me and said those exact words. He's hilarious. The thing is, Hannah, it's true. He's freaking awesome. If I was a girl, I'd marry him myself." He laughed again. "You know I love you, and I want to see you happy, so if he doesn't do it for you, then disregard everything I'm saying, but if you like him, then I say go for it. What Honey?" There was a brief rustling noise. "My wife says go for it too. She thinks you're both wonderful. Okay, so see you at work. Peace."
Hannah experienced a rush of straight joy as she continued to pace her apartment. She loved these messages, and felt humbled and pumped at the same time thinking of all the fuss he went to making them happen. She smiled to herself as she wondered what he was thinking. Was he waiting for her to call once she listened to the messages? Was she supposed to wait for his call? She supposed she'd listen to the last one and then figure out a plan from there.
The last one had just come in a few minutes before she got off work. It was the other one from an area code she didn't recognize. She almost turned on her computer and searched 256 area code before she listened to the message, but she went ahead and pressed play instead.
"Hello Hannah," a girl's voice said. "My name's Brittany Howard, and I think I play in a band you like." She paused." I mean, I know I play in the band. What I'm saying is I think you like us. So anyway, I wanted to say thanks for listening. I'm really glad you like the music." Hannah was so excited she could barely think straight. The last, marvelous message was from Brittany Howard, lead singer of the Alabama Shakes. "And also, the other thing is that it seems there's a guy named Jason Lane who likes you very much," she said. She paused again, and Hannah listened intently with one hand over her eyes. "Now, I'm a songwriter, which automatically qualifies me as a hopeless romantic, but my vote's for second chances—all the way. Unless he's a total douche, in which case, forget everything I just said." She laughed a little. "All right Hannah, thanks again for being a Shakes fan, and you take care, okay?"
The beep sounded and Hannah collapsed onto her bed with her phone clutched to her chest. She listened to that last message two more times thinking about all the favors Jason must have had to call in to make these messages happen.
She was almost embarrassed that he was the one asking for a second chance. By the time she'd finished listening to all of the messages, she felt more like she should be begging for his forgiveness. She was so anxious to see him that she honestly didn’t even care about Reagan anymore.
Reagan who, right?
Chapter 22
Hannah stretched out on her bed wondering how and when she'd talk to Jason again. It had only been a few days, but she felt as if she couldn't accurately picture him in her mind's eye. She was just about to give up and call him when she heard a knock on her door. She knew it was Sam by the three-knock pattern, and went to her door to open it right away. Even though she hadn't yet talked to Jason, the messages had her walking on clouds, and she opened the door with a huge smile on her face.
Sam stood there, looking a bit confused by her mood. "Aren't you wondering where your car is?" he asked.
Her face was priceless. She went from smiling to utterly perplexed in a split second. The mention of her car and it's whereabouts immediately made her think of Reagan.
"It's fine," Sam said, amused by her complete shift in mood. "Did you not even notice it was gone?" he asked.
"No." Hannah said. "What do you mean, it's gone?"
"I mean it's not sitting in the driveway."
"Where is it?"
"Well that's why I came up here to get you. We thought you'd notice and come knock on the door, but you never did."
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's fine. It's just hilarious that you didn't even notice. We've been sitting down there waiting for you to come tell us it was gone."
"I was distracted when I got here," she said. She thought of herself listening to the Tom Waits message in her driveway. She wasn't surprised she hadn't noticed. "Where's my car, though, Sam?"
His eyes widened. "That's why I came up here," he said. He motioned with his hand for her to follow him before he turned for the door.
"Where are we going?"
"Just come on," Sam said.
Hannah noticed the empty space in the driveway on their way to the main house, and wondered how she'd missed it. She followed Sam into the house without saying a thing. Mike and Susan Culbertson were sitting at the table waiting for her when she walked in the house. She couldn't help but feel like there was about to be some sort of confrontation.
"She didn't even notice," Sam said, chuckling slightly.
"You're kidding!" Susan said.
Hannah shrugged. "I was distracted." She pulled out a chair and sat down across from the couple. "What's going on?" she asked.
Sam sat in the chair next to her, making the whole thing feel very official. Hannah looked from person to person with a dumbfounded expression.
Susan was the first to speak. "Just so you know, your parents are aware of everything and gave their approval."
Hannah couldn't figure out for the life of her what was going on, and her facial expression reflected that.
"I also think it's important to note," Susan added, "that if any of us thought this meant you owed him anything, we would not have agreed to let it happen."
Hannah motioned with her hand for Susan to please get on with it.
"Your car has been traded in for a newer model," Susan said.
"A brand new model," Mike said.
"It's a Sentra just like your old one, silver and everything," Sam said.
Hannah felt the oddest sense of excitement and dread at the same time. Susan could see the conflict on her face, and she tried to ease her mind. "Jason wanted to replace your car since he felt like it was his fault about the tires."
"Then he could have just paid for the tires," Hannah said, incredulous.
"That's not how rock stars roll," Sam said.
Susan cut him a look. "Listen, Jason talked with us and your parents before he did any of this. He said it was the least he could do with everything you had to deal with. He wanted to get you a much more expensive car, and we had to talk him into just replacing the same car you had with a new one." Susan studied Hannah's face for a second before continuing. "It was really important to us that he knew it was a gift—that there were no strings attached, and that you wouldn't owe it to him to even be in a relationship with him if that's not what you want."
"Did you tell him I didn't want to be in a relationship with him?"
"No," Mike chimed in, "but we told him that just because he's buying you a car doesn't mean he has any sort of claim on you."
"What did he say?" Hannah asked.
"He said it was a gift, free and clear, and that it was the very least he could do."
"Is he seriously buying me a new car?" Part of her wanted to be excited about it, but she couldn't help but feel a little skeptical. Things that felt too good to be true usually were—i.e. lottery tickets.
"He wasn't really asking our permission as much as he needed help getting the keys to the old one so he could trade it in," Mike said.
Hannah put her face in her hands to hide the blush that spread across her face. "I can't believe he's buying me a car," she said.
"He already did," Sam said.
"He did?"
Mike pulled a package off of his lap and set it in front of Hannah. It was an owner's manual and two remotes on key chains. Hannah blinked as she looked down at it. Her eyes shifted to each of them as if she was afraid to touch it. She smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, but I'm tripping right now," she said, letting out a little g
iggle. "Where's this car supposed to be?"
"It's in the garage," Sam said.
"That garage? Hannah asked, gesturing out the window.
Susan pushed the package closer to Hannah, urging her to reach out and take it. "Go see for yourself," she said.
Hannah only had to think about it for less than a second before she reached for one of the remotes. She left everything else on the table, and bolted for the nearest door. Not wanting to miss out, all three of the Culbertsons followed her.
Hannah opened the garage door, and couldn't believe what she saw. She couldn't comprehend the car in front of her was the same kind of car she bought from Michael. The car in the garage was the same color as the old one, but the similarities stopped there. It was shiny, new, and utterly adorable—the cutest little car she'd ever seen. Hannah wouldn't consider herself high maintenance, but she'd take this car any day over the old one, and she caught herself feeling like maybe sometimes people did win the lottery, and why had it seemed so far fetched?
She opened the door and sat inside, with a sensation of being a bit numb like she was in a dream. Sam took the liberty of getting in the passenger's side. He looked over at Hannah from across the console. She stared down at the remote as if a key might somehow magically pop out of it so she could start it.
"Just push the button," Sam said.
Hannah reached out and pushed the button he was indicating on the dash.
He laughed a little. "Put your foot on the break first."
Hannah did as he said, and when she pushed the button that time, the car purred to life. The dashboard had a screen built into it that Hannah assumed was a GPS. Her eyes roamed over the whole interior, taking in all the bells and whistles. It was a standard transmission like her old one, and Hannah smiled, remembering how she told Jason she preferred driving a stick.
She was quiet for several long seconds as she looked everything over, then she turned to Susan, who was standing in the garage watching her. "I can't believe it. Is this for real?"
Susan smiled. "Of course it's for real."
"Can I drive it? Like right now."
"Take it for a spin," Mike said.
Hannah was about to put it into reverse when she remembered she might need things like a driver's license and a pair of shoes.
She looked at Sam and pointed to the magic button. "Do I just press it again to turn it off?" she asked.
Sam nodded and she stopped the ignition long enough to run upstairs and get her things.
When Hannah got back to the garage, she looked at Sam who'd gotten out of the passenger's seat and was standing on the far side of the garage pulling darts out of a dartboard.
"Aren't you coming?" she asked, thinking she was going around the block.
"No." Sam said.
"Why not?"
"Because you won't be back for a while and Ellis is coming over. Mom, where are the rest of these darts?"
"How would I know that, Sam? You're the only one who ever plays with those things."
"I'll be right back, Sam, I'm just going around the block," Hannah said.
"We used to have like five sets, now all that's left are these gimpy ones." Sam held up a broken dart, ignoring Hannah.
"Well, I can assure you your father and I haven't touched your dar—"
"Sam. I'm just going around the block, you coming?"
He gave his mom a conspiratorial smile. "I think you're headed out alone."
Hannah shot him a friendly warning glare, which he answered with a question.
"Why don't you press home on the GPS?"
Hannah sat in the drivers seat and turned the car on with no hesitation whatsoever. The chain of events so far that day made her anxious to find out what could possibly be next. She pushed several random prompts on the GPS until she found the one that said home. A voice came over the car speakers rattling off the house number and street name for a place 15.6 miles from where she was in the lovely suburb of Brentwood, TN.
Hannah glanced at Susan who was still standing nearby. "Where's this?"
"Where do you think?"
Hannah could feel the blood rushing to her face. She swallowed hard, trying to clear her throat. "Jason's?" she asked, looking doubtful.
"Well yeah."
Hannah was suddenly so nervous she couldn't think straight. "Am I supposed to just go there?" she asked.
Susan shrugged and gave her a sweet smile. "If you want to. It's completely up to you."
Of course she wanted to. She'd never wanted anything as much.
She looked down at herself wondering if she should get dressed up (or at least cleaned up) before she went to the place where she knew Jason would be. "Is he expecting me?" she asked, glancing at Susan. "I mean, does he think I'll be there at a certain time?"
"He knows you were supposed to get off at one, but none of us were sure how things would go and whether or not you'd even want to go over there."
"I think I'm just gonna go over there like this," Hannah said, looking down at the outfit she'd had on during her shift at work. She'd worked the register, which was pretty much the only position that didn't leave her feeling gross afterward.
"That's up to you sweetheart." Susan said.
"Just remember you don't owe him anything for that car," Mike said.
Hannah looked at Mr. Culbertson in the eye in an attempt to ease his mind. "I honestly don't feel like I owe him anything. I know he has Nissan Sentra money to throw around, so comparatively, it's not as grand a gesture as I might think."
She was just saying that for his benefit. She thought the gesture was extremely grand.
"Is it okay to just take off in it? Shouldn't I call and get insurance on it before I drive it that far?"
"I think Jason's got you set up on something," Susan said. "You can ask him when you see him, but I wouldn't worry about doing anything till then."
Hannah left immediately. She listened to the directions the GPS gave, making her way into Brentwood with relatively no traffic. She was too nervous to figure out the stereo until she was more than halfway to his house. Even then, she just pushed enough buttons to find a station that came in clear. It happened to be a country station, and she laughed to herself before turning it off. She probably would have listened out of curiosity if it would have been one of Cam's songs, but it was a female singer, and she nipped it in the bud almost instantly.
When Hannah stopped at a red light that was 1.3 miles from her destination, she grabbed her purse from the passenger's seat and pulled her phone from it. She certainly wasn't expecting any more phone calls, but she was nervous and checking her phone gave her something to do besides bite her fingernails. Her heart dropped when she saw Jason's name. She had missed a call from him four minutes before, but he hadn't left a message. She debated calling him back, but knew she'd be at his house within the next few minutes anyway.
Chapter 23
Hannah pulled onto the street indicated by the GPS, and was unable to come to terms with the magnitude of every house she saw. There were a few big houses in Sparta, but definitely no neighborhoods like the one she found herself in.
Not a single home looked to be under three stories high—all made of brick with rows and rows of massive windows. The streets turned and sloped in gentle, rolling hills. The homes all had nice size yards that were beautifully landscaped, and the house at the end of the driveway she pulled into was nothing less than breathtaking.
It was a freaking mansion.
Hannah felt humbled and a little fearful once she put the car in park. She stared down at her phone contemplating calling Jason instead of walking up to the door of that intimidating structure.
Could this really be Jason's house? Hannah didn't even know anyone's parents or grandparents who owned a home like that, much less a man as young as Jason. She finally decided to go ahead and call him back to ask what door she should approach.
Nervously, she scrolled through her contacts and pushed the button to call him. Hannah wa
s listening to the first ring when he knocked on the glass near her head, causing her to scream and drop her phone. She retrieved it from the console and ended the call before she opened the door.
Jason had taken a step back so she could open the door and get out. Hannah left the door open when she stood up. She looked over at him, smiling timidly. Jason's expression was unreadable. He looked like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind, giving her the chance to speak first.
She shrugged and shook her head shamefully. "I don't even know where to begin."
"Wanna come inside?" he asked.
Hannah was relieved to be off the hook at least for the few seconds it would take them to walk into the house. She nodded and reached into the car to get her purse and phone.
"I can't even comprehend that this is my car," she said as she closed the door and pushed the button to lock it. "That's one of the things we need to talk about, obviously."
"There's nothing to talk about," he said, putting an arm around her shoulder to steer her down the path that went to the front door. "It's a gift, and actually, it wasn't the one I wanted to get. That's okay, though, we'll deal with that later on down the road."
Hannah didn't even acknowledge the reference to an even nicer car. It was too much to take in as it was. "Well, thank you, Jason. I really don't know what to say to a gift like that. I feel like no level of graciousness would be enough on my part."
He came to a stop on the sidewalk about two feet from the front door. "You don't owe me anything for that, Hannah. I'm not saying this to seem like an asshole, but I just want you to have some perspective. The amount of money that it takes to buy a car like that is no consequence to me. I wanted to get you a nice, big SUV to keep you safe on the road, but your parents, both sets of them, wouldn't hear of it. They said you wouldn't want me to do that. The Nissan was all I could talk them into, but I figured we'd just trade it in on something else soon anyway."
You're Dangerous Page 17
