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“You drank coffee from one of the blue mugs,” she said, tipping her head to the open-faced cabinet where there was a row of the cobalt-colored cups. There were only four of them and eight of the sunflower-yellow ones. “That morning after you’d stayed the night,” Hanna added after he gave her a puzzled look. “The blinds weren’t shut then like they are now.”
She watched the realization dawn in his eyes as Jesse slowly stood, Evan’s oatmeal spoon still in his hand. He nodded. “I was drinking coffee, and you came into the kitchen after you’d gotten dressed. Like now,” he muttered.
For just a moment, he got that smile again. But it vanished in a blink. Hanna didn’t think that was because Evan’s cheerful babbling had reminded him they weren’t alone. No. It was probably because he remembered things hadn’t gone well shortly after that. Hanna wasn’t sure how much time had passed before she’d ended things with Jesse but, according to her mother’s account, it hadn’t been long before she’d “come to her senses.”
“Ma, Ma,” Evan chattered, which got Hanna moving toward him so she could give him a kiss. She got a smear of oatmeal on her cheek in the process, but it was worth it. She didn’t have to force or rein in her happiness, or worry about trust, when she was around her son.
“I can finish feeding him,” she said, sitting in the chair that Jesse had just vacated.
Jesse didn’t complain though he would have likely wanted to continue since giving his son breakfast wasn’t something he got to do very often. However, he stayed close, watching not just Evan and her but also making glances out the narrow side window of the kitchen door. A reminder that the danger was out there with Bull still at large.
“Agent Shaw will be here soon,” Jesse said while he poured himself a cup of coffee—and he used one of the cobalt mugs. “FYI, he’s riled that Grayson wouldn’t let him on scene last night. He’s still insisting its urgent that he talk to us.”
“Not urgent enough though for him to tell you what it was about over the phone,” Hanna concluded.
“Exactly. I suspect the agent wants to cut some kind of deal with Bull. Though why he’d want us in on that, I don’t know. That would be between the ATF and the district attorney.” He paused, sipped his coffee. “You want to talk about the memory you just had?”
She managed to smile when she got Evan to eat another spoonful of the oatmeal, but she was definitely giving that question some thought. It was a personal, kick-to-the-gut hot kind of memory, and she doubted that discussing it with Jesse would do anything but fire up more of the heat already there between them.
That, in turn, would stir up her frustration.
Even if her memory fully returned, it didn’t mean she’d be giving in to that heat and getting back together with Jesse. After all, there was a reason they weren’t together, and until she’d had a chance to go over that reason, and know what was true and what was being filtered through her mother’s venom, the hot cowboy cop was off limits. Besides, with the danger caused by Bull’s escape, she didn’t have the mental energy to deal with the personal stuff.
“No, I don’t want to talk about it. Not now anyway,” she finally answered. She didn’t get a chance to add more because Jesse’s phone dinged with a text.
“My folks and Noah are here,” Jesse said, reading the message. “You remember them.”
She did. Again, no recollection of them prior to her being shot, but Boone Ryland and Jesse’s mom, Melissa, had come with him several times to visit Evan. She’d met Jesse’s cousin, Noah, while she’d still been in the hospital. Noah was a cop, too, at San Antonio PD. From all accounts, Jesse and he were as close as brothers.
“They’re not here about Bull,” Jesse explained. “They’re just bringing me a change of clothes and want to see Evan for a couple of minutes.”
That was a reminder of how stressful this had to be for the entire Ryland clan. There was probably added stress for Boone since he might be blaming himself for the shooting that had nearly killed Evan and her.
Hanna nodded. “Let them in.”
Jesse nodded, too, and headed toward the front door while he typed something on his phone. Probably using the app to disengage the security system. Hanna had given him the log-in info and access code the night before since she’d figured he would be coming and going until they had this situation with Bull under control.
She heard the voices when Jesse opened the door and finished feeding Evan the last of the oatmeal. She’d just wiped the baby’s face and had taken him from his high chair when the trio came in. Suddenly, the kitchen was filled with Rylands.
Melissa, Boone and Noah all greeted her with smiles that somehow managed to look both friendly and cautious at the same time. Hanna had no idea if they resented her because she’d ditched Jesse or if they considered that Jesse had dodged a bullet by being entangled with someone who couldn’t even remember him. Well, not remember him much anyway.
While Melissa went straight to Evan, Boone kept his distance, and he set the overnight bag he’d brought in on the counter. Tall and lanky, with hair more silver than black, he had to be in his eighties, but he looked much younger. Fit. Of course, that probably had something to do with the active part he still took in running the family ranch.
Noah was fit, too, and sported those amazing Ryland genes. She suspected he was the spitting image of Grandfather Boone in his earlier days.
“Da, Da,” Evan babbled, reaching out for Jesse to take him.
“He’s growing fast,” Melissa remarked, and she gave Evan’s toes a jiggle that caused him to laugh. She was a good twenty years younger than Boone and had once been a Silver Creek deputy before she’d married him and he’d adopted her three children.
“I’m sorry all of this is happening,” Boone murmured, aiming that directly at Hanna.
She tried to come up with the right answer to that, especially since she couldn’t just dismiss Bull’s escape as not being the serious threat that it was. Hanna ended up settling for a nod.
“Uncle Grayson will be here soon with Agent Shaw,” Noah explained. He glanced at Melissa, who was chattering with Evan, and she picked up the rest of the explanation.
“I thought I could take Evan to the nursery while Hanna and you talk to the agent,” Melissa told Jesse. “Noah and Boone have to get back, but I drove separately so I can stay as long as you need.”
Again, Hanna had to think hard before she responded. She truly didn’t want Evan to be part of a discussion about Bull, but with the danger, she also wasn’t sure she wanted him out of her sight. Still, Melissa had been a deputy; she knew how to take precautions to make sure her grandchild was safe.
