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After about thirty minutes of getting to know Hannah and having her actively engage, Nora decided to ask the harder question.
“So, Hannah. For me to give you the best road to success, can you tell me what you had to go through to get here?”
Nora knew that Mr. Connors would probably fill her in on his own time, but hearing it from the source instead of a second party would help her so much more in getting started and building a connection with Hannah.
Mr. Connors stiffened at the question, and Hannah’s big eyes started to glisten.
“We don’t have to talk about that now …” he practically growled.
Hannah’s voice was soft as she cut him off. “It’s okay.”
He immediately stopped talking and even seemed to soften at her words. He sat back, his own eyes now seeming to reflect the light more.
At that moment, Nora saw the care in his expression for this little girl and understood that this wasn’t a gruff man, not when it mattered. He obviously saw himself as the only thing protecting this little one from what had befallen her and what life might have in store.
She respected, no,admiredthat.
Hannah told her story of losing her parents in a plane crash where all aboard had died. Parts were hard for her to want to talk about, but she did, nonetheless.
It never ceased to surprise Nora that the bravery of children was so much greater than they were given credit for.
Still, Hannah got through it and talked about her being left unable to walk while she still recovered and what she had done so far. Her now-guardian chimed in occasionally to provide more details when necessary.
It was obvious to Nora that not only had Hannah sustained physical trauma but emotional as well, which she had already suspected.
But the more she watched Mr. Connors ebb in here and there, the more she noticed he had emotional baggage tied into this as well.
She turned her attention to him after a moment. “Mr. Connors…”
“Please, call me Hudson.”
She nodded, taking it as a good thing that he was moving to be more casual.
“What made you decide to take in Hannah?”
He cleared his throat, pushing back any emotion he was about to show. “Her father and mother are … were good friends of mine. I’ve known Hannah all her life, and I want to make sure she has everything she needs. I can do that for her.”
His answer was honest. That little bit of softness flickered when he had responded to her.
She didn’t need to hear anymore. She turned her attention back to Hannah, who was carefully watching Hudson.
“Hannah,” she began. The little girl jerked her big brown eyes back to Nora. “I promise, as long as you want me here and will work for it, that I will help you with the healing process.”
The brown eyes widened with eagerness. “Really?”
Nora nodded with a smile. “Absolutely. You are going to have to do your part, too, though. There will be medications and timers we have to pay attention to, exercises that will hurt but be for the best, exams, and physical therapy. It won’t be an easy or short road, but it will be successful as long as we work together and you give it your all. Do you think that you can do that?”
Hannah nodded her head eagerly. “I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will.”
The two shared a moment before Hudson asked a question. “So, what are we looking at for a schedule? That way, Hannah and I are prepared for what to do when we need to add things to our agendas.”
Nora sat back in her seat and kept her eyes on Hannah as she answered. “Well, it’s going to be an adjustment, but we will go over what you both do every day and change up things when we need to. Like when to get your meds, what counseling sessions might be good, what days to have physical therapy, which I’ll be there for, by the way.”
She winked at Hannah, who smiled in return. “I told you that you won’t be alone in this.”
Hudson nodded. “That sounds like a good start. Hannah, I’ll go over the calendars with Nora, and we’ll build a schedule. We can start tomorrow if she’s willing to take the job.”
