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"You think? I don't know. She seems bossy. We might have to get a new nurse," he teased back.
"She isn't." Hannah giggled. "Maybe to you. She's nice to me."
He smiled at her while Nora walked back. "What are you two giggling about?"
"Nothing," he said, pulling himself up. "I was just letting Hannah know I was going to be in my office for a little bit. I have a few phone calls to make."
Nora gave him a brandishing look, but he didn't mind. He was keeping himself distant from them for several reasons.
He couldn't get emotional every time Hannah made progress. She didn't need him around to make her already difficult journey even harder.
Still, his bear practically purred when he was around Nora. He figured it was because of how well she handled Hannah. She knew exactly what Hannah needed while he was still learning.
"Well, you enjoy your phone calls," Nora chirped, bending down to Hannah's level. "We are going to watch a movie and then work on a puzzle after that."
Hannah's eyes lit up, and he felt a pang in his chest. The feeling wasn't like the others he'd felt. It was from NoraandHannah. He quickly shook it off as unimportant juvenile jealousy and gave them a smile.
"You two enjoy that. I'll be back for lunch."
He turned on his heel, heading down the hallway toward his home office. He heard Hannah giggling as he shut his door, trying to get himself to focus.
After a few phone calls and what felt like forever, he left his secluded room. He found Hannah and Nora in the kitchen. Hannah was talking while Nora stood next to the counter, stirring something in a bowl. He leaned against the wall, watching them.
"My mom used to bake cookies," Hannah said, watching Nora. "She used to make some really good sugar cookies."
"So did my mom," Nora said, giving her a smile back. "My mother used to add an extra tablespoon of vanilla, so they were extra sweet."
Hannah giggled. "Can we make them into shapes? My mom used to cut them into hearts, and I decorated them."
"Sure, though I'm not sure what Hudson has around here for cutting things. What does the recipe say to do next?"
Hannah looked back at the book in her lap. Her fingers were wrapped around the book in a death grip. He knew that it wasn't his book, so it likely had to be Hannah's mom's.
"Add in the sugar. Mix it in slowly."
Nora sifted the sugar into the bowl, and he could see Hannah watching her carefully.
He remembered making his mother's recipes when he was older and on his own. He felt a little closer to her when he did. He still made his mother’s soups in times of stress. Yet it had never occurred to him that he could now bond with Hannah the same way.
"What's next?" Nora asked, and Hannah looked at the instructions.
He didn't want to interrupt them. Hannah liked Nora, and he didn't want to get in the way of them having a fun time.
He crept back down the hallway and slipped out the back door. He decided to get a little fresh air. Hannah would have a shower soon. Nora always helped her clean up around three o’clock, and then they would get settled for dinner.
He sat outside, feeling that pang in his chest once more. He closed his eyes and thought about Nora.
She certainly was an eye-catcher, and the way she moved caught his attention more than it should. It was wrong even to be thinking such things when Hannah needed her. It was another reason he tried to keep his distance. He wanted to let his guard down so badly. But he couldn't do that.
Hannah needed him to keep his head on straight. His clan needed him to focus. He couldn't let a human with a fine figure pull his attention away from important things.
Another problem was that Nora didn't know about his shifter abilities, and he wasn't sure how she'd react. He couldn't allow her closer because then he'd have to tell her. He couldn't risk losing the help, so he'd just keep doing what he was doing.
He pinched at his eyes, shaking his head. He wished it was that easy, but it wasn't. It was going to be a lot harder than that.
FIVE
NORA
