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She knocked on the door and heard Millie’s trotters click against the floor as he called out, “I’m coming, hold on!”
The door swung open, and there stood Jake.
“Hannah.” He smiled.
“Hey.” She looked back at Mae, sitting in her stroller at the bottom of the steps. “We were on a walk, and I have something to say…”
She wanted to talk about the letter, but it was so personal, too personal to just blurt out how she felt. Was she behaving like a teenager with a crush? Or just a fool?
“I read the letter, and I…” she trailed off as he stepped out of the house with Millie.
“I just wanted to tell you how I felt…” he said, almost on top of her.
“I saw you with your girlfriend the other day,” she reminded him.
“Yes, but I didn’t know she was coming. I didn’t invite her. Look, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the first time we met. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and…” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t know if you even liked me.”
“Does she know about this?” She pulled the letter out, holding it carefully in both hands.
“No, but I told her I have feelings for you. It’s over between us.”
He told Allison he had feelings forher?Her heart pounded hard in her throat, closing her windpipe. Her cheeks heated up, and she looked away.
“I’m technically married, you know.”
He didn’t say anything. How could he? It was pretty obvious he didn’t really understand her situation, which made everything even more awkward.
“Where is he, then?” he asked, almost defiantly.
“What?”
“If Troy was really your husband, he would be here, helping you, caring for you, loving you. Protecting you.” Jake stepped closer to her, and she could smell a mixture of cologne and damp earth. “If you and Troy were truly married, then you wouldn’t be standing here.”
“I… but I meanlegally…” She shook her head. “I can’t just run around with another man.”
“Hannah, I don’t want to run around.” He stepped even closer. “I want to be with you.”
“There’s more than just Troy to consider.” She exhaled loudly, stepping back from him. “I have Emma.”
“My dad was like Troy, and he never changed. I don’t want to push you, Hannah, I’ll never do that,” he said. His eyes held hers like a magnet. “But I’m all in.”
Hanna’s instincts told her he was one of the good ones. The kind of guy she had been dreaming about. But so many times she had been wrong about people. She passed the letter back to him. A pain set in as she gave away one of the nicest gifts she had ever received, though she had his words memorized.
“I… think it’s better if we just stick to being neighbors.”
Chapter 7
Neighbors. That was worse thanfriends. Jake didn’t leave his farm for days. Once he did leave, he prayed each time he drove by the Boudreau Farm that he wouldn’t have to see her. He should’ve done so many things differently. Allison had been a distraction. Hannah was something else entirely.
“Jake!” Olivia called out as she climbed out of her Land Rover at the Broken Eagle Ranch. She ran up to him and put a hand on his arm. “I have a confession to make. I read your letter.”
Oh, dear Lord. “Uh…”
“Don’t let her attitude fool you, she really does like you.”
“She told me she’s married.”
“She’s scared.” Olivia crossed her arms against her chest. “She’s never had someone who truly loved her before, someone she can trust. For ten years, she has been included in every celebration, every holiday at our place, yet she still doesn’t consider herself part of the family. She even has a stocking on my mantle at Christmas, and she still can’t fully trust us.”
