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Chapter Eighteen
Hannah wasn’t surprised when Luke’s truck was gone on Sunday when she returned from church. He always went somewhere after they’d all gone to church. She hadn’t asked him to attend with her, though she wanted to.
She didn’t think he’d come, number one. Number two, she didn’t want to make things awkward between them.
A month had passed since their trip up to Beeville and her hometown of Honeyfield. All things considered, Hannah thought the meetings had gone really well. Her parents had been personable. Bethany and Ruth had been on their best behavior. Despite the tacos—which had earned her an extra dinner at The Blue Cowbell, one of her favorite all-beef restaurants—the visit to her parents had gone as well as Hannah could’ve expected.
She and Luke got along well; she saw him every day as they worked together on the ranch. They usually spent time together in the evening, even if it was him simply sitting on the couch in the West Wing. She didn’t go to the Annex, because it felt awkward with all the other men there, and she lived in the West Wing by herself now.
“Emma’s cooking,” Ginger said as she followed Hannah inside. “Lunch in about an hour?”
“I’ll be there,” Hannah said. “Are you working in the office?” She paused to take off her heels, as Ginger didn’t usually come to the house with her.
“Yep.”
“I’ll take Ward, if you’d like,” Hannah said, bending to pick up her shoes. She’d change really fast, because no one wanted to wear a body shaper if they didn’t have to, and then she’d get a bag of chips and hold the precious baby.
“That would be great,” Ginger said, smiling.
“Let me change real quick.” Hannah went down the hall to her bedroom and peeled off all of the elastic and stretchy fabrics that kept her looking ten pounds lighter than she was. She didn’t know who she was trying to impress at church, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to leave the shaper in her drawer.
Once she had a pair of loose-leg pants on, as well as one of her favorite tank tops, she returned to Ginger’s office. Ward babbled in his swing, and Hannah paused it to get him out. Ursula got to her feet, clearly interested in what Hannah was going to do with the baby.
The German shepherd had been fairly protective of Ward since Ginger and Nate had brought him home three months ago. “Come on,” Hannah said to the dog. “You can come too.” She took them both out into the living room, and while balancing the baby in her arms, she got a bag of chips out of the cupboard and headed over to the couch.
Ursula jumped up onto the cushions next to her, and she settled her head on Hannah’s leg. She positioned Ward in the crook of her arm and gazed down at him. “You’re so perfect,” she whispered to him, a smile filling her whole soul.
The baby had beautiful, pearly white skin, and the biggest pair of dark green eyes Hannah had ever seen. He had dark hair with a sheen of auburn in it from his mother, and he was simply the cutest human alive.
Hannah sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head back and relaxing into the couch. “You’re such a good baby, Ward.” She patted his bottom and his eyes started to drift closed. Before she knew it, the three-month-old was asleep, and Hannah watched as Ursula’s eyes drifted shut as well.
Hannah yawned, but her mind ran too fast for her to truly fall asleep. She needed to, because she hadn’t been sleeping well at night either.
She was simply feeling unsure about, well, pretty much everything. Beth and Ruth had both texted her for a solid week after meeting Luke. They’d really liked him, and they wanted all the details they could get.
Hannah had admitted to how much she liked Luke, and she’d told her sisters that they got along really well. All of that was true. Hannah had started to fall in love with him, and she looked down at Ward.
“If he breaks up with me, baby, I’m going to eat so much butter pecan ice cream.” She half-laughed and half-sobbed, though she had no reason to believe Luke would break up with her. He’d gone pretty quiet in the past few weeks, though, and while she’d asked him a few times if he had anything bothering him, he’d just smiled each time and said he was thinking about a few things.
When she’d asked what things, he’d asked her for more time before he could tell her. She had to respect that, and she’d tried not to press him.
“Should I ask him again, Ward? What do you think? Do you think he’s thinking about us?” Hannah looked up and out the windows that showed a blue sky and a hint of the fence out front. “Do you think he’s trying to figure out what to do with his life? I know he’s not super happy here on the ranch.”
She wasn’t sure why, though. He was so good with animals, and everyone loved him, from the parents to the kids to the other cowboys. He worked hard from sunup to sundown, and Hannah didn’t want him to leave. He did have a lot of family property up in Beeville, though, and he had mentioned talking to his uncle again in the past couple of weeks.
Ward didn’t know what Luke was thinking, and Hannah didn’t either.
“Maybe I want too much,” she whispered to the infant, and then she reached over and stroked Ursula. She wanted this life so badly. She wanted this baby to be hers, and she wanted a house of her own. She could handle a dog too. Maybe not one as big as Ursula, though she was an excellent ranch and guard dog.
A thread of guilt stitched through her for not being satisfied and content with the life she already had. It was a really good life, and Hannah had always had people surrounding her who’d supported and loved her.
On the couch beside her, her phone buzzed, and she reached over to pick it up with the hand she’d been using to pat Ursula.
Luke had texted with,I’m going to Beeville for the day so I won’t be back at the ranch for lunch. Just wanted you to know.
She balanced her phone on Ward and typed with one finger.Okay. Hope you’re okay. Drive safe.
I’m okay, he said.Miss you already.
