by Lynda Chance
Hannah sat frozen in stunned disbelief as Ethan, slowly and with exaggerated movements, raised his hand from underneath the table and carefully placed it on the top. Taking his time, he looked up and met Ty’s gaze. “No,” Ethan replied harshly.
Without quite realizing she was doing it, Hannah reached for Josh’s hand as she watched the tableau in front of them unfold. Seeing what was going on between Ethan and Ava was almost more exciting than Josh storming in and calling dibs on her. Almost, but not quite.
Underneath the table, Josh laced his fingers through hers and held her hand while their attention stayed centered on Ty and Ethan for the time being. Ty was opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water, and there was no question in Hannah’s mind that he was completely dumbstruck by Ethan’s actions.
Finally, Ty seemed to get a grip as he shook his head as if to clear it and then pointed his finger at Ava. “You.” He snapped his fingers at his sister. “Let’s go.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Ava announced. But even as she said it, Ethan slid from the table and stood to his feet and Ty wasted no time. He reached over and grabbed his sister’s hand and physically pulled her from the booth and then from the restaurant.
Ethan sighed and sat back down. “Well, that was fun,” he bit out in a voice that was laced with sarcasm.
“Yeah,” Josh agreed in a tone that plainly said it had been no fun at all.
“I’m supposed to spend the night with her,” Hannah said as Josh swirled his thumb over the palm of her hand.
Josh turned his head and looked into her eyes, his expression gentle. “I don’t think so, princess.”
“But my parents are out of town, and I don’t want to stay by my … never mind.” Hannah was appalled at what had almost come from her mouth. Both Josh and Ethan would think she was little more than a child if she let them know she was scared to stay alone. But crap. Sixty-thousand acres and just her? Scary.
But nothing was lost on Josh and he wasted no time, whipping his phone from his pocket and pressing a single digit. “Katie. I need a favor.”
****
Two hours later, Hannah and Katie were eating popcorn and watching the first of several chick flicks together. Katie had agreed to spend the night with Hannah so Hannah wouldn’t have to be alone, and the girls were now happily ensconced on the big sofa in the media room, getting to know each other better and watching movies.
Hannah licked the salt off her thumb as she thought about the drive that she and Josh had made to pick up Katie. Once again, Hannah had found herself in the middle of the bench seat next to him, and he’d held her hand all the way until they’d pulled up in front of his house. On the ride there, he’d wasted no time in explaining to Hannah all about the ‘dibs’ comment. No, it didn’t mean they were a couple. No, it didn’t mean they were dating, because they still couldn’t see each other. It just meant that his douche bag friends couldn’t have her. Did she understand that?
No, she really didn’t understand it but she wasn’t going to argue with him now. He thought they could hold out until she turned seventeen to start something, but surely sixteen was old enough? But she didn’t argue with him, because she wasn’t even sixteen yet. She had mildly agreed with what he was saying as her brain almost short-circuited from the grip he had on her hand. It certainly felt as if they were together and she took comfort from that as they pulled up in front of his house.
Hannah vaguely remembered being at his house once before when she was really young, maybe six or seven, when her mother had brought food or something. Hannah couldn’t remember why they’d visited. But looking around, it was more than obvious that the Turners didn’t have the same lifestyle that the McIntyres enjoyed. The road leading to the house was rutted, the fields overgrown with weeds, and the house itself was badly in need of a new coat of paint. But Hannah didn’t concentrate on those things; she was too excited to be this close to where Josh actually lived. And slept.
He never moved from the truck, just released Hannah’s hand and called Katie on his cell phone and she came running outside.
Josh made no move to pick up Hannah’s hand again once his cousin was in the truck.
Katie had smiled at Hannah, looked her cousin over quizzically and then buckled up.
That was all the alone time that Hannah and Josh had had that night, and now Hannah tried to put it from her mind and concentrate on the movie.
Chapter Seven
At about two in the morning, Hannah heard a door slam in the house and it roused her from sleep. Katie was lying on the loveseat that sat at a ninety-degree angle to the couch and was slowly opening her eyes, as well.
Loud footsteps could be heard, but before Hannah could panic and think it was an intruder, Zachary stood in the doorway of the media room and prowled over to the coffee table and picked up the remote and muted the television that was making a soft hissing noise. He tossed the remote back down and fastened his eyes on Hannah. “Hey, squirt.”
“Hi,” she whispered, pleased to see Zach, but not wanting to fully wake Katie from sleep.
“Where are the parents?” he asked in his deep voice.
“They went to Shreveport to see grandma again.”
“And they let you stay here alone with just Ava for company?” Zach looked away from Hannah and turned to the girl who was lifting herself up to a sitting position. His body stilled and his eyes narrowed on Katie as his features hardened imperceptibly. “You’re not Ava.”
“N-no. I’m … Katie.” As Katie answered, Hannah could see the distress on her face. So did Katie know about the affair as well? Did everyone know that Zach’s wife was sleeping with Chris Turner?
Zach’s eyes glittered as hotly as coals as they fell from Katie’s face and slid down her body. Slowly, his eyes found hers once again. His voice was laced with disdain as he spoke, “I know who you are.”
Hannah was disturbed when she understood that Zachary was upset by Katie’s presence in the house and tried to mitigate the situation with small talk. “We fell asleep watching movies.”
“That much is obvious.” As he answered Hannah, his eyes never left Katie and suddenly the moment became awkward.
Hannah watched as Katie’s face lost all color and she turned her attention to the television even though there was nothing playing except a blank, static screen. As she stared resolutely at the screen, Katie pulled the coverlet that had slipped down to the floor up and over her body.
Feeling the tension between Zach and Katie, a chord struck deep within Hannah’s belly as she realized how bad it would be for Zachary if she and Josh were actually a couple. How would it be for Zach if he had to see Josh here so much of the time? Would he be reminded constantly of his wife cheating on him? Would he resent Josh because of it? Without a doubt, in that moment, Hannah knew exactly what Josh had meant when he’d said that he was a Turner and she was a McIntyre. She knew what he meant because she could feel it in the air around her now as Zach stood with an air of menace, looking down at Katie.
Geez. And Katie was only Chris Turner’s niece, whereas Josh was the man’s son.
Crap. Crap.
Hannah tried to break the silence again. “Are you … are you going to your house?” Zach and Cindy had a small house on the ranch about half a mile away that they stayed in when they were here. Hannah knew that recently, Cindy had been staying there while Zach stayed at his apartment in Dallas most of the time.
Zach seemed to shake himself and looked from Katie back to Hannah. “No. I’ll be in my old bedroom if you need me.”
“Okay, goodnight.”
“Night.” With that, he turned and walked out of the room and Hannah caught Katie’s expression, as the other girl seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Hannah wanted to ask her if she knew about the affair, but didn’t know how to, and really, she needed to have that conversation with Josh before she had it with his cousin.
Katie stood up and began folding the coverlet, but wouldn’t meet Hannah�
��s eyes. “I had fun, Hannah. But you don’t really need me here anymore and I should go home.”
“Oh, no… you don’t have to go.”
“No, really. I need to wake up at my house tomorrow. I’ve got a huge physics test on Monday and I need to study. You’ll be okay, right? Your brother’s here.” With that, Katie pulled out her phone and keyed in a text message and received an answer back almost immediately.
There was little doubt in Hannah’s mind that Josh would be on his way to pick Katie up within minutes. “Okay, well, thanks for staying with me. It was a sweet thing to do, even if Josh made you do it.”
“Josh doesn’t make me do anything. And I like you, Hannah, I really do.”
Hannah liked Katie as well and felt deeply for her for whatever she’d had to endure with Jesse Whitaker. “Maybe we can hang out one day. Go shopping or hang out by the pool when it gets warmer.”
“Sure, I’d like that.”
Hannah stood up and began walking Katie to the front door, hearing the hum of Josh’s truck already. When the girls reached the door, Katie turned to her. “Are you sure there’s nothing going on with you and Josh? Y’all seem to be together a lot lately.”
“He’s friends with Ty and Ava’s my best friend, so we see each other a lot.”
Katie studied her with concern. “Okay, but remember what I said. You’re too sweet to get hurt, Hannah.” After a spontaneous hug, Katie opened the front door and walked out to meet Josh at the curb. Hannah watched Katie climb into the truck and she stood motionless until the truck was out of sight. She sighed as she shut the door. She really didn’t like lying. But what was she supposed to say to Katie? That yes, she already had feelings for Josh? That he was only biding his time until he thought she was old enough to date him without repercussions? Katie would probably be concerned enough to confront Josh, and then Josh would be angry with Hannah.
So it was best to just keep everything to herself.
But she could tell Ava. Thank God she had Ava to confide in.
****
Hannah woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee and found Zach sitting alone in the kitchen eating cold cereal. She offered to cook for him, but he was almost finished eating and declined. They had a stilted conversation, but he never mentioned why he was staying in his old bedroom, and Hannah took her mother’s advice and didn’t ask or bring anything up.
But Zachary brought a few things up himself.
“Since when is the Turner girl a friend of yours?”
Were they friends? Hannah hoped so. Maybe they would be someday. “I don’t know. Pretty recently, I guess.”
“How?”
Her brother was the typical male, too few words and too much opinion. “Well, you know Ava has a brother, Ty.”
“Yeah?”
“Ty is good friends with Josh, Katie’s cousin. So we’ve all been hanging out some lately.” She breathed a quiet sigh. That was the partial truth and would ease Zach into knowing she was close to Josh, as well as Katie.
“Those kids are older than you though, aren’t they?”
“Ava’s my age, of course. But yeah, Ty and Josh and Katie are all seniors.”
“Mom and Dad know this is going on?”
“Nothing is going on, Zach. We’re just friends, that’s all.”
“You need to get some younger friends, kids who are more appropriate.”
“There’s nothing inappropriate about them. And don’t you think I’ve tried? I know you haven’t lived here in a long time, but you can’t have missed that everyone hates me?”
A frown came between his brows and his eyes narrowed. “Hates you? Why do you think that?”
Hannah’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t know. I guess they’re jealous.”
“Well, I can see that, sure. You’re a beautiful little girl.”
Hannah looked up at her brother. “I’m not, either. Don’t lie to me to make me feel better, Zach. I’m talking about them being jealous of all this stinking money around here.” Her eyes narrowed on him. “And I’m not a little girl.”
Zach let out a rough laugh. “Stinking money? You want me to push Dad into some bad investments? Help him to go broke?” Zach teased.
“No.” Hannah grinned back.
“You want me to put a hit out on a few kids who’re making your life miserable?”
“It’s not funny! But no, even if you were serious, no. Rebecca will graduate before me and hopefully leave town. I’m hoping things will be better after that.”
Zach became serious. “I hope so, too. But if it gets too bad, you tell me. You shouldn’t have to go through this. If you want me to, I’ll talk to Dad and you can come stay with me in Dallas. I’ll have your little butt in a private school quicker than you can blink. I don’t want you to be miserable, squirt.”
As Hannah looked at her brother, she knew he was feeling for her deeply and was dead serious about his offer. This is what made their bond so strong. Even though there were twelve years between them and no shared DNA, Zach would always be her brother and she would always be his sister. “Thanks.”
He stood up and ruffled her hair. “No problem. I gotta head back to town.”
“Okay.”
He walked over and paused in the doorway and then turned to her. “But you need to start realizing something, Hannah. You are beautiful. Seriously. I don’t know if mom doesn’t tell you, or if you haven’t looked at yourself if the mirror lately. But trust me when I say that the girls at school aren’t just jealous of our money. It’s you. And you need to take care because those damn teenage boys are going to be all over you, if they aren’t already.”
Hannah was rendered speechless. She’d never heard Zach string so many words together in her entire life. He usually spoke in grunts of approval or disapproval. Of course, she didn’t believe what he was saying for a second. Maybe he was trying to give her some self-confidence. And maybe she had turned out passably pretty, but beautiful? Geez. Her brother could lie like the best of them. “That’s sweet.”
“It’s the truth.”
Hannah thought about how gorgeous Josh was. His looks were entirely awesome, and she only hoped she had what it would take to catch him and then to hold onto him. And Katie looked just like Josh, except just the opposite, in a softly feminine way. Hannah opened her mouth and before she could stop them the words spilled out, “Katie’s the beautiful one. She’s so tall and has those green eyes and dark hair. I wish I had hair like hers.”
Hannah could have kicked herself. At just the mention of one of the Turners, Zach stiffened and an air of imposing anger seemed to seize him. His light mood disappeared and icy contempt laced his voice. “She’s got nothing special. None of the Turners do. Remember that, Hannah.”
And he slammed the door on his way out.
****
On Monday afternoon, Hannah stood next to Ava’s locker as her friend spilled the beans about Ethan. As Ava whispered, Hannah stood and listened in rapt silence while she clutched her science book to her chest. “I don’t know. I was eating those french fries, you know? And I looked down and there was salt on my thigh and I began knocking it off. And then—” Ava took a deep breath. “And then Ethan’s hand was on my thigh. First he just sort of knocked off the salt. And then he left his hand there and—” Ava swallowed and stopped speaking.
“And what?”
Ava looked around to see if they were alone in the conversation they were having. “And then his fingers spread out over my knee and he ran his hand all the way up my thigh to the hem of my shorts.”
“Uh-uh.” Hannah’s mouth was open and she shook her head back and forth.
“Uh-huh.”
“And he just left it there?”
“Yeah, pretty much. He just sort of kept running his hand up and down my thigh from the hem of my shorts to my knee and then back again.”
“Y’all were both staring down under the table, do you know that?”
“We were? No, not really, I don�
��t think I noticed anything else in that moment. I’m dying here, Hannah. I want to kiss him so bad, it’s literally killing me.”
“I bet. What’d Ty say to you when he pulled you out of the restaurant?”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Oh, you can imagine. He yelled and told me that Ethan was a rat bastard and all he wanted to do was get in my pants and he and Josh would beat the shit out of him if he tried. And then he threatened to tell my parents so they would ground me and keep me in the house.” She inhaled deeply as she’d said all of that on one breath. “But he won’t, you know. Ty won’t say anything to our parents because I’ve got too much crap on him and I could seriously make his life miserable, and he knows it.”
“Have you spoken to Ethan?”
“No. What would I say to him, anyway?”
“I don’t know. I just wondered if he—” Hannah’s voice got clogged in her throat as she looked up and her gaze fastened on someone walking toward them.
Ava’s eyes grew big as she saw the expression on Hannah’s face. “What are you looking at?”
Hannah reached out and put her hand on Ava’s arm. “Do not turn around.” Hannah sank her fingernails into Ava’s skin. “You better think about what you’re going to say to him, because he’s coming up behind you.”
Ava’s face turned white and then flooded with color. “No way.”
Hannah pasted a fake smile on her face and released Ava’s wrist. She knew that anything she said at this point would be overheard by Ethan. “Okay then. I’ll see you after fifth period.” Hannah looked past Ava and smiled at Ethan who was hovering behind Ava. “Hi.”
“Hey.”
As Ava turned around to face Ethan, Hannah had only a moment to see the pained expression on Ethan’s face before she had no choice but to leave them alone.
As she walked down the hallway, she mentally crossed her fingers for Ava. She really hoped Ethan would come through and man-up.
****
Hannah spent the week wondering where Josh was but he was either really busy or he was evading her. She had two tests that week, and spent a lot of time studying for them. When she wasn’t completely busy with homework, her mind turned back to Josh even though she tried her best not to think about him.