She started a pot of coffee and placed a bowl of oatmeal in the microwave, then walked to the window. Cold air seeped through the glass, adding to the winter-wonderlandfeeling the sight inspired. The earth was enshrouded with snow, as if someone had generously sprinkled confectioner’s sugar from a God-sized sieve. Every branch was coated in white, and still the snow continued to fall. Judging by the stack of white atop the bird feeder, she figured they’d received eight or nine inches so far.
Despite the horror of the previous night, she rejoiced. The early snowfall meant skiers, and skiers meant customers. With Devon out of the way and the national ads running again, they could expect a strong fall.
The scene beyond the windowpane looked peaceful. The footprints from the night before had been covered completely. It was almost as if it hadn’t happened. Micah had said Devon admitted to nothing, but his assault would see him in jail for a while at least.
The coffee maker silenced as the last drips filtered through, and the microwave beeped. Hanna stirred the oatmeal and set muffins and fruit on the table, then went to wake Gram, knowing she hated to sleep too long. Last night’s debacle must’ve taken its toll to keep her in bed until nine.
After waking Gram she walked to Micah’s door, feeling awkward about the night before. She was being silly, she assured herself. Micah had rescued her and held her until she’d fallen asleep. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.
She raised her hand and rapped quietly on the door in case he was still asleep.
She heard him clear his throat. “Who is it?”
“It’s me.” Her heart pounded in anticipation of seeing him.
“Oh, I-uh …”
Silence ensued. She wondered if he wasn’t dressed. “I just wanted you to know breakfast is ready.”
He paused a beat. “Go on without me; I’ll be out in a while.”
“All right.” She hesitated a moment, hoping he’d say something else or open his door. When he didn’t, she returned to the kitchen. He’d sounded strange. Not snappy or irritable. Just distant. She shook her head and berated herself for reading so much into a few words.
She and Gram ate together, and Hanna assured her once again that she was fine. While Gram loaded the dishes in the dishwasher, Hanna started a fire, then turned on the TV to check the latest forecast. Snow, snow and more snow. That, combined with the strong wind, amounted to a snow emergency. A couple of calls came in requesting reservations for the following weekend. Ski buffs, wanting to take advantage of the early snow and optimistic that several days of heavy snow would give them a good base. Hanna, on the other hand, wondered if they’d even have the roads cleared by then if they got all the snow that was forecasted.
After Gram went to the kitchen for another cup of coffee, Micah rounded the corner in full winter attire.
His gaze skimmed past hers without so much as an acknowledgment. “Thought I’d shovel some snow.”
She stood. “There’s a snow blower in the shed, but—”
“I’ll get right on it.” He opened the door.
“You may as well wait; they’re forecasting—”
The door shut behind him.
“A lot more snow,” she finished for the empty room. What was that about? Knots of apprehension coiled in the pit of her stomach. Was he feeling awkward about all the emotion of the night before? Or had his worst fear come true—he’d fallen in love with her and was scared silly?
Elation bloomed in her heart for just a moment before a dark cloud smothered the feeling. That wasn’t it.
Maybe he was just in a bad mood. None of them had gotten a good night’s sleep. He probably didn’t function well on less than a full night’s sleep. Natalie had always been that way. They’d teased her in the morning about having the grumpies. She smiled contentedly. She’d just discovered a new character trait in her beloved.
Later, she and Gram fixed soup and sandwiches and talked about Devon and his dirty work at the lodge.
“The thing I don’t understand is why,” Hanna said.
Gram set the ladle in the soup pot. “You know, I could call the police station. Maybe they got the story out of Devon.”
“Really? Will they tell us?”
“Well, I don’t know what the rules are, but Gerdy Feldner from church does paperwork down there, and I know she’d tell us.”
It didn’t take but a minute for Gram to get Gerdy on the phone.
It was all Hanna could do to sit still during all the “uh-huhs” and “oh goodness’s.” Gram’s brows drew together, then apart, and finally she closed her eyes. “Oh, dear … all right. Yes, thank you, Gerdy … goodbye.” Gram hung up the phone.
“What? What is it?”
“Well, you’d just never believe it. I can hardly believe—”
“What, Gram?”
“Keith!” Gram’s brows bunched up tight, and her lips flattened.
“Keith? Natalie’s Keith?” It didn’t make sense. He’d helped them with the loan, the refinancing.
“You know how he’d told us we could lose the lodge if we missed payments? Well, apparently, he was trying to make sure we did miss those payments!”
“But why? That doesn’t make sense. He wouldn’t gain anything from that. If the bank repossesses a property, they have to auction it. That’s the law. Besides, I can’t believe Keith planned this. He was trying to help us. Maybe Devon’s just trying to blame someone else.”
“That’s what I thought at first. Even the police thought it was bogus at first since Keith had nothing to gain from the lodge’s failure. But once they started telling Devon what kind of time he faced in the pen, he cracked. Get this … the owner of the Majestic approached Keith about our property. Must’ve been sometime after our loan papers were signed. The owner must’ve wanted the property bad. He was willing to pay Keith a healthy sum to make sure he got it.”
“So the Majestic owner paid Keith to arrange our failure,” Hanna said. “He hired Devon to snoop around and get our customers’ addresses, then gave them to the Majestic so they could steal our customers. And he cancelled my ads so business wouldn’t improve.” She gritted her teeth. “And all this time I’ve been thanking Keith for helping us. It makes me sick.” Something flickered in her memory. “Hey, remember back in the spring when that Realtor called and said she had a client interested in our property? I’ll bet that was the Majestic. And when they couldn’t get the property fairly, they tried to finagle another way.”
“I can hardly believe it. Gerdy said to keep this under wraps because the police are going to bring Keith in for questioning.”
“I have to tell Nat. She’s going to be so upset.”
The soup and sandwiches were ready, but Hanna had lost her appetite. While Gram ate, she called Nat to tell her everything that had happened the night before. Her sister was concerned about her, but Hanna assured her she was fine and that Micah had been there for her.
“Sounds like he’s your knight in shining armor,” Nat said.
Finally, she had to break the news about Keith. At first Nat was reluctant to believe it, but once Hanna told her about the connection with the Majestic, she seemed to accept it.
“Oh no,” Nat said. “Hanna, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe this.”
“Don’t apologize, Nat. It’s not your fault.”
“It really stinks that he’d be so underhanded with his own sister-in-law. But then, he betrayed his own wife, so why not? I wonder what they paid him to do it? I guess the Majestic thought they could snag the lodge at auction for a song. And they probably would have. Things go pretty cheap at those auctions.
In the background Nat’s boys were fussing loudly.
“I’d better go break that up,” Nat said.
After the phone call, Hanna decided to go outside and tell Micah there was food on the table. What would he think of Keiths involvement in this? She felt so relieved that it was over and that the lodge would survive, but her heart broke for Nat and the boys. Surely Keith
would go to jail for this. And he’d never work at a bank again. How would this affect child support for Natalie and the boys? She shook her head and said a quick prayer for her sister, hoping that this didn’t make her life even harder. Then she slipped on her boots and coat and walked down the driveway. The snow blower’s motor pierced the otherwise peaceful day. Wet flakes danced in the air around her, and she pulled her hood up over her head.
Micah glanced up and saw her coming. She waited patiently for him to kill the motor. Finally, he reached down and flipped the switch. The engine died.
She stopped a short distance away. “Lunch is ready.”
He looked up the drive. “I … uh … I just have a few more swipes to go, and I’ll be done.”
Considering that the drive was over one hundred yards, a few swipes would take him an hour or more. “At least come in and warm up. I have news about Devon. You can finish later.” It wasn’t like they could go anywhere anyway, what with the roads still covered and more snow falling.
He looked everywhere but toward her. “All right.”
They walked together, but tension hung heavily in the air between them.
He broke the silence. “You feeling okay today?”
“Sure.” She tossed him a confident smile, which he missed entirely. “I’m just a little sore.”
Their boots crunched alternately in the snow.
“So, what’d you hear about Devon?” he asked.
She told him the story Gram had gotten from Gerdy.
Micah seemed surprised, and his jaw clenched when she told him about Keith, but through the whole story, he never once looked at her.
When they approached the porch, she stopped him with a hand on his arm, her heart in her throat. “What’s wrong, Micah?”
The corners of his mouth dipped low, and he shook his head. “Just a little shocked—about your brother-in-law and everything.”
He continued up the porch steps, and she trailed behind.
Hanna and Gram carried the conversation through lunch, mostly about Keith and all the trouble he’d caused. Micah gulped down his food and was out the door before the tip of his nose lost the pink-nipped look.
Hanna and Gram passed the afternoon deep cleaning the guest rooms. The lampshades needed a good thorough cleaning, and they washed drapes and rehung them.
They called to check on Nat and the boys. Nat hadn’t decided what to tell Alex yet about his dad, and Taylor was too young to be told anything.
A few more reservations were called in, cross-country skiers eager to hit the trails. Hanna finally felt the lodge was going to be okay.
When Micah came in from clearing the drive, he disappeared into his room until dinner. The snow still fell, and the drive was again covered.
Hanna’s attempt at pulling Micah into the dinner conversation was a complete failure. He even seemed distant with Gram. Hanna observed his behavior carefully. He smiled at the appropriate times and responded to questions with short comments, but he wouldn’t look at her, and he hadn’t touched her since last night.
Worry clawed at her insides as the evening progressed. Something was definitely wrong. Something that wasn’t going away on its own. She feared he was distancing himself from her, perhaps in another attempt to protect his heart. But they’d come so far over the past weeks. She’d seen glimpses of fear in his eyes, but he’d overcome them and continued to build their relationship.
What about last night had changed that? Had he feared losing her when he’d discovered her missing? Had her confiding in him scared him? Was he afraid her past was too much to deal with? She wanted to reassure him. She wanted to quell his fears and heal this part of him that was so vulnerable.
Now she peered at him from the corner of her eye. Gram had picked It’s a Wonderful Life from their video library and had talked Micah into joining them. He stared at the screen, but Hanna wondered if he even followed the story. She wasn’t doing such a good job of that herself.
When Gram announced she had to use the rest room, Hanna paused the tape.
Micah scooted to the edge of his chair. “I think I’ll get another pop.”
“Micah, wait.” She wanted to utilize this opportunity while they were alone. “I was wondering—I mean, is something wrong? You’ve been quiet today and—”
“I’m fine.” He stood and began walking toward the kitchen.
“Micah.”
He stopped but didn’t turn.
“Something’s wrong.” The dinner in her stomach gelled. “You’re scaring me.”
His head dropped forward, and he turned. When he raised his head, he wore an inscrutable mask. “I’m sorry. I’m not handling this well.” He shifted, then stared at the screen. “I think it might be best if I work someplace else.”
Her stomach dropped, taking her heart with it. The dread she’d felt before rose up in her throat. “If you mean because we’re involved, that’s not necessary.”
Silence stretched between them. The fire snapped.
“I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”
No. He didn’t mean this. It was fear talking. He was just afraid of loving. Her eyes burned.
His jaw flexed wildly, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.
“You don’t mean that.”
Gram entered the room. “Let’s get that tape rolling.” She smiled, then seemed to sense the tension in the room. “Each time I see this movie, it’s like the first time.”
“Go ahead and start it; I’ll be right back.” Micah left the room with his glass, and Hanna stared after him, shock settling around her like a thick fog.
Gram started the tape, and the stilled crowd in the bank came to life. Hanna was fully aware of Micah’s return but didn’t look his way.
The rest of the movie passed as if in slow motion. Hanna’s mind churned the whole time. She wanted badly to take Micah from the room and make him talk to her. She was certain she could change his mind if only he’d open up.
When the closing credits began rolling by, Micah stood. “Think I’ll turn in. Good night.”
Hanna’s heart seized. She couldn’t let him get away. “Wait, Micah—”
“Talk to you tomorrow,” he slung the words over his shoulder and dashed from the room.
Micah hurried down the hall and slipped through his door. The last thing he needed was to get cornered by Hanna. He wasn’t ready to explain why he was calling off their relationship. He hadn’t meant to tell her that, but she’d been so insistent. He should’ve known that would lead to more questions. Questions he couldn’t answer. You’re scaring me. His gut tightened with guilt.
He kicked off his shoes and flung himself on the bed, not bothering to turn on a light. He’d have to give Hanna some reason for ending their relationship. But not the real reason. He could never tell her that.
Didn’t even want to think about it. He shook the horror from his mind. Don’t think about it, Gallagher. But try as he did, the blurry images from that night flashed through his mind. It had been so dark. But it had been Hanna kicking and struggling—Hanna whimpering.
Tell her.
His breath caught. Even his heart skipped a beat. Then his breath came in rasps, and bile rose in his throat. I can’t. He turned his face into the pillow, wishing he could disappear. Wishing he could reverse time and change everything. Oh, God, what have I done? And what will I tell Hanna?
He had labored to think of some excuse, some reason she would believe. The only thing that came to him was the reason he’d given her before: that he wanted to remain single. That he couldn’t stand the thought of needing a woman, loving a woman. Would she believe it? He’d have to make her believe it. Telling her the truth would only hurt her. And he’d already done plenty of that.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
When Hanna woke, she saw the snow had stopped sometime during the night. The white powder whipped through the air, driven by the vigorous wind. A thick pile of snow crowded the end of the drive, evidence that a plow had att
empted to clear the road. Everything was once again covered, and judging by the forecast, it would be a couple of days before travel would be possible.
Physically, Hanna felt better, but Micah’s words from the night before cast a shadow of fear over her heart. She had to convince him he was wrong, but first she had to find out what he was thinking. And that was proving to be as difficult today as it had been yesterday. Between his evasiveness and Gram’s presence, it was after lunch before an opportunity arose.
Gram took her plate to the kitchen and returned for the other dishes.
“I’ll get them,” Hanna said.
Gram nudged her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose. “Well, all right. I think I might go take a nap.”
Hanna’s stomach stirred as she realized the moment had arrived.
Immediately after Gram left, Micah rose and carried his plate through the swinging doors.
Oh no, you don’t. You’re not getting away that easily. She swallowed the last bite of chicken salad and followed. Her knees weakened. What if he wouldn’t listen? What if she lost him?
She came through the door just as he was leaving.
He stepped aside. “Sorry.”
She remained still, blocking his escape. “Micah, we need to talk.”
He leaned back against the counter and sighed. Twin commas formed between his brows.
She crossed her arms. “What’s going on with you?” She searched his face for a clue to his thoughts. His lashes hung at half-mast; his gaze skated across the linoleum. He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. “It’s like I said. I need out. I can’t do this.”
“We were doing fine.” She hated the wobble in her voice. “What happened?”
“I told you a long time ago. I can’t get involved with you—with anyone; it’s all wrong.” He looked everywhere but Hanna’s face.
Was it fear? Had the intensity of his feelings frightened him? She grabbed at the thought. “You’re scared. You’re developing feelings, and sometimes it’s—”
Mending Places Page 24