“Hello Hannah Glen,” he said, obviously teasing her for her formal voicemail message, “this is Daniel Anderson requesting a bit of your time. Give me a call when you get this.”
Hannah was dialing his number from her cell phone before his message had even ended. She didn’t know what had taken over her fingers, but she seemed to have forgotten all of her thoughts of safety and security from the night before.
“Hi there” was how he answered the phone. “Did you get my message?” Daniel must have programmed Hannah’s number into his phone.
“I was on a run,” Hannah said breathlessly, though not from the same said run.
“I couldn’t wait to talk to you.”
As Daniel talked, Hannah held her cell phone tightly to her ear. She grabbed a mug from the cupboard, filled it with coffee and headed back to the patio. Hannah sat down on her Adirondack chair and pulled her knees tightly to her chest. She sipped her coffee and smiled at the perfectness of the moment.
“I know I should have waited, right?” Daniel continued. “Made you think I wasn’t totally smitten. But I just can’t play games. I am at your mercy.”
Hannah could hear the lightheartedness in his voice and it made her feel light as well. Daniel’s voice calmed her and excited her all at once. To cover her nervousness she asked, as calmly as she could. “How was your trip back to Palo Alto?”
“It was good. The kids asked a lot about you. You made quite an impression.”
Again, Hannah changed the subject. “Hey, you never told me about the novel you are writing.”
“Novel?”
“Wanted to write?” Still no response. “I guess I assumed you were writing a book because you were at the writer’s convention.”
“I have a confession to make. I am not a writer. I don’t think I could ever write a novel. The morning I met you I was coming back from breakfast at the Storybook Café. They have the best pancakes there. Anyway, as I was walking towards the front of the hotel, I saw the sign for the writer’s conference. I saw your picture on the sign outside your door and heard Disney music coming from the room. I couldn’t help myself; you know how I am with anything Disney. When I went in, your back was turned toward the paper you were drawing on. I sat down in a chair, picked up a marker, and started drawing. You really had me hooked. Who knows, maybe I will start a novel now.”
Hannah smiled quietly to herself. She didn’t mind that he hadn’t told her this before now. Perhaps she wouldn’t have trusted him if he had. It was a compliment if she could get a non-writer to be interested in the field.
“I want to see you again,” Daniel continued in Hannah’s silence. “Soon! Since you just got back from here, I wondered if I could come visit you in Colorado.”
Now Hannah’s silence was heard quite loudly on the other end of the line. She wanted nothing more than to see Daniel again, but she never thought it would be in her Breckenridge.
“I will get a room of course” Daniel assured, misunderstanding her hesitation “and I will rent a car so you don’t need to come to Denver to get me.”
“Oh no, that isn’t it. I will gladly come pick you up. It’s just, I don’t want you to have to come all this way…..” Her voice trailed off. How could she explain the fear in her heart without coming across as a total nutcase?
“I will gladly come ‘all that way’ to get to see you again! And I don’t want you to have to drive into the city. This way I will have a car and you won’t have to chauffer me around at all.” Hannah was flattered. He wanted to see her, and he didn’t want to inconvenience her in doing so. “So if I can get a flight out Thursday night, can I come for a long weekend?”
“I’d like nothing more.” The words were true and from deep within.
“Great! I will hang up now just so I can work on getting to see you in two days!” They hung up the phone, but Hannah just stood there smiling, holding her cell phone to her heart. She jumped when it rang. It was Sheila.
“Good morning!” Hannah answered cheerfully.
“I take it you’re bathed and have slept and have no more excuses for avoiding your agent’s inquiries” Sheila had run out of patience. “I am hormonal and bored and better have novel worthy information or my percentage is going up for your next sale.”
Hannah panicked for just a flash. She hadn’t even thought about her novel for the past three days. She relaxed, she was well ahead of her deadline and sure she would be back at it soon. So she shared her “novel worthy” story with as many embellishments as she could to entertain Sheila with.
“So he’s coming to Denver on Thursday?” This was just what Sheila needed for her cabin fever. “Tell him your agent will pick him up and drive him up there.”
“Um, no, but thank you. You are supposed to stay in bed remember?”
“Yes, I do not need you to remind me.”
To Hannah’s relief, Sheila didn’t persist. Hannah did agree to think about meeting them for dinner “sometime” knowing that with Sheila on bed rest it wouldn’t actually happen. Sheila never entertained at her house.
After they hung up, Hannah got herself some more coffee, and then took her laptop to the deck to work on her book. She propped her feet up and sat back in her chair – her usual “work space” for this time of year. However, while typically the words would fly through her fingers to the keyboard, today she sat quietly staring into the lush hillside, sipping her coffee comfortably, her mind unusually quiet.
After an hour, Hannah quit trying. Her mind wouldn’t settle on the characters of her story and instead kept flitting from the past weekend (now more of a fairytale than a recent history) to the coming one. What would they do in Breckenridge for four days? And how could she find the words to tell Daniel that she had no need for him to get a room in town? She couldn’t of course. If he had offered to get a room, she couldn’t be so brazen as to suggest he needn’t. Still, her imagination raced wildly to think of what might occur……
Hannah attempted three more times during that day to work on her novel, and then again on Wednesday. She didn’t even try on Thursday and took more time standing in front of her closet contemplating what she might wear than she had since college. She debated going to town to pick up something new - she had had her best summer outfits with her in California, and she didn’t want to risk Daniel remembering her having worn them already. But the idea of going to town amongst the throngs of tourists was more than she could manage, given that her nerves were already so high. As it were, she had to dig up the courage just to phone to see about getting a last minute grocery delivery of some snacks and dinner ingredients to have on hand in case Daniel came to her cottage. She had no idea what kind of beverages he normally drank, and tried desperately to remember what he had ordered at dinner. In the end, she settled on an overabundance of variety: Snapple, three different soft drinks including a diet, some Gatorade, and a gallon of 2% milk. She debated buying some beer. She herself did not drink, but she thought, perhaps that most guys did. In the end she decided against it.
Hannah waited impatiently for the delivery truck, but the groceries didn’t arrive until late afternoon. She unloaded the bags hurriedly, then jumped in the shower, her cell phone placed carefully on the closed toilet lid so that she could hear it if it should ring. She half expected a call from Daniel saying that he wasn’t coming after all. But when the phone did ring, after she had meticulously finished her makeup and hair, and then her hair again, it was Daniel saying that his plane had landed and that he should arrive shortly after five.
She was waiting for him at his hotel when he arrived. She didn’t care if she looked silly sitting in her car, watching anxiously as each new vehicle passed. To Daniel’s delight, Hannah was the first thing he saw as he pulled his rental car into the lot, causing him to park quite crookedly in the space next to her. He didn’t take the time to back up and straighten it out. Daniel put his car into park, unfastening his seat belt at the same time, and was out the door, nearly forgetting the keys in t
he ignition.
Hannah got out of her car as soon as she recognized him, not realizing the impression she had just ingrained into Daniel’s memory files. She had chosen a sundress, one she had bought because she had fallen in love with it immediately, not because it was practical or something she figured she would ever wear, and, until now, she rarely had. Daniel thought at that moment he never wanted to see her in anything else.
CHAPTER NINE
As it turned out, Daniel never actually checked into his room. He reached Hannah in three steps and placed a warm kiss on her lips before pulling Hannah in for an embrace. Hannah let the tension leave her body immediately. She sensed how relaxed Daniel was. There seemed to be no nervousness in him, none of the feelings that she had felt all day.
Daniel let go of Hannah and held her in front of him for just a moment. He was grinning ear to ear. “I didn’t think today would ever get here. I have missed you.”
Hannah smiled shyly. “It’s only been a few days,” she teased, but it did seem like too long. Hannah shifted her weight, suddenly aware of their intimacy and the public-ness of their surroundings.
Daniel seemed to sense her discomfort. “I am dying to see which one your mountain is. Hannah had been telling him what he would see in Breckenridge. “Why don’t I follow you so we don’t have two cars in town.”
Hannah agreed and they left immediately for her place, where she was ready to make him a summer dinner of kabobs and grilled corn. She hadn’t cooked for anyone else in a long time. While she stood by the grill watching closely so the vegetables wouldn’t burn she tried to make conversation.
“How was your drive up here?”
“It was beautiful! I never knew how clear the sky was here, once I got out of Denver. The scenery was incredible. It looked like there was a huge fire at some point in time.”
Hannah thought for a long time. “No, I don’t remember there being a fire.” It could very well be that she had missed hearing about it, though fires were something that even she paid attention to, living where she did in the heart of a forest. Where did you see it?”
“All along the highway on I-70, it seemed like there were huge groves of pine trees that had been burned. Nothing was left but dried skeletons.”
“Oh that.” Hannah’s voice was quiet. “The Colorado Pine Beetle.”
Daniel returned her a confused stare.
“It is some infestation that started a few years ago and has wiped out areas of forest. Did you see the brown looking pines as well? That is what the infestation looks like first, then the trees just die.”
“I guess I saw the dead ones and assumed it was a fire. I didn’t pay attention to any brown.”
“You’ll see it tomorrow.” Hannah felt her throat tighten. She hated to think about her mountain being eaten alive. “Breckenridge wasn’t hit as hard as the sections along I-70, but it’s beginning to show signs of it.”
They were both quiet, Hannah turned the corn on the grill, glad to focus on something else. Daniel had no idea what the forests had looked like before, so he may not notice the impact. But he seemed to sense Hannah’s emotions.
They stayed up late into the night talking, watching as the sun turned the sky a passing of beautiful colors, and then as each star twinkled its way to life. Daniel and Hannah hardly noticed when the light faded from crimson to black, as a few became thousands of stars, or as the song of the evening birds turned to an orchestra of crickets.
“Wow, is it really almost midnight?” Hannah finally became aware of the passage of time.
“I kept you up late, I am so sorry. It has been an amazing evening. Dinner was wonderful. Thank you…”
“It has been nice to have someone to spend the evening with” interrupted Hannah. And she meant it.
“I guess I better go check into my room then. What time do you tend to get up in the morning?” Daniel did not look like he wanted to go anywhere. It was now or never, thought Hannah.
“Look, I know… well I don’t want…hotels in town are probably pretty loud this time of year. They tend to be really busy. I have an extra room here if you would rather. Of course, I don’t know if you can cancel your reservation….”
“Are you sure?” Daniel’s voice was so quiet and so full of respect that Hannah wanted to kiss him.
“If it isn’t too… awkward,” Hannah replied.
“It would be wonderful. It is so quiet here. So peaceful.”
Daniel kissed Hannah then. No different than before. His kiss was tender and full of caring and without demands.
“Well, let me grab my stuff out of my car and you can show me to my room.”
Despite the late night, Hannah still woke at her usual time, as the sky was turning to a light pink as it does just before dawn. As quickly and quietly as she could, she got around, being sure not to disturb the sleeping man in the next room. For a brief moment, she thought about peeking in at him, awed by the fact that he was there. Part of her didn’t want to leave his side, afraid that she would come back and find that none of it had been real. Part of her desperately wanted to get away for a while in order to assimilate all that she had experienced in the past few hours and days.
Expertly bending to pick up her shoes from the dark closet and quietly opening her drawer where her clothes were folded in their place, she pulled out her running shorts, socks, and a sports bra and was ready in an instant. Sneaking to the kitchen, Hannah scrounged in a drawer for a slip of paper to write a note on. She gave up after a few minutes and grabbed a paper towel instead, contemplating what to write. It had been a long time since she had left a note telling anyone where she was. She finally wrote simply, “On a run. Coffee is ready, help yourself! Be back soon. Hannah”
Hannah thought about those words. ‘On a run’: as in a run of good fortune? She felt like this was true, so much different from ‘on the run’, which is what she had been for the past ten years. Shaking these thoughts from her head, she left the note on the kitchen table in the first place she hoped Daniel would see if he got up. She slipped out the door, which she closed behind her with barely a click. And with that she was gone, shoe lace check, down the stairs, across the path and up the mountain.
Hannah’s pace was fast this morning, as if the constant beating of her feet on the ground below her would calm her senses, which felt so wildly out of place. When running, Hannah often thought of scenes from her novels, other times she looked around from side to side while winding herself up the steep mountain path, taking in the familiar but ever enchanting scenery. Today though, she just ran, up and up, concentrating on her breathing and each step and the pumping of her arms to match her beating heart. She ran hard until she came to a spot much farther than her usual turning point. There she found a rock and sat down on it, heart pounding, breath coming in short bursts. She used to run like this after her parents’ deaths. She ran to block out the wave of emotions which threatened daily to overcome her. Today, the emotions weren’t the devastating ones of the past, but they were overwhelming none the less. As she sat, though, her breathing came easier, her heart slowed and she felt a calm within her, a peace, and a joy that she hadn’t felt in many, many years. Hannah felt the early sun warm on her face; she listened to the birds calling and flitting in the trees, an occasional squirrel announcing its territory. She breathed in the familiar sights and sounds of her mountain and felt secure, right within her own world. And a new feeling began to solidify, one of excitement of what that world could hold for her. As she felt it build, she rose from her rock seat and began her descent, back down the mountain. Hannah’s footsteps were sure, lightly landing side to side while traversing the steep and root covered terrain. Her run, though longer than usual, took less time, spurred by the emotions of a youthful heart filled with the possibility of love. Hannah laughed out loud with the exhilaration of the moment and sprinted the last few paces of the path. She slowed to a light jog to cool down before arriving back at the steps that took her up to her home and to Daniel.
“Hi” Hannah managed, not out of breath because of her run.
“Hey! Thanks for the coffee!”
Hannah zipped inside to grab herself a mug full, and headed back to the porch. She curled herself into her Adirondack chair and sipped, smiling over the lip of her cup at Daniel, who was still mesmerized by the landscape.
“This is amazing! No wonder you never want to leave.”
Hannah looked down for a moment. She hadn’t told him that she didn’t go many places; that she stayed close to home. She hadn’t told him it was because she couldn’t because, well, she just couldn’t most of the time.
“I can see why you like it here,” Daniel continued, not seeming to notice that Hannah had stiffened suddenly. “It is beautiful! I thought the sky was blue in Northern California, but here…. You seem so much closer to it here. If I lived here I would have a hard time getting out to go to work every day.”
“I’m lucky. You are sitting in my office.” Hannah smiled and looked around. She really was blessed. “I get up every morning, take a run, come back, grab some coffee and my laptop and I have this to inspire me all day long.”
“Don’t you ever get lonely though?”
The question caught Hannah off guard. It wasn’t something she ever contemplated. She loved her peace and her solitude.
“I mean, it just seems to me like staying here all day long, no one around. I don’t have a bunch of friends, but I have such a big family that they are always around. I guess you get used to that kind of commotion after a while.”
On A Run Page 8