“I hadn’t planned to get back in contact with them right away, to be honest, except for wanting to find out about my stuff. But since it’s here already, I don’t even need to do that.”
“You definitely don’t,” his mom said. She reached over to pat Hannah’s arm. “You need to do what’s best for you and your little boy. Later, when you’re feeling stronger, you can decide if you want to do anything with them. But don’t let anyone talk you into anything if you don’t feel comfortable doing it.”
Ryan smiled at his mom’s words and the tone of her voice. It reminded him of conversations they’d had when he was a teen and dealing with some peer pressure at school. Suffering from an aneurysm and then negotiating a long recovery hadn’t robbed his mom of her opinions. He could see the toll the past few months while he’d been gone had taken on her, but Ryan was relieved to see that she still had a will of steel.
“Well, my loves, I need to head for bed,” she said a few minutes later. “This old body doesn’t do the late nights like it used to, plus I could hardly sleep last night from the excitement of your homecoming today.” She laid her arm across Hannah’s shoulders and pressed her cheek to the top of her head. “Don’t rush to get up in the morning if you need to rest. And feel free to take some food to your room if you think you might get hungry in the night and don’t want to come down to the kitchen. There are granola bars, or you can take any of the fruit.”
“Thank you,” Hannah said, briefly reaching up to touch his mom’s hand where it rested on her shoulder.
Ryan got to his feet and gave his mom a hug. She held him tightly before cupping his face in her hands. He saw tears in her eyes, even as she smiled up at him.
“So very glad you’re back, son. My heart is complete once again.”
“Love you, Mom. Your prayers kept me strong.”
She gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving the kitchen. Ryan sat down just as Gabe came in.
“Are you guys staying here tonight?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah,” Gabe said. “Considering we still live here.”
“Seriously? I figured you two would have a place of your own as soon as you were married.”
“We decided to stay here for now. We might move over to the apartment block now that you’re back, but maybe not. We’re building a house on the land where Makayla and Ethan are living now. The plan is to try and build three houses as soon as it’s warm enough to break ground.”
“Three? You, Bennett, and Mitch?”
“Yep. And who knows, maybe Kenton and Avery next year if they get married.”
“That will be great for any kids that come along, having their cousins so close.”
“Right?” Maya agreed. “I doubt any of us are going to have ten kids like your family had, so having others with kids nearby will be nice.”
“Having built-in playmates was a definite bonus to being part of a blended family,” Ryan said.
“Since I was an only child, I really want any children we have to be around lots of other kids,” Maya said. “Do you have siblings, Hannah?”
“No. I was an only child as well.” Hannah had finished her yogurt and one piece of the toast, and it appeared she was done.
“Being an only child wasn’t much fun, at least for me, so I’m determined to make sure that even if Gabe and I only have one child, they will be surrounded by lots of other kids.” She looked over at Gabe. “But we have to have at least one child first.”
“Honeymoon first, babe, then we’ll talk kids.”
“Well, before you two start to get mushy, I’m going to call it a night,” Ryan said then tried to stifle a yawn.
“I think I will as well. It’s been a long day,” Hannah added.
When Hannah stood to clear her dishes, Maya waved her off. “I’ll take care of those. Did you want to take something up with you?”
“Maybe I’ll take a banana and a granola bar,” Hannah said.
After Maya had given them to her, Ryan walked upstairs with Hannah. He paused outside her door. “I pray you sleep well. If you need anything, I’m in that room over there.”
He doubted she’d come to find him, but just in case she did need him for something, Ryan wanted her to know where to find him.
“I appreciate everything you did to get us to this point, Ryan. Thank you.” She gave him a small smile. “I hope you sleep well too.”
After leaving her, Ryan retreated to his room where he took a quick shower then tumbled into bed. For the first time in months, he fell asleep without any worry for the safety of himself and those around him or wondering about what food they’d have to eat.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Watching Ryan disappear into his room, Hannah felt a strange sense of loss. Since waking up to find him in her cell, they had been together almost non-stop. They’d been apart for stretches of time since being rescued, but those had all felt temporary. This…this felt more permanent.
And it was.
This was more than just sleeping in separate rooms. This was them returning to their lives. Ryan had his own life that didn’t include her or Jason. His time here with them was just a pit stop before he headed back to Minneapolis. Back to his life there.
And where would that leave her?
Not wanting to dwell on those thoughts, Hannah turned and went into the nursery to check on Jason. She didn’t understand the reluctant feeling she had about someone else taking care of her baby through the night. After all, he’d had someone else watching him day and night since his birth. He’d been hers for less than two days, but already she didn’t want to turn his care over to someone else. Only the knowledge that it was for the best, in the long run, made it a bit easier for her to accept.
The nurse looked up from where she was changing Jason’s diaper and smiled. “I just gave him a quick bath before his next bottle.”
Hannah went over and bent to kiss his head, inhaling the fresh baby scent that lingered on his skin. When she straightened, she asked, “Is it weird to watch a baby at night like this?”
“Not for me. I usually only take on jobs where there is a real need for my type of assistance. Like if a mother is sick and needs rest. I’ve helped out moms who are suffering with postpartum depression that is worsened by lack of sleep. If my presence allows them to at least get rest, then I’m more than happy to help them.” The nurse lifted Jason off the change table. “Would you like to give him his bottle before you head to bed?”
Hannah nodded and took Jason to sit in the rocking chair. The nurse handed her the small bottle that had been sitting in a bottle warmer on the dresser.
“How many hours does he generally sleep at a time?” the nurse asked as she cleaned up things on the change table.
“I’m not really sure,” Hannah said. She kept her head down as she explained. “The people that held me captive have cared for him since his birth, so I’m just learning about him myself. I know the pediatrician wants him eating frequently, so I’m not sure how that will work with his sleep schedule.”
The nurse nodded. “We’ll see how things go tonight, and then we’ll know for future nights.” She gave Hannah’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “He seems like a contented baby, and he’s absolutely beautiful. Just like his mama.”
Hannah knew the woman was probably just trying to make her feel better, but little did she know, compliments like that didn’t make Hannah happy. The only thing that kept a pit from forming in her stomach at the woman’s words was the knowledge that it was a false compliment. Between her overly gaunt cheeks and sunken eyes, along with the scar on her face, beautiful would be the last word used to describe her. And she was more than okay with that.
The nurse seemed to like to chat, but thankfully, it was a monologue, not an inquisition. In the time it took Jason to finish the bottle, Hannah learned that the woman, whose name was Marion, had been married for twenty-two years, and that her oldest daughter had made her a grandmother nine months earlier. She shared about the vacation she an
d her husband were planning that had been slightly impacted by the adoption of an elderly dog from the humane society.
As Jason finished the last of the bottle, Hannah found herself smiling at the utter normality of Marion’s life. She supposed that she could be resentful that while they’d been enjoying their comfortable life in Canada, she’d been dealing with being pregnant in captivity. Then, unlike Marion’s daughter who had apparently had an easy delivery in the hospital of her choice, Hannah had delivered alone, in captivity, with no medical staff or family helping her.
Hannah knew that with this situation—as she’d had with many other situations in her life over the years—she had the choice to be bitter or to just let it slide by. Bitterness had never served her well in the past, and it was particularly important now with Jason in her life that she choose not to be bitter. Most of the bad things in her life had been beyond her control, and she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t asked God why sometimes.
But she’d learned early on that focusing on the bad things didn’t make life any better or easier. If anything, doing that made things more difficult. Still, even though she’d accepted that, she hoped that perhaps life would cut her a little slack now. That she’d have the chance to establish a home for herself and Jason before anything else went wrong.
As she took the bottle out of Jason’s mouth once it was empty, Hannah prayed that whatever else may come her way, it wouldn’t leave Jason on his own without her. At least when her dad had died, she’d still had her mom—such as she’d been.
The worry and fear that had now taken root within her were new. In her adult life, she’d never had to worry about someone else the way she now worried about Jason.
“Here, why don’t I burp him?” Marion said. “You look like you’re about ready to keel over.”
Hannah nodded then pressed a kiss to Jason’s forehead. She whispered, “Mama loves you, baby boy.”
As she said the words, she knew that they were true. It didn’t matter who his father was or how he’d been conceived, she did love him.
“Thank you for caring for him,” Hannah said as Marion lifted him from her arms. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”
“Sleep well,” Marion said with a smile.
Alone in her room, Hannah dug through the bags Emma had given her—bags she still hadn’t unpacked—and managed to find a large T-shirt that she could wear to sleep in. Though her energy was waning, she used the toiletries to wash her face and brush her teeth, then crawled into bed, relishing the comforting smell of freshly washed sheets. It was the small things, she was finding, that she appreciated the most. Clean teeth. Hot and cold water. Sheets that smelled like flowers and sunshine.
When she turned off the lamp beside the bed, she noticed a soft glow coming from the wall. It appeared that someone had put a nightlight in the room for her. She appreciated that more than she would have thought, because just the idea of waking up and not knowing exactly where she was made anxiety begin to well up inside of her.
As she lay on her side in the bed, she eyed the boxes sitting in the corner, barely visible in the glow from the nightlight. She hoped that somewhere in one of them was her Bible. It had been given to her as a teen by the best set of foster parents she’d had, and she hated to think that it might have gotten lost in the shuffle.
In the meantime, she ended her day as she had every day in captivity…reciting verses and then praying until she fell asleep.
When she woke next, she found herself listening for Ryan’s breathing even before opening her eyes. It was only when she opened them and saw the softly lit room that she remembered where she was. A glance at the glowing lights on the digital clock next to the bed revealed it was just after two in the morning.
She was grateful that it hadn’t been anything but her bladder that had awoken her. Clearly, drinking a couple of glasses of water—regardless of how good they had tasted—before bed hadn’t been her smartest idea. She crawled out of bed, used the bathroom, then returned to sit on the edge of the bed.
Though she wasn’t starving, she decided to eat the banana she’d brought upstairs with her since she was awake anyway. It was just enough to fill her up without making her feel stuffed, which meant that she easily fell back asleep after crawling under the covers once again.
Daylight peeked around the edges of the curtains when Hannah next opened her eyes. Stretching, she looked at the red numbers of the alarm clock on the nightstand, a bit surprised to see it was after eight already.
She slid out of bed and, after quickly freshening up in the bathroom, she got dressed in some of the clothes from the bag then went into the nursery. The room was empty, so she went downstairs, figuring that would be where she’d find Jason.
“Morning, sunshine,” Ryan said as she walked into the kitchen a few minutes later. “How did you sleep?”
“Sunshine? Really?” Hannah asked as her gaze landed on Jason. He was strapped into a bouncy seat that sat on the counter with Maya watching over him.
“Well, since the first song I heard you sing was Heavenly Sunshine, I figured it was appropriate this morning.”
Hannah shrugged at his logic then answered his question. “I slept really well. How about you?”
“Can’t complain,” Ryan said as he lifted his mug. “And having a nice cup of coffee this morning just topped it all off.”
She gave him a small smile. “No tea?”
“No tea.” Ryan shuddered. “Not now. Not ever.”
“Morning, baby,” Hannah said as she leaned over Jason to give him a kiss. “Sorry I slept past the nurse leaving.”
“It’s not a problem,” Maya said as she stood up and motioned for Hannah to take her seat at the counter. “She only left a little while ago, and most of us were already up.”
Hannah sat down beside Ryan, pulling the bouncy seat a little closer. The fabric covering the frame was a floral pink, but Jason didn’t appear to care. He swung his fists at the colorful stuffed toys hanging from the bar attached to the seat.
“Would you like some scrambled eggs, bacon, or sausage?” Emily asked from where she stood in front of the stove.
Though she wasn’t starving, she was a bit hungry. As Hannah considered the options, her stomach seemed to rebel against the idea of bacon and sausage even though they smelled enticing. “Maybe just the eggs, thanks.”
“Toast? We made plenty,” Emily said as she gestured to a plate next to her.
“Not sure how much I’ll eat of it, but the toast sounds good too.”
“You just eat until you’re full,” Ryan said. “Don’t force yourself to finish it just because you took it. Mom’s not enforcing the must clean your plate rule these days.”
Emily waved the spatula in her hand. “I haven’t enforced that rule in quite a few years.”
More people came into the kitchen then, each giving Ryan a hug and Hannah a smile before grabbing some breakfast and finding a seat. At one point, Steve said a blessing for the food, then Emily set a plate in front of her with scrambled eggs and toast. Ryan also got a plate of food, though his held bacon and sausage as well.
“I think everyone is headed into work today,” Gabe said as he leaned against the counter, a cup of coffee in his hand. “But we’ll all be here for supper tonight.”
“That’s good,” Ryan said. “I have a feeling we’re just going to be sleeping a good chunk of the day. When I first got up, I felt like I could handle the whole day without a nap, but already I’m feeling tired again.” He turned to Hannah. “By the way, Dr. Graham phoned to say that he’d be sending a couple of lab technicians out here to do our blood draw rather than us having to go into a lab.”
“Are we supposed to be fasting beforehand?”
Ryan shrugged. “He didn’t say that we needed to. Maybe they’ll see what the results of these tests are and then do another set if they need us to fast.”
Though she knew that going without food wouldn’t be a permanent situation, it was weird how
the thought of fasting brought on a wave of anxiety. She was relieved that for this first round of blood draws, at least, they didn’t have to go without food.
“Did you see the laptop and stuff on the desk in your room?” Ryan asked.
Hannah frowned and shook her head. “I didn’t really look around.”
“Okay, well, there is a laptop there along with a phone and tablet. I’m assuming they’ve been provided by Max for you. I found similar ones in my room.”
If possible, Hannah’s frown deepened. “I can’t keep accepting so many things.”
Ryan nodded as if he understood what she meant. “I don’t feel right accepting this stuff from Max either, particularly since the things I lost—my laptop and phone—were owned by my company. They’ll replace them when I go back to work. I still have a personal laptop too, though it’s at my place in Minneapolis.”
Hannah felt an arm go around her shoulders and looked to see Emily next to her. “The thing about Max Zavardi is that when he is aware of a need, he steps in to help. Believe me, I know it can be difficult to accept that help. He has given our family so much. When I had my stroke over a year and a half ago, he stepped in to help in so many ways. From sending his plane to pick up Ryan and Kenton to arranging for private medical care.” She gave Hannah a smile. “He sees that you have a need right now, and I know that he views it as his privilege to be able to help you out.”
“Once when I thanked him for what he’d done for Mom, he asked what the point of having money was if he couldn’t use it to help people,” Ryan said. “He told me that he felt that God had given him his wealth so that he could help others out. The only thing he asked from me as thanks for his help was to pass it on. That if I was ever given the opportunity to help someone, that I would take it.”
Emily gave her shoulder a squeeze before stepping away to clean up their plates. “There will come a point when you won’t need so much help, but until then, take what help you need from Max or from us, and don’t worry that we might think you’re taking advantage of us, because you’re not.”
A Little Ray of Sunshine: A Christian Romance (The Callaghans & McFaddens Book 7) Page 12