The Memory Keeper: A heartwarming, feel-good romance

by Jenny Hale

  “Sometimes it isn’t about doing what you want to do. But that aside, it’s more about the financial security, anyway.”

  “That’s it?” she asked.

  “Financial security is a pretty big deal when I have Noah to think about,” he replied.

  “Well, I know, but if security is all you’re looking for, couldn’t you get that working at the farm?”

  By the set of his jaw, she seemed to be frustrating him, and she wondered if, despite what he’d said, this had more to do with making Alison proud than job security. “I’m not suggesting you work at the farm. I’m just trying to figure out why your job is so important to you that you spend time away from your son and refuse to take on your birthright.”

  “You wouldn’t understand,” he said with an exhale.

  “Try me.”

  Liam began walking. Hannah ran to get in front of him, stopping him.

  “I’m asking because I don’t understand, not because I can’t understand,” she said, stammering when he strode past her, clearly exasperated. She stumbled to try to get ahead of him again. “Because I think you’re pretty awesome, and you’ve been fantastic with Noah. It makes no sense to me why Noah can’t see that side of you every day.”

  Liam stopped, giving her his guarded attention.

  Hannah reached out and took his hands. “Talk to me,” she urged.

  He hung his head, his gaze moving across the gravel path.

  Hannah took a step closer, intertwining her fingers with his. “What is it?”

  “I’ve failed him.”

  His statement was like a punch in the gut. She realized that while he put a ton of pressure on himself for everything else, he’d also put those same demands on himself as a father, and his fears were clouding reality.

  “I don’t think you have,” she said. “I see him warming up to you. He just needs your permission to do it, and the way you give him that permission is by spending time with him.”

  To her surprise, he pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. “You make it seem so effortless.”

  “You don’t have to try so hard. Just be with him. Let me help you some more with Noah,” she said.

  He leaned back and looked down at her.

  “The Spring Festival’s coming up. Why don’t we take him together?” She’d thought about working at the shop during the festival, but she could probably figure something else out. Perhaps her mother could fill in for her and help Georgia. “Let’s give Noah another opportunity to see how much fun you are.”

  “Thank you for having faith in me.”

  “It’s easy to have faith in you. You’re a wonderful person.”

  He opened his mouth as if he were going to tell her something, but then it seemed he thought better of it. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her nose. “Shall we go back in with the others?”

  As they walked back down the tire-tread-shaped dirt path, Liam didn’t let go of her hand.

  “Thank you for allowing me to take photos at the farm today,” she said.

  “It’s no problem. I’m just glad I could help fix the issue at work.” He stopped walking. “I should take you out for a drink in the city tonight to celebrate. Would you be up for it?”

  “I’d love to.”

  As they reached the end of the path, she had no idea where it would take them from here.

  After the photo shoot, Hannah went to see Gran. When she got to the end of Gran’s floor, she met her nurse, Lanelle, at the door to her vacant hospital room. The emptiness was odd, causing Hannah to instantly worry.

  “Where’s Gran?” Hannah asked, her heart plummeting into her stomach at the thought that something might have gone wrong and Gran had been rushed somewhere. Since their last visit, she’d gotten caught up in registering herself and Christie for dance lessons, chatting with her mom over coffee, and doing her photo shoot when she could’ve been here. She’d never forgive herself if something had happened to Gran.

  “Don’t worry, sweet pea,” Lanelle said with a smile that enveloped her entire face, making it impossible to have any concern. “Ms. Faye is walking around the unit.”

  “Wait, walking?” Hannah asked, as a plume of hope rose in her chest.

  “Yep. She’s been doing so well on her new meds that we have her on an exercise regimen. No walker at all.”

  “Really?” Hannah nearly shrieked. She couldn’t help herself. She threw her arms around Lanelle, who gave her a big squeeze right back.

  “She’s doing great.”

  “How great? Like coming-home-soon great?”

  Lanelle let out a laugh of happiness that ballooned from her contagiously. “We’ve got her on some new heart medication, and if she tolerates it, she can go home.” She held up a finger. “On one condition, however. She won’t be able to work. I know that’s gonna make her crazy, but she just can’t be on her feet like that. She’ll have to take it easy and be sure to take her medication.”

  “She’ll never agree,” Hannah worried aloud.

  “She has to.”

  If they could just make enough money to hire Georgia, they’d have enough help to do the work, and Gran could still pop by and enjoy the shop. Hannah didn’t know if she’d be able to make it happen, but she’d do everything in her power to try.

  Twenty-Seven

  Hannah had done her hair and makeup, and put on the new sweater and boots she’d gotten at a boutique in town, along with her most stylish pair of jeans. She stared at herself in the full-length mirror, as she fiddled with her dangly earrings. When Liam had mentioned drinks, had he meant it to be a date? Or were they just running out to grab a beer at the local bar? She hoped it was a date.

  Hannah headed down the hallway to check on Georgia before she left.

  “Oh, you look like a million bucks!” Georgia was dressed up more than usual, with her hair pulled into a clip, fine tendrils falling delicately around her face. She’d powdered her nose and was wearing lip-gloss.

  “You look nice too. Are you going somewhere?”

  “While you and Liam were outside at the farm, Mary and I couldn’t stop talking—she’s so nice. She was headed into town to grab a few groceries, and since you and Liam are going out, she asked me to come over for dinner. She’s picking me up in about ten minutes.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Hannah said.

  “She’s letting me bring Jerry too. I’ve got his leash, so he won’t get lost in the fields chasing after rabbits.”

  Hannah laughed. “It sounds like you’re going to have a nice night.”

  “Yes!” she said, and then she changed gears. “Hey, before you go, I wanted to ask you about the flower collection in the room I’m staying in.”

  “My shadow box?”

  “Yeah. It’s beautiful. I was thinking, wouldn’t it be great if we did the whole shop in a vintage floral theme? We could have a whole wall of these shadow boxes opposite the basket wall. With a mural at the back and the old record player out where people could see it, it would be amazing. I could take photos of the arrangements and do up some artsy prints for the tables and display window. I can put a filter on them to make them look vintage…”

  “That sounds amazing! It would go so well with the historic town mural I was trying to get Ethan to paint,” Hannah said. “Gran used to give names to different arrangements. Wouldn’t it be cool if we did the catalog up so each arrangement has a keepsake name?”

  “I love your ideas,” Georgia replied. “I’ve already called and gotten a turnaround time on the prints we need for the Spring Festival.”

  “Oh, that’s so great!” There was a knock at the front door and Hannah rushed over to get it. “I can’t wait to chat more about this. I’ll catch you later.” She opened the door and greeted Liam, stepping out into the night.

  “Where are we?” Hannah asked, as she and Liam walked uphill on a steep path through a residential area of Nashville.

  “You’ll see,” he said, shifting the backpack that dan
gled from his shoulder.

  When he’d mentioned having drinks in the city, she’d put on her new boots, knowing that the flat heel would be best for walking the city blocks. She was glad for the comfort of them now. They’d parked the car on a side road and taken to the asphalt trail that paralleled the road. They rounded the corner to face another hill, this time flanked by a grassy bank.

  “Last one,” he said as they began the ascent. “I promise it’s worth it.”

  They climbed the final leg of their journey.

  “Close your eyes,” Liam said, leading her by the hand. “Hold on to me.”

  Hannah took careful steps forward across the grass, her eyes squeezed shut, wondering what all this was about. She didn’t mind though, with Liam so close behind her, his hands gently on her shoulders, his face near her ear.

  “Ready? Open your eyes.”

  Hannah gasped at the view. “Where are we?” she asked again, breathless at the city skyline in front of her, orange and red streaking the sky like a violent protest to the sun’s descent.

  “We’re seven hundred forty-four feet above sea level,” he said from behind her. “It’s one of the highest spots in Nashville.” He stepped back, pulling out a large plaid blanket from his backpack. It shimmied in a wave as he shook it loose and set it on the ground. Then he took out a camping mug, handing it to her. “Have a seat.” When she did so, he draped another blanket over her legs before retrieving a thermos and filling her mug, as well as one for himself.

  She leaned over it and inhaled the sweet chocolaty scent. “Hot cocoa?”

  He held up a finger to let her know he had something else. Then he rummaged around in the sack and set out a fold-up wooden tray, emptying bags of cheese and crackers, cookies, and rounds of bread, and arranging them into a platter.

  “I have marshmallows too,” he said.

  “You’ve thought of everything.”

  “More than you know,” he said, holding up a quarter. “Want to guess which hand?” He rubbed his palms together quickly and pulled them apart into two fists. “I’ve been practicing this,” he said with a laugh.

  Hannah had no idea which of his hands held the quarter, but she took a guess and tapped his right hand. He opened it. Empty.

  “The other one’s probably empty too, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “Nope.”

  He opened his left hand, but instead of the quarter, a round clear pendant had replaced it. Hannah plucked it from his hand and held it up. Inside the transparent circle was a tiny pressed flower.

  “I saw it in town the other day, and it reminded me of your collection, so I bought it for you. It sort of looks like a butterfly, doesn’t it?”

  She peered down at it, thinking about what Gran had said about caterpillars and butterflies. The time she’d spent with Liam and Noah at the tire swing, playing baseball, reading Noah’s bedtime story, and then dancing in the kitchen—she’d made more memories in the last few days than she had in years.

  “It’s so pretty. Thank you. I wish I could wear it right now.”

  “I thought of that too,” he said, grabbing a box from his backpack and handing it to her.

  Hannah opened it to find a delicate silver chain necklace.

  Liam helped her get it out of the box. He unfastened it and she slid the pendant on. Then he got on his knees and scooted behind her as she lifted her hair so he could fasten it around her neck.

  “Where did the quarter go?” she asked, lovingly adjusting the chain.

  “I have no idea,” he said with a laugh. “I tossed it somewhere in the grass.”

  Hannah laughed, fiddling with the pendant, getting acquainted with the feel of it around her neck.

  “Thank you for thinking of me,” she said.

  “Ah, it happens a lot lately.” He came back around beside her.

  Hannah leaned over and kissed his cheek, lingering there, wanting to kiss his lips but unsure of whether to make the move. Slowly, he turned his head, his lips brushing hers, his breath intoxicating, the warmth of him as his hands found her arms making her lightheaded.

  “The problem with kissing you,” he whispered, “is that every time I do it, it gets harder to wait until the next time.”

  He pulled back, and she took in a steadying breath.

  “And that’s terrifying,” he said.

  “It shouldn’t be terrifying to care for someone,” she said.

  He sat back, leaning on his hands, confusion written across his face. “I carry this constant weight of needing to make sure that I honor the memory of my wife. But I couldn’t get you out of my head, and all I could think about was how soon is too soon? Have I proved to Alison how much her life meant to me yet? It makes moving forward very difficult.”

  “Remember when we talked about how the universe lines things up? Maybe that’s why I got into the car with you at the airport. Perhaps it was a sign to say it’s okay.”

  “I stood there in that shop the other day, staring at the pendant and wondering if I should buy it, and I kept thinking about what might have happened if I’d have mustered the courage to talk to you instead of your friend Morgan all those years ago.”

  She gazed into his emerald eyes.

  Liam put one hand on her face and drew her in, pressing his lips to hers as his other hand moved behind her head, laying her down on the blanket. Under a deep-purple sky, the sun having dipped behind the city skyline, his mouth moved on hers urgently, the feel of it like heaven. Her fingers found his and she laced them together, their breath mixing as their lips moved perfectly together, the clean, spicy scent of him intoxicating, and Hannah knew she didn’t ever want to be without this feeling. This was the start of something huge.

  Twenty-Eight

  Hannah sat outside in a rocking chair on Gran’s porch with her cup of coffee, her laptop on her legs. The morning sunlight filtered past the budding trees in the back yard, giving them all a golden shine. It was shaping up to be a glorious day.

  “Hey,” Georgia said, coming outside and dropping down in the chair next to Hannah, holding her own cup of joe. Jerry sniffed his way around the porch.

  “I just sent the gorgeous photos you took to my art department at work, so they can get them cropped and filtered for the magazine spread. And, uh…” Her heart thumped in her chest just saying it. She swallowed.

  Georgia leaned toward her. “What?”

  “I sent in my resignation.”

  Georgia’s eyes grew to the size of quarters.

  It was the strangest thing. She’d sent over the photos for the new feature, explaining the vision to Amanda and how the new images could replace certain previous ones. Then, as if on autopilot, she opened another email to her boss and told him she’d made the decision to explore other opportunities. She’d sat there stunned for a second, before she realized that her brain had just had to catch up with her heart.

  “You what?” Georgia asked.

  Hannah nodded in response to Georgia’s question, fear and excitement like a whirlwind inside her, making her feel alive. “I gave them my two weeks, but when I said I needed to be here for Gran, my boss responded, telling me that I’d never taken a day off in the entire time I’d worked there until now, and I’d been on call seven days a week for years, so he was going to give me paid leave for the month. Then he wished me luck and happiness in my new life. My assistant director, Amanda, will take over immediately. I couldn’t believe it.”

  “How do you feel?” Georgia asked.

  “Nervous,” she replied honestly. “But amazing. It’s time to start a new chapter in my life.”

  Georgia crossed her legs underneath her in her chair. “You know, I’ve been thinking the same thing,” she said. “I’ve been holding on to this need to find people like me, grasping at anything to pin down some reason why my father dropped off those photos. But at the end of the day, my parents signed the veto and didn’t want me to find them. Maybe it’s because, while they’re decent people, and wanted me to see wh
ere I came from, they aren’t actually my people. I look around at you and everyone I’ve met here in such a short time, and I feel more myself with y’all than I ever have. And I’m arranging flowers, taking photos, designing the shop—all the things I’m good at. It just feels right to stay here.”

  “I wish I could guarantee that you could work at The Memory Keeper,” Hannah said honestly.

  “Even if I can’t, I know this is where I’m supposed to be. I’ll figure it out.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Hannah corrected her.

  Georgia reached over and gave her a hug. And Hannah knew that this was where she belonged too.

  “Oh my goodness!” Hannah said, when she came into the shop after stopping by the hospital to see Gran. Liam was on the brand-new rolling ladder he’d converted for them, adjusting the wheel on the old track. “That’s gorgeous, Liam!”

  “Surprise,” he said. “I’m glad you like it.” He pulled a pencil from behind his ear, marking something and then putting it back, then looked down at her with an affectionate grin. He pushed against the track and snapped a piece of the ladder in place.

  “Any evidence of Speckles?” Hannah asked Georgia as she peered out the back door.

  “It looked like some of the milk was gone, but I can’t tell for sure,” Georgia replied.

  Hannah went over to the computer and turned it on, the screen coming to life. She opened the email and perused the incoming messages, stopping at the electronic bill for the rent. She opened it, her good cheer sliding away. “Look at this,” she said to Georgia, pulling up the latest remittance on the shop computer. “The lease just went up again.”

  Liam peered down at her, quiet, interested.

  “There’s no way we’ll have enough to cover the cost of the lease payment and turn a profit this month.” Hannah felt deflated, like everything they’d worked for so far might be for nothing.

  Liam climbed down the ladder, and set his tools and the pencil he’d been using on the counter.