Page 107 of Just One Kiss

He kissed her again and again until they heard shouts and saw lights. And then they went down the road as the police and fire department put together a makeshift bridge to cross the river.

Seeing the branch that Jake and his father had come across made her stomach flip over. They both could have lost their lives. Thankfully, they hadn't. "I can't believe you crossed over the river using that branch. You really are fearless."

"More like extremely motivated," he said, gazing back at her. "You were worth the risk, Hannah."

She met his gaze. "You're worth the risk, too, Jake. I'm sorry it took me so long to see that."

"I'm just glad we're there now."

"Just in time for Christmas," she said, as she kissed him again.

Chapter Twenty-Four

It tookthe rescuers over five hours to clear the tree and the road and put together a bridge safe enough to transport everyone out of the area. While Hannah thought it might be a good idea for Kelly to go to the hospital, her sister insisted that she could recover just as well at Hannah's house. She wanted to have both her children with her for Christmas. With Dr. McKenna concurring that Kelly and Violet would be fine to recover at home, Hannah had no choice but to give in, but she was determined to keep an eye on both of them.

Since Jake's truck was completely disabled, Jake and his father took her car back to the medical center, so she could ride in the ambulance with her sister and the baby. Jake told her he'd meet her at her house as soon as he got his dad home.

"What do you think Mom is going to say when she sees me?" Kelly asked, as the ambulance took them home.

Since Hannah knew both paramedics, they’d allowed her to ride in the back with her sister while they sat in the front.

“I have no idea,” she said. “But Mom will be very happy that you're safe. She'll also fall in love with Violet in one minute, which is how long it took her to fall in love with Brett."

While Brodie had contacted her mother, letting her know that both of her daughters and her granddaughter were safe, she had yet to get a signal on her phone to allow her to do so. But they would be home soon and then the whole family could celebrate together.

"You said there was a lot I didn't know about Mom," Kelly said. "Want to fill me in?"

"It's a long story."

"Give me the highlights."

"Okay. You know that Mom started drinking after Dad died."

"Yes. She was falling asleep with a bottle of wine every night. It was disgusting."

"That was nothing compared to what happened after you left. She completely fell apart. She moved on to harder alcohol and drugs."

"Oh, my God! I had no idea," Kelly murmured, her gaze shocked. "Who was taking care of you and Tyler?"

"Me," she said simply. "And for a very short time, we went into foster care."

"No." Horror moved through Kelly's eyes now. "I can't believe that."

"The social worker said she tried to find you, but she couldn't. I'm not sure how hard she looked, because after about two weeks, Aunt Joan showed up to take care of us. She stuck around for six months until Mom got her act together. Mom got better after that. She held it together for the last three years I was in high school, but a month before graduation, she fell off the wagon. That started another downward spiral. By then, I knew what to do, and I was old enough to take care of Tyler. Eventually, I took Tyler with me when I moved to Denver for college. I had to get him away from Mom."

Her sister shook her head, regret lining her face. "I am so sorry, Hannah. I can't imagine what you went through. I never would have believed that Mom would fall apart like that. If I'd known, I would have come back."

"You should have known, because you should have checked on us," she said, not willing to give Kelly a pass on everything. "I get that you were angry with Mom. She blamed you for Dad's death, which was unfair and really horrible. But at some point, you should have been there for me and Tyler. We lost our dad, too, and we were a lot younger than you."

"You lost him because of me," Kelly said, her voice laced with pain.

"I never blamed you for that. You didn't know there was going to be an accident. It wasn't your fault. I told Mom that."

"You're wrong, Hannah. It was my fault."

"Just because you stayed out too late doesn't make you responsible."

"What about if I was driving the car—would that make me responsible?"

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