Page 89 of Just One Kiss

She hesitated, then shrugged. "All right. Good night, Jake."

"Good night," he said, happy she hadn't said good-bye. It gave him hope that he could turn things around. Because he intended to do just that.

He would tell her everything, but first he had to tell someone else.

Chapter Twenty

Hannah wokeup Tuesday morning to the ringing of her doorbell, a small boy jumping on her bed, and a splitting headache. She'd gotten stress headaches ever since her dad had died, but she hadn’t had one this bad in a while. Apparently, having sex with Jake had not been the stress release it should have been.

Actually, it was the after-sex part that had created all the tension, as well as the sleepless night she'd spent trying to figure out if she was willing to push Jake away because of something he didn't want to talk about that had happened twelve years ago.

She still hadn't come to a conclusion on that. Thankfully, she had way too many distractions to worry about it at the moment. She heard voices downstairs and realized that her mom was talking to someone. Her mother had been on the pull-out couch in her living room when she'd gotten home last night and said she would just spend the night there, so she didn't have to go out in the cold. She'd offered her mom her bed, but that invitation had been declined, and she'd been too tired to argue.

"Is Santa here?" Brett asked, drawing her attention back to him.

"No, that's not Santa. He won't come until tonight, long after you go to sleep." She slid out of bed and threw on a robe. Her tension eased when she recognized the familiar voice downstairs. "That's your Uncle Tyler. Want to meet your mom's brother?"

Brett nodded and followed her down to the living room. When she saw her brother's smile, happiness flooded through her. He'd made it home. At least, one thing had gone right.

"Tyler," she said, giving him a big hug. Her little brother was five years younger than her but six inches taller, with brown hair and her mother's green eyes. "You look good."

"You don't," he said dryly. "Bad night?"

"You could say that."

Tyler turned to Brett. "Hi, Brett. I'm Tyler."

"Mommy said you like baseball."

Silence followed Brett's unexpected words.

All three of them were shocked that Kelly had spoken of Tyler at all. He'd been nine when she'd left home.

"I do like baseball," Tyler said, a thick note of emotion in his voice.

"So do I," Brett said. "Mommy throws me the ball sometimes. She says I have a good arm."

Another painful reminder that Kelly might not have been present in their lives, but she had certainly been present in her son's life, and Brett needed his mother.

"We'll have to play catch sometime," Tyler said.

"But not today, not in the snow," her mom said in a decidedly cheerful voice. "I'm going to make chocolate chip pancakes in honor of Tyler, because they're his favorite. Brett, do you want to help me?"

Brett gave an enthusiastic smile and took her mom's hand.

As they left the room, she turned to her brother. "I thought you were going to call when you got a flight."

"I figured I'd surprise you just in case the flight got canceled or delayed again, but I was able to beat the storm." He paused, giving her a speculative look. "I have to admit I didn't expect to find Mom sleeping on your couch. Is there a reason she couldn't drive home?"

She gave him a reassuring smile. "It's nothing bad. She was watching Brett for me last night, and she just decided to stay over. She's actually doing really well, Tyler. Since she decided to meet her grandson, she has really changed for the better. It's like she remembered how to be a mother once she realized she was a grandmother."

"That's great news," he said with relief.

"It really is. I've had trouble trusting that she's okay and not about to go off the wagon again."

"What else is new?"

She made a face at him. "I know. I'm very good at worrying about things that might not happen. Anyway, I think she's trying her best to be our mom again, although she's still clueless. You don't like chocolate chip pancakes."

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