Page 26 of Twins for the Silver Foxes

Hannah pressedher lips together into a flat line but followed Arthur and Liddy into the kitchen. I tagged along behind Ryland, who was trying to record without Hannah noticing. He’d set up a camera in the kitchen to capture her surprise, but the man was never satisfied with just one angle.

Arthur heldopen the door and bowed slightly. “After you.”

“What’s going on?”Hannah almost stopped but a nudge from Ryland kept her moving forward.

She spottedthe massive array of dishes spread across the kitchen island and slammed to a halt. “What’s this?”

“Surprise!”I rushed around to see her face.

Her mouth hung open,her eyes wide and innocent. She raised both hands and covered her mouth. “What did you do?”

“We thought you deserved a party.”A surge of emotion battled to close my throat. “Sorry about the runaround. We wanted to make your last night special since Deena’s coming back tomorrow.”

Hannah deflated at the reminder.“You cooked all this?” She aimed the question at Arthur.

Grinning, he replied, “Most of it.”

We waitedfor the squeal of happiness but it never came. Hannah walked around the island and examined the dishes that filled the room with delicious aromas. Instead of delight in her eyes, I saw what looked like frustration. Disappointment? That had to be it. She was as disappointed as we were that her job ended tomorrow.

Ifshe truly didn’t want things to end, then we were all on the same train of thought. Ryland, Arthur, and I had a longdiscussion while Arthur cooked. We’d all come to the same conclusion. We wanted Hannah to stay, but we hesitated to broach the subject before knowing her feelings.

Lookingat her now made it clear. I tugged my left earlobe, the signal we’d all agreed on giving if one of us wanted to make the move to bring up the discussion.

“There’s something else.”I helped Liddy onto a stool and bracketed her in with my arms. Hannah raised her head, took in me and Liddy, and a bit of the frown eased. “We’ve been talking about your position here. Now, we promised Deena we’d not replace her, and we will hold to that promise.”

A blank expressionfell over her face. It was so sudden and absolute that I almost fumbled my next words.

Ryland took over for me.“We’d like you to stay… as a guest.”

“We love having you both here.”Arthur joined the conversation. He’d hit close with that one word: love. Was that what we all felt for her? It would be a first for me.

Tears gatheredin Hannah’s eyes. Her face crumpled and she covered it with her hands. Tears of happiness? No. I’d seen those before. This was the other kind. Tears of heartbreak. But why?

“Hannah?”I set Liddy on the floor and rounded the counter. “What’s wrong?” I held out my arms to embrace her.

She heldme off with a palm to my chest. “Don’t.”

“What’s happening here?”Ryland sounded as confused as I felt and Arthur looked.

“I can’t stay.”Hannah scooped Liddy into her arms and held her between us, almost as though she needed comfort or a shield. “You’ve all been wonderful to me and to Liddy.”

Liddy squirmeduntil she faced Hannah and put her little hands on her mother’s damp cheeks. “What’s wrong?”

A questionwe’d all like to know. I dropped my arms to my sides. My stomach churned. The rich foods waiting for us smelled like defeat. “Hannah, please talk to us.”

She shook her head,sending hair flying around her face. “This is our last night in the house. Tomorrow morning, we’re going home.”

“This could be your home.”I considered pushing. Reminding her how much Liddy loved it here, and of all the things we could offer them both, was the kind of dick move I made in business dealings with assholes. I’d never treat Hannah that way. I wanted her towantto stay. Staying out of obligation or because of what we gave her defeated every emotion I’d felt these last few months. Our nights together meant nothing if we had to bribe her.

“Why are you crying, Hannah?”Arthur moved to stand beside me. Ryland stayed back, probably realizing that all three of us in such close quarters might push Hannah further away. “What can we do to help?”

“Nothing.”She hugged Liddy close. “Just let us go home, back to our lives.”Let her forget this summer ever happened. She didn’t have to say the words for me to hear them spoken in her sweet tenor.

We’d givenher all of ourselves, had wanted to, and I’d thought she felt the same. When did it change?

“Is therenothing we can say or do to convince you otherwise?” Arthur asked.

She hiccupped a sob.“Thank you for being so good to me. And to Liddy. We’ll never forget your generosity. The only thing I need is for you to leave me alone.” Hannah fled the room with Liddy wailing that she wanted to stay.

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