Page 16 of Once Upon a Summer Night

And for a long while, that had worked to keep the blues away.

But then she became a firefighter and longed to talk to the firemen she’d grown up with. Or she’d see other couples holding hands and would think of Chase. See groups of sisters and mothers out having coffee or brunch and found herself missing hers something fierce. These were some of the bigger reasons she’d chosen to stay away. Because she feared that if she came back and got to experience all of those things again, she might not be able to leave a second time.

She’d be stuck here forever, just like Aunt Faye.

No one else seemed to give it a second thought that their aunt had given up everything to come and be their stand-in mother when they were kids, but Hannah always had. Not that she would have traded her aunt for the world, but she always felt bad that Faye had put her entire life on hold to come help raise her nieces. She’d had a great career and a steady beau in Michigan, even a small house of her own. Then the car accident happened, and she’d walked away from it all to move to Bourbon Falls.

And here she sat with Hannah, yet to escape.

Though maybe that’s what she wanted. Or maybe that’s just what everyone expected. Regardless, Hannah didn’t want to end up in the same boat. She wanted to keep her freedom to choose where life took her, without feeling tied down to one place.

“…your sisters, they never did like pancakes as much as you.” Aunt Faye smiled. “It was nice having an excuse to make them again this morning. Did you get enough to eat?”

“Are you kidding? Oh my gosh, yes. I swear, that had to have been the biggest breakfast I’ve had in years.”

Hannah should have known her aunt would spoil them. She awoke to the smell of bacon wafting down the hall and was surprised to see that Noah had let her sleep in until almost nine. Usually, he’d be crawling into her bed by seven, asking if he could watch TV in her room. Ever since Beth passed, he’d been more clingy than usual. But this morning, Aunt Faye had heard him rise and put him to work in the kitchen decorating pancakes with blueberries and chocolate chips.

And since his stack included far more chocolate chips than fruit, he was now running around the yard with Rex, burning off a late-morning sugar high. But hey, the kid was smiling—honest-to-goodness smiling—so Hannah wasn’t going to feel one iota of guilt about him having chocolate in his breakfast. She just hoped those smiles would persist.

“Aunt Faye, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, dear. What is it?”

The sound of a car approaching made her substitute thewhy did you stay?question for one less lengthy and personal. “How did you convince Dad to finally get a dog?”

Her aunt smiled. “I had an acquaintance who was going into a nursing home, and knew she had a dog that needed to be rehomed. It was shortly after you left, and your father, he wasn’t handling it well. So, I brought Rex here, hoping maybe he could offer your father some emotional support. Any other time, your father would have had a conniption. As it was, he walked in, glared at Rex when he greeted him at the door, and kept on walking.”

“He let him stay?”

“I think he was too distracted with his worry for you to argue about it. He’d sit on the porch every evening, waiting for you to come home. And I would send Rex out to sit with him, though he could tell your dad wasn’t initially a fan. But that dog was determined to worm his way into Stephen’s heart. He’d go out and inch closer to him, night after night. By the end of the third week, he’d made it to your father’s side. I remember standing in the living room, holding my breath. But instead of shooing him away, your father simply shook his head and placed his hand on Rex’s head. Rex has been by his side on that porch ever since.” She looked to him now, brows tugged together with concern. “Poor old boy’s been a little out of sorts, with your father in Warsaw.”

“Yeah, I can imagine.” What she couldn’t imagine was her father spending all those nights, waiting for her to come back. Why would he, when he was the one who told her not to bother?

“Chase!” Noah called suddenly, sending the ducks nearest to them running.

“Hey, Noah. Looks like you’ve made yourself some new friends.”

Hannah turned in her seat to see her old friend approaching, a carryout bag from the Sweet Mash diner in his hand. “Leftovers from breakfast?”

“Nope.” He grinned. “Had to stop and get some pies before we head to Warsaw, my strategy for keeping the peace. One’s for you, and one’s for the chief.”

“Oh?” Full from breakfast or not, she was suddenly hungry for Gina Pickett’s infamous sugar cream pie. “What flavors did you get?”

“Blueberry for him, and you know darned well what I got you.”

“Are you suggesting I have a favorite?”

He arched a brow and opened the bag just enough for her to see the top pie’s label: sugar cream.I’ll be darned, he did remember. Grinning, Hannah gave him a high five. “I told you you’re the bestest.”

“I know. I was just pretending to be modest yesterday.” He winked and came around to sit between the Brooks women. “So, what’s the plan, ladies? Are all of us going to see the chief, or just Hannah and me?”

“Hannah thinks it might be best for Noah to stay here with me,” Aunt Faye said. “Give him more time to burn off some of that—”

“Hey, Aunt Faye?” Noah raced up to them, slightly out of breath. “Can I hold a duck?”

She offered him a warm smile. “They aren’t too fond of being held, but you’re welcome to try. Just promise to hold them gently and aim their beak away from you.”

“I will!” he said and raced off toward the flock. Startled quacks and flapping wings sounded around them.

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