Page 25 of Once Upon a Summer Night

“I sent a message to Mr. Wade earlier. He’s agreed to join us for dinner Tuesday, to discuss your case.”

Hannah sat back, momentarily speechless. “Wow, I really appreciate you reaching out to him. But to be honest, I’m not sure I can afford Mr. Wade.”

“We thought as much. Which is why we’d like to help you cover the expenses.”

Hannah looked to the table, trying to decide how to respond. Because any help she could get would be tremendous. She just didn’t want them getting the wrong impression.

“Guys, I didn’t come here asking for a handout. I came looking for suggestions. Ideas. Guidance.”

“We don’t doubt that, dear,” Aunt Faye said with her ever-gentle smile. “But without a lawyer, we worry that your chances of winning the custody battle might not be so great. And we know from watching several friends over the years that legal fees can quickly add up.”

“Which,” her father added, “is why we’ve come up with a few things that you could help us with, in exchange for our offer. A proposition, if you will.”

Hannah studied the pair through narrowed eyes, both sitting with angelic expressions on their faces. Too bad she knew darned well that whatever this proposition was would likely come with strings attached. Many strings.

But did she really have a choice? They were offering to provide the financial support she needed to fight to keep Noah, and wasn’t that the most important thing right now? Besides, they were already offering more support than she would have dared dreamed to receive when they rolled into town yesterday. So long as their proposition wasn’t entirely unreasonable, Hannah knew it was time to swallow her pride and take whatever assistance she could get.

“Go on, I’m listening.”

*

Chase devoted Sundayto doing yard work, his ego needing some space from Hannah to allow time for healing. He’d never been so embarrassed over a kiss before in his life. And leave it to her to turn the whole thing into a joke. Better than the alternative, he supposed.

No, what would have been better is if she’d shifted her mouth over mine and turned it into a real kiss.

He pushed the thought away and worked to mow the straightest lines possible across his backyard. Better to keep his focus on the task at hand than the woman he was jonesing for a few miles away. Especially when he still had no idea how she felt about him.

Won’t matter if she doesn’t stay.

Or wouldn’t it? They could try to do the long-distance thing, he supposed. Not ideal, but how bad could it be, taking turns driving to see one another? Mia and Alex had done it for a while; they could, too. But then, Mia didn’t have a seven-year-old who needed to stay close to home for school or sports or whatever kids that age did, either.

The tunes playing in his earbuds dimmed as he received a text notification. He knew before looking it had to be from Hannah.

Come see me before family dinner tonight. Need to talk to you about something.

Now, what did she have planned? More teasing about the non-kiss they’d accidentally shared, or something else? He sent a quick response that he would, then continued with the meticulous care of his lawn and landscaping, stalling as long as he could.

Chase’s ego just wasn’t ready for any more dings this weekend.

At five o’clock, his cell phone rang, just as he was climbing into his truck. He assumed it was Hannah, calling to see where the heck he was. Instead, the phone number belonging to their greenest fireman, Austin Davis, appeared on his screen. “Y-ello?”

“Sorry to bother you, Cap’n, but we’ve got a problem. Kenny’s gout flared up again and we just got called out to a barn fire east of town. Bill wants to know if you can assist.”

Chase snapped his seatbelt into place and turned the engine over. “I’ll be right there.”

Any other evening, he would have been irritated by their lack of planning. Today, it came in handy for his battered ego. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t still be lecturing them all for not alerting him sooner about Kenny’s condition.

Thankfully, the station was only a handful of blocks from his house. In no time he was jumping out of one truck and into the other, his gear waiting for him onboard. As Bill Falco took the wheel in place of Kenny, Chase suited up, then sent Hannah a quick text about the change in plans.

She responded,Damn. Okay, but promise you’ll call me after.

Unfortunately, Chase knew by eight o’clock he wasn’t getting a chance to talk with Hannah that night. No sooner had their crew finished with the barn fire than they got called out to a three-car accident on US 30 just north of town. Tempers had been heated, the culprit suspected of being more focused on her cell phone than the road, and it’d taken all the public safety personnel on site to defuse tensions and tend to the minor injuries. Then, in the midst of all that, Austin walked face-first into the metal door hanging open on one of their truck’s side-mount toolboxes. That meant more paperwork for the accident writeup and an automatic trip to the Warsaw ER.

Needless to say, Sunday became one hell of a long, unplanned night at work.

He’d texted Hannah while in limbo at the ER—four stitches in the temple for Austin—but got no response and assumed she had long since gone to bed. After making it back to the station well past midnight, rather than drive home to get some sleep before having to turn around and come back, Chase showered and crashed there for the night. The requested chat with Hannah would have to wait until morning.

Despite his fatigue, though, sleep refused to greet him. Nothing new, but damn, he wished for once he could just fall asleep. Instead, he laid in his bunk, staring up at the ceiling, going through his breathing techniques while memories involving Hannah circled through his mind.

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