Page 67 of Once Upon a Summer Night

“Don’t you dare stand here and tell me what I do or don’t deserve. That’s for me to decide.Me.” He pounded a finger into his chest. “I expected more from my best friend than to be handed a bunch of lies, all because she’s too damned scared to accept the real truth.”

Color flooded her cheeks. “Which is?”

“That you love me, goddammit. But clearly you have some growing up to do before you can admit that.”

Lightning crashed nearby, the following thunder nearly deafening. But the storm was the least of his worries. Again—she was running away from them all again. Furious that he’d been fool enough to trust her with his heart a second time, Chase grabbed his keys and made for the front door. This time, he was the one walking away.

“Good luck with your adoption case. Sorry I won’t be inIllinoisto cheer you on.”

Chapter Twenty

Hannah was halfwayto the farm before her shock and anger started subsiding. Why? Why couldn’t he have just let her say her piece and accepted the breakup for what it was? But oh no, this was Chase, who insisted he knew her better.Knewthat she loved him.

Well, of course she loved him! Why else would she be trying so hard to spare him from being tied to a stupid, long-distance relationship with a selfish, torn woman who didn’t know which way was up anymore?

Lightning forked across the sky, bathing the interior of her vehicle in white, its crack of thunder nearly instantaneous. Hannah stepped on it, wanting to get past the tall pines beside her in case that lightning drew any closer. This storm was shaping up to be a nasty one.

Just like the emotional storm raging inside her.

She made it to the farm unscathed a few minutes later and hurried inside to wrap Noah in a tight hug. He laughed, clearly thinking she was playing, and hugged her back even tighter. Usually, his hugs made her feel better; tonight, this one nearly broke her. Their visit had brought him so much joy after a period of darkness, and she was about to take it all away to chase her dream job. On the brink of tears, she started a tickle war. He’d be too busy laughing and trying to escape to see she was on the brink of despair.

His peals of laughter began to soothe her distraught soul, and she prayed with everything she had that he would one day forgive her and that, even after they left, the attorney her father and aunt had connected them with would help make his adoption a reality. That somehow, some way, the good Lord would protect her happy little family. When Noah cried “uncle,” pleading that he needed to go number two, she released him with a chuckle and remained on the floor, afraid to move. Afraid to let this moment of happiness slip way.

Why did it feel like everything was slipping away?

Because I don’t want to leave him.

The truth hit her hard and fast. As sure as she was even an hour ago that leaving was the absolute right thing to do, now she stared up at the ceiling, full of doubt. It felt like some kind of awful, twisted, breakup buyer’s remorse.

But letting her heart decide was a bad decision, right? She needed to be logical, plan ahead. Protective of her career and her little family.

The room illuminated with a flash of lightning. Then another. Their trailing thunderclaps collided, the sound rattling Aunt Faye’s china cabinet in the next room. Just as quiet descended on the space once more, the sound of crutches moving across the farmhouse’s old, wood floors stole her temporary moment of peace.

“Hannah?”

She breathed out a defeated huff. Her father’s timing couldn’t have been worse. Then again, had she not avoided him after their last fight, they probably wouldn’t be preparing for round two when her emotions were so raw. “Yeah, Dad?”

She prayed he hadn’t heard the shakiness in her voice, her gaze averted in case he had.

“There’s something I need to—” His progress stopped a few paces away. “Peanut, what’s wrong?” he said softly.

Her bravado broke. On a sob, she crawled her way onto the couch. He hobbled over and took the seat beside her, then pushed his crutches aside and drew her into his arms.

“There, there, everything’s going to be all right,” he said as he stroked her hair, just like he had when she was Noah’s age. Back when she would wake in the middle of the night, looking for a mother who was no longer with them.

A tremor shook her. She’d just pushed Chase away. What if she woke soon to find Noah gone, too. “I’m going to lose him, Daddy.”

“Don’t give up now, sweetheart. Why, we hired you a great attorney.”

At that, she only cried harder. Which was bad—Noah would be done in the bathroom any minute.

“Oh. The other him.” Her dad rocked her gently, pausing only for a moment to grab a nearby box of tissues. “What happened?”

Hannah forced herself to recite some calming meditations they’d learned at work, then drew in a ragged breath. “I learned Tuesday that I’m on the brink of a promotion in Kankakee. My dream job—more money, better hours, and still with the fire department. But to take that…”

“…you’d have to leave Bourbon Falls. And Chase.”

She nodded. “I thought I was doing the right thing, the responsible thing, choosing a better job, a better schedule for Noah and me. So, I stopped by Oak Barrel Farms this afternoon to try to let Chase down easy.”

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