Page 25 of Why We Break

I pause, trying to decide if he’s serious or not, before letting out a laugh at their antics and trying to ignore the nagging in my gut at the jealousy I still feel.

“Hey, can you do me a favor?”Seth asks later the following week. We’re spending the evening working on Hannah’s fence around the farm, and I’m pretty sure we all underestimated how big of a job this would be.

“Sure, what do ya need?” I ask, holding another piece of the new barbed wire tight as Seth loops the holder through it.

“Could you run inside and grab the big lantern light on the counter? It’s getting too dark and the last thing we want is to end up with one of these ties stuck through our hands. Hannah told me it was fine, and she pulled it out for us, but I can be finished with this line by the time you’re back.”

“Yep, I’m on it,” I say, thankful to have an excuse to stand from the crouched position I’ve spent way too long in as I tried to run the bottom line of wire. Grabbing the keys to Seth’s truck, I head to the edge of the field and drive down the winding driveway that leads to Hannah’s house.

As I walk the path to the front door, I let out a laugh as Leroy lets out a high pitched squeal from his pen and starts chasing his tail, obviously excited about the idea of having a visitor.

“I’m not here to play, bud,” I tell him, turning the handle of the front door and rolling my eyes when I find it unlocked. I know she told Seth to walk in, but the idea of her coming home to an empty unlocked house still makes my anxiety rise. Attempting to brush it off, I walk through the house until I reach the kitchen. Crossing the floor and grabbing the lantern, I turn to make my way out when a stack of papers catches my eye. I tell myself that whatever it is is none of my business, but I can’t help myself, instead, reaching out and thumbing through them.

I feel my eyes widen as I realize they’re all bills, taking in the amounts on each of them and the red “final notice” on the top two. There has to be at least six thousand dollars’ worth of bills here, ranging from farm equipment upkeep to Mr. Scott’s nursing home expenses.

My gut turns at the thought of Hannah taking all of this on in addition to all her other responsibilities before dropping the bills where I found them and heading outside. My head spins as I try to determine what to make of what I just found. I think back to all the times Caroline’s called us several times over the last few months despite Hannah’s insistence that she had it covered. I guess that alone should have given me a sign as to how bad things were. Hannah’s never been one to ask anyone for anything, and I feel like an idiot for not realizing what was going on sooner.

Shaking my head, I jump back in the truck and head back to where I left Seth, trying to figure out how to help the girl who doesn’t want to help—especially not from me.

CHAPTER 19

WILL

SEVEN SUMMERS AGO

“Come on, Will. If you don’t hurry, we’re gonna miss it,” she says as she pulls me to where my trucks parked.

I give her a questioning look before saying, “What the hell are you talking about woman? All you asked for was the check on top pasture before the end of the day. Not sure what part of that adventure we’re in the process of missing.”

“Well if you don’t move your ass, it’s not gonna matter,” she replies, pushing me past Leroy’s pig pen. “Leroy, tell this man to move his butt,” she calls out, and her pig sticks his head out of his bed at the sound of his name. “See, even the pig is telling you to hurry!”

I laugh, throwing her the keys to an old farm truck I used to check on the horses this afternoon and letting her drive to wherever we’re headed.

“You sure do have a thing for surprises, don’t you?” I ask.

“What gave it away?” she teases, pausing when “Get Your Shine On” by Florida Georgia Line comes on the staticky radio. She turns it up, singing along in the most horrendous singing voice I’ve ever heard while she rolls down the crank window on her side. When the breeze hits her blonde hair, she yanks her ponytail down and wiggles her hips while she drives. I think about reaching out and brushing her hair back, desperate for a reason to touch her, but she looks so carefree, I don’t want to do anything to ruin the moment.

It's been three days since I kissed her, but since I didn’t work the last two days thanks to the weekend, today’s the first time I’ve seen her. All weekend I fantasized about her, but now that she’s in front of me, it’s clear that anything I thought about doesn’t compare to the real thing. Hannah Scott is the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, and I’m desperate to soak up any part of her that she wants to share with me.

I’m still lost in my thoughts when Hannah slows the truck, pulling to a stop at the top of one of the rolling hills in the middle of the pasture. I raise my eyebrow in question, waiting for her to explain what we’re doing, but she just smiles.

“You coming?” she asks, opening her door and jumping to the ground.

“Uh, coming where? We’re in the middle of a field, Han,” I point out, wondering what in the world she’s up to.

“Oh, come on and live a little,” she says with a laugh, moving to the back of the truck.

Not wanting to miss whatever it is, I throw my door open and jump out of the truck, following Hannah and waiting to see where she wants to go. But instead of taking off down one of the hills, she just pulls the tailgate down and pats the spot beside her, clearly waiting to see if I’ll join her.

Yeah, like I’m gonna pass up an opportunity to be close to her? I don’t think so.

I walk over and sit beside her, still waiting for her to explain, but Hannah seems content to sit in silence. I give her a few minutes before finally saying, “So, do you wanna clue me in to what you were so worried about missing?”

She looks over and bumps her shoulder against mine before saying, “Don’t you see it?”

“See what?” I ask, not understanding what in the world she’s talking about.

She lets out a sigh before turning away from me and gesturing out in front of us. “This, Will. This is what I didn’t want to miss.”

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