Page 19 of Saving Hanna
Approaching Carter, I needed to do what I could to get the gun away from him. He was unstable, and given the amount of alcohol he had consumed, I wasn’t sure what he was capable of doing. His eyes were focused on Hanna as he continued to convince her that I was lying.
“Hanna, don’t believe him. He is the reason we lost the farm.”
“I don’t believe you, Carter. You are the only person to blame. You took everything from me.” Hanna’s words were filled with emotion. I never thought that I would feel any remorse for what happened.
“I knew you would never believe me. He’s got you right where he wants you. I knew it the minute he entered that diner,” Carter replied.
Lifting the gun to his head, I saw he was about to take his own life. It would be the easiest way out of this mess, but I couldn’t allow him to do that. It would not only tear Hanna apart, it would also put a damper on my plans. Having no choice, I did the only thing I was good at. “Carter, taking your life isn’t going to make things better. Let me help you.”
I had his attention. Even though he continued to hold the gun at this head, at least his eyes were on me. “How could you possibly help me? You’ve already taken everything.”
“Come work for me.” The minute the words left my mouth, I wanted to snatch them up and take them back.
“And why the fuck would I do that?” Carter chuckled, lowering the gun from his head and pointing it towards me. “You are the reason I’m in this mess to begin with.”
“Carter, NO!” Hanna screamed. The sound of panic in her voice.
“Because you can give Hanna back what you took and she can live the life she was meant to have. It’s a win-win for all of us.”
~*~*~*~
It took some doing, but I finally managed to convince Carter to come work for me. It might have been the biggest mistake I had ever made. The upside was that Hanna didn’t have to witness him taking his own life.
Hanna and I waited for Albert to show up in order to drive the truck back to the house. I called a cab for Carter and instructed the driver to take him to the St. Regis so that he could sober up. Tomorrow he wasn’t going to like me very much when I told him the stipulations of his employment.
As we waited for Albert to show up, I thought it would be as good a time as ever to mention the dinner that my father had invited us to. Well… me and a guest. Taking Hanna by the hand, I led her to the couch. Placing my lips to hers, I asked softly, “Are you okay?”
Keeping her eyes focused on our hands, she answered. “Yeah. Thank you for being here. I don’t know what my brother was thinking.”
“I’m sure after he sobers up, he is going to feel like an ass for what he did.”
“Yeah… you’re probably right. He was pretty drunk.” There was a moment of silence when she asked, “How does my brother know you, Aiden? I need you to be honest with me.”
I knew that question would be coming up again. All I could think about was how I was going to answer her. “I’m really not sure. He certainly has kept his eye on me, otherwise how would he have known that I frequented Dotty’s? A lot of what he said didn’t make any sense. Tomorrow morning I’ll meet with him. Maybe he can shed some light on how he came to know me.”
Pulling her closer, I kissed the top of her head. Her body nuzzled into mine. I didn’t remember ever feeling this close to any woman. It was the best feeling ever. Taking the chance that this was a good time, I said, “My father is having a small dinner party on Friday. I would love it if you came with me.”
“You mean as your date?” I couldn’t help but smile at her question.
“You could call it that.”
“Well, in that case. I’d love to go.”
Focusing on nothing else but her lips, I lowered my head and placed my mouth over hers. Teasing her lower lip, I plunged my tongue inside. As our tongues collided together, her warmth consumed me. Pulling her closer, I deepened the kiss, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. “Excellent timing,” I said to myself.
