Page 52 of Trail to Trouble
The surrounding arms tightened, and she rocked her slightly in a soothing manner, like one would a baby.
Hannah let this stranger hold her.Stranger.Hannah pulled back and used her hands to swipe the tears from her eyes. The woman kneeling in front of her eased back, but kept her hands on her shoulders. Sympathetic green eyes studied her.
“Can I get you anything? Water?” the woman asked softly.
Hannah shook her head.
“I’m Clare Ricco, the chief’s wife.”
Though the woman wore a navy business suit, she stayed kneeling on the floor in front of her. Long, wavy red hair framed her pale face. Empathy emanated from her gaze. Where had this kind woman come from in this split second?
Hannah nodded, then turned her head to find Bianca, who still sat on the opposite side of the metal table. She stared into space, looking emotionless. Why hadn’t her friend come to her side to console her? Yet this woman she didn’t know, had seen fit to do so.
“Bianca,” Hannah said.
Her friend snapped out of her trance and looked at her.
“I gotta get out of here,” Bianca said, as she rose to her feet. “I need out of here now, and I need to call my dad.”
Hannah’s heart slammed in her chest. Her friend offered her nothing. No comforting words. No consoling hug. Nothing. She just wanted out. They’d lost their best friend today, and she lost her parents, and Bianca couldn’t see fit to help her through this devastating moment.
Bianca looked at her cell phone. “It’s dead.”
The word triggered Hannah, and she sobbed.
“Use this one,” she heard the chief say.
Clare rose, guiding Hannah up along with her.
“Let’s go to my office. It’s more comfortable.”
Not knowing what to say or do, Hannah followed the kind woman without question. She couldn’t think.
Clare held the upper part of her arm as they walked down the long, narrow corridor they’d been in earlier toward the back of the building. They stepped through a glass door etched with white lettering. The letters were just a blur to her through her watery eyes. After walking past a couple of waiting room chairs, the kind you see in a doctor’s office, they passed through another doorway into an office.
Clare motioned for her to sit in an oversized leather chair, then she walked over to a small counter area and filled a glass of water from a dispenser.
She handed the water to her, and she took a sip of the cool liquid before setting the glass down on the square cocktail table in front of her. Clare sat in an identical chair opposite the table.
Hannah looked around the office. A desk sat in the corner, along with a couple of file cabinets. The walls were painted a warm green color. Her gaze was fixed on the framed degree hanging by the desk. The woman held a Ph.D. in Psychology. This made sense. This is how she knew how to comfort her. Unlike Bianca. The thought of Bianca’s icy heart made Hannah angry.
The anger quickly disappeared, pushed away by overwhelming grief. Her parents. She sobbed. Any more pressure on her heart and it would surely explode.
Clare tried to comfort her.
How could she live without them? What was she supposed to do? She needed to get home. Be with her brothers. Kane was home in Minnesota, but Lance would have to come home from Germany. Would the Army let him?
Hannah plucked a handful of tissues from the box Clare handed to her and dried her eyes and wiped her nose.
“I need to get home.”
“I know, sweetie. When you’re ready. Just please take a few minutes to process what’s happened. Make yourself comfortable in here. I can sit with you, or leave you alone. There’s a phone on my desk you can use to call your brother. Just let me know what you want to do.”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
“I know. Do you want to call your brother again?”
She nodded and rose. Good heavens, her knees felt so weak.
