Page 5 of Hannah's Dom

“Oh, she’s awake,” Cat said from the doorway.

“Yes. She just woke up,” Jake said.

Cat crawled up on the mattress and knelt a few feet from Hannah. “My name is Cat, and that man is my Dom, Macy.”

Jake watched Hannah’s eyes go from Cat to Macy and then back with a confused look on her face.

“My name is Hannah.”

Cat smiled. “That’s a pretty name.”

“I like yours,” Hannah said.

“Thank you. How do you feel?”

“I ache a little, but I walked a long way.”

“From where?” Cat asked.

Jake sat back and listened. Hannah seemed more relaxed with Cat, and she was asking all the questions he wanted answers to.

“The semi-truck guy dropped me off at the gas station at the intersection of two highways. He told me that the nearest town was down the road. He couldn’t take me all the way because he was already behind schedule. He thought I’d be able to get a ride from someone, but the few people I saw made me nervous, so I started walking.”

“That’s a long way,” Cat said. “No wonder you’re tired.”

Hannah nodded.

Jake smiled when Hannah finally realized she was gripping his hand. She tried to yank it away.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be sorry,” Jake said. “I like holding your hand.” He was telling her the truth. He’d never been one for cuddling, but he could see himself wanting to do that with her.

He was thirteen years older than her, but it didn’t seem to matter to him. He’d relax and see what happened next.

Chapter Three

Hannah slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a white ceiling that she was almost certain she’d never seen before. Ideas and thoughts swirled through her head. She didn’t feel any fear, which she thought was weird.

Her gaze scanned the room. Her eyes caught the man sitting beside the bed. God, he could be a movie star. He was so handsome. He had brown hair that was a bit long, touching his shoulders, but it looked good on him. His dark eyes were piercing, and it felt like he could see right through her. Her heart jerked in her chest when he introduced himself. Jake. Yeah, he looked like a Jake. He had strong features and full lips.

It took some concentration to answer his questions. Her mind was still cloudy with fatigue, but she answered him to the best of her ability.

Hannah had been terrified of being left at the gas station, but she understood the driver, and he’d been so nice to her that she hid her true feelings. When she entered the gas station, there were only a few men, and she hated how they looked at her. She bought a bottle of water and then walked out. She moved away from the station, trying to stay hidden behind trees that lined the road.

She didn’t know why the men made her afraid, but she learned early in life she had to take care of herself, and that meant hearing the warnings in her head. She was several miles away when she finally relaxed enough to think straight.

The driver told her the town of Madison was the closest, and they might have a waitress job at the diner or pizza place. She had to do something because she needed money. Her last job was short-term, so when she was let go, she decided to move on. She had no one telling her she couldn’t. She was her own boss.

Hannah tried to feel good about that, but it only made her feel more alone. She had realized that she always felt that way, and fear was always a close second.

Would she ever get to a place where she could call home and put down roots? She didn’t even try to think of having a family of her own. It was so far out of her stratosphere but something she secretly dreamed of. She decided that when she aged out of the system, she would keep moving until she found a place that appealed to her. She’d work several months at any one place and save money before moving on because nothing enticed her to stay.

She’d had a car in the beginning, but it had broken down a year before, and she didn’t have the money to fix it, so she sold it to the garage owner and moved on using mostly truckers. She knew it was dangerous to hitchhike, but it was the only way she could get around. She made it a point to go into the restaurants with a parking lot filled with trucks and ask the waitresses which man would be okay to ride with. So far, it had worked. Every truck driver she’d ridden with had treated her like a daughter, and she never felt afraid of them.

The miles seemed to take longer yesterday, and she wondered what she would do if it got dark. She had no idea what animals lived in Wyoming, so she couldn’t find a place on the ground to rest. Within an hour of walking, a brisk wind had picked up. It had been chilly before, but now it seemed to go to her bones. Fortunately, she had a few layers of clothing on her. It was easier to wear them than to carry them in her backpack.

Her eyes widened as she scanned the room. “Where’s my backpack?” She couldn’t lose it because it had all her life’s possessions and every dime she had.

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