Almost Midnight by Teresa McCarthy Page B

gingerbread together?”
    For a long moment, two wide silver-gray eyes stared back at him in surprise.
    “You and me?” Jeremy asked, dropping his bear to the floor. “You want to make gingerbread with me? I thought you hated it.” 
    Tanner had to wonder what had come over him. Gingerbread? What kind of spell had the green-eyes siren cast over him? He almost withdrew his offer, but the hope that flickered in his son’s gaze spurred him on. They needed this bonding time.
    Tanner picked up the bear and the dinosaur and gave a sideways glance toward his son. “If I didn’t know better, I would have thought you weren’t keen on the idea.” He shrugged. “Suit yourself. Either way I’m taking Max and Rex to the kitchen with me. We love gingerbread.” 
    Jeremy stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stared back with his mouth agape. “I thought Hannah’s gonna bring some tomorrow.”
    “We can surprise her and have double, but if you want to eat, you have to work. Didn’t you ever read the story of the Little Red Hen?” 
    The pitter-patter of little feet followed Tanner into the hall. “You know that story, Dad?”
    “Yep.” 
    Tanner felt a warm glow spread through him when a small hand slipped into his as he descended the stairs.
    “Can you read it to me when we finish, can ya? It’s kind of a little kid’s story, you know, and I’m not a little kid anymore, but I can read it. And it’s..well...it’s nice to hear it read by someone else.”
    “Yeah, can ya read it to me too?” Fritz stood at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes shimmering with mirth.
    Tanner narrowed his gaze as he stuffed Max-the-Bear into his father’s stomach. “If you want to eat, you gotta work.” 
    Fritz raised his white brow, squeezing Max beneath his arm. “Well, now, this should be interesting.”
     
    Hannah slipped the book back onto the shelf and sneezed. She had been at the library for over an hour, and her head cold medicine was making her woozy.
    If she didn’t need the money so badly, she’d head home and submerge herself in a nice, warm bubble bath. But if she lost her tutoring job, the library would be her only hope to pay the bills until Reach Medicals came through. Even taking the taxi tonight had squeezed her pocketbook.
    Still, if worse came to worse, she would seek out another position in one of the big cities. She would hate to move her mother again, but there wouldn’t be a choice in the matter.
    “Pssst, over here.”
    Hannah knew who it was before she turned around and peered through the open shelving beside her. Her amused gaze widened as she pretended to stuff a book in front of the woman’s nose.
    Candy, more like a sister to Hannah than a friend, was a petite brunette with chocolate brown eyes the size of saucers and a heart the size of the Rocky Mountains.
    Hannah sneezed. “Can’t talk right now.”
    “What do you mean you can’t talk right now?” Candy whispered, sticking her head through the shelf. “I have a surprise for you.”
    Hannah tipped her head in the direction of her boss, a gray-haired lady standing guard behind the counter. “Mrs. Gould is blowing smoke my way as we speak.”
    Candy let out a disapproving snort. “That dragon. Give me a break. Her face looks like an old leather shoe. Probably practices that daggered scowl in the mirror like snow white’s stepmother. And her hair looks more blue than gray! What’s that about?”
    Hannah bit her lip to keep from laughing. “I’ll talk to you later.”
    Candy shook her head, picked up a book, and pretended to look at it. “Never mind Dragon Lady. You won’t be here for long. I’ll bet you’ll be getting that job at Reach Medicals sooner than you think. With your grades, it’ll be a cinch.”
    With book in hand, Hannah climbed the nearby ladder to the top shelf. “Hopefully you’re right and that job will come through. The woman in human resources said I had it made. They had some buyout or merger or