to leave anytime he wants.” Hell, he could be packed up and gone when she got back and she wouldn’t care. Except, of course, she would because the front deck had never looked better and he was great with the horses. She’d followed up with an acquaintance of an acquaintance, the man who’d sent Colin her direction in the first place, and she’d been surprised to learn he’d once been a veterinarian. Large animal vets made a nice living. What was a guy with experience like that doing fixing her porch? Besides making me crazy.
“Han? You okay?”
“Fine.”
“Uh-huh. You do realize we’re doing fifteen miles over the speed limit?” Annette asked cautiously.
Whoa. Hannah immediately eased off the accelerator, embarrassment washing through her. “Sorry.”
“Let’s try this again, but with you telling me the truth this time. What’s wrong?”
Hannah sniffed, mortified to discover that her eyes stung. What was wrong with her? So Colin thought she was some naive Pollyanna with an unrealistic view of the world. What did that matter? He’d made it clear he wasn’t sticking around. In the greater scheme of her life, he was barely a footnote. His opinion didn’t count.
Except that part of you wonders if he’s right. No one thought she could do this—not smug Gideon, not any of the loan officers she’d talked to, not even her best friend, who was on her side.
“Annette, is there a specific part of my plan that you think will cause me to fail? Or is it just that you believe the entire endeavor is doomed?”
“Oh, sweetie, I’ve been a terrible friend, haven’t I? Whenever I call you in tears over starting my latest period, you’re there for me, making me laugh and assuring me Todd and I will become parents eventually. But I haven’t supported you.”
“You’ve been there for me in tangible ways—helping with Evan, coming with me today.” Annette’s husband, Todd, who worked out of a home office at their farm as an accountant, had also offered lots of concrete help, giving Hannah monetary advice and going over all of the ranch’s financial information.
“I know your skepticism stems from concern,” Hannah added. “But...”
“But you need to feel like someone’s in your corner? I am so sorry. I’m a hypocrite. I can’t stand the idea of you facing any disappointment, yet being disappointed month after month hasn’t stopped me from trying to get pregnant. You should follow your dream. I mean, this conversation started with me being impressed. More and more people are coming up to me in town wanting your contact information to order baked goods, and when I swung by yesterday to drop off the eggs, I could tell the porch is going to look great when it’s finished. If you and Colin can work that magic on the inside of the house—”
“He still hasn’t committed to staying once the project is finished,” Hannah admitted. “I was getting the impression that he’d changed his mind, but it’s not official.”
Annette shrugged. “He clearly doesn’t have anywhere he needs to be, or he’d be there already. If the two of you are getting along and you can afford to pay him, why leave?”
Hannah nibbled at her lower lip. Her friend’s reasoning was logical, but the “getting along” part might be more complex than Annette realized.
“I snapped at him before I came to pick you up.”
“You? Your version of snapping is probably different from most people’s. You have the patience of a saint.”
“No, I don’t. I’m no saint. I’m an extremely stubborn woman who masks her stubborn streak with a smile.” Speaking of which...
She flipped back to that mental photo she’d captured of Colin’s smile. Damn, the man was sexy. She’d known that already, of course. Her kitchen window overlooked the porch. She’d had a front-row view of him flexing muscles beneath thin cotton T-shirts damp with sweat. However, she’d assumed his hotness was limited to that brooding, Heathcliff
“Han? You okay?”
“Fine.”
“Uh-huh. You do realize we’re doing fifteen miles over the speed limit?” Annette asked cautiously.
Whoa. Hannah immediately eased off the accelerator, embarrassment washing through her. “Sorry.”
“Let’s try this again, but with you telling me the truth this time. What’s wrong?”
Hannah sniffed, mortified to discover that her eyes stung. What was wrong with her? So Colin thought she was some naive Pollyanna with an unrealistic view of the world. What did that matter? He’d made it clear he wasn’t sticking around. In the greater scheme of her life, he was barely a footnote. His opinion didn’t count.
Except that part of you wonders if he’s right. No one thought she could do this—not smug Gideon, not any of the loan officers she’d talked to, not even her best friend, who was on her side.
“Annette, is there a specific part of my plan that you think will cause me to fail? Or is it just that you believe the entire endeavor is doomed?”
“Oh, sweetie, I’ve been a terrible friend, haven’t I? Whenever I call you in tears over starting my latest period, you’re there for me, making me laugh and assuring me Todd and I will become parents eventually. But I haven’t supported you.”
“You’ve been there for me in tangible ways—helping with Evan, coming with me today.” Annette’s husband, Todd, who worked out of a home office at their farm as an accountant, had also offered lots of concrete help, giving Hannah monetary advice and going over all of the ranch’s financial information.
“I know your skepticism stems from concern,” Hannah added. “But...”
“But you need to feel like someone’s in your corner? I am so sorry. I’m a hypocrite. I can’t stand the idea of you facing any disappointment, yet being disappointed month after month hasn’t stopped me from trying to get pregnant. You should follow your dream. I mean, this conversation started with me being impressed. More and more people are coming up to me in town wanting your contact information to order baked goods, and when I swung by yesterday to drop off the eggs, I could tell the porch is going to look great when it’s finished. If you and Colin can work that magic on the inside of the house—”
“He still hasn’t committed to staying once the project is finished,” Hannah admitted. “I was getting the impression that he’d changed his mind, but it’s not official.”
Annette shrugged. “He clearly doesn’t have anywhere he needs to be, or he’d be there already. If the two of you are getting along and you can afford to pay him, why leave?”
Hannah nibbled at her lower lip. Her friend’s reasoning was logical, but the “getting along” part might be more complex than Annette realized.
“I snapped at him before I came to pick you up.”
“You? Your version of snapping is probably different from most people’s. You have the patience of a saint.”
“No, I don’t. I’m no saint. I’m an extremely stubborn woman who masks her stubborn streak with a smile.” Speaking of which...
She flipped back to that mental photo she’d captured of Colin’s smile. Damn, the man was sexy. She’d known that already, of course. Her kitchen window overlooked the porch. She’d had a front-row view of him flexing muscles beneath thin cotton T-shirts damp with sweat. However, she’d assumed his hotness was limited to that brooding, Heathcliff
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