Persuaded by Misty Dawn Pulsipher

relationship
developing between Derick and the rest of Uppercross, avoiding him would soon
be an impossibility unless she kept to her room. Even the boys were crazy about
him, CJ calling him “Captain Wentworth” and Walter mumbling something that
sounded much too similar to a crude word for male anatomy as he tried to
pronounce “Derick.”
    Hanna
spent only a few minutes agonizing over her hair and clothing for tonight’s
barbecue. Derick already saw her at her worst the morning Mary passed out, and
Hanna doubted that he would look at her much anyway, with someone like Ella in
his line of sight.
    On the
beach, Hanna decided that taking care of the boys would be the best use of her
attention. It was a good plan, but proved a bit difficult to execute. Walter
was content to sit on his aunt’s lap and eat, but CJ shadowed Derick all night.
This left Hanna with the awkward option of being caught looking in Derick’s
direction, which she was, at least twice. At length she decided that CJ was
not, after all, her responsibility, and focused her attention on Walter
instead.
    While
her nephew picked at his food, Hanna found herself at liberty to people-watch.
She assumed that the pretty girl next to Derick was the sister he was staying
with. All those years ago, Hanna had known that Derick had a sister named
Sophie and that they were quite close. If memory served, she had been married a
only few years when Hanna and Derick were together. It might have seemed a bit
strange that Hanna had never met Derick’s family—but as he had been away from
home, about to start his first race when they met—it made sense. Likewise Maude
was the only relation of Hanna’s with whom Derick was acquainted, for much the
same reasons. Mary had still been home with their father when Hanna met Derick
in Harbor. On top of that, their relationship lasted only a few months from
start to finish.
    Sophie
had a willowy look about her, and her dark-haired husband was taller than
anyone else in their company. He had to be several inches over six feet, as he
towered over Derick’s six-foot-two. Both Sophie and her husband had open,
smiling faces that gave Hanna a pang. If things had turned out differently,
they would have been her family.
    Did
they know about the past?
    Lost
in her musings, Hanna hadn’t noticed the young man sitting alone on a piece of
driftwood. His glazed-over eyes were locked on the fire, his hands laced
loosely between his knees. Something about his slumped posture and faraway
expression struck a chord with Hanna, and she found herself wondering what he
could be thinking about.
    When
CJ lost interest in “Captain Wentworth” and began dancing around the fire like
a savage, and when Walter began rubbing his eyes, Mary decreed that the dreaded
hour of bedtime had arrived. CJ protested, of course. Walter, who had evidently
had enough of Aunt Hanna, waddled over and attached himself to his mother
instead. Hanna, seeing a perfect escape, tried coaxing him away from Mary, but
he refused to be pried from his mother’s arms. With a sigh of resignation, Mary
went inside to put the boys to bed. Without her nephews to command her
attention, Hanna wandered over to the lonesome stranger by the fire, smiling a
soft hello as she sat down.
    It
took him a second to register the greeting, and when he looked up at Hanna it
was as if he’d forgotten where he was. He had rumpled, pitch black hair and a
rather nice shade of blue eyes. His build was stocky, and a layer of dark
scruff covered his jaw. Now that she was closer, Hanna saw that he had a small
book in his hands. As Hanna sat, he acknowledged her with a nod but did not
speak.
    “I
don’t believe we’ve met,” she began. “I’m Hanna.”
    “Benny,”
he answered in an emotionless voice.
    “Are
you friends with”—she couldn’t bring herself to say his name—”the
Crofts?”
    “Adam
is my brother.”
    So
that was the connection. Aside from hair color there didn’t seem to be