Part 6 (1/2)

”Because something will fall out. It's overflowing with stuff I should have packed off to the thrift store years ago.”

”But someone might be...”

”Hiding in there?” Hannah gave a little laugh as she interrupted him. ”Impossible. There isn't room for one more thing.”

”Okay. If you say so.” Mike moved on to her bedroom. The first thing he did was head for her closet. ”Is it okay to check in here?” he asked.

”Yes. Everything I cleaned out of here is in the guest room closet.” Hannah was silent as Mike opened her closet and checked for intruders. When he'd slid the doors closed again, she followed him to her bathroom and waited while he checked that. ”You made Jack feel good, asking him about the little animals he carves.”

”It was interesting. He knows a lot about wildlife.”

”Well, thank you for being so nice to him. Everybody there appreciated it.”

As they walked back down the hallway, Mike slipped his arm around her and gave her a little hug. ”You don't have to thank me for being nice to Jack. I like Jack. It's true he's losing it a little, but he's still got more on the ball than a lot of people.”

”That's true.”

”I like everyone who was at The Cookie Jar tonight. Lisa's like the girl next door. She's sweet, and nice, and...and wholesome. And Herb's a true-blue Minnesota guy. He'd give you the s.h.i.+rt off his back if you needed it. And then there's Marge. She's got a big heart and she wants to help everybody. And I think Patsy's the same way. It makes me feel good to be around people like that.”

Hannah smiled. ”So you changed your mind about living in Lake Eden?”

”What do you mean?”

”When you first moved here, you thought it was too small, that it would be like living in a fishbowl.”

Mike shrugged. ”Well, it is like living in a fishbowl. But I really don't mind. I like almost everybody here in Lake Eden.”

”Everybody?” Hannah couldn't resist teasing him a little.

Mike shrugged. ”I said almost everybody. I even like Bertie Straub...in small doses.”

Hannah laughed. Bertie wasn't shy about giving people advice, and she didn't have a tactful bone in her body. She'd decided that her niece was the right woman for Mike even though Mike wasn't interested. And every time she saw Mike, she tried to force the issue.

Mike opened the hall closet, glancing inside, and shut it again. Then he checked out the kitchen and the laundry room. ”Everything looks good,” he told her.

”Great. Thanks for coming in to check.” Hannah led him to the door, but she didn't open it. Instead, she stepped closer and gave him a little hug. It was intended as a thank-you hug, the kind of hug you'd give your brother-in-law if he'd just fixed your garbage disposal. But Mike must not have recognized the imaginary blue band around the generic hug, because he pulled her up tight against him and tipped her face up to kiss her.

Uh-oh, he's got the wrong idea, Hannah thought as their kiss deepened. And a few seconds later, she thought, Uh-oh, he's got the RIGHT idea! And she knew she'd better break things up quickly.

”Sorry,” Mike said, stepping away before she could even consider how to achieve the same result.

”That's okay,” Hannah said, hoping the little quaver in her voice didn't give away how captivated she'd been.

”I'd better go now, while I still can.” Mike walked to the door and turned. ”You know I love you, don't you?”

Hannah nodded. She knew Mike loved her...in his own way. She loved him too, but Mike's love wasn't exactly monogamous. Of course her love wasn't exactly monogamous either since she also loved Norman. It was...complicated. Very complicated.

”I've got no right loving you. Not when I'm such a jerk.” Mike stopped speaking and sighed deeply. ”I don't know what's wrong with me, Hannah. You're the best thing that's happened to me since my wife died, and I keep goofing it up right and left. It's like I don't want to succeed in love again. And as long as I'm fickle, I don't have to try.”

Hannah didn't know what to say. Mike was being brutally honest. Everything he'd said was true. ”I...I think I understand,” she said.

”You're too good for me, Hannah. If you hook up with me, I'm just going to break your heart. You should marry Norman. He loves you. I'm sure about that. Norman's a really nice guy and he'll treat you right.”

Again, Hannah was at a loss for words. She just stared at Mike, wondering what he'd say next. And then she realized what he'd already said. ”You want me to marry Norman?”

”No! It's not what I want, that's for sure. But I think you should marry Norman. I know you want to get married. I've seen you with Tracey and Bethie, and I can tell you want kids of your own. Norman would make a great father.”

”True,” Hannah said, giving a tight little nod. ”But I don't want to get married to anyone! Not now. Maybe not ever. And you can't palm me off on Norman like I'm some kind of bad poker hand!”

”I wasn't...”

”Yes, you were!” Hannah interrupted him. ”You were being all selfless and sweet, and trying to pull the wool over my eyes.”

”What wool? What are you talking about?”

”You don't want to marry me anymore, and this is a good way of breaking up with me. It makes you look like the good guy. Why don't you just come out and say that you don't want to marry me anymore?”

”But I do! I just don't think I'd do right by you, that's all.” Mike put his hand on the doork.n.o.b, but he didn't open it. Instead he turned back for a final word. ”I'd be the happiest man in the world if you'd marry me, Hannah. I can't think of anything that would be better for me. But it wouldn't be better for you. You'd be miserable if you married me. Every time I turned around to look at a pretty woman, you'd wonder if I was going to make a move on her when you weren't around. Think about it, Hannah. I've already let you down a couple of times in the past, and you'd have to be the biggest fool on earth to take a chance on me.”

And with that said, Mike pulled her into his arms and kissed her until her mind was spinning with joyful abandon.

There was no way of telling how long the kiss lasted. And there was no way of doubting that Mike desired her. It was a lover's kiss, a way of communicating the closeness they both felt. Hannah reveled in the feeling for breathless moments and then...suddenly...Mike was gone, and she realized that she was standing there alone with her fingertips touching her lips, swaying slightly, savoring the memory.

”Oh,” Hannah gave a soft little cry. Mike was willing to sacrifice his own happiness to keep her from making what he thought would be a dreadful mistake. She felt like running after him, throwing her arms around him, and...

The feel of warm fur brus.h.i.+ng against her ankles brought her out of her imaginings and back in touch with reality. Was Mike putting her on? Was this a little game he was playing? Did he want her to feel so sorry for him, she'd race after him, tell him it didn't matter, and melt into his arms?

Hannah pondered the questions for a moment, and then she sighed deeply. There was no way she could know for sure. Thank goodness Norman was coming back soon! Of course she'd never ask Norman for advice on her relations.h.i.+p with Mike, but just knowing that Norman was there, steady and loving, gave an anchor to her confused emotions.

And that was when she saw that the red light on her remote phone was blinking rhythmically. She'd missed a call working late at The Cookie Jar and she hadn't noticed it when she'd come in with Mike.

Hannah took time to reach down and pet the two cats, and then she headed for the end table by the couch to play back her message on the remote phone system she'd bought when her old-fas.h.i.+oned answer machine had finally given up the ghost.

”Hi, Hannah. It's Norman.” At the first sound of Norman's voice, Cuddles jumped up on her lap and tried to lick the phone. ”It's your daddy,” Hannah said, holding the phone a little closer so that Cuddles could hear.

”It's almost seven and I guess you're out somewhere for dinner. I'm just getting ready to leave the hotel and meet my friends for dinner.”

Hannah frowned slightly. Norman's voice sounded strained, but perhaps that was the connection.

”If it's not too much trouble, can you keep Cuddles for another night? I'm going to stay over one more day. I have a couple of things I have to do and it's going to take me longer than I expected. I'll be back on Thursday and I'll pick up Cuddles on Thursday after work.” There was a pause and Norman cleared his throat. ”Oh, yes. I already talked to Doc Bennett and he's coming in to work for me, so you don't have to worry about that.”

Hannah's frown deepened. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Norman didn't sound very happy. And he should have been happy meeting up with all his friends from dental school again.

”I guess that's it.” Norman cleared his throat again. ”Have a nice evening. 'Bye.”

No I love you? No I miss you? No I'm thinking about you and I wish you were with me? Hannah replaced the phone in the charging station with a frown. She wasn't sure what had happened to Norman in Minneapolis, but something was definitely wrong.