Page 16 of After You

“It?”

“Romancingher.”

Kyle shook his head. Diabolical. That’s what Alice was. “You want me to try to romance her? Show her what she’s missing and how it could be with us if she stays?”

Alice nodded. “I know you keep telling me that you’re still friends, but I know you, Kyle. You’re still in love with her. And I think she feels the sameway.”

Kyle realized in that moment that he was on the verge of big trouble. He wanted Hannah to be happy and fulfilled in her life in Seattle. While at the same time wanting her to have her soul turned inside out upon leaving this town once again. But he couldn’t tell Alice that he wanted Hannah happy and miserable at the same time. That was confusing, even tohim.

“So you’ll help win her over?” Alice asked. And she actually batted those blue eyes that made him say stupid things like yes and sure and whatever youneed.

“Yes. Sure. Whatever you need.” He was pretty sure that she missed the sarcasm. Or chose to anyway.

But he had a plan. He could help Alice get over this idea of Hannah coming home, he could come out of this still on Alice’s good side, while not jeopardizing his pride. Or his heart.

* * *

Hannah tookthe walk from Ty’s place to her grandmother’s house with a weird mix of emotions swirling through her. Fondness for everything from the post office to the lilac bushes that lined her grandmother’s street. Nostalgia as memory after memory flooded her mind. Tension over the idea of possibly running into someone and having to have a conversation. And agitation remembering running into Kyle the night before.

Basically, the same mix of emotions she expected to feel for the entire six weeks she washere.

Being worried about running into someone and having a conversation especially annoyed her though. She talked to people all the time. And was completely normal about it. No one who met her and had a casual, friendly conversation with her knew that she only had about seventy-five percent range of motion in her neck, slept on a ridiculous concoction of foam rollers and pillows that she needed so much, she traveled with them even if it was just overnight, and had for a time eaten Percocet like they were M&M’s. No one in Sapphire Falls knew what her last three and a half years had beenlike.

But these people knew her. Had known her all her life. And she’d been put together, on top of things and organized. She’d been a great student. She’d been involved in countless extracurricular activities. She’d been on the honor roll. She’d never left her house without makeup on and her hair perfect.

And now there were days when blow drying her hair made her cry and matching her shoes to her outfits was just a little beyond what she could handle. Not all days, of course, but more than she liked. And she hadn’t felt organized or on top of things in far too long to remember.

Put simply, she was amess.

But in Seattle, she could get away with it. It was a big city filled with people she didn’t know and who didn’t really care if she hadn’t washed her hair in a couple of days and if she didn’t plan things more than three days out because she never knew how things were going to go, and that she stuck needles in herself on a regular basis. Acupuncture needles, but it was still weird tosome.

She had pursued her training in acupuncture and massage therapy even as she was kicking her opioid addiction. It not only paid her bills, but she could now write off massage oil as a business expense. Not many people could say that. She was interested in and practiced it all, including meditation, essential oils, massage and yoga, in addition to acupressure and acupuncture techniques. Not to mention her relaxation techniques, such as adult coloring books and pottery.

But all of that was a little “out there” for Sapphire Falls. She wasn’t sure people here even knew what essential oilswere.

So, her plan was, for the six weeks she was here, to blend in. To be the girl they remembered. Because it would avoid a lot of questions, a lot of explanations she didn’t really want to give, and a lot of talk about how weird she’d become.

But she still feared that one ten-minute conversation with her high school biology teacher, Mr. Black, or a visit at the diner with Gwen, the administrator at the nursing home where Hannah had worked all through high school, and they’d know she was different.

And not in a goodway.

Hannah stopped at the end of her grandmother’s front walk and took in the house that had been the site of so many Christmas mornings and weekend sleepovers and family picnics. This house was possibly dearer to her than the one she’d shared with her parents. Because here, she’d been able to be a kid. She’d been able to eat cookies she didn’t have to shop for, make messes she didn’t have to clean up, and play outside until dinnertime, because she wasn’t the one making dinner.

The house looked great. The light yellow color with the white trim had always been so cheerful, and Hannah could swear that it looked newly painted.

Hannah started up the path, pulling her rolling suitcase behind her. It was just after nine thirty and they were due in Kyle’s office at ten. She had no doubt that Dr. Ames operated on a strict schedule. The guy had never been late for anything as long as she’d known him, and she was not going to keep him waiting on them on her first visit to his office.

Her heart thudded at that. His office. The one he’d always dreamed of. The one that was in the huge, light blue house with the hardwood floors and enormous picture windows that let the sunshine stream in. Kyle had been thrilled when the town had announced their plans to convert the old beauty into his medical clinic. And it was next door to another beautiful house that had been remodeled and fully furnished and stocked as a PT clinic. The clinic that was supposed to have beenhers.

That thought sucked a little air from her lungs, and she had to work to pull in a long breath.

Yeah, the first couple steps through those doors might be tough. But she was ready for this. She’d gotten up early so she wouldn’t have to rush. When she got stressed and in a hurry, her pain levels could shoot right up. Today, she wanted to be at her best. So she’d meditated, eaten a good breakfast, taken her time getting ready, putting on her makeup and doing her hair with extra care, and then taken the relaxing morning walk to her grandmother’s house—one of her happy places.

Facing Kyle Ames wasn’t going to get any easier thanthis.

And she really needed to get it overwith.

“Grandma! I’m here!” Hannah called, stepping through the frontdoor.

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