Page 2 of In Step

I smiled and made a mental note to tell the guys. “But your dad’s right. They sure are a crazy pair. I’m pretty sure we’d still be out on the boat if it wasn’t for Judah’s choreographer friend arriving today. Leroy wants to make sure everything’s ready to welcome him up at the homestead.”

Hannah’s eyebrows knitted. “He’s staying with Leroy and Fox?”

“There’s no spare room at Judah and Morgan’s boathouse,” I reminded her. “And Judah and Leroy’s mum and Martha have a tiny house. It’s better that Abe, I think his name is, stays at the homestead.”

She nodded. “You went to school with Dad and Leroy and Judah, right?”

Hannah was clearly on a roll today and I nodded. “Yeah. I’m a year younger than Leroy and a few years older than Judah and your dad, but we all crossed paths at school. And I should be charging you per question. I’d make a fortune today.” I smiled at the chocolate smeared from one side of Hannah’s mouth to the other. “Ah, you might want to...” I tapped my mouth.

“Oh.” Hannah gave a stealthy look over her shoulder, licked her bottom lip, and ran the back of her hand across it. “Better?”

I nodded and tried to get off the subject of me. “This choreographer has come to help you guys with your recital, right? You must be excited.”

Hannah shrugged. “I guess. I just hope I’ll be okay for it. The new meds are helping but they still mess with my balance.”

I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “I’m sure Judah and his friend can work around that. You’re my hero, do you know that?”

She stared at me, eyes wide. “Me?” she squeaked.

“Yes you. If I could ever learn to be as brave as you, I think that would be really something. You’re a very special person, Hannah O’Connor.”

She ducked her head but couldn’t hide the pink tinge to her cheeks and the pleased smile that stole over her face. “So, you really think I can do this?”

I nodded with certainty. “I know you can. Whether you use canes, crutches, or a chair, you’ll find a way to make it happen or be as much a part of it as you can. That’s who you are, Hannah. And I’ll be right there cheering for you.”

She grabbed my sleeve and tugged me down to buss my cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I mean, they’ll be working with Corrine and Joseph who have wheelchairs, right? So, if I’m really sore, I could do that too, like you said. Dad says I’ll be fine, but then he always says that so...” She refocused on the thickening clouds. “How long do you think until it hits?”

I threw a glance back down the road and rubbed at my newly healed, screwed-and-plated forearm—the result of an accident on the boat a few months back. The bugger was tuned in to barometric pressure these days and ached like a bitch before rain. “An hour maybe?” I speculated. “But, unlike Fox and Leroy, I have zero seawater running through my veins, so who knows? Time enough for me to get home and get these groceries unpacked, I hope. Bossy ran out of cat kibble this morning.”

My phone buzzed and I pulled it from my pocket, my throat thickening at the name on the screen. She’dremembered. I swiped it open with a smile on my face.

You said to let you know what Bobby might like for his birthday this year. He’s into superheroes if you want to go that way.

I stared at the screen until the words started to blur and the lump in my chest pressed tight against my heart.Stupid hope.

Hannah’s hand landed on my forearm. “You okay, Kane?” She sounded worried.

“What? Oh—” I cleared my throat and sucked in a shaky breath. “Yeah. It’s um, it’s from my sister.”

Hannah looked surprised. “What’s her name?”

“Jacklyn.” I glanced back out to sea, fast blinking the moisture from my eyes so Hannah didn’t twig. “She’s a couple of years older than me.”

“That’s a pretty name.” Hannah’s stare burned hot into the side of my head. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“She lives overseas,” I said, still trying to get my head around the text.

I hadn’t heard from Jacklyn since Christmas. Christmas and birthdays, that pretty much summed up our relationship. There were complicated walls between us and we’d gone years without any contact at all. We’d once had each other’s back. Knew the other one’s secrets. The two of us against the world, againsthim. But then she’d left and it was just me. It still was. That part hadn’t really changed.

I pushed down the sting of hurt. I’d spent all day trying to forget it was my birthday. It wasn’t like anyone gave a shit. Not me. Certainly not Jacklyn. I might wish for more between us, but I’d settle for giving her some security. That much I owed her.

“That’s cool,” Hannah said, still staring. “Do you miss her?”

Did my chest ache every time I thought of her bright smile and the way it dulled in the years before she left home? Before she left me.

“I do. But she’s happy.”I think. “We can’t always have family as close as we’d like.”

Terry came outside, lugging a huge bag of dog food, which he dumped at my feet. “Do you mind dropping this up at the homestead for Mack? Leroy called to say he’s run out, and since you’re heading there, it’ll save me a run.”

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