Page 9 of Chocolate Cherry Cabin

But she wasn’t. He could see the tiredness in her eyes. The sadness. She needed to breathe, have an adventure, do something big for herself.

That wasn’t a battle he’d win today, though. He could tell she was gearing up to deflect whatever he said next.

He wanted to tell her that he knew why she hadn’t gone to med school. That the way he’d pestered her was about claiming something for herself. Filling her own cup instead of waiting for someone else to notice it needed topping up.

Her hands had gone to her hips, so he sighed and headed to the door before she could shove him out. When he glanced over his shoulder, he noticed she’d backtracked to the kitchen. Louis slipped on his boots, marveling at how small her sons’ footwear seemed, sitting beside his.

Hannah reappeared a moment later with a plastic container. “I have something for you.”

“For me?”

She shoved it at him, her shoulders drooping as though being nice to him might kill her.

“You look like you want to hook me to an anchor and drop me in the ocean,” he said.

“Not a bad idea,” she replied lightly, reaching for the doorknob.

He lifted the lid, inspecting the contents. Cookies. Chocolate with something red. They smelled sweet and delicious. And they were in a container she’d want back, not a plastic bag. He had an excuse to see her again.

He grinned. “Thanks. I love cookies.”

“Chocolate cherry.”

“I really appreciate it.”

“They’re just cookies.” Her cheeks had turned pink.

“We made them,” Thomas said, reappearing in a rush. Across the room Wade was leaning in a doorway, watching.

“It’s Mom’s special recipe,” Thomas added.

“It’s just a welcome-to-the-neighborhood gift,” she said quickly.

“Ah.” He met her eyes. “So just being neighborly?”

“It’s a…thank-you, too.” She swallowed.

He lowered his voice so the boys couldn’t hear. “Do I need to worry about poison?”

She gave him a dry look.

As he edged to the door, he asked, “So if you didn’t become a doctor, what did you become?”

Was there more to her story than working in the day care and helping out at the boys’ school?

“I’m me. Like always.” She gave a tight smile and said, “Congrats on your new job.”

The door shut briskly behind him and he had a feeling it had taken all of her inner strength not to let it slam.

2

Hannah tried to usher her friend Cassandra McTavish into her house, but the woman was intent on ogling Louis, who was doing something manly with power tools out on his driveway despite the chill of the gray morning.

“Who’s the long drink of water next door?” she asked. Hannah rolled her eyes and tugged Obi away from Cass and her five-year-old son.

“Hi, Spaghetti,” Dusty said, curling his arms around Obi’s neck and receiving a lick on the ear. The kiddo loved the name that Brant Wylder, the local veterinarian and dog rescuer, had given the pooch when he’d found him. To Dusty the dog’s name was Spaghetti, and he refused to call him by anything else.

“Put your eyeballs back in your head and get in here,” Hannah hissed at her friend, who was still watching Louis.

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