Page 18 of Erik's Salvation
“It’s kind of submerged with the other liquids.”
“Should be fine…right?”
Hannah debated telling her friend that, no, it would not be fine, but instead went with a nod. “Would you like me to take over?” She’d already offered half a dozen times, but Brigid seemed determined to do this on her own.
“Nah, I’m almost done.”
Brigid grabbed the block of butter and sliced some off before putting it into a pan.
Hannah’s brows slashed together once again. “Aren’t you going to measure it?”
“I don’t need to. I need four tablespoons. That’s about a quarter of this block.”
At least Brigid was confident.
She glanced back at Erik’s house, where an expensive-looking Ferrari sat in his drive. He had a visitor…one who wore a black tailored suit.
“You spying on your neighbor again?” Brigid asked.
“I’m not spying.”
“Really? So you weren’t also watching when his visitor pulled up ten minutes ago?”
Okay. Maybe there’d been a little bit of watching out of her window. Was that spying, though? “I just find it interesting that not only does Erik obviously have money, his friends are well off too.”
“I wonder what he does for work.”
Oh, she’d been wondering that herself. “Something dangerous that pays a lot, I think.”
The man had edgy vibes coming off him in waves. But that wasn’t all. There was something else about him too. Hurt of some kind, perhaps. A darkness. It reminded her of the darkness in her own past.
She fiddled with the cloud charm on her bracelet.
The bracelet and charm were the most precious things she owned, because they were the only remaining items from the people she’d loved most in the world. The bracelet had been her mother’s, and the charm a gift from her foster brother.
Her heart gave a big thud at the memory of her brother. She’d been two and he’d been three when they’d first met. She’d had other foster siblings after him, but none like Nico. He’d made her feel safe. They’d lived together for several years with their foster mother, Janet. She hadn’t been the best foster mom, often drinking and gambling too much, but she hadn’t been the worst. And she’d looked after them until she died.
A shudder rocked Hannah’s spine at the memory of her lifeafterJanet. Not only being separated from Nico, but the horrible homes they’d both experienced.
She clenched her jaw, hating that the one person in the world who truly understood her, the only family member she’d had left, Nico, was now gone.
When she looked back to Brigid, it was to see her friend’s eyes had softened. “You thinking about Nico?”
Hannah swallowed. Her friend knew her too well. “I miss him.”
“I know, honey. I’m sorry.”
Brigid and Henry had been by her side for months after he’d passed away. They’d gotten her through the worst of her days, just another reason she was grateful for them.
She ran her finger over the cloud charm. That’s what he’d called her—Cloud. Because he’d often caught her gazing up at the sky.
He hadn’t chosen the best path, often getting into trouble, but he’d had a good heart. He’d proved that to her more times than she could count and was her rock during her hardest times.
Hannah had seen darkness. She’d seen many shades of it, in fact, while tossed around the foster care system as a teenager. Especially that one home…
Her skin chilled, but she pushed the memory to the back of her mind.
Now, she made a conscious decision every day to not only see the light, but to let it in. Though she still recognized darkness in others…like Erik.
