* * *
Owen was back to counting days. At first, with the gift of two more weeks, it seemed he would have forever with Hannah and Noah. The May wildflowers were popping up along mountain roads and around ranches and houses. They planned a full day every morning. They chose where they’d have their meals, some days staying home all day. No matter what they did during the day, each one ended on the porch, where Hannah and Owen talked and talked.
Their routine was full, exhausting for Noah. The little guy had an hour or two nap most days. There had never been so much life in Owen’s home before.
Then he was down to a week left. Then a couple of days.
“You know, you can stay longer if it will help things,” he said to Hannah.
“Thank you, that’s very sweet. But staying on any longer is like running away from a reality Noah and I really should face. Are we invited back for a visit?”
“Many visits,” he said. “You are always welcome.”
She was feeling so comfortable and content that it all seemed too good to be true. Then there was a strange occurrence—she saw a missed call on her phone. Wyatt. There was no message. No text. She decided it must have been a pocket dial. But it brought back that uncomfortable feeling—maybe I’m no good at knowing a good man when I find one.
A couple of hours with Owen made her stop worrying about that. Or stop caring, she wasn’t sure.
She went to bed, night after night, telling herself it was time to go. And then it was. She told Noah they had one more day.
* * *
The next morning, Hannah woke up to the sound of drizzle. It would be good for the flowers and vegetables in Sully’s garden, but it was a shame that on their last day with Owen, they’d be driven inside. On top of that, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
“I said I’m not hungry! I don’t want stupid cereal!” Noah said angrily.
Hannah was stunned. The perfect child had gone sour. “Would you like eggs? Toast? Pancakes? I think we have some—”
“I’m not hungry,” he yelled, hitting the table with his fist and tipping the cereal bowl so that milk and Cheerios ran all over the table and dripped on the floor.
“I guess what you want is a time-out. Go to your room. I’ll be in to talk to you in a minute. After I clean up.”
“I. Want. Romeo!”
“I don’t think they’re up yet. If I have to drag you to your room, I will. Let’s move it.”
“I don’t want to,” he said. Then he burst into tears.
Hannah left the spilled milk and crouched beside Noah’s chair. She felt his head. “Are you feeling sick?” she asked. “Do your legs hurt? Are you still tired?”
“I’m nothing,” he said, grinding his little fists into his eyes.
“Why are you in a temper?” she asked. “I’ve never known you to be so awful and mean.”
“You’re mean!” he said.
“Okay,” she said, picking him up. “You need a little time alone and I need to clean up the mess you made. I don’t want to see you until you’re ready to apologize. And I know you know what that means.”
He started to struggle and kick. He had his heavy tennis shoes on and got her a good one in the shin.
“Boy, you might be in here all day,” she said, depositing him on his bed and closing the door on the way out. She vigorously rubbed her shin, then limped to the kitchen.
A couple of minutes later there was a knock on the door and she opened it to Owen and Romeo. Romeo had a towel draped over his back, sopping up the drizzle. “Was that Noah screaming?” he asked.
“Yes, Mr. Cranky Pants came to breakfast this morning.”
“Is he like that often?”
“No! I have no idea what’s wrong. I hope he’s not coming down with something. We’ve been together 24/7 for over two months and I’ve never seen behavior like that before. Not even with losing his mother.”
“Maybe it was bubbling up,” Owen said. “If it was, it’s good to get it out.”
Romeo sat beside Owen, quiet and stoic. In fact, it looked to Hannah as if the dog frowned slightly. “Want some Cheerios, Romeo?” she asked, standing aside with a rag in her hand. The dog very happily cleaned up the rest of the mess on the floor.
Hannah poured Owen a cup of coffee and they sat at the table.
“Why does your coffee taste so much better than my coffee?” he asked.
“Because you didn’t make it. You want me to mess you up some eggs?”
“I’ll wait awhile, maybe eat with Noah. When he recovers. What are your plans for the day?”
“I was hoping Noah would play outside and I could gather up our stuff. We’re going to get our bath and shower tonight, and in the morning we’ll just dress, have a little breakfast and hit the road early.”
“I can entertain him in the barn with pictures,” Owen said. “Hopefully it’ll clear up later.”
“I want to go over to Sully’s and say goodbye,” she said.
“You’ll come back here for a visit, won’t you?”
“Of course! Yes! I promise!”
“I’ll look forward to it every day.”
“I don’t know when, Owen. I have to figure out some things at home first, you know. I have to find my comfort zone. Our comfort zone. Then I can try to plan a visit with you. That will give Noah something to look forward to.”
“And me,” he said. “I’ll be sure to give you the dates I’m going to be away so you... Come when I’m here, okay? I can help with Noah and Romeo won’t be with my sister, and you know Noah wants Romeo here. You take his wet suit in case you want to take a dip in one of those icy Minnesota lakes...”
“I know I seem crazy, but I’m not.”
They stopped talking when Romeo got up, dropping his towel on the floor. The dog walked across the great room to where Noah stood, holding his blanket.
“Sorry,” he said very quietly.
“Feeling a little better?” Hannah asked. When he nodded, she said, “Come here, honey.”
He shuffled over to her and let her draw him up onto her lap. Romeo was right there, his big head on Noah’s lap. She kissed his temple. “Owen waited to have breakfast with you. What would you like?”
“What’s Owen having?”
“I’m having eggs. Messed-up eggs.”
“I could do that,” Noah said.
“Good,” Hannah said. “You sit right here. I’ll make you boys some breakfast.”
While she was in the kitchen, she listened to them talking.
“Let’s have some fun today, since you have to leave tomorrow.”
“What kind of fun?”
“Well, while it’s rainy, we’ll go to the barn and tinker with some pictures. You took a lot of pictures and I can put them on a flash drive for you to take home. I showed you some flash drives. You can plug it into Hannah’s computer or tablet and look at your pictures.”
“Can I have some of yours, too?”
“Of course. You can show me which ones you like. Then maybe we should have lunch at Sully’s place.”
“Can Romeo go?”
“If it’s not raining. If it’s still drizzling and the ground is all sloppy, Romeo has to stay home. He’s a very bad influence on Beau.”
“And Sully doesn’t feel like washing him.”
“And I don’t feel like taking a muddy Great Dane home in the truck. Or Hannah’s car.”
“Thank you for that,” Hannah said. She brought over two plates. “Here you go. If you want something more, just say so.”
“Thank you,” Noah said.
“That was very polite of you,” Owen said. “I’m glad your manners are back.”
Noah shrugged and sank his fork into some eggs. “I had a temper before.”
“I heard,” Owen said. “It was awful. Don’t give Romeo eggs or he’ll poop all over. Eggs give him the trots.”
Noah laughed.
“He cleaned up your cereal mess and I’m bracing myself,” Owen said.
“Yet another reason Romeo shouldn’t go for a ride in my car,” Hannah said.
“After we get back from Sully’s, when all your stuff is gathered, I’ll help you load up your car,” Owen said. Noah instantly dropped his gaze and started stirring his eggs. “Buck up, kid. Hannah said you guys will be coming back for a visit this summer. Don’t spoil it by being angry.”
“We are?” he asked Hannah.
“Sure. We’ll figure out a good time. But we have things to organize at home first. Then we’ll come for a visit. Will that help you enjoy today?”
“Yes,” he said. “Except, you know, that’s not really where I live.”
Hannah lifted his chin. “I’m sorry about that, Noah. But it’s the way things are now and we’re going to make it good. We’re going to make new friends just like you made friends with Owen and Romeo. And we’ll visit Owen and Romeo as soon as we can. We have a big job to do and we can’t be on vacation forever. Will you help me? Just help me by trying to get along?”
Noah locked eyes with Owen and at Owen’s very slight nod, Noah said, “I can do that.”
“That’s my guy. Now, I’m going to do the dishes and clean up the house while you and Owen and Romeo pick out some pictures.”
“’Kay,” he said meekly.
Once they left, Hannah, alone in the kitchen, cried into the sink. Because she didn’t want to leave, either. She wanted to stop the clock, burn the calendar and just make this the rest of her life.
* * *
Hannah and Owen were so forcibly cheerful, she was certain Noah noticed it wasn’t real. They went to Sully’s and had lunch on the porch. The sun came out and Romeo loped around the campgrounds with Beau; Sully and Noah threw the ball for them for a little while. Hannah was able to thank Helen for all her help and advice.