“Hah.” Andrew smirked. “You bought that because Jack said it was cool.”
Stephen raised an eyebrow. “You bought an eighty-thousand-dollar car because a six-year-old said it was cool?”
Matt just shrugged, unfazed. “He liked it. And it is cool. Don’t be jealous, minivan.”
Stephen was no longer listening to his brothers’ smack. He didn’t care for how close Allie’s dad was standing to Hannah, and when his hand touched her shoulder, Stephen saw red.
He’d unleashed a passion in her, revealed it to her, as he’d meant to, but the thought of her revealing it to someone else…Just the idea of another man touching her, sharing what they shared—his mind rejected it. But as he watched Hannah with Allie’s father, he wondered if the man dreamed of torturing and killing the drunk driver who’d killed half his family.
Their laughter floated to him and he figured not.
“Uh-oh.” Andrew followed Stephen’s line of sight. “Looks like smiley man has been replaced. Don’t lose it, dude. You’ll upset the horses.”
“Fuck you.” He didn’t want her to smile at anyone else, laugh with anyone else. Stephen headed off to make sure there were no misunderstandings.
“Stephen.”
He was halfway there when he turned at the sound of his name, surprised to see Dave striding toward him.
“Hey, man. What’s up?”
“Just out.” Dave adjusted his sunglasses. “Thought I’d come by and support. Looks like quite a party.”
“Yeah. It’s a good turnout.”
“So where’s the special lady that’s gotten you so off track?”
Stephen felt his jaw tighten. “No one’s got me off track.”
“Ah. Would that be her walking over here with the big bright smile on her face?”
He didn’t like Dave’s tone or the way he lowered his glasses, making a show of checking her out top to bottom.
“Very nice. I can see why you resisted the purchase deal.”
Stephen slid a protective and possessive arm around her as she came to stand beside him. “Hannah, this is Dave Pietro, my partner at Trace Development.”
“And his right-hand man,” Dave added, holding out a hand to shake Hannah’s.
She took it, let it go quickly. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too. So you’re hoping to convince the city they shouldn’t take this property by having a party?”
“Well, it’s more than a party. I’m hoping if people understand what I do here, they’ll want me to keep doing it.”
Stephen felt her tense beside him and tightened his hold. “What she does out here is amazing.”
Dave nodded, smiled. “I see. But couldn’t you do that somewhere else?”
Dave wouldn’t understand what this place meant to Hannah. Didn’t think he knew what Trace meant to him.
“I mean, Stephen here is an expert at finding suitable properties. Closing deals. Did you know they call him The Shark?”
“I’m sure it’s because he’s good at what he does.”
“Yes,” Dave agreed. “I’m sure that’s it.”
Stephen didn’t know what Dave was up to, or if he was up to anything, but he didn’t like the vibe and was glad when he excused himself.
“What was that about?” Hannah asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Did you know he was coming?”
“No.” They walked toward the last clump of people.
“How did he even know where it was?”
“I don’t know.” Stephen took her hand, linking their fingers even as his body tensed with the lie.
Chapter 36
“Abby, please. You don’t have to do this.” Hannah put away the leftover condiments while Abby wiped down the counter.
It was after nine, and they were all tired after the long day followed by cleanup and taking care of the horses. Low voices of the men drifted from the front porch through her open door. Stephen had stayed to help, along with Matt and Abby and her brothers. Who were behaving surprisingly well.
“Don’t be silly,” Abby said. “Of course I’ll help. It’s my only contribution. Plus, tonight will be like a vacation since Matt’s parents took all the kids. I was told the McKinney family babied their pregnant women, and they weren’t kidding.”
Right on cue, Matt’s voice came from the front porch. “Abby, come sit down.”
“I’m coming.” She rolled her eyes and made no move to leave. Instead she took a seat at Hannah’s kitchen table.
There really hadn’t been much work for dinner since there’d been plenty of leftover hamburgers and hot dogs. Hannah closed the dishwasher and joined her. “Are the kids excited about the babies?”
“Annie is, Jack couldn’t care less. Gracie has reattached herself to Matt even more than usual. I’m not sure about Charlie yet. And then of course Mary is oblivious.”
“That’s a big family.”
“Yeah.” Abby smiled. “But Matt’s from a big family and I always wanted a big family, so…it works.”
Hannah smiled past the knot in her throat. “Yeah. It definitely works.”
Stephen was from a big family too. She’d love any child, but maybe Stephen wanted his own. Maybe she should tell him there was a good possibility she couldn’t have children. Were they at that point yet? The thought of facing him with yet another issue made her sick.