Almost Midnight (11 page)

They stood there for at least a minute, holding each other.

“Gosh, here she comes, Dad. Let go.” Jeremy pushed away from his father and wiped the wetness from his cheeks. “Aw gee, she’s got raincoats with her. Do we really need raincoats?” He gave Tanner the defeated look that men knew all too well.

Tanner took another glance at the sky and frowned. “We’ll leave them in the truck,” he said out of the corner of his mouth, the whispered words meant for his son’s ears only.

Jeremy smiled back.

Hannah stopped abruptly, her green eyes pricking him like the spurs on a horse. “What do you mean we’ll leave them in the truck? The weather man said there was a slight chance of rain.”

“Slight chance means probably less than ten percent,” Jeremy interrupted with pride, obviously using his new vocabulary. “Isn’t that so, Dad?” 

Tanner raised one brow. “Ten percent?” Smart kid. Hannah again, no doubt. Either way he answered, he was in trouble with someone. Still, everything about Hannah amazed him, starting from her ruby colored toenails all the way to her emerald green eyes.

“Dad?” Jeremy whined. “Ten percent, right?”

Ten percent? It didn’t matter what the hell he said.
A woman was always one hundred percent right in Tanner’s estimate. But Jeremy wouldn’t understand that type of logic, not until he was older.   

“Dad, you gonna answer me?”

Hannah put her hands on her hips and jutted her jaw forward, waiting for his answer too. Tanner’s tongue grew thick. As his father would say, gall dang it, she was a pretty little thing!

Finally, he shrugged, dropping his gaze from Hannah to Jeremy. “Hey, don’t look at me, she’s your tutor.”

Jeremy frowned and jumped inside the truck. “Gosh, Dad. It’s just what Grandpa said, you’re begotted with Hannah.”

“Begotted?” Tanner asked, perplexed.

Hannah shoved the raincoats in his hands and let out an uneasy smile. “I think he means besotted.”

“Besotted? Me?” Smiling, Tanner threw the raincoats into the truck and glanced over his shoulder. Hannah’s face had turned an attractive pink. “What do you think, Miss Elliot?”     

“I think you’re teasing me, Mr. Clearbrook.” She couldn’t quite meet his gaze.

His right brow lifted as he regarded her. A slight breeze kicked up her golden hair. There was a hint of vulnerability in her expression that instinctively made him want to protect her, and despite her position as his employee, he couldn’t deny the electricity between them anymore than he could deny Jeremy being his son. He tucked an unruly strand of hair behind her ear, wanting to pull her into his arms and kiss her.

“When I tease you, Miss Elliot, you won’t just think it, you’ll know it.” 

“Don’t run too far ahead, Jeremy.” Hannah’s words seem to fall on deaf ears as the boy flew past her in a flash of blue and white. Jealousy gripped her as she watched his little legs pump up the hill with the grace of a gazelle.

She was hot, she was sweaty, and she was tired.

She swallowed a groan as she took another step and stumbled on a rock, her feet hitting the barked trail with a thud.

“Isn’t this great?” Jeremy cried, increasing the distance between them. “Come on, slowpokes.”

Hannah grimaced as she stepped off the trail, resting against a round boulder beneath a tall pine, drawing in a tired sigh. It was getting hard to breathe, physically and emotionally.

She definitely had a fever, and to add to that, Tanner was making no attempt to hide the fact that he had been staring at her for the past few minutes as he hiked behind her.

Remaining aloof, when he was so close, was near to impossible.

She inhaled sharply when he dropped down beside her and his long leg brushed against hers. Dressed in a pair of old jeans and a red checkered shirt, he took her breath away.

“That boy’s got enough steam to run Three Mile Island,” he said, seemingly oblivious to the fact that her heart was thumping against her ribs. “We’ll give him a minute or two to explore by himself.” 

Tanner opened one of the water bottles and offered it to her. She drank and thanked him, mentally settling her heart back to a steady rhythm.

He looked up at the clouds and capped the bottle. “Looks like you were right.” His expression became grim. “Storm’s brewing. We better head back.”

She lifted her gaze to the sky, trying to ignore the attractive male beside her. She hadn’t noticed the rolling gray clouds until now. The trees rustled and the birds seemed to disappear. It was going to rain.

Irritation filled her, and she glared back at Tanner. “And where are the raincoats, may I ask?”

The grin he shot her curled her toes. “Are you always right?”

“Usually.” She grabbed the bottle on the ground, uncapped it, taking another sip. Her throat felt like fire. She would be glad to get home.

“What are your plans after this summer?”

His question surprised her. “I finished my engineering degree last month. I’m looking for a job with Reach Medicals. They’re hiring in the fall. My mom loves it here in Clearbrook Valley. I do too. The mountains. The clean air. The wildlife. Well, it has so many positives...”

She shrugged and the water bottle slipped from her fingers, hitting the trail. They both reached for it at the same time. Tanner’s hand accidentally gripped hers. Her heart gave a sudden jolt when his fingers closed on her wrist, and he pulled her hand to his lips.

“Hannah.” Her name floated in the air like silk against skin. She didn’t know how it happened, but the next second she was locked in his arms, her chest against his.

His hands brushed through her hair, and he tipped her head back, pressing his mouth to hers. The kiss was surprisingly gentle, a soft caress, sending her emotions whirling like a wild summer breeze. She heard him groan, and her senses reeled.

Tanner Clearbrook had her wrapped around his finger like a soft piece of taffy, ready to be molded and form.

A clap of thunder broke the spell, and they both pulled back. He touched her cheek with his thumb and smiled. “I think I should be rounding up my son. He shouldn’t be far. You’ve been terrific with Jeremy. He’s been talking to me about his mom, and I think it’s all because of you.”

She blinked, feeling her heart sink. Did he kiss her because he was thanking her? Was the kiss another payment of sorts, just like the last one in his car when she had opened her heart to him. Stupid Hannah. Really stupid.

A slow steady rain fell from the sky. With another finger, Tanner gently wiped a raindrop from her forehead. “We’ll finish this later.”

She frowned. “Listen, if you think—”

“Daaaaaaad!”

Jeremy’s high-pitched scream brought them both to their feet.

“Wait here!” Tanner cursed beneath his breath and shot in the direction of his son’s cry.

Hannah watched in fear as he disappeared beyond the trees. There was no way she was waiting for them. Jeremy sounded hurt.   

She took a step, but swayed, balancing her body against the boulder. She was too sick to be running. A squeezing dread twisted her stomach as she thought about Jeremy.

Please, God. Let him be all right.  

The heavens rumbled above her and she squinted past the fat raindrops slapping her face. No, she was going forward. Jeremy needed her. Taking a fortifying breath, she grabbed the backpack with the first-aid kit and started up the hill, her chest aching with each puff.

A minute later, she froze at the sight of Tanner jogging toward her, holding Jeremy’s limp body in his arms. Panic like the kind she experienced the day she had lost her husband welled in her throat, making it hard to breathe. The boy’s face was white and his arm was bleeding. She felt her own face drain of color.

“Jeremy,” she said in a cracked voice, touching the boy’s head. Tanner’s jaw clenched when his son looked up, his eight-year-old eyes flashing with pain.

“I think it’s broken,” Jeremy said. “I’m sorry I ruined our day.”

Hannah stroked his head, her heart in her throat. “It’s all right, pumpkin. I’ll make you two gingerbreads tomorrow.”

He nodded and tried to smile while tears streamed down his face. “Okay.”

Another roll of thunder pierced the sky, and Jeremy buried his head in his dad’s arms. The rain fell with a vengeance. Tanner glanced at Hannah. His face was tight with strain. “I don’t think he’s going to let you clean it right now. We have to get down the mountain.” 

His eyes narrowed on her face, as if he was finally noticing her pallor. “We’ll have to make a run for it. Can you make it?”

Hannah didn’t know if she could run the distance back to the truck, but she nodded. She realized then that Tanner Clearbrook was different than Nick. Her husband’s words banged against her brain.
Kids are a burden, Hannah. A yoke around a man’s neck.

But Jeremy wasn’t a burden to Tanner. The child was a joy, his love, his life, and she envied Tanner for that.

“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “You go on ahead and I’ll catch up.”

Tanner frowned. “I hate to leave you, but he might go into shock. The cell phone signal’s just about nothing way out here.”

Hannah touched his shoulder, pushing him toward the trail. “I’m fine.” She lied. “Hurry up. I’ll be right behind you.”

Tanner grimaced as his gray eyes swept over her body. “Just stay behind me. Follow the trail if you lose me and you can’t get lost.”

Hannah nodded. She could no longer deny that she was beginning to fall in love with the handsome millionaire.

It was crazy, she knew, but she couldn’t fight her heart any more than she could fight the pounding rain. She gathered the back packs and trudged down the hill, praying that Jeremy would be all right.

Wind slapped hard against her face and she fought to breathe. Her lungs felt as if they would burst, but she continued on. Tanner was becoming a mere outline in the sheets of rain striking the earth.

A branch broke above Hannah, hitting her legs before she could stop. She fell to the ground, letting out a gasp of despair. She raised her head from the mud, no longer able to see Tanner’s moving form. Her muscles screamed from fatigue as she tried to call for help.

“Tanner!” But her shout for aid was drowned out by the wind.

She pushed her hands against the muddy trail and tried to stand. Her knees buckled. Two warm tears slid down her cheek, and she dropped her head against her chest, exhausted.

Darkness blanketed the sky. Thunder rumbled above her like the roar of a lion. Pine trees swayed in the blowing wind.

She fought against the fatigue spreading throughout her body, but she wouldn’t give up. Jeremy needed her.

She gave one last push and fell back against the trail in agony. She bit her lip as her lashes swept against cold, wet cheeks. No matter how hard she tried, she felt herself tumbling further and further into darkness and wondered vaguely if this was how it felt to die.

CHAPTER EIGHT

By the time Tanner reached his truck, the parking lot had become a shallow pond. Hard sheets of rain pummeled his back as he carefully placed Jeremy inside the vehicle. Branches and debris flew in the air like leaves in autumn.

“Dad, where’s Hannah?” Tears, mingled with rain, streaked down Jeremy’s cheeks.

Tanner fumbled for his cell phone. He had good reception. “She’ll be here any minute, partner.” 

Tanner punched in the numbers and called for an ambulance. He would have driven to the hospital himself, but Hannah was still out in the storm. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach as he peeled off his soaked shirt and stared past the rain-spattered windshield.

Where the hell was she?

Lightning boomed about fifty yards away, shaking the ground.

Jeremy shivered. “I’m scared, Dad. My arm really hurts.” 

Tanner grimaced. “I’d give you something for the pain, but I don’t know if that would be wise.” He took a quick look at Jeremy’s arm. No bones sticking out, but the arm definitely looked broken. “Your Uncle Rafe would have my head if I didn’t do the right thing, you know.”

Jeremy turned his head toward the glove box and blinked back tears. “Yeah, he doesn’t like you pretending to be a doctor.”

“Think I’ll have to do a little doctoring though.” Tanner took out a pocketknife and cut off Jeremy’s shirt where his arm was bleeding. He cleaned the two-inch cut with an antiseptic wipe from the glove box, then covered his son with a dry blanket from beneath the seat.

“Will Uncle Rafe be at the emergency room when I get there?”

“Don’t know.” Tanner gave a swift glance outside. A sense of dread swept through him.
Where are you, Hannah?

Jeremy raised his head and tried to look out the window. “I don’t see her. Are you sure she knows we went to the truck?” His voice was almost to the point of hysterical.

Tanner lightly brushed his hand through Jeremy’s hair. “Sure. Hannah knows everything, doesn’t she?” 

But the thought of Hannah getting lost made Tanner’s stomach clench. He recalled her pale face when she’d rested on the boulder. She seemed more than just tired. A wave of guilt stirred his conscience. The kiss had made him forget about everything until Jeremy had yelled, then his focus had immediately turned toward his son.

He stared at the trail, knowing there was only one way down. He gritted his teeth. Even in the rain, she couldn’t miss the path.

“Dad? Is she coming?”

Tanner frowned at the sound of panic in Jeremy’s voice. The boy’s lips were white with pain. “Hannah’s a smart lady, partner. She knows we came straight to the truck. I’m just a faster runner than she is.”

“Oh.” Jeremy blinked, then closed his eyes, letting Tanner stroke his forehead.

“That’s it. Just relax. Everything’s going to be all right.” 

Jeremy seemed to buy his story, but as the minutes past, Tanner’s fear for Hannah grew. He debated whether to leave his son and look for her, but decided against it. Jeremy needed him.

Maybe she had taken cover under a tree. A dumb thing with the lightning, but somehow he hoped that was the case and not something else.