The Lullaby Sky (17 page)

“You sure are bossy.” Hannah smiled.

“Yes, I am. It takes a bossy person to take care of the bunch of you.”

“I love you, Aunt Birdie. I’m so glad that . . .”

Aunt Birdie threw up a hand. “I love you—all of you. Now do what I say or I might change my mind.” Her tired old eyes glittered as she left the room.

“So, are you going to listen to her?” Cal asked.

“Yes, we are.” Hannah yawned. “It’s ten thirty. Aunt Birdie left her tote bag, and it’s full of cookies and goodies if y’all get hungry. We’ll be back at one and you can leave for a couple of hours.”

“A word?” Darcy asked. “Alone.”

The two guys stepped out into the hallway.

“Why don’t I go with you,” Darcy said. “I’m not sure about spending so much time in the room with Cal.”

“This might be a blessing. How often do you two get to spend time alone?” Hannah said.

Darcy wiggled in her chair and skewed up her face. “I’m scared.”

“Fear begets fear. Shake it off. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.” Hannah left the room and motioned for Cal to go back inside. “Just call if Liz needs us.”

Cal handed Travis his van keys and went back into the room. Travis pocketed them and then picked up Hannah’s arm and looped it in his, keeping his hand over hers afterward. “I’ve had breakfast, but I could sure use a cup of coffee while you eat.”

Just the touch of his hand on hers erased the anxiety in her heart. “She’s strong, right? She’ll pull through this.”

“She will. Even though it doesn’t look like it, it could be worse. The busted ribs didn’t pierce her lungs or rupture any internal organs. The rest will heal. There might be a few faint scars, but the bruises will go away.” He pushed the “Down” elevator button. “It’s not the physical that worries me about her any more than it does about you. It’s the way it’s affected y’all in other ways.”

They joined an elderly couple in the elevator, who smiled sweetly at them. “We pushed the wrong button for the maternity place. Our great-grandson was born last night. Y’all here to see a baby?” the gray-haired lady said.

“No, ma’am. Just here for a friend,” Travis said.

“Well, you sure make a cute couple,” the lady said. “Maybe someday you’ll be here havin’ a baby of your own.”

“Now wouldn’t that be something.” Travis grinned.

The elevator stopped, and the old couple got off, leaving Travis and Hannah alone. She wanted to say something—to tell him that she had developed something akin to feelings for him, but the words stuck in her throat. Even though she trusted him, anything concerning that kind of relationship terrified her.

“Cute old folks,” Travis said.

Saved by the elevator doors and the scent of food coming from the cafeteria not far from them, she sniffed the air. “I think that’s hamburgers I’m getting a whiff of. I bet they’ve stopped serving breakfast altogether. I’d rather have a cheeseburger and fries anyway. Didn’t realize I was hungry until now.”

“Don’t be so nervous.” Travis led her in the direction of the aroma of fried onions.

“I’m not nervous,” she protested.

“Yes, you are. You talk too fast when you are, just like you did when we were kids.”

“You know me too well,” she said.

“We need to talk, but you are too tired to discuss anything. Let’s get you fed and then go out to Cal’s van. I’ll put all the backseats down and you can stretch out for a nap.”

She didn’t realize how tired she was until she started to chew. Her eyes grew heavier and heavier, and she had to force herself to stay awake to finish half the burger and a few fries. “I’m so sorry. The adrenaline rush is circling the drain,” she said. “Oh! I need to call Miss Rosie and check on Sophie.”

“I did that just before we got to the hospital. She and Laurel had breakfast together and now they are dressed in
Frozen
costumes and playing in her room. She’s in good hands,” Travis said. “And so are you, Hannah. I’m going to take care of you, I promise.”

He cleared her tray, then returned and held out his hand to her. “Nap time. I don’t think I’ll even have to tell you a story.”

“Not today.” She put her hand in his and wasn’t a bit surprised at the little twinge of heat that crept up her neck.

A nice breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees around the hospital as they stepped outside. The warmth felt good on her face, but Miss Rosie’s sweater was suddenly way too hot. She removed it and threw it over her shoulder.

“I’ve got an idea.” Travis unlocked the vehicle and got in. “Wait right here while I turn this rig around.”

She leaned against the big tree trunk and watched him pull the van out and then back it into the parking spot.

“Aha,” she said.

“We can catch the breeze. I don’t think anyone will bother us,” he said as he circled around to the back. He swung the doors open wide and quickly pushed the seats down. “Our first time to sleep together. I had something different in mind, but it is what it is.”

She giggled. “That’s a horrible pickup line. No wonder you don’t have a woman in your life.”

“I’ve been waiting a long time for the right woman, darlin’,” he answered as he motioned for her to crawl in first. “Sorry I don’t have a pillow, but I can offer you my arm.”

“I could sleep standing up in a broom closet right now.” She put a knee on the hard carpeted surface and crawled inside. Then she stopped and turned to look over her shoulder. “What did you just say?”

He came in right behind her and stretched his long, lanky frame out on the other side. “You heard me. I don’t want just any woman in my life. I want the woman of my dreams, and if I can’t have that person, I will do without.” He slipped an arm under her and pulled her effortlessly to his side. It felt right and comfortable to lie on his chest and shut her eyes, to listen to his heart beat steadily.

For the second time in only days, she wondered if she was that woman. It simply couldn’t be. If that was the case, he would have spoken up years ago, wouldn’t he?

There were no answers, but she did wonder as she shut her eyes and fell asleep what it would be like to have a man like Travis in her life forever.

C
HAPTER
S
EVENTEEN

D
arcy . . . ,” Cal started.

“Cal . . . ,” she said at the same time.

“You go first,” he said.

“She could have died. He might have killed her if Miss Rosie hadn’t gone down there with a gun in her pocket,” Darcy said.

Cal nodded.

“While I was getting my job stuff done so I could leave for the rest of the week, I kept thinking about how quick life can end,” Darcy said.

“You took the whole week off?” Cal asked.

“It’s supposed to be family emergency time. But the folks at the bank know that Liz and Hannah are even closer than sisters to me and that I don’t have real family anymore, so they cut me some slack.” She paused, and the silence in the room was so heavy that it hung right above their heads like smoke in an old cowboy bar. “Being an only child sucked when we were growing up. If it hadn’t been for Liz and Hannah, I’d have lost my mind when my parents died.”

Cal scooted his chair over close enough that he could hold the hand that wasn’t stuck through the bars and clasping Liz’s. “I can’t even imagine life without my two overbearing sisters and my dad.”

Darcy shrugged. “We’ve all had our crosses to bear, but today I’m . . .”

Another long, pregnant silence.

“My turn,” Cal said. “I’ve had some time to think, too, and to hell with the crosses that we’ve all had to bear. We’ve been there for each other since we started school. Today I’m going to go past the cross and bare my soul, Darcy, so get ready to either laugh at me or hug me.”

Darcy took a deep breath. Was he about to tell her that she was his best friend and like a sister? That he’d found the woman of his dreams and wanted to bring her to Crossing to live forever?

“Here goes,” Cal said. “I’ve been in love with you since first grade, maybe before that. I want us to date—to find out if it’s real or imagined or maybe a little of both—but I’ve been terrified to even ask you to dinner. But I’m asking now. Life is short and I need . . .” He paused again and looked right into her eyes.

Darcy was totally speechless.

He leaned in slightly and brushed a sweet kiss across her lips.

What a time to have both her hands out of commission. She wanted to touch his face, tell him she felt the same way, but she couldn’t do either.

“Me, too,” she said breathlessly.

“You, too, what?” he asked.

“I can’t remember when I wasn’t in love with you. This is all backward. We should date for months and then say those three magic words,” she answered.

“None of us ever do things the conventional way, do we?” He cupped her chin and brought her lips to his for a passionate kiss that set every nerve in her body to humming. And the sparks didn’t stop when he moved away. “Why did we wait this long?” he asked.

“Because you deserve one of those pretty trophy wives,” she said.

“And you deserve a man who is not a fashion designer.”

“Who says?”

“Right back at you,” he said. “This does mean you’ll go to dinner with me, right? And that we might be dating?”

“This means that yes to dinner and hell, yes, to dating.” She grinned.

“About damn time,” Liz said strongly, but she didn’t open her eyes.

Hannah slept with no dreams—bad or good. When she first awoke, she had no idea if she was really awake or still asleep, not even when she looked up into Travis’s eyes. It came back in short flashes—the kiss from the night before, Liz was in the hospital, and she was cuddled up next Travis.

“Feel better?” he asked.

“Much, but it’s been more than two hours, I’m sure. We should go back inside and let Darcy and Cal leave for a little while,” she said.

“But I like it right here, all alone with you to myself,” he said.

“Me, too, but we have to play fair,” she said. “I should call the house again and check on Sophie and our guests on the way back inside.”

“You’ll feel better if you talk to Sophie, but I’ll guarantee you that she’s being well taken care of,” Travis answered. “Aunt Birdie would have called you if Sophie so much as skinned a knee.”

“I know, but I want to talk to her.” Hannah pulled the phone from her hip pocket and hit the right number to call the house phone.

She sat up and then scooted out of the van and leaned against the tree. Miss Rosie picked up on the fourth ring and gave her all the news from Crossing. A moving van was sitting in the front of Wyatt’s house, and two men were loading it with all the contents. A Realtor sign from Denton was in the front yard.

Then Hannah told her about the policemen and the story Wyatt had told them.

“Sorry sumbitch is going to walk free, ain’t he?” Miss Rosie said.

“Oh, he’ll have a day in court for assault, but I reckon he’ll get a fine and maybe community service or probation, since it’s his first offense. If Liz had documented the other abuses or went to the hospital before, things might be different. The policeman told us that his girlfriend didn’t look like she’d take crap off him. I hope he’s right. How’s Sophie?”

“In hog heaven. She’s got a playmate and me and Birdie have a baby to go all gaga over. Jodie has been cleaning all day. I worried about her on that crutch, but she gets around real good with it and she says that cleaning is the least she can do. I’d take her home with me to live forever, but she needs to get back to her people. I called the hospital a while ago and talked to the charge nurse. They’re going to release Liz into Birdie’s care after ten tonight, so y’all bring her on to the house,” Miss Rosie said.

“Shouldn’t they keep her another day?” Hannah asked.

“We can take care of her better than they can. She needs lots of sleep, a pain pill every four hours, and good food. I’ve got to go. It’s my turn to rock that precious little Bella.”

The phone went dark and the doors of the van slammed at the same time.

“Everything all right?” Travis asked.

“Oh, yes. The universe does not mess with Aunt Birdie and Miss Rosie,” she said. “And they are going to let us take Liz home tonight after ten.”

He put an arm around her shoulders and together they went back into the lobby of the hospital and caught the elevator up to Liz’s floor. Hannah was so shocked when she walked into the room that Travis pulled her tightly to his side to keep her from falling.

Liz was sitting up in the bed with a tray of food in front of her. “Hello. Did y’all have a good rest? I was starving, so I ran Cal and Darcy out of here to the cafeteria.”

“Holy smoke!” Hannah said.

“I look like hammered owl shit, but I assure you, darlin’, I’ve been through this before. Maybe not as bad, but at least I can know this is the last time.” She gently put a forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, swallowed, and then said, “And something good is coming out of this. Darcy and Cal have admitted that they’ve been in love with each other for years. I think they’re dating now.”

Hannah quickly crossed the room. “I’m in shock that you are even able to sit up.”

“Just don’t make me laugh. It hurts my ribs,” Liz said.

“Stop talking and eat before your food gets cold,” Travis said.

Liz shook a fork at him. “No man will ever boss me around again, not even you, darlin’.”

Travis chuckled. “That’s the Liz I knew in school.”

“Are you sure you feel up to going home?” Hannah asked.

“Honey, this time I even get the good pain pills. Always before I had to make do with over-the-counter stuff.” Liz’s attempt at a grin turned into a grimace. “Besides, my insurance will fuss if I lie up in this bed too many days.”

Hannah smiled and changed the subject. “Tell me more about Darcy and Cal.”

“Nothing more to tell.” Liz said. “Six more hours and I can go home. Let’s send Darcy and Cal out on their first date, and we’ll watch reruns of
NCIS
until they release me. I love Gibbs.”

“I still can’t believe you’ve made this kind of turnaround since we left a few hours ago,” Travis said.

“It was that good stuff they put in the IV. I asked if I could take a bottle of it home with me, but they said I’d have to make do with pills,” Liz said between bites of mashed potatoes and meat loaf. “This isn’t nearly as good as what you make, Hannah, but it’ll do in a pinch. How’s your new guests? Is Sophie all right?”

“Doin’ great. You worry about you,” Hannah answered quickly.

“I don’t have to worry anymore. I’ll heal just like you are doing. With the support of y’all, I can do this and come out on the other side stronger and wiser,” Liz said.

“Yes, you can,” Travis said.

Hannah could have hugged Travis right there for those three words of confidence in her and Liz.

The next morning, Hannah stretched and rolled her neck from side to side, shifted from her back to her side, and pulled the cool sheet up over her shoulder, all without opening her eyes. She liked sleeping in the guest room even better than the new bedroom. Her eyes popped open with a sense of violation all over again. Marty had known from the cameras that she didn’t sleep in their marital bedroom when he wasn’t there.

She threw the covers back, slid out of bed, and shivered.
With his oversize ego, he probably told himself that it was because I couldn’t stand to be in there without him. But good grief! I read
Fifty Shades of Grey
in that room, and he would have seen that.

Giggles out in the yard made her go to the window and pull back the curtains. A blast of sun hit her in the face like an old-time flashbulb on one of those square cameras. She blinked several times and whipped around to look at the clock beside her bed. Surely that wasn’t right. It couldn’t be ten o’clock. She hadn’t slept past six thirty in years.

She looked out the window again. The sun was already halfway to the top of the sky, and it, unlike clocks, did not lie. The laughter grew louder, and then Travis came into view on a riding lawn mower. He’d hitched up the trailer behind the mower, and Sophie and Laurel were riding in it. Two glittery masks from a kindergarten party covered their upper faces, and they held up a couple of brightly colored whirligigs in the air to catch the morning breeze. Lord, have mercy! That child was not supposed to be outside.

She rushed down the stairs to find Jodie and Cal deep in conversation at the kitchen table. “The girls are outside.” She panted.

“But they have on masks. No one knows who Laurel is but one of Sophie’s church friends,” Cal said. “It’s okay, Hannah. Travis is going to make them come inside after a couple of rounds.”

Hannah went to the back door to watch them, her heart still racing in her chest. The giggles stopped, and suddenly two girly voices and a deep drawl drowned out the sound of the mower engine with the lyrics of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” The little girls looked up at the sky and held their sticks even higher. “He can’t do that. He cannot take Laurel outside.”

Cal stepped out on the porch and motioned at Travis to bring them inside. “Hannah is worried,” he yelled loud enough for the whole county to hear.

Travis brought the mower around and helped the little girls out. They whined for one more ride, but he shook his head.