“Did you not see the mailbox, Cole?” Mrs. Hayworth scolded as she banged her cane on the floor.
“Yes, ma’am. I got distracted, but I’ll be more careful,” he assured her.
“Those young kids can’t even keep their eyes on the road,” Mrs. Hayworth complained. “You’d think he’s never seen a pretty girl before.”
“What did you say?” the other woman beside her asked.
“Ethal, how many times do I have to tell you to turn your hearing aid on?” Mrs. Hayworth spoke louder.
Hannah burst into giggles as he drove up the next driveway. “I’ll get this one,” she volunteered.
Ringing the doorbell, she waited. An elderly man with a walker opened the door and grinned. “You’re a damn better sight than Bald-Head Harry or Lead Foot Larry. Who’s driving today?” he asked as he pushed his walker toward the bus, squinting to see the driver.
“It’s Cole,” Hannah replied as she held on to his arm, helping him up the steps.
“Hello, Ralph. Do you plan on winning the game this week?” Cole asked cheerfully.
“How did they talk you into driving? You know you’d have a lot more seniors coming if you let this pretty girl drive us around.”
“I’m sure you’re right there, but Hannah’s practicing to get her driver’s license. You’re stuck with me,” he replied, winking at her.
Hannah assisted him to his seat and sat down as Cole drove them to the next stop. When they finally made it to Serenity, Patch, Knight, and Saint helped them off the bus while the others served coffee to the newcomers.
Hannah passed down a few walkers and canes before getting off, followed by Brody.
“I can drive them home,” Knight volunteered. Gabby fell asleep and Bryanna offered to watch Marcus tonight.
“Way to be subtle. You’re giving her a rest before you come in and I know you won’t be sleeping. Geez, it’s worse than listening to you sing,” Patch complained.
“At least I have a plan,” Knight retorted. “You keep asking Claire about her morning sickness, if she napped, and questioning her food choices. She’s going to slap your head right off your neck.”
“How’s everything going with Hannah?” Patch asked.
Cole swiped his jaw. “It’s fine.”
“Come on, you can tell us. It’s not like we haven’t talked about our shit.”
“I like her a lot,” Cole admitted. “I’m scared to make any moves. We’ve kissed. I’m worried about doing something and it triggering her.”
Knight leaned against the bus. “When I arrived here, I didn’t know Gabby moved to Seattle. I treated her like shit in California because I suffered from undiagnosed PTSD, and I didn’t communicate with anyone. When I finally got my head semi-straight, I realized how badly I treated her. It seemed every move I made ended up wrong.”
“Thanks for the encouragement,” Cole said wryly.
“If you want something more than friendship with Hannah, go slow. Let her determine the pace and decide what’s good for her. She seems like a woman worth waiting for,” Patch advised.
“What if I trigger her?” he asked.
Knight put his hand on Cole’s shoulder. “Then we support her the same way we do our brothers. We help her heal and be there for you, too.”
Leo came around the corner. “Patch the toilet’s stopped up. You’re still on latrine duty.”
Patch punched Knight as he walked by him. Leo rolled his eyes.
“Can you imagine acting this insane over your wife getting pregnant? The man has lost all his scruples,” Leo said, watching the last of the group file inside.
“Do you want to stay and play a few turns of Bingo?” Cole asked.
“Why not? What do we get as prizes?” she asked.
