She gives me a look, raising her brows. “Are you serious?”
“Roll with it,” I suggest.
Hannah tilts her head with a smile. “Yeah, Tommy, I do.”
Oh, fuck, she called me Tommy. My family and some close friends are the only ones who have ever called me that, so hearing it from her lips is incredible. Not that I’ve ever been huge on the nickname. My brothers started calling me Tommy after we watchedRugrats. But still. It makes me feel closer to her in a new way.
I can’t stop the smile that breaks out on my face. “Dancing with you that night…” I trail off, taking a breath. “I knew that what we were starting was something special. Granted, I didn’t know what was to come, of course, but I don’t regret the way our relationship started.”
Hannah looks down at her feet with a smile. “I don’t either.”
“I’ve had some guilt over the way I made you come with me, but I think it was worth it.”
“I think it was too,” she replies, looking up at me.
A bird sings in the distance, and I’m not ready for this moment to end. “Come here,” I say, standing up and holding out my hand to her.
She places her small hand in mine, and I pull her into my arms, reminiscent of the night at the street dance.Slowly, I begin to sway as I hum along to the song playing in my head.
The lyrics play in my mind on repeat. Hannah hums along with me, and I’m lost in this moment with her. This last peaceful moment of just the two of us before the chaos of real life. I love this girl, I know I do. We’ve had a backwards start, but the test will be life at home. I’m ready.
44
HANNAH
After a long and tearful goodbye with Ron and Dottie and saying one final goodbye to the animals, we are on the long journey home.
Time has passed quickly this time around, each mile left behind us making me more and more sad, but also, so excited to get home.
Unsurprisingly, Thomas has had his right hand touching me at all times. Whether it was holding my hand, resting on my thigh, even grazing upwards toward my core and underneath the hem of my comfortable cotton sundress. Currently, he has his hand resting on the nape of my neck, playing with a piece of my hair that’s fallen out of my messy bun.
There’s only an hour left of the drive now. Talking has filled most of the hours, but also plenty of music and singing too. I even get him to sing along to all of theGleesongs he has on the iPod. He knows every single lyric.
We call all of our families on the way home, but tell them to expect not to see us until tomorrow.
Josie had the baby on Sunday afternoon after a longlabor. A little boy named Cooper. It sounds like everything went well, though, and both mom and baby are healthy and home.
The views of the Minneapolis city line appear in the windshield, lit up in the darkness, and both of us go quiet. It’s fully setting in that within an hour we will be back in Ivy Ridge.
Thomas swallows thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “I suppose I should call Elena.”
I nod, reaching into the glove box to pull out the burner phone. I turn it on and hand it over to him. He dials, putting it on speaker. While it rings, I look out the window at the familiar city.
“Thomas, so good to hear from you. Are you close?” Elena answers.
“Yes,” he replies, glancing out of the window. “We are just getting onto six-ninety-four. We should be there in about an hour. Should we meet at the station? Or go home?”
“Meet at the station. We will have your phones ready for you, and give you a debriefing,” Elena confirms.
“Great. We’ll see you soon,” Thomas responds. They say goodbye, and Thomas ends the call. A heaviness sinks in my gut.
The rest of the drive is made in silence, even as we reach the town limits, and our familiar hometown comes into view. Jason’s brewery pops up on my right side, bringing back all the memories from our first date for the second time today.
We pass the street where Henry was shot, and I look away. I’m not ready to look at that. Not ready to see the scene where everything changed. Thomas squeezes my thigh tightly. How he knows what is on my mind, I’m not sure. But that’s something he’s good at. He knows me.
When we pull up to the police station, Thomas shifts the car into park, letting out a heavy breath. “We made it,” he says, though he doesn’t sound all that excited.
He turns off the car, and he leashes Arson. Both of us get out at the same time, and he rounds the car to take my hand before leading us inside.
