Beside him, Hannah’s breath caught.
His bear stirred, satisfied and calm.
She needed to hear that,his bear said.
And I needed to say it.
Chapter Eleven – Hannah
This had been the best day of her life.
Not that it had much competition. She’d fought hard to keep her life predictable, some would say boring. No detours. No surprises. Hannah had taken pains to keep it that way.
Yet shehadtaken a detour, by accident, and it had led to one of the biggest surprises of all. Caleb Thornberg.
In only a few short hours, he’d shown her kindness and taught her she was never too old to have fun.
Now they were driving back through the mountains as the sun set behind the peaks, the light dimming, the road unwinding before them. And she didn’t want the day to end. Didn’t want Caleb to drop her off at his cabin and leave her alone while he went back to work at the restaurant.
She glanced sideways at him and smiled. He drove with such calm confidence, one hand on the wheel, the other resting against the open window. She liked that he felt comfortable enough with her not to fill the silence that had stretched between them since they’d left the vineyard.
Since he’d told her they would go back there again with such certainty that she’d believed him. Believed it without question, which unsettled her more than she cared to admit.
Because tomorrow her car would be ready, and she planned to get moving again and leave Bear Creek... as if nothing here had changed her.
Perhaps he intended to ask her to return. To visit again.
But she didn’t want to visit. She wanted to be a part of this special place called Bear Creek.
The truck slowed as they approached Caleb’s cabin, and Hannah’s stomach fluttered with anticipation as the headlights swept across the front porch, illuminating the wooden structure against the darkening sky. There was something about returning to this place that felt significant, as if the cabin itself were welcoming her back, welcoming her home.
Caleb cut the engine, and for a moment they sat in the sudden quiet; the absence of the motor’s hum made the mountain silence more profound.
“Home sweet home,” he murmured before turning to look at her with a smile that said so much more.
Hannah nodded, unbuckling her seatbelt. “It feels that way,” she admitted, surprised by her own honesty.
Because if there were ever a time to be honest—with herself and with Caleb—this was it.
But did she have the courage?
That remained to be seen.
Perhaps if she had more experience being spontaneous with her emotions, she might find it easy. But she didn’t. She had spent a lifetime being careful with her thoughts, careful with her feelings. Careful with her heart.
Was this really the time to start being reckless? Or was it simply time to stop being afraid?
They got out of the truck and walked to the door together, close but not touching, the air between them filled with unspoken words.
The evening had grown cooler, the mountain chill seeping through her still slightly damp clothes as Caleb unlocked the door and ushered her inside. The cabin was dark and quiet; the air was cool. Hannah shivered, wrapping her arms aroundherself as Caleb flipped on a lamp, casting soft golden light across the wooden floors.
He noticed immediately. “You’re cold,” he said, his eyes taking in her slight trembling. “Why don’t you make some coffee while I get a fire started? It’ll warm you up in no time.”
So would Caleb holding her in his arms. But she kept those words to herself.
“That sounds perfect,” Hannah replied, grateful for the suggestion and the distraction.
She moved toward the kitchen, listening to the sounds of Caleb gathering kindling and logs. There was something deeply satisfying about the domesticity of it. Caleb building a fire while she prepared coffee. Satisfying primal needs.
