All too soon they arrived, and Noah stopped a ways from the bluff, needing a place to tie up the horse. He slid from the saddle, then lifted his arms to help Hannah down. Her feet landed softly on the grass beside him. “Just a moment,” he muttered. He secured the reins, then gestured to the bluffs. “Shall we?”
Hannah only nodded, clasping her hands in front of her.
“You are rather quiet this evening.” Noah glanced over at her as they walked.
She bit her lip, and the wind whipped at her skirts as they neared the edge. “This is more intimidating than I had thought it would be. It sounded adventurous when I imagined it.”
Noah reached over, taking her hand. The shock of her warm skin surprised him, but more than that, he noticed a slight tremor. Her head jerked up to him and she swallowed.
“You will be fine,” he assured her. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Hannah gave a quick nod, then turned back toward the water.
“Do you want to go to the shore?” he asked.
Again, she nodded, her hand gripping his tighter. They picked their way along the path, being careful of their footing. Arriving at the beach, Hannah pulled her hand free and walked to the water’s edge. She stared out where the reflection of the moon spilled over the surface, creating a brilliant white against the stark black.
But the sea did not hold his attention at the moment. Instead, it was the young woman on its edge that captivated him. She was a goddess on the shores of the water, her hair fire as it billowed behind her. Never had she looked more beautiful than she did at this moment.
Hannah turned to him. “Thank you, Noah. This is incredible. And I never would have come if it were not for you.”
He smiled. “What else are friends for if not to help each other fulfill their dreams?”
“Dreams . . .” The word drifted on the wind to him, and if he hadn’t seen her lips move, he might not have believed she actually said it.
Hannah’s brow creased, her eyes suddenly filled with apprehension.
He stepped toward her. “You are not nervous still, are you?” Something seemed off, as if she was hiding something. “Hannah? Are you all right?”
“I was only thinking.”
“About?”
“About how much yours and Sarah’s friendships have meant to me. It is one thing to have a member of one’s family think good things about them. A blessing, to be sure. But how much more so to have someone who knows nothing about you desire to know more because they are intrigued by what they see? I feel that is the greater compliment.”
“I suppose that is true.” He nodded along as he listened to her words.
“And perhaps that is why my advice to you all those weeks ago bolstered your confidence. I do not think I offered you anything your family did not. Merely, that I was able to offer you insight as an indifferent party.”
“Indifferent?” Noah said with a laugh. “How droll. I do not think you indifferent to me in the least.”
“Perhaps not now. But there was once a day, if you can believe it.”
“I cannot. I feel as if we have been friends forever. How strange.” He peered over at her, his mouth lifting in a broad smile.
“But why?”
Her words brought him up short, his smile turning down on one side. “What do you mean?”
“Why me? Why befriendme?”
“What do you mean, why? Does there have to be a reason? We got on well and things progressed. You helped me secure a case—”
“I helped lift your confidence, but I did nothing to further your career.” She turned her face toward him, and her eyes filled with tears. “I have done nothing good for you that could not have been accomplished by any number of people. I tried to change you to fit what I thought you should be. For your career—for women.”
His brow furrowed. “Now wait a moment. That isn’t true.”
“But it is!” She pulled her hands together in front of her, as if pleading with him, tears still brimming in her eyes. “You are successful because of your own doing. Because of the effort you put into your education and your willingness to learn and adapt to things. What have I done for you?” The tears broke over her lids, streaming down her cheeks, and he struggled to understand why she was so upset. “You have made such a difference in my life, and I fear I have only made you feel inadequate. You fill me with praise and make me believe I am more than what my parents fill my head with. And yet, who does those things for you?”
