She frowned. It wasn’t windy or raining. There was no reason he wouldn’t have heard her. She called to him again, but he still didn’t seem to hear. Finally, when she got closer and lifted her voice a little, his head snapped up, and he seemed almost startled to see her.
“Oh hey, Hannah,” he greeted as he closed the distance between them.
She frowned again. What was wrong? Something was clearly bothering him. He always paid attention to his surroundings and wasn’t usually quite so somber.
“You okay?” she asked.
He ran a hand over his short cropped dark hair, his hazel eyes darkening slightly as he frowned. But then he nodded firmly, clearly deciding against telling her what he was so deep in thought about. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
She could tell he was lying. Maybe if she gave him a little encouragement, he would be more willing to share. “Didn’t see you at breakfast,” she remarked, trying to keep her voice casual. “You don’t normally miss pancakes.”
“Guess I must have overslept,” he replied with a shrug.
“That’s not like you,” she pointed out. “Military man, you always keep good time, right?”
He managed a smile. His eyes creased as he looked down at her, and she felt an all-too-familiar flip in her chest. God, she needed to do something about that. She should have known better by now than to let the chemistry between them mess with her head. One kiss all those months ago should have been enough to get it out of her system, and yet, here she was, just as fluttery as she had always been about her brother’s best friend.
“I try,” he replied, and he glanced around. “What are you doing out here this morning anyway? It’s freezing.”
“I like the cold,” she told him. “Helps clear my head.”
“I get that,” he said.
They were dancing around the real point here. She could feel that in her bones. But she didn’t know how to nudge him along to what was really on his mind. There were dark circles beneath his eyes—it was obvious he hadn’t been sleeping much. But what had been keeping him up?
Maybe she was overthinking it. Ever since the night of the fire, she had been more nervous than ever before, worried that something might disrupt the comfortable peace she had found at the lodge.
She shifted a little closer to him, looking up into his eyes. For a split second, she felt it, the same draw that had led to their impromptu kiss last year. She had done everything she could to keep that out of her mind, to force herself to forget about how good his lips had felt on hers, but it wasn’t that easy. No matter how much she tried to shut it off, the long-standing crush she had on him just wouldn’t go away. Even knowing her brother hated the thought of his baby sister and his best friend together.
He was just protective of both of them.
“Is something going on?” she pressed.
He paused for a second, as though he was really considering telling her the truth. But then, he withdrew once more. Shaking his head, he glanced back toward the main building. “Nothing,” he said at last. “I should get to work for the day. See you around, Hannah.”
And with that he was gone.
She watched as he went and thought about calling after him once more. Begging him to tell her what was troubling him. She parted her lips, about to call his name, then stopped herself. His business and troubles were his own, even if she wished forsomething different. He had made it clear where he stood after their kiss all those months ago, and the last thing she needed was to make things more complicated than she already had.
Her shoulders slumped as she stood there, trying to calm the pounding of her heart. How was it that he could still have this effect on her even after all this time? She had felt it the moment she met him so many years ago when he served in the military with her brother. What had started as a simple crush had developed into something way more prominent.
He never seemed to return the feelings, always keeping her at a distance. And then after the moment they’d shared, she was more confused than ever. Even though she had started it, when their lips touched, he immediately took over—like he’d been waiting for the chance—and all but devoured her. But then suddenly it was over, and it felt like there was more distance between them than ever.
Even though she had tried to forget, she found herself thinking about it all the time. What it would be like to be with him and kiss him anytime she wanted, not having to worry about what someone else thought, especially her brother?
She could still remember the way Lawson had flipped his lid about it, as though he hadn’t noticed the tension between them. Maybe he really hadn’t, and all of this had come as a complete shock to him. But everyone else seemed to be able to tell how much chemistry she and Xavier had. Was her brother really that clueless?
It didn’t matter. He had made himself clear. He didn’t want anything happening between his best friend and his sister, and she supposed she couldn’t blame him. What guy would be all right with his business partner and closest friend making a move on his little sister?
Lawson had always been way more protective of Hannah than he needed to be. No matter how much she tried to convincehim that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, he would brush her off and act like she needed someone looking out for her. It was frustrating sometimes, but hey, he was her big brother. It wasn’t as though she could expect anything else—it had been that way her entire life.
She watched from a distance and waited for Xavier to make it back to the lodge before she started walking again. She didn’t want him to feel like she was following him or chasing him around. God knew she had done enough of that as it was.
Sometimes, she wished she could just ask him where his feelings for her stood. Surely, her brother’s attitude hadn’t been enough to shut down everything Xavier felt for her. Would it? She didn’t know. And with no way to ask him without giving away her own lingering emotions, she had decided it was best to just keep it all to herself.
Another explosion of laughter burst from the cabin closest to her, and this time the sound of River and Cade’s flirtation echoed down the pathway. Hannah knew she wasn’t going to get far being envious of the other women around here, but damn, sometimes she wondered when it was going to be her turn to fall for someone and have them want her back.
She couldn’t fault either couple for their happiness, either. All four of her friends had been through some hard times and she was grateful they’d all made it beyond their troubles to find contentment together at Warrior Peak.
