He quickly shook his head. “I just threw some things in a bag and headed this way.”
Normally it was a four-hour drive from Dallas to the resort. Hannah suspected Andrew had made it in less today.
She twisted her fingers more tightly together. “You’re coming to the resort?”
“Yes.”
“Would you—could we not say anything to the family just yet? About your being the father, I mean. We’ll tell them,” she added quickly, when he started to frown, “just not until we’ve had more time to talk privately about … things.”
To her relief, he nodded to concede that she had a valid point. “We will need to talk.”
“Yes.” And she dreaded it. Everything was so complicated. “But it’s going to take a while. And I can’t do it now, the family will be wondering where I am. The way I rushed off without an explanation, they’ll be worried if I don’t go back soon.”
He didn’t look particularly pleased with the delay, but he didn’t try to argue. “So how are we playing this?”
“We’ll show up at the resort at different times so they won’t know we’ve already seen each other. You can go ahead, I need to stop by the store anyway.”
“And I suppose you’ll be completely surprised to find me at the resort when you get back.”
She shrugged, intending to play it exactly that way.
Andrew sighed and ran a hand over his hair. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. I’ll keep your secret. For now. But somehow or another we’ll have to find opportunities to talk, and soon.”
She nodded grimly, knowing his patience would last only so long. “We’ll talk.”
She turned toward her car, only to be stopped by his hand on her arm. “Hannah.”
Looking up at him, she whispered, “What?”
“It’s going to be okay.”
She moistened her lips. “I know.”
He smoothed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “I’ll see you at the resort.”
Nodding, she hurried toward her car, resisting an impulse to lay a hand on her cheek where his fingers had touched.
She drove straight to the grocery store. She had forgotten to bring a list and she was still so rattled from her brief meeting with Andrew that she could hardly think about what she needed. She drifted down the aisles of the store fifteen minutes after parting from him, staring blankly at the shelves and trying to focus on the task at hand rather than the challenges that lay ahead. With yogurt, fresh fruit and a bag of cookies in her cart, she turned a corner only to have her day take yet another downturn as she came face-to-face with her former in-laws, Justine and Chuck Cavender. It was the first time she had seen them since their son had been arrested for embezzlement and attempted extortion against Hannah’s family.
“Hannah!” Justine’s first startled reaction was pleasure. She and Hannah had gotten along well enough before the acrimonious divorce. But then her gaze lowered and her smile was replaced with a stricken expression. “Oh. You’re—”
Chuck had never been particularly fond of Hannah to start with—primarily, Hannah suspected, because he’d believed every lie Wade had told about what a terrible wife she’d been. Chuck had enabled, apologized for and deflected blame for his son for all of Wade’s life, which Hannah believed was part of the reason Wade sat in jail now. Wade could be charming, convincing and manipulative—her marriage to him was proof enough of that—but the streak of meanness that lay beneath his amiable mask came straight from his father.
Chuck snarled at Hannah, “Get out of our way.”
She scooted her cart as far to one side as she could. She almost apologized for being in his path, but she bit her tongue. She’d apologized too many times to both Wade and his father for things that had not been her fault. She was not sliding back into that pattern now. Chuck shoved his cart forward, almost slamming into hers despite the room she had left him.
Falling into step behind her husband, Justine gave Hannah a mournful look. “I’d always hoped you and Wade would give us grandchildren,” she murmured.
“Instead, she sent our boy to prison,” Chuck snapped over his shoulder, discounting Wade’s part in his fate. “And then went slutting around and got herself knocked up when she’s not even married. Personally, I’m glad she isn’t a mother to any grandchildren of ours.”
Miserably aware of a few gawkers within hearing range, Hannah held her chin high with an effort, moved toward the front of the store with her few purchases, paid as quickly as possible and left with as much dignity as she could scrape together. Her day had gone from bad to worse, but maybe she had needed that awful encounter. It would serve as a painful reminder that her track record with men was not good.
In the past, she’d seen what she wanted to see, trusted when she shouldn’t have, believed when she should have delved more deeply. She wasn’t that naive, sheltered, starry-eyed girl now. Nor was she the lonely, vulnerable woman who’d been swept into a reckless night of passion by a sexy smile and a gleaming pair of dark eyes. She knew now who she was, where she belonged and what she wanted—and she would do well to keep those things in mind during the coming days.
At half past six, the day was still sunny and warm, the sprawling blue lake still busy with boaters, skiers and swimmers. This time of year, the resort would bustle every day of the week with families taking vacations from jobs and school, and the Bell family would be kept hopping, though Andrew hadn’t heard them complain during the two weeks he’d spent here last summer. With the exception of Shelby’s brother, Steven, they all seemed to love the jobs they’d chosen. Steven had grown restless and would be leaving soon to try his hand at his boyhood dream of firefighting, but Andrew figured there was a chance he’d be back someday to take his place in the family business.
After passing through the manned entry gate, he took a right on the circular main road through the resort. A two-story lakeside building held the reception office, convenience store and diner, with the private business offices upstairs, and the marina at the back. He parked in front and climbed out of his car. To his right lay the public swimming pool, the sixteen-room lakeside motel and three of the eight cabins. Turning left, he saw the pavilion and playground often occupied by family reunions, corporate gatherings or other events. Beyond the pavilion lay the day-use area, five more stand-alone cabins, RV pads with hookups and tent camping grounds.
A steady stream of resort guests flowed both ways through the big double glass doors, some in swimwear and cover-ups, most in shorts and tank tops or T-shirts, some carrying bags of purchases as they exited. The marina, store and grill would be open until seven, and Andrew figured the diner would be full now with customers hungry after a day of water sports. The air carried whiffs of boat motor exhaust from the lake and burning charcoal from the campgrounds, scents that had become very familiar to him during his almost-two-week stay last summer.
He still remembered the first time he’d entered this building after having been hired by the family last year. That was the day he’d met Hannah, who was twenty-seventy then, the eldest of the Bell cousins by a few months. Chagrined that her ex-husband had caused her family so much trouble and anxiety, she’d held her chin high, her emerald eyes glittering with anger and determination. Andrew had taken one look at her and almost swallowed his tongue, his first thought being that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
He’d managed to keep his distance from her for the most part during the next two weeks only by constantly reminding himself that he was on a job, and that it would be unprofessional of him to get involved with a client. He’d told himself she was too vulnerable, having been so recently divorced and dealing with the painful repercussions of her unfortunate choice of a spouse. They had been surrounded almost constantly by her caring and inquisitive family. Not to mention that he and Hannah had seemed an unlikely couple, with both of them