hang between them.
Dan scratched his temple with one finger, then sighed. “I would like you to think about this. Sleep on it.” He gave Hannah a careful smile. “In fact, I’m not going to listen to any decision today.”
“Okay,” she said reluctantly. “I’ll wait.”
Dan smiled. “I’ll be praying you make the right choice.”
When she was younger, Sam would pray with her. Over time, that eased off. She missed it.
Hannah ducked her head to hide the sudden prickling in her eyes. Dear Sam, now your brother is praying for me, too. The thought gave her a peculiar warmth and comfort.
She waited until the thickness in her throat eased, as the silence in the office created its own urgency. She picked up her purse and stood. “So, I guess that’s all you need for now?”
“For now,” Dan repeated. “When you decide what you want to do, I want you to call me and we’ll take things from there.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” She slipped her purse over her shoulder.
“When does your flight leave?”
“Sunday evening.”
“Then why don’t you meet me after church on Sunday. Just to give yourself enough time.” He rested his fingertips on Sam’s letter.
“Okay. Sunday morning after church, I’ll tell you what I decide.”
“Do you have a cell phone? Maybe you could give me your number. Just in case.” Dan handed her a pen and a piece of paper. She bent over and scribbled the number down. As she straightened, she chanced another look at Ethan at the same time he turned to face her. He was attractive, she conceded.
But that wasn’t enough to induce her to live out here for half a year. Not near enough.
“It was a pleasure meeting you,” Dan said, holding out his hand across the desk.
Her mother had always told her that Sam’s family didn’t care for them, so she doubted the sincerity of his comment, but she gave him a polite smile and shook his hand.
“Goodbye, Hannah,” Ethan said, turning away from the window. “Thanks for coming.”
And she doubted his thanks, too.
“It was nice meeting you.” While they were exchanging pleasantries, she figured she might as well add a few of her own. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss. Sam must have meant a lot to both of you, as well.” She felt a sudden need to explain. “I need you to know, this is as much of a shock for me as it was for you.”
“I understand,” Ethan said quietly, though his tight expression told her otherwise. “Thanks for coming.” He reached out to shake her hand. She hesitated, then took it.
His rough and callused palm was a surprising contrast to the pressed khaki pants and golf shirt he wore. His eyes held hers as she shook his hand and a frisson of awareness flickered within her.
She pulled her hand away. Definitely time to go.
She gave Ethan a smile, then walked out of the room.
Chapter Three
“So no money? Just half a farm?” Lizzie sounded frustrated, as if hoping Hannah had called to tell her the cash amount of her supposed inheritance. “And what are you going to do with that?”
“I don’t know. Sell it, I guess.” Hannah let go of the steering wheel of her rental car, downshifted, grabbed the wheel again and turned her car into the parking lot of the motel.
“In six months.”
“I know. I don’t know what to do.”
“You can’t negotiate?”
“With a dead man? Lizzie, this was written out by Sam, signed and sealed in front of a lawyer. I guess this trip was a waste of money.”
“I really thought you’d get money up front. Too bad you didn’t take up the family on their offer to pay for your ticket.”
“I don’t want a penny from them….”
“But if you get half of that farm, you’ll get more than a penny.”
“In six months? I’m not interested.”
Hannah pulled into the parking stall in front of her motel room. “So, did you go to the bank?”
“No. Not yet.”
Hannah continued as she got out of the car. “I thought you were meeting with them this afternoon?”
“I had to cover your appointments, honey.”
Lizzie sounded funny. “Is everything okay yet?”
“Everything’s fine. I’m waiting for a call from our loan officer and I’m telling Taylor tonight about the change in our appointment.”
“You sure this is still a go?” Hannah got out of the car and walked to the edge of a field bordering the motel. A few shoots of green worked themselves through the tangle of weeds covering the field.
“Absolutely. So when you coming back?” Lizzie asked, abruptly shifting the conversation to another topic.
“Dan Westerveld wanted me to take some time to think about my decision. I’ll talk to him on Sunday.”
“Excellent idea. Take your time, Hannah. You could use a break. You’ve been working day and night on that stupid business plan. You’ve already paid for your ticket. You may as well enjoy some time off work.”
“Not my idea of a holiday,” Hannah said, lifting her face to the warm spring sun. “Did you talk to the landlord about that leaky tap?”
“He says he’ll get to it when he gets to it.” Lizzie hummed a little tune and Hannah braced herself.
“What’s up, Lizzie?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re humming. Every time you hum, you’ve got some confession to make.”
Lizzie sighed. “Well, I was going to wait until you were back. I knew once we start running the salon, you’ll have more money and you’ll probably enjoy being on your own. The apartment won’t cost much ’cause it’s part of the salon….”
Hannah’s heart sank while Lizzie continued.
“And Pete’s been making noises about us getting more serious.”
“Don’t tell me he wants you to move in with him,” Hannah said.
“Now don’t even start on your old-lady fussing and moralizing,” Lizzie continued. “We’re going to get married once you and
