Thanks for being patient, ya'll. I should, hopefully, be wrapping this up pretty soon. Hope you continue to enjoy it.
*
Hannah opened her bedroom door and listened closely. After a few minutes, when she didn't hear anything, she slipped out of her room and into Rainy's where she found the child standing up, gurgling and smiling up at her. "Hey raincloud, you're supposed to be napping." As Hannah got closer, Rainy reached her arms up and, unable resist the little cherub, Hannah picked her up and carried her over to the rocker next to the window. She rocked her slowly as she rang Rainy's little bell and sang her own favorite lullaby from when she was a little girl. After only a few minutes, Rainy was sleeping soundly. Hannah, barely able to stem the flow of tears, pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before she carried her back over to her crib and laid her down carefully. She then hung the bell on the side of her crib. She turned and walked quietly out the door. After a quick glance at the boys' rooms, she briefly considered going in and saying goodbye, but knew that it would be easier for them if she just left.
Hannah picked up her suitcase and the small box containing her mementoes of Luke and the kids plus the few pictures she was able to snatch of her mother before she left home. She crept silently down the back stairs that lead into the kitchen. She peeked into the living room and couldn't help but feel a small twinge of disappoint when none of the boys or Luke were in sight. She gripped her suitcase tightly and held the box to her chest as she drew in a deep, shaky breath and then walked quickly out the back door. It was a long walk back to town and she could only hope that she could make it there and onto a bus before Luke found her...if he even bothered to look, that is. Hopefully, if he even realized who she was, he knew that they were all much better off without her.
After Ben finally drove off, after he promised to get back in touch with Luke about a couple of colts, Luke dropped down onto the porch step and buried his face in his hands. What had started out as I twinge behind his eyes, had quickly become a throbbing ache as he listened to Ben. All the while, the only thing Luke had wanted to do was climb the stairs and hold Hannah in his arms until she finally felt safe again. As he watched Ben's truck fade into the distance, he suddenly felt defeated. The urge to go to Hannah had been replaced by a fear that he would never be able to give her the security she needed to feel. What if Jenna had killed that in him? Maybe it would be better for Hannah to just let her go. He was sitting there with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands when he felt a small hand on his arm. Luke lifted his head slowly, half-hoping and half-afraid that he was going to have to face Hannah before he even had answers for himself, much less for her
Luke smiled as he saw his youngest boy, Cash, grinning down at him.
"Whatcha doin sitting out here, daddy?" Cash sat down on the top step beside Luke.
Luke couldn't help but grin at the boy's sparkling blue eyes, the one and only thing that all the kids had gotten from their mother. He reached over and gently tossled the little boy's hair.
"Just thinking, buddy." He leaned back against the post and stared up at the sky. "What are you doin out here?"
"Chance and Lucky and me all wanna know if your gonna make Hannah stay?" Cash stumbled a bit over the words as they spilt out of his mouth. "Cause we're all gonna be real mad if you don't, daddy." Cash glanced back quickly at his brothers who were standing at the door, nodding their heads quickly. "We like her a bunch and if you get somebody else, we'll act real bad....real real bad, daddy."
Luke stared down at Cash and then looked back at the door where Chance and Lucky were standing with their arms crossed over their chests. His heart swelled with pride at how protective they were of Hannah. The girl had been there less than a month and here they were acting like they'd rather have here than me, he thought to himself.
"Come out here, boys. We need to talk about Hannah." Chance and Lucky wasted no time joining Luke and Cash on the porch. Lucky sat down on the steps next to Cash but Chance didn't move very far from the door, leaned back against the post....staried down at them.
"You can't let her leave, daddy." Chance's voice was low and trembly as he stared down at the ground through the cracks in the porch. "She'll be all by herself with nobody to keep her safe if she leaves us."
Luke sensed from the very beginning a bond between Hannah and Chance. Where he had always shied away from strangers, he clung to Hannah like a life preserver. Luke ruffled Cash's hair again and smiled at Lucky.
"You guys go on inside. I need to talk to Chance for a sec." When he saw the hesitation on the boys' faces, he smiled again. "I won't let her leave, I promise." With that, Cash and Lucky got up and hurried into the house. As the door slammed closed, Luke patted the step beside him. "Come sit down with me for a minute, Chance." Chance pushed away from the post and walked slowly over to sit down beside his dad.
Hannah kept glancing back as she walked along the dusty road that lead back to town. Every time she heard a truck, she jumped and then laughed at herself for acting so silly. As she neared the town, she finally realized that Luke was not coming after her. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as she turned and looked back down the road one more time before she walked on into town. She stopped at the small grocery store and bought herself a bottle of water before walking the short piece to the bus station. She glanced up at the board, not quite sure of where she would head to next. This was really her only destination when she finally had her chance to get out....away from her father and her brothers....on her own, finally. She smiled at the same surge of excitement that she felt the first time she boarded a bus almost a month of go, she walked up to the counter and bought her ticket. Maybe getting out of Texas completely would make her forget about Luke.
"I know Hannah means a lot to you, Chance." Luke looked out toward the barn, unable to bring himself to look at his young son. "We all love her, daddy...even Rainy." Chance's voice shook a little as he looked down at the ground.
Luke rubbed his palm against his forehead, unsure of how to explain such a complicated situation to his boy when he didn't even understand it himself. "Chance, I want her to stay with us to but I just don't know...."
Chance jumped to his feet and glared down at his dad. "She wanted to stay with us, daddy...you just have to ask her."
"What makes you so sure? Maybe she has other plans, son." His feeble attempts at easing the blow of losing her for his kids, did little to ease the dull ache in his heart.
Chance was already shaking his head before Luke could even finish. "She said we were really lucky to have each and other and you cause we all love each other so much. She said we should be good to each other cause not everybody has family that loves them like that." Chance's voice went up a bit in frustrations as he explained it to Luke. "She loves us, Daddy, and she wants to stay."
Chance's words rang true to him as he fought back the overwhelming urge to fly up to Hannah's room and force her to explain why she had been lying to him from the very beginning The only thing that kept him from doing it was the knowledge that if he went up there, he would have definately say something they would botht regret...and nothing would send that girl running for the hills quicker than him losing his temper.
Chance sighed softly. "I heard her crying a lot, daddy." He glanced at the door, afraid Hannah would catch him telling her secret. "She said they were happy tears cause she was finally here with us but they didn't look happy, daddy."
Luke had heard her crying at night to, knowing she thought nobody could hear her. Since talking to Ben, Luke had been remembering more and more about the way things had been back then. He remembered standing outside Anna's door on her birthday and listening as she cried. Little Anna...he shook his head slowly....Hannah had done everything around the house and most of the outside chores to. Ben and Lee, his little brother and their dad had spent most of their time bossing her around. He had never seen them hit her or anything...if he had, he would've done something....but he knew she had a hard go of it.
"Daddy, your gonna keep her here, aren't you? Chance's soft voice tugged him out of his memories for the moment. "I really....we all....we like her, daddy....a whole lot."
Suddenly, painfully aware of what had to be done, he nodded and then got to his feet before moving to the door. "Go on up to your room, Chance, and don't worry. She's not going anywhere." He watched as Chance hurried into the house and up the stairs to give the good news to his brothers. Luke jammed his fingers in his hair as he turned and started into the house after him. Just as the door closed behind him, he heard a gut-wrenching cry from Rainy's room. Taking the stairs two at a time, he pushed open the door to her room and found her sitting in her playpen, clutching the little bell that Hannah had given her in her fist.
"Hey pumpkin, what's the matter with you?" He whispered softly as he walked over to her and leaned over the side of her crib He rubbed her arm gently and smiled as she lifted her tear-filled eyes up to his, tugging at his heart as she whimpered softly. "I know what you want, pumpkin..." Smiling, he gathered her up into his arms and carried her out of the room. He stopped just outside of Hannah's door and knocked softly.
Hannah glanced up at the big clock on the wall above the counter and then back down at her ticket. Still a whole hour before her bus and still no sign of Luke. That has to be a good sign, she thought to herself, refusing to acknowledge the slicing pain in her chest at the thought of never seeing the kids or....or Luke....ever again. It's for the best....the best for them and the best for me, she kept repeating to herself. She couldn't help glancing over at the door as the seconds tick into minutes. She began to fidget more and more in her seat as the hand inched around the clock.
When Hannah didn't answer his persistent knocking, Luke finally pushed open her bedroom door. A quick glance around the bare room confirmed his worst fears. She'd made a liar out of him....to his own kids. She skipped out without even giving him a chance to help her. He carried Rainy over to the bed and sat down, holding her against his chest as a sadness like he'd never felt before overtook him. Rainy let out a low mournful cry, effectively alerting her big brothers to the situation. They came charging into the room like the calvary and know instantly what had happened.
