Jake's Biggest Risk

“Well, yeah. That is, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Whatever.” She turned and hurried away. Badger followed with a glance over his shoulder, clearly warning Jake to watch his step.

Jake groaned.

He hadn’t meant to be inquisitive, but even his father had never skipped out on financial responsibility for his kids. And S. S. Hollister was generally considered one of the most irresponsible men on the planet, with children and ex-wives all around the world.

Of course, Jake’s mother wasn’t one of S. S. Hollister’s ex-wives. Josie had refused to marry “Sully” as she called him...probably the only woman to turn down one of his marriage proposals, though she’d agreed to give their son the Hollister name and let Sully set up a trust fund. The trust fund had been a huge concession for Josie, who considered money a necessary evil.

Evil or not, Jake found his trust fund useful. From the very start of his career he’d been able to choose his assignments based on interest rather than just the need to pay bills. The money had also meant he could purchase the finest photographic gear that money could buy.

Unfortunately, no amount of money could repair his injuries. Only time would do that. The doctors were optimistic, yet nobody could guarantee he would recover enough to go back to the life he loved, and it scared the hell out of him.

* * *

AS HANNAH MARCHED back to Silver Cottage, she realized she’d overreacted. Admittedly, she was still annoyed by Jake’s behavior toward Danny, but she didn’t have to be so sensitive. She needed to remember the monthly rent check she was getting. The amount Jake was paying should make his abrasive qualities easier to handle.

She went inside and checked on Danny; he was still asleep, sprawled across his bed with childish abandon.

A faint whine came from Badger, and she rubbed him behind the ears. “Patience, boy. He’ll be awake later.”

The golden retriever was a tireless, protective playmate for Danny. Hannah kept a close watch on her son, but it was reassuring to have the golden retriever as a second pair of eyes; he wouldn’t even let Danny get near the water except when an adult was nearby.

Badger padded into the room and jumped on the bed. Danny rolled over in his sleep, flung his arm across the retriever’s neck and buried his face in his pillow.

Hannah drifted into the living room, annoyed with herself for mentioning her finances to Jake Hollister. It was none of his concern how she met her expenses, and neither was the question of child support from her ex. Steven wasn’t a pleasant subject at the best of times—they’d gotten married during her senior year of college and were already divorced by the following Christmas.

The part that continued to puzzle her was how she hadn’t recognized what kind of a person he was earlier. Somehow she’d convinced herself they were the next great love story only to discover how quickly it fell apart in the face of infidelity and other problems. Thinking she’d been blinded by romance wasn’t any comfort; lots of people fell in love but didn’t marry someone utterly wrong for them.

The phone rang and Hannah hurried to answer. The caller ID showed it was Brendan Townsend, and she smiled as she picked up. “Hi, Brendan.”

“Good morning, Hannah. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“I just got back from walking Badger. You know me—I’m up with the sun, same as you.”

It was one of the ways they were alike—she’d finally agreed to go out with Brendan because of what they had in common. She didn’t have a list of dating requirements, but it was important not to start caring for someone who didn’t share her belief in commitment.

She still hoped to find the passionate love she’d wanted her entire life but couldn’t afford to break her heart over the wrong man again. She wasn’t sure how many more times it could heal.

Brendan chuckled. “I drove my college roommate crazy getting up so early. He was the party-hearty type and never went to bed before 3:00 a.m.”

“Did he flunk out?”

“Amazingly, no. He’s the multimillionaire owner of a computer software company. They create fantasy games.”

“Impressive. Maybe you shouldn’t have settled for law school,” she said with a laugh.

“Not at all. I wouldn’t have met you if I wasn’t a lawyer.” The tone in Brendan’s voice was warm and she squirmed. He wanted their relationship to move much faster than she did. But even if her marriage hadn’t taught her caution, she needed to be careful because of Danny.

“That’s a nice thing to say. What’s up?” she asked briskly.

“It’s short notice, but would you like to go out tonight? We haven’t been able to see much of each other lately.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I have plans,” Hannah said regretfully. It had been several weeks since they’d gotten together and she would have enjoyed talking to a sane adult male. “Barbi Paulson is coming over.”

“Barbi Paulson?” Brendan repeated with obvious surprise. “The pizza-delivery woman?”

“She’s a friend. We’re going to...uh, watch a movie or something.” Hannah couldn’t explain that she was tutoring Barbi for her GED exam—Barbi might prefer to keep that information private.

“Maybe we can go another day. What’s on tonight’s menu? You’re such a wonderful cook, I’m envious.”

“No call for envy. I’ll probably do macaroni and cheese. It’s easy, Danny likes it and Barbi isn’t coming until after dinner.”

After they said goodbye, Hannah sat at the breakfast table with a cup of coffee. The sun was fully up now and she gazed out, loving the changing view. Honestly, she didn’t think there was anything more beautiful than the Cascade Mountains.

Finally she opened one of the adult-study manuals she’d gotten from the school district office. She taught elementary-age children, and it had been years since she’d looked at the high school curriculum. It wouldn’t bolster Barbi’s confidence about taking the GED test if her tutor wasn’t familiar with the material.

* * *

BRENDAN WENT BACK to work at his desk, disappointed that his great plan to sweep Hannah off for the evening had failed. He would have thought that in a quiet place like Mahalaton Lake, with only a few thousand people and her parents available for babysitting, they wouldn’t have trouble getting together, but she was so busy it was a challenge.

Yet as he dealt with his email, he formulated a plan—if Hannah didn’t have enough time to go to dinner, he would take dinner to her. He’d surprise her by bringing something from Luigi’s, and leave when Barbi arrived.

Hmm.

He frowned thoughtfully.

Barbi Paulson and Hannah?

The two women couldn’t be more different. Luigi’s was the only restaurant in town that delivered, and he ordered regularly from them on weekends. While Barbi didn’t mouth off when she brought his pizza, she wore garish, low-cut outfits that were always a little too tight and a little too short. She even managed to be eye-popping in the winter when she wore things like hot pink ski pants and equally colorful parkas.

With a shake of his head, Brendan reviewed his appointment schedule. It was far less full than when he’d practiced law in Seattle. Relocating to Mahalaton Lake the previous year might be the only impulsive decision he’d made in his entire life, but it had seemed right at the time.

Yet even as he thought about it, he felt a pang of sorrow, remembering the woman he’d once hoped to marry.

Maria had been an associate in his high-pressure Seattle law firm, but she’d died suddenly of a brain aneurism. The other partners hadn’t appeared troubled by the loss; they’d simply divvied up Maria’s client list between them. Yet Brendan had been devastated. For the first time he’d questioned the sanity of working more than a hundred hours a week. Maria had been having headaches and dizzy spells, but she wouldn’t even take time off to see a doctor—success came before marriage, before kids, before everything.

What sort of life was that? Hell, it wasn’t a life. She was gone at thirty-one.

At first he’d tried to cut back his hours—much to the displeasure of the head of the firm, who’d “suggested” resuming his original schedule or finding other options for practicing law. About the same time Maria’s father had told him he was trying to sell his law firm in Mahalaton Lake. Brendan had visited the town a couple of times with Maria, and the idea of completely changing his scenery had caught his imagination. He’d quickly purchased David Walther’s shabby practice and moved.

Of course, in Seattle, he’d also dreamed about Maria every night, hearing her voice urging him over and over to go to Mahalaton Lake. Moving to a small town might seem unusual, but moving because of dreams? He’d never dared tell anyone about that.

Brendan glanced around the office, no longer shabby now that he’d had it redone. The only thing left from David Walther’s days was a carved wood plaque saying, “Work to live, don’t live to work.” He’d kept it as a reminder of the reasons he’d made such a huge change in his life. Maria hadn’t learned the lesson from her father, but maybe he could.

A career here wasn’t going to make Brendan rich, but it wasn’t a bad life, at least for a while. No matter what the reasons, moving to Mahalaton Lake had been a good decision. It was in his professional capacity that he’d met Hannah—she’d asked him to review her rental paperwork for the lodge.

All at once Brendan straightened his tie and checked his cuff links. Life was more casual in Mahalaton Lake than in the city, but he came from a long line of attorneys and had been raised to do things in a certain way. He’d rebelled to a certain extent, but there were some things he couldn’t abandon.