He told her about the phone call from a Fort Worth colleague, about his panic and soul-searching retreat in Texas, and his decision to take a leap of faith and make another run at fatherhood. “On the morning I met you, Celeste reminded me that family and friends are a Zippo in my pocket.”
“Come again? A Zippo?”
He smiled for the first time since his arrival. “Light. Friends and family are a source of light and shelter from life’s storms. She told me to be somebody’s light, and that’s what I’m trying to do. That’s how I’m going to earn my Angel’s Rest blazon.”
Hannah murmured beneath her breath, “Be somebody’s light.”
Boone traced the rim of his coffee cup with his index finger. “You were the first friend who popped into mind during my storm this morning, so that’s why I came running here for help.”
Be somebody’s light. “Why don’t you want to ask your mother for help?”
“She wants to be a grandmother more than just about anything in life. She was devastated each time the adoptions fell through, and when Mary died, it came close to breaking her. She’s had some heart irregularities in the past year, so I don’t want to cause her any extra stress. I can’t ask my sisters because those two can’t keep a secret for beans. But I do have friends, both here and in Texas. I just need to figure out who to approach.”
Be somebody’s light. Some flicker of emotion sparked to life inside of Hannah. Was it hope or excitement or fear? She couldn’t say.
“I probably should give Celeste a call and explain my problem,” Boone continued. “She’s Eternity Springs’ ultimate problem solver. I’m sure she’ll have an idea.” He gave Hannah a crooked smile and added, “Celeste has a way about her. You can always count on her to offer insight into a problem, if not an outright solution. She tends to prefer to guide a person rather than tell them what to do.”
Hannah reflected on her interaction with Celeste at the boutique last week. The innkeeper had a subtle way of suggestion. “I can see that. I met her cousin at the wedding. She appeared to have a different approach.”
“Angelica?” Boone laughed softly. “She’s different from Celeste, all right. She doesn’t hesitate to give her opinion, and she has one of those on just about every topic under the sun.”
“She told me my dress was great, but that I’d look so much better if the color was yellow.”
Boone rolled his eyes. “The dress was great. You looked like a million bucks.”
“Celeste guided me toward it.”
They shared a smile, and before she could second-guess herself, Hannah said, “I’ll go to Texas.”
His gaze snapped to meet hers. “Seriously?”
Her heart pounded like a piston. “Yes. I won’t commit to six weeks, which I’m guessing will be the earliest time your nanny would be discharged from her doctor, but I will be your travel nanny. I’ll help you bring Trace home to Eternity Springs.”
I’ll be your light.
“A travel nanny. That’s good. I can work with this.” Boone closed his eyes and exhaled a heavy breath. “Thank you. Oh, Hannah. Thank you!”
He shoved to his feet and, in two long strides, moved around the bar. He threw his arms around Hannah, lifted her off her feet, and twirled her around. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You are an angel, Hannah. My personal angel.”
And then, because Boone McBride was the very devil, he lowered his mouth and kissed her.
* * *
Boone recognized he might have taken a step too far when he kissed her again, but damn, he’d have kissed an ancient old crone with whiskers and warts if she’d just solved his problem. That said, he wouldn’t have kissed an ancient old crone with such enthusiasm or fervor. Or passion.
Damn, but kissing Hannah Dupree stoked his coals.
When he’d finally begun dating again after Mary’s death, he’d been content with sharing a series of casual relationships with like-minded women. He’d been in a dry spell of late, and while he missed sex, he hadn’t missed it enough to go looking for it.
Hannah Dupree changed the paradigm.
For one thing, his response to her was anything but casual. The woman called to him in a way that no woman had since Mary. She was beautiful, intelligent, and witty. She was vulnerable in that way that appealed to the hero wannabe aspect of his character that apparently hadn’t died with his wife. One would think that another vulnerable woman would have him running the other way, but no. Not when that woman was Hannah Dupree.
So what was different about her?
He’d put some thought into the question the night after the wedding when he’d woken from a deliciously erotic dream in which Hannah had been wearing a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader uniform. Once he’d wrestled his libido under control, he’d figured it out. Beneath that vulnerability and the sadness swimming in those big blue eyes, he sensed a core of steel. Hannah was bent, but she wasn’t broken. She was fighting her way back, and he wanted to help her.
Wasn’t it handy, then, that she was willing to help him, and that she felt like heaven in his arms?
Until she wrenched her mouth away from him, and her hands, which had lifted to encircle his neck, dropped between them. She pushed against his chest. “No. Put me down.”
Reluctantly, he lowered her feet to the floor.
Her tone sharp and scolding, she glared up at him. “If we do this, we are not going to do this.”
He knew better than to pretend that he didn’t follow her meaning, and he wasn’t about to do anything to make her change her mind. “Okay. Okay.”
“Hands off.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“No kissing.”
“It was a thank-you kiss. I’m a Texan. We’re demonstrative that way.”
“Yeah, well. I’m a traveling hermit. I’m not demonstrative.”
“A traveling hermit? Oh, Hollywood, you’re funny.” He backed away, his hands up in surrender, but he added in his thick, sexy drawl, “And by the way. You demonstrate just fine.”
Then without allowing her a chance to return fire, he launched into planning mode. “Pack what you need through the weekend, but don’t worry about getting everything. We can always pick up what we need there. I have movers due to arrive in—” He glanced at his watch. “—fifteen minutes. It shouldn’t take them more than an hour. Can you be ready to leave by then?”
“I can, but movers?”
“Guest bedroom furniture out, nursery furnishings in.”
“Ah, I see.”
“If you get ready and want to walk on over to the house, I’d be grateful to have your input on anything else we might need. We can get it ordered and on the way so that it’ll be here when we bring him home. The order was a lot of guesswork on my part.”
“Of course. It won’t take me long to pack.”
“Just leave your bag on the porch, and we can pick it up on the way out. Be sure to bring a swimsuit and a sweater. It’s hotter than blazes in Texas this week, but air-conditioned buildings can be downright cold.” He hesitated before adding, “Again, I can’t thank you enough, Hannah. You’re a lifesaver.”