Part 22 (1/2)
”What about Sophia?”
”She prefers cereal and toast with grape jelly.”
Hannah took his hand and brought it to her cheek. ”I'll miss you tomorrow.”
His smile was gentle as his fingers cupped her face. ”I'll miss you, too.” His eyes fell to her lips and he sighed deeply. ”I need to get my clothes ready.”
”Can I help you?”
”Sure. You can watch me iron s.h.i.+rts.”
”Or you could watch me iron s.h.i.+rts.”
That would be torture. ”It's best that I do the ironing. My hands need something to do.” He laughed as her cheeks went pink. ”I guess I should have phrased that differently.”
”Actually, it's nice to hear things like that.”
”There's more that I could say and do, but it's not the right time. I don't want half measures. If you come to me, it will be because you love me and want to be my wife.” When she would have spoken, he put a finger on her lips. ”Don't say it now, please. It will only make it worse if you realize later that you spoke too soon. Let me go get my s.h.i.+rts.”
As he walked away, Hannah whispered, ”I wonder if he'll ever believe me.”
A week later, Hannah was mopping the kitchen floor when the doorbell rang. Her heart almost stopped when she looked through the spygla.s.s and saw Mitch.e.l.l. The mop in her hand fell to the floor as a surge of panic swept over her. This is what she'd been waiting on, so why was she so scared? Mitch.e.l.l had to be faced; her future depended on it. And it was better that she do it alone, without Jackson.
The doorbell rang again, reminding her that she needed to make a decision. If she didn't take care of this now, he'd keep coming back. ”Lord, please give me the right words to say to end this thing once and for all.”
She picked up the mop and propped it against the wall. Then she slowly opened the door. ”h.e.l.lo, Mitch.e.l.l.”
”You remember me,” he said with a grin.
”Sort of. It would have been better to let me know you were coming.”
”Well, since I'm here, can I come in?”
”Sure, but if you'll excuse me for a minute, I need to let Jackson know.”
”You never needed to before. Are you afraid to see me alone?”
”I've kept enough secrets from him. I don't intend to keep any more. Have a seat. I'll be right back.”
Hannah walked swiftly down the hall into her room and grabbed the phone off the dresser. Jackson answered on the second ring.
”I was just thinking about you,” he said softly.
He sounded so happy. She hated that what she had to tell him would change that. ”Jackson, Mitch.e.l.l is here.”
There was a moment of dreadful silence and then, ”I'm coming home.”
”You don't need to do that. This is something I need to take care of. And, Jackson, please trust me. I know I haven't given you any reason to, but please do it.”
”It's not you that I don't trust.”
Did that mean he trusted her? A knot formed in her throat. ”I have to do this alone; it's important to me. Mitch.e.l.l is my problem.”
Another longer pause. ”Then that's the way we'll do it. Call me if you need me.”
When she came back into the room, Mitch.e.l.l was holding a picture of Sophia. It took everything she had not to s.n.a.t.c.h it out of his hands.
”She looks like you,” he said.
Hannah ignored this. If he'd cared at all about Sophia, he wouldn't have allowed another man to raise her. ”Why are you here?”
”I came to see if you'd come to your senses. I couldn't take you to New York when you didn't know who I was.”
She looked at him curiously. ”I'm not entirely sure now. I remember some things about you, but there are gaps in my memory.”
”I'll be glad to fill them in for you. You and I have been together on and off since high school. For the last two years, we've been living in New York. Our apartment overlooks Central Park. We spend the weekends in a cabin on a lake in Connecticut.”
”That's all very interesting, but why did I leave?”
”You got this insane idea in your head that I was cheating on you.”
”Were you?”
Mitch.e.l.l took a step closer. ”I've never cheated on you. I love you.”
As her eyes searched his, partial scenes and s.n.a.t.c.hes of conversations flitted through her mind. ”There was more to it than that.” She hesitated. ”Something happened to me. I didn't want to be with you anymore.” He tried to take her hand, but she pulled away.
”That's not true. Jackson told you that,” he accused.
She shook her head. ”Jackson hasn't told me anything about my life with you. How could he? He knows nothing about it.”
Mitch.e.l.l crossed his arms, a mocking smile on his face. ”You wouldn't know the difference either way. I knew it was a mistake to leave. He's had you to himself for ten days. He appears to have put that time to good use, filling your head with lies.”
”Jackson doesn't lie to get what he wants, Mitch.e.l.l. He's not like you and me. He's good and decent.”
”He's really done a number on you, hasn't he? Has he reminded you why you married him? It was because I wouldn't marry you. Then you left him to come back to me. Isn't that enough proof for you? It's obvious who you love, and who you want to be with.”
”I can't do anything about the past, but I can take control of my future. I love Jackson and if necessary, I'll spend the rest of my life trying to prove it to him.”
He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. ”You don't love him,” he said through clenched teeth. ”You've never loved him.”
Her eyes flashed angrily. ”Let go of me, Mitch.e.l.l.”
”If words won't help you remember, maybe this will.” He bent his head and took her lips in a hard, savage kiss. Hannah tried to twist away from him, but he held her easily. When he finally released her, she slapped his face. Anger flared in his eyes, and then he laughed. ”At least I got something for my trouble.”
Hannah started to shake. ”Get out and don't ever come back.”