Almost Midnight (2 page)

Crazy? He got that right. The nerve of the man, asking her for a date in the middle of the night.

And fate? She knew all about that.

At twenty-eight, she had known enough men like Mr. Limo to last a lifetime. Why couldn’t they be nice, just for the heck of it, and not ask for anything in return?

She dropped her gaze and searched through her purse for a pen and paper. “And this has nothing to do with paying you back?” She wanted to make sure she understood his intentions.

“Hannah, Hannah, Hannah.” Despite the unorthodox situation, the way he said her name sent goosebumps down her arm. This man was more dangerous than she had first thought.

“I already told you, I’m not going to ask you for anything, but your phone number.”

Hannah pulled out her three-inch day planner and threw it onto her lap. It was loaded with more receipts, grocery lists, and medical bills. Finally, she found what she was looking for, a small flyer from her landlord with all the information she needed for emergency and non-emergency information. She found a hotel pen in her cup holder and wrote down a phone number on another scrap of paper, handing it to him.

“To tell you the truth,” she said, batting her eyelids. “I thought I remembered your face from somewhere too, but I just can’t place where.” 

He took the paper and touched her fingers at the same time. “Hannah...I like that name.”

She gave him a sweet smile and watched him leave, sighing as his long legs swaggered back to the limousine. He may have been a Good Samaritan, and her mother’s dream may have been somewhat true, but no dream was perfect.

Hannah really did appreciate his help. But someone should let this man know that not all women were going to fall at his feet because he gave a finger to help. It was common decency to do the right thing. Too bad he was so full of himself because he did seem like a kind man, however skewed his intentions. And though she might run into him in such a small town, she wouldn’t worry. He would probably forget about her and move on to the next woman.

She felt bad about doing what she did, but he hadn’t given her much choice. Of course she could always have said no. But then where would she be?

Frowning, she realized she was probably the tenth in a long line of Hannahs. Her phone number was unlisted, but if he wanted it, he could obviously get it. This man could probably get anything he wanted. Anything but her.

With a small sense of regret she wondered how long it would take for him to figure out that the phone number he had in his pocket was the direct line to the Clearbrook Valley Police Department.

John Tanner Clearbrook pressed the cell phone harder against his ear as he walked toward the Chicago terminal for his flight back to Colorado. Drained from the string of trade shows he’d attended and multiple late night dinners, the last thing he needed was his father’s help in finding a tutor for his eight-year-old son.

“Found the perfect one,” Fritz said. “You won’t have to do a thing.”

Tanner groaned. He should have cut his trip short, knowing his father was going to pull something like this. He didn’t need his father’s matchmaking skills, nor did he need any gold-digging women walking about his house, the very creatures his father seemed to be securing lately. After Julie died, Tanner hadn’t been truly interested in any woman until the night on that mountain road. And
that
had been a total disaster.

 “It’s not your job to find a tutor, Dad. Jeremy’s my responsibility. I forbid you to hire anyone before I return. Is that clear?” 

“What’d ya say? All I can hear is a crackling sound.”

Tanner glanced toward the terminal window where the jet sat waiting to be filled with passengers. “I’m warning you, Dad. I choose the tutor this time. I want the best for my son.”

“Dang it, I always get the best.”

Best floozies, Tanner thought with a scowl. At thirty-two, he still had his father interfering in his life, and there wasn’t a darn thing he could do about it. “I want a disciplined tutor. A man with some backbone. Jeremy’s grades have been diving for too long. I want the best this time.” 

Something in Tanner’s heart twisted. He didn’t say his son’s declining marks at school were probably a result of his mother’s unexpected death, but he didn’t have to. It wasn’t the grades that bothered Tanner so much, it was his relationship with his son. For two years, Jeremy had been slowly drifting away from him, and the boy’s attitude toward learning seemed to be a direct correlation.

“Think you could buy a tutor like everything else?” Fritz countered back. “Your ancestors settled this town and this territory. They had brains and grit. The duke—”

Tanner closed his eyes, trying to tame his temper. “This is not England, Dad. And I may be a descendant of some grand peer, but I am not a duke!”

Tanner tried to inhale a calming breath. Why his father had to talk about their family lineage all the time was beyond him. “And this isn’t about money. It’s about me hiring a good tutor. Not you.”

“You ain’t knowing a thing about hiring tutors,” Fritz said. “And you dang well know it. All you do is fiddle with that phone of yours, readying for your next deal.”

“We can talk about this tonight.”

“You can’t come home tonight, I...” 

A bad connection slowly drowned out the conversation and Tanner frowned. He loved his father, but he had no intention of entering into that argument again.

Pushing the older man to the back of his mind, Tanner stepped into the first class section of the plane and took his seat.

When the announcement allowing the elderly and families with small children to board, Tanner noticed a young mother, probably no older than twenty-five, carrying an occupied baby seat in one hand and an overloaded diaper bag in the other. The poor woman was barely able to maneuver her way passed first class as she headed toward the back of the plane and stumbled. Sweat beaded along her brow, and her muscles strained under the weight.  

At that moment a pang of sympathy shot through Tanner. He instantly recalled the long nights when Jeremy had kept Julie and him up until dawn.

“Ma’am,” Tanner said, rising from his seat. “Can I help?”

The young mother looked at him hesitantly, then looked back at the flight attendant who seemed to be having trouble with one of the passengers.

“I have a son of my own,” Tanner said, catching the wary look she gave him.

Her shoulders sagged with relief, and she rested the baby carrier on the seat behind him. “Thank you, yes, I could use help with my bag, if you don’t mind. My husband is waiting for us in Denver, and this is my first trip with my baby alone.” 

She looked about ready to cry, and Tanner felt a moment of pure panic.     

“I think I can do more than carry your bag. Why don’t you sit right here.” He pointed to the seat next to the baby.

Her eyes grew wide. “Oh, no. I have a seat back there, not here in first class.”  

Tanner smiled. “I happen to have an extra ticket for my wife, but she couldn’t make the trip. The ticket was nonrefundable. It seems we were the only ones in first class, so take a seat and relax. I’ll see what I can do.”

The lady burst out crying, and fifteen minutes after takeoff, Tanner asked himself whatever made him tell that whopper of a lie about his wife and the nonexistent ticket. But the answer to his question was soon answered as he peeked over his shoulder, eyeing the lady and her babe fast asleep.

The flight attendant walked by, and Tanner gave her a knowing wink. They had worked together to get the young mother situated in first class. Tanner didn’t mind paying for the lady’s first class ticket, as long as it was without her knowledge. He didn’t want to embarrass the lady. But to Tanner, any loving mother was priceless.

However, after a minute, Tanner’s satisfied grin turned upside down as soon as he opened his briefcase, catching sight of the scrap of paper he’d received weeks ago when he’d taken the back roads to the airport to drop off the limo for his friend Jimmy. The crumpled paper stuck out of the pocket beside his laptop.

Hannah.

He couldn’t seem to forget her. The green-eyed beauty had certainly pulled the wool over his eyes.

Before helping her with her car, he’d seen the lady walking down Main Street. Golden hair the color of wheat. Long legs that went on forever. A willowy body that moved with a cat-like grace. She was a pretty package any man would notice. He’d even seen her leaving the parking lot of the hospital where his brother worked, and more to the point, he didn’t see a ring on her finger.

No doubt, he could find her if he wanted.

Not that he needed her address or phone number now. She’d made a fool of him and good riddance. The Clearbrook Valley police had a good laugh at his expense, and he was sure Hannah had, too. Maybe he had been a little forward that evening, but with women like her, he had been out of practice.

His bold attitude toward her that night had surprised even him. But there had been something about that woman.

The vulnerability and gentleness he’d seen in her eyes that night had pulled him in like some kind of spell, and without a second thought, he’d asked her out like a stupid schoolboy.

Everyone in town knew who he was, at least he thought they did. Did she really think he was a limo driver? Not that a limo driver would be bad, but being rich and eligible, he had to admit, he was used to women falling at his feet, but not this lady.

A baby cooed behind him, invoking memories of yesterday. But yesterday was gone and so was his gentle Julie, his high school sweetheart, his dead wife, the only woman he had ever loved.

Scowling, he jerked the paper from his briefcase and crushed it in his hands for the umpteenth time. What the hell had he been thinking? Vulnerability and gentleness were a dangerous combination. Luckily for him, the date had never become a reality.

“I do too know what two times five is.”

Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, Hannah hung her freshly painted toes over the family room sofa and lifted her gaze to the eight-year-old standing in front of her. Jeremy Clearbrook puffed out his chest, daring her to challenge his multiplication facts. She had accepted a second job of summer tutor to the sandy-haired boy. According to Fritz, the boy’s grandfather, Jeremy’s entire demeanor, along with school work, had taken a turn for the worse the past two years since his mother’s death.

“Okay, tell me, Smarty-pants, what is two times five?” 

“Ten.” 

Jeremy, his gray eyes twinkling, squatted on the floor beside her and began to splash globs of red nail polish on the toes of his rubber Tyrannosaurus Rex that was sitting on yesterday’s
Clearbrook Valley Gazette
.

“Right again.” Hannah delighted at the crooked teeth smiling back up at her. The boy tugged at her heartstrings more than anyone had in a long time.

When she’d met Jeremy’s grandfather at church, who was a friend of her mother’s, the man had surprisingly offered her the part-time position as tutor.

Sixty-year-old Fritz had taken over as babysitter to Jeremy since the death of the boy’s mother. When Jeremy’s father was out of town on business - a man she had yet to meet - it seemed Fritz had taken over that job too.

Hannah watched as Jeremy closed the bottle of nail polish. This job as tutor to the boy while he was on summer vacation had been almost too good to be true.

In fact, she had obtained the position just a few weeks after her car had died on that mountain road.

Her heart turned over with guilt when she thought about that night. The handsome Tanner had fixed her car, and she had been grateful for his help. However, she still carried a bit of remorse for they way she had treated him in the end. She should have just told him that she didn’t feel comfortable saying yes to him or any other man.

But she had taken the coward’s way out. She had to stop thinking about it.

Hannah grabbed a nearby tissue and couldn’t hold back a sneeze.

“Are you cold, Hannah? Want one of my Dad’s big sweaters?”

“No. It’s just a little bug. I’m fine.” 

She wasn’t going to let a nagging cold stop her from working. When she’d first arrived at the mansion, Jeremy had barely said a word to her, but she’d slowly gained his confidence. After working here for two weeks, he acted as if he’d known her for years.

She soon discovered that the job was not only tutoring, it included being a part-time nanny, but she didn’t mind a bit.

Jeremy handed her the nail polish. “Know what? My dad’s going to be home real soon. Grandpa said so. I talk to Dad at night when you’re not here, even in the morning sometimes.”   

“I know. Your Grandpa told me you can speak to your father and see him on the computer when he calls.”

“Yeah, but sometimes we just talk on the phone.”

The wistful look in his eyes twisted her heart. Jeremy missed his father. But the man had been gone too long if you asked her. Two weeks was a long time, even if he did call home and show his face on the computer screen once in a while. A child needed his parent.

“I can’t wait to meet him, pumpkin. I’m sure he misses you.” 

Jeremy shrugged and stared at her red nails. “Gosh, that stuff stinks.”

Hannah lifted her brow. “Didn’t hear the dinosaur complaining about the blood you put on his toes a minute ago.”

He lifted the dinosaur up to her nose and frowned. “Do you think the blood on his feet is dry? He just ate a triceratops.”

“A triceratops?” Hannah faked a gasp, holding a hand to her breast.

“Yeah, a mommy one. She saved her baby triceratops by hiding it in the bushes.”

“I see.” Hannah pulled the boy to her chest and stroked his hair. He obviously missed his mother. When he had started asking her why people died, she started painting her own nails. Death. It wasn’t something she wanted to talk about either. Her plan to keep him occupied seemed to have worked, for a little while at least.

“You forgot one.” He pointed to her feet. The boy leaned over the sofa, his fingers dipping into the cotton balls, drawing one out for her.

“Thanks, pumpkin.” Hannah grabbed the cotton ball and placed it between her last two toes.