A Hickory Ridge Christmas. Dana Corbit
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gaze to the Bible’s gold lettering and then turned back to the college freshman standing next to her. “Um…thanks.”
Remembering where they were and how well attended the Sunday service had been, Hannah glanced around, hoping none of the other church members had noticed her strange reaction. Could they tell who he was just by looking at him?
“Hannah, what’s wrong…”
Steffie, who probably preferred “Stephanie” now but hadn’t been able to squash the nickname, didn’t even get the question out of her mouth before the source of Hannah’s problem started up the aisle toward them.
Hannah couldn’t answer. Her mouth was dry, and her heart raced. She felt this overwhelming need to run and hide. Why should today be any different? She’d been running and hiding from the truth since the second dot on the home pregnancy test had turned pink.
She stiffened, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Todd’s steady approach. He looked older than she’d imagined he would, his shoulders even wider than she’d predicted in the well-tailored navy suit he wore. He’d finally filled out his over-six-foot frame and could no longer be called lanky. His hair had deepened to a dark blond, but it still had that tousled look he’d never been able to control.
His face, though, had changed most of all. It was no longer sweet and boyish but was framed with the handsome, hardened planes of manhood. If he’d been smiling, his face probably would have softened and the dimple in his chin would have been more pronounced, but his expression was serious. Cautious.
“Who’s he?” Steffie tried again, looking back and forth between the two of them. “Wait. He looks familiar. He looks like…”
The younger woman’s words trailed away as Todd reached the front of the room and sidled into the pew behind theirs. Around them, church members continued to make their way toward the exit, but several glanced curiously at Hannah, Todd and Steffie.
“Hi…Hannah.” His voice cracked, so he cleared his throat.
He expected her to say something; she knew that. The words just wouldn’t come. Words couldn’t squeeze past the guilt clawing at her insides. No matter what he’d done, no matter how hurt she’d felt, she should have found a way to tell him as soon as she knew. Or at least she could have found some occasion before Rebecca’s fourth birthday. What was she supposed to tell him now?
“Look, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Todd told her. “I only wanted the chance to—”
“Sweetie, are you okay?” Steffie interrupted, reminding Hannah she was still there, observing entirely too much. “Do you need me to get your dad?”
Hannah shook her head and raised a hand to stop Steffie, but she still couldn’t look away from Todd. He appeared just as frozen.
“Is there somewhere we can talk?” he finally choked out. “There are so many things I need to say.”
Panic welled deep within her, its acidic tang bitter on her tongue. She couldn’t tell him. Not now. Soon, but not yet. She jerked her head, breaking the cold connection of their gazes. Slowly, she started shaking her head and backing toward the aisle.
“I can’t do this, Todd. I just can’t. I have to go.”
Turning, she pressed past Steffie and hurried up the side aisle.
“Hannah! Wait! Stop!”
His plea pounded in her ears, but she couldn’t wait. She couldn’t stop. She couldn’t even look back as she rushed through the vestibule and into the hall leading to the Family Life Center. Rebecca would be waiting for her there in Children’s Church.
Hannah could feel his gaze on her as she went, but she didn’t hear his footsteps. If he followed her and tried to air out their past right now, he would find out the truth. He would know the secret she’d wasted so much energy trying to keep from him and everyone else. Part of her prayed he would do just that.
Todd watched her go, somehow managing to keep from chasing after her through the church and making a bigger fool of himself than he had already.
She hurried past the line of members shaking hands with the ministry team. Instead of continuing through the glass doors leading to the parking lot, she turned left and headed down a hallway toward the rear of the church.
Only after she’d disappeared completely from sight did Todd turn his attention to the young woman standing next to him. The tall redhead with a dusting of freckles on her nose was looking at him nearly eye to eye. She raised a delicate brow.
Finally, he remembered his manners and shot out his right hand. “Hi. I’m Todd McBride.”
“Todd. Todd.” She frowned while rolling the name around on her tongue as if she expected it to ring a bell. Then she shrugged. “I’m Stephanie.”
He let go of her hand and then glanced at the sanctuary’s rear door again. “I should go after her.”
“She didn’t seem all that thrilled about talking to you.”
“Probably not.” He ignored the hopeless feeling threatening to resurface. “But she’s going to have to anyway.”
With a quick wave, he strode out the door. Finding only Andrew shaking hands and saying goodbye to the last of the stragglers, Todd assumed that Reverend Bob had slipped away to check on his daughter. As inconspicuously as possible, Todd started to follow the same path he’d seen Hannah take.
“Wait, Todd.” Andrew caught up to him and gripped his hand in a firm handshake. “Glad you made it. You’re probably looking forward to starting your new job. Did the folks at GM Proving Grounds give you a little time to get settled, or did they want you right away?”
“I guess they needed someone right away because I had to negotiate to wait until Tuesday.”
“Isn’t that just the way it goes? No rest for the weary.”
“Guess so.” Distracted, Todd cast a furtive glance down the hall. Was she still back there somewhere?
Andrew’s gaze followed his. “So, besides Reverend Bob and me, did you see anyone you recognized at the service?”
Todd was barely paying attention, so the words took a moment to sink in. When they did, he turned back to the youth minister. “No disrespect intended, Reverend, but let’s not dance around this anymore. We both know I came here to see Hannah.”
Andrew nodded, the smile he usually wore absent. “And I noticed that you did see her.”
“No one probably knew we were more than friends.”
“I knew. Serena knew.”
Todd’s head came up with a jerk. “Oh.”
“Remember that day all of us spent at the beach?”
“I guess so.” Of course Todd remembered. It was one of the memories he’d replayed in his mind in the last few years.
“We saw the way you looked at Hannah when you thought no one was watching.”
Todd cleared his throat. He could only imagine the emotions that had been written all over his face. Because there didn’t seem to be any way to respond to that comment, he changed the subject. “We built a sand castle with Serena’s little girl…uh…”
“Tessa,” Andrew said to fill in the blank.
“You had a thing for the single mother.”
“Still do. But she’s married now. To me. Five years.” Andrew glanced down at the plain gold band he wore. “Tessa’s got a brother now. Seth. We’re having another one in March.”
“Wow. Either a lot of time has passed, or you’ve been busy for a few years,” Todd said with a chuckle.
Instead of laughing at his joke, Andrew became serious. “A lot of time has passed.”