managed to forget; gossip about someone new in town.
The woman, sensing their approach, looked over. Hannah saw the right side of her face for the first time. And the scars.
Ah.
Well, that explained it. What self-respecting Ravenswood motherfucker—sorry, mother—would let their darling child within five feet of a woman who dared to look out of the ordinary?
“Hello,” Hannah smiled as they came to stand by the bench. She squeezed the kids’ hands and they managed two semi-shy hellos of their own. “Sorry to bother you. We were just admiring your dog.”
The woman smiled back, her dancing eyes lighting up. One of the three dark scars on her face came perilously close to her eye, and another almost nudged her lips. Maybe that was why her smile only seemed to work on one side. “Well, hi,” she said, sinking a hand into the dog’s mass of fur. “Duke loves being admired.” The creature twisted its head to lick her wrist, its tongue almost as wide as her bloody forearm. Good Lord. Turning her attention to the kids, the woman asked, “Would you like to pet him? Are you allowed?”
Hannah hummed at the woman’s questioning glance. She should probably say no.
But then the woman added, “He’s very good with kids.”
Well. It would be a lot easier to cautiously refuse if both dog and owner didn’t seem so thoroughly nice. Niceness was rather disarming.
“Go on then,” Hannah said.
Beth flew forward like a missile, cooing over the dog as if it weren’t twice her size. Hannah had a minor moment of panic—Is this adorable? Is this highly dangerous? Oh dear—before noticing that Josh hadn’t followed his sister’s example. He was still clinging to her hand.
“Are you scared?” the woman asked him. “You don’t need to be. Duke is really friendly.”
Josh plastered himself against Hannah’s thigh and remained silent.
The woman’s lips quirked. “Or are you scared of me? I’m friendly, too, you know. For a pirate.”
Josh un-plastered himself, just a little bit, and eyed the woman skeptically. “A pirate?”
“That’s right.” She cocked her head, winked, and said, “That’s how I got these scars.”
“Oohhh.” Apparently, Josh was now completely convinced. “Are you a good pirate?”
“I don’t eat children, if that’s what you’re asking.”
He considered this claim for a moment before deciding that this particular pirate seemed a trustworthy sort. “Okay.” Just like that, he let go of Hannah and joined his sister in the dog-stroking extravaganza.
The woman watched him with a smile before looking up. “Hi. I’m Rae.”
“Hannah.” It seemed awkward to stand there like a lemming, so she took a seat on the bench, putting the kids’ book bags down with relief. Who knew half-eaten snacks and sheets of homework could be so heavy?
“Are they yours?” Rae asked, nodding at the kids. Which was funny. Typically, Hannah had to deal with people thinking she’d abducted Beth and Josh, even when they pulled her skirt and played with her braids and called her ‘Banana’.
“I’m their nanny.” Which reminded her, actually. “Guys, come here a sec.” They did, with sighs and eye rolls, abandoning their new furry friend to stand in front of Hannah and allow themselves to be kissed. When their pale foreheads were marked by her purple lipstick, she released them. And then, in answer to Rae’s arched brow, explained: “Makes it easier for me to find them in a crowd and harder for people to claim I’m kidnapping them.”
“Ah.” Rae paused. Then, wrinkling her snub little nose, she said, “This town’s fucking weird.” Her gaze flicked over to the kids. “Sorry.”
“They’re not paying attention anyway. And yeah, it is. If by weird you mean full of stuck-up, Stepford pod-people.”
Rae laughed. “Yeah. That. How long have you lived here?”
“My whole life,” Hannah admitted, hoping she didn’t sound as pathetic as she felt.
Rae winced, her shoulders rising awkwardly. She seemed to do everything with her full body, like her feelings were too intense to convey through facial expressions alone. “Really? Damn. Why?”
“Well, there are actually some great people here. Just a few. Plus, I don’t trust my mother to survive unsupervised, and I don’t trust my sister to supervise.” And if I left, knowing the way these people look down on me, it would feel like letting them win. Maybe I’m petty. I like taking up their space. “How long since you arrived?”
“Am I so obviously new?”
“It’s a small town. I know everyone.”
Rae shrugged. “I think it’s been a month? I’m losing track of time since I stopped working. I moved here from the city to waste