All Consuming (Brotherhood by Fire #3) -Jaci Burton Page 0,71

in all day.

CHAPTER 20

HANNAH’S MOM HAD TO BOOT HER OUT OF THE HOUSE Thursday night when her friend Veronica invited her to a girls’ night out. She initially begged off, claiming she had to stay home and take care of Oliver. Then, when she told her mom about Veronica’s call, her mother argued that Oliver was fine, she could take care of him, and that Hannah needed to get out and relax, because she was wound up and hovering over Oliver way too much.

Mom was right, of course. She had been hovering, and it was probably annoying her son. She knew she was irritating her mother. She felt the tension sitting on her shoulders like a boulder. Maybe a night out wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

Kal had stopped by this morning before Oliver went to school, and even he’d mentioned that she looked tired. Not exactly the thing she wanted to hear from the guy she was dating. He’d asked her if she wanted to go out tonight, and she’d told him she wanted to stay home and be with Oliver. And then she hadn’t even invited him over.

She laid her head in her hands and realized what a hot mess she was. Her kid had a broken wrist. It wasn’t exactly the end of the world. In fact, Oliver was managing his arm just fine, even though he had to work with the sling until he got his cast on next week. To him—no big deal. To her? Huge. She’d been a giant stress ball all week long.

That did it. She was going out tonight. But first she was going to text Kal.

She got out her phone and started typing.

I’m sorry about this morning. My head isn’t in the game this week.

He replied back a few minutes later. You were fine. Don’t worry about it.

She sent another text: I know you asked me out, and I said no, but I’m going out with my friend Veronica for girls’ night. Don’t be mad.

He sent back a laughing emoji. Not mad. Have a good time. You deserve it.

What she didn’t deserve was a man like Kal in her life. Why was he always so understanding about everything? Didn’t anything piss him off?

She typed a return text: Thanks. Talk soon.

There was so much more she’d wanted to say to him about how she felt, but she couldn’t say it in a text message. She wasn’t even sure she could form the words, since they were more emotional than logical.

How did she feel? And did she have the right to those feelings? Because she really was a mess right now. How could she bring a man into her life when said life was so unstable? She lived with her mother, she was just starting to make the salon work, and then there was Oliver. No way could she include a relationship in all of that.

In fact, she decided the best course of action was not to think about it. Instead, she got ready to go out. She put on a skirt and top, slid into her heels and kissed both her son and her mom and headed out the door before she changed her mind about that, too.

They met at Veronica’s house, which meant she could say hello to Veronica’s husband, Eddie, along with their three-year-old daughter, Shay, an adorable strawberry blonde with the cutest curls Hannah had ever seen. Eddie sat patiently on the floor while the toddler clipped small bows onto his hair.

“Best you’ve ever looked, babe,” Veronica said.

“I like the purple one the best,” Eddie said, batting his lashes at her. “Brings out my eyes.”

“You should wear that to work,” Tina, one of their friends, said.

“You think? It would look great with my suit.”

“I might have to snatch one of those for Carl,” Jess said. “He’d look so cute wearing that when he changes someone’s oil or puts in a new engine.”

Everyone laughed.

Veronica bent over to kiss her husband and daughter.

“You’re a good daddy,” Veronica said. “I love you.”

“Love you, too, babe,” he said. “Have fun tonight.”

Hannah felt a well of emotion. There was nothing like seeing two people so obviously in love. She was happy for her friend.

“Bye, Mama,” Shay said.

“Bye, my love.”

They ordered a car so they could all drink, which sounded perfect to Hannah. She might regret it during her long day at the salon tomorrow, but screw it. She was having a cocktail or two tonight with her girls. She hadn’t made time to see