Kal hugged him back, happy to be around Oliver again.
“I missed you, too. We’re going to your momma’s house today?”
“Yup.”
“And your daddy is a fireman, like you?”
“Yup. And so are my two brothers. You remember Jackson from the day we went to the festival, right?”
“Yeah. He’s a fireman, too? And you have another brother?”
“I do.”
“Wow. You’re so lucky.”
Kal caught Hannah’s sigh. He wondered what that was about, but he didn’t have time to ask, because she gathered up a tote bag and handed it to him, and they headed out to the truck. On the way, Oliver asked him tons of questions.
“Are we goin’ to the house where you grew up?”
“No, my parents bought a new house a year or so ago. This one has a pool.”
“Oh, a pool. Mom, did you pack my swim trunks?”
“I did, but remember, you have the cast so you can’t get it wet.”
“Aww, man.”
Kal smiled.
“Do they have pets?” Oliver asked.
“No, they don’t. But they like animals.”
“I like dogs. Someday we’ll have our own house and then I’m gonna get a dog, right, Momma?”
“That’s right.”
They turned onto the street and parked in the driveway behind Rafe’s truck.
“It’s a lovely house, Kal. I can see why your mom wanted this one.”
“Yeah,” he said as they got out of the truck and he looked at the house. “Mom said it was perfect for her. Just the right size.”
“And the landscaping is gorgeous. All the flowers.”
He figured Hannah would pick up on that.
He gathered up the bags Hannah had packed, while Hannah picked up the bouquet of flowers she’d brought.
Oliver ran up to the porch and was first at the door. Kal liked that he wasn’t shy, which was a good thing in his family. His mom opened the door before Oliver had the chance to ring the bell.
“I saw you pull up.” She smiled down at Oliver. “You must be Oliver. I’m Laurel.”
Oliver held up his arm. “Hi. I broke my wrist. I have a cast.”
“I see that. It must have hurt.”
“Yeah, it did.”
Kal hugged his mom. “Hey, Momma.”
“My sweet baby. How are you?”
“Good.”
His mom folded Hannah into a hug, which was her thing. She hugged everyone. If Oliver hadn’t dashed inside he’d have been hugged, too. “Good to see you again, Hannah. I’m happy you took me up on my invitation, and that you brought Oliver.”
“Thank you for inviting us over today.”
“Come on in, you two. I made iced tea and lemonade, and of course there’s wine and beer for anyone who wants that. Oh, and I made margaritas. Josh bought me a margarita machine for my birthday. He knows how much I love those.”
Hannah and his mom walked in front of him, side by side. “That sounds fun. I’ll bet those are great poolside during the hot summer.”
“They so are. Would you like one?”
“I’d love one. Fire that machine up.”
“Momma, they have the coolest pool out back,” Oliver said, tugging on her hand. “Come look.”
Hannah had barely gotten to the kitchen and set the flowers down. “Okay. Let’s see it.”
Oliver dragged her to the door. “That’s a pretty great pool, isn’t it?”
“Hi, Oliver,” Carmen said as she came into the room. “Isn’t that an awesome pool?”
“Hi, Nurse Carmen. Did you see my cast?”
“I did. And I thought you might want to go swimming today, so I brought a cover for your cast that’ll keep it dry in the pool.”
“Really? I can swim today? Can I, Momma?”
“If Nurse Carmen says you can, then you can.”
“Cool!”
Kal’s dad, Josh, walked over. “Hey, Hannah. Good to see you.”
“Mr. Donovan.”
He motioned to Oliver. “It’s Josh. And come on, Oliver, let’s go take a look at the pool. Later we’ll go for a swim.”
“Okay.”
Hannah exhaled now that she’d managed to take a breath. What a whirlwind.
She walked over to the island where she’d set everything down and picked up the flowers she’d brought. “These are for you, Laurel.”
“Oh, how sweet of you. They’re so pretty. Let me get a vase to put those in.”
“I hear we’re firing up the margarita machine,” Carmen said, sliding into the seat at the kitchen island next to Hannah.
“That’s what I hear.”
“Momma, Jackson and Becks have their dog!” Oliver ran through the back door, his eyes wide with excitement.
“They do? That’s so awesome.”
“His name is Edgar and he’s a puppy, but he’s big. He’s German shepherd and . . . somethin’ else. I forget.”
“Labrador,” Kal said, coming up to stand behind Hannah’s chair.
“Yeah, that’s it. I’m gonna go back out and play with him. After I