could follow through.
“You can see Oliver anytime you want, Landon. I’m just not pulling him out of school for you to do that. If you want to come over tonight after he gets out of school, you’re welcome to stay for dinner. I know he’d love to see you.”
He mulled it over, ran his fingers through his hair. “I do wanna see him, but maybe you’re right. Maybe just a one-day thing will mess with his head. I wanna see him when I can spend a week with him, where we can go fishin’ and we can really hang out, ya know?”
Now he was starting to think like an adult. “He’d really like that.”
“Would it be okay if I started calling him, though? After I get up there and get settled?”
“I’m sure he’d love that, too.”
“Okay. As soon as I get up there I’ll give him a call. By next week for sure.”
“You do that.”
“Thanks, Hannah. You always knew what was best.”
She walked him out, then came back inside to check on her client’s color. It was still processing, so she went into the back to take a long swallow of her iced tea while she went over what just happened.
Delilah walked back there. “That your ex?”
“Yes.”
“Was it bad?”
“Sort of. He wanted to see Oliver. I talked him out of it.”
Delilah leaned a hip against the washing machine and crossed her arms. “Do you have formal custody arrangements?”
She nodded. “I have full custody. But I never stopped him from seeing Oliver and he never put up a fuss about me leaving Georgia after the divorce. He just never made an effort to see Oliver after I moved back here. But maybe things will change. I don’t know. We’ll see.”
“I hope so, for your kid’s sake.”
“Me, too, Delilah.”
She went back to work on her client’s hair, but the rest of the day felt like a fog. By the time she got home she was exhausted. Only she couldn’t wind down because Kal was coming over for dinner. She got in the shower to rinse off, then climbed into leggings and a T-shirt.
Oliver had finished his homework and was playing in his room, and when her mom got home she had gone to her room, which gave Hannah some quiet time to start dinner prep. When the doorbell rang, Oliver ran to open it and Kal came in.
“Hey, buddy,” he said.
“Hi, Kal. I had a pop quiz in math today and I got them all right. Got all my spelling words right, too.”
“So, what you’re telling me is you’re the smartest kid in your class, right?”
Oliver laughed. “Yup. That’s me.”
Kal came into the kitchen and brushed his lips across hers. “Hi. How was your day?”
“It was fine,” she murmured. “Yours?”
“Good. Got some stuff done. Do you need help with anything?”
“No, I’m good, thanks. Fix yourself something to drink.”
He did, and then he and Oliver went into the living room, giving her breathing space again. She fixed the turkey burger patties, sliced sweet potatoes for fries, and made a salad. Her mom came in.
“Need help?”
“I’ve got it.”
“You sure?”
“I said I’ve got it.”
She studied Hannah with a look of concern on her face. “Okay, you had a bad day.”
“My day was fine. Go sit down and relax.”
Her mother shot her another look, but made herself a glass of iced tea and disappeared into the living room.
Hannah knew she was being short with everyone, but she couldn’t help herself. Landon’s sudden appearance today had reminded her that she wasn’t as in control over her life as she’d thought.
Kal took the burgers outside to put them on the grill, while Oliver set the table and her mom made dressing.
“Anything you want to talk about?” her mother asked her.
“Not right now.”
“You know I’m here for you, no matter what it is.”
“Thanks.”
Fortunately, her mom and Oliver and Kal had plenty of topics to discuss over dinner, giving Hannah the time to stay in her head. Kal tried to engage her in conversation, but she only gave him short answers. Thankfully, he didn’t press her in front of Oliver.
After dinner, they all cleaned up and Oliver went to take a bath under her mother’s supervision, while Hannah put the dishes away.
“Is there something bothering you?”
“No, I’m fine.” She didn’t want to talk about it, to bring it up again, not when it felt so raw.
But Kal wasn’t going to let her sweep it away. He turned her to face him.
“Hannah. Talk to me.”
She looked around the corner to make