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“I needed to get away following a bad relationship,” I told her, relieved that I had found a way to be honest without needing to reveal it all.
“Oh, I can understand that,” she murmured, putting tiles onto the board. “I’ve been there before.”
“I’m sorry,” I lamented.
Hanna shrugged. “Sometimes, I just wish a bad relationship was the worst of what I’ve been through, you know? I swear, there are days that I just want to keep myself locked up in my tiny home and never come out.”
Ignoring the words on the board, I tipped my head to the side and assessed her. Maybe there was more than one reason I wound up at Short and Sweet. Perhaps I was meant to meet Hanna, a woman who had clearly faced her own relationship struggles.
“I can’t say I don’t understand how you feel,” I told her. “But on the bright side, at least if that’s what you decide to do, these tiny homes are absolutely adorable.”
“Do you really like them?” she asked, perking up a bit.
I nodded. “I do. Honestly, I love them, and I’m sort of dreading having to leave when the time comes. Even if the space I’m in is meant to fit more than just one person, it still feels so cozy.”
Hanna’s face lit up. “I’m so happy to hear that,” she said. “Not that you might have to leave, of course. I meant that I was happy to hear that you love it and think it’s cozy.”
Laughing, I promised, “I knew what you meant.”
After I added another word to the board and gave Hanna my point total for it, she asked, “Do you think it’s going to happen soon?”
“What?” I countered.
She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Leaving? Please don’t think I’m kicking you out. I’m definitely not doing that. I was just curious if you’ve been searching for a place that might be a bit more permanent.”
Shaking my head, I replied, “No. At this point, I haven’t made any official decisions on Steel Ridge. I don’t know if I’ll be here permanently, or if I’m going to eventually wind up somewhere else.”
The thing was, I really liked it in Steel Ridge so far. The problem was that I didn’t know if Patrick would find me here, forcing me to run again. I was desperately hoping it never came to that. And the longer I stayed in one of Hanna’s tiny homes, the better off I would be.
Or, at least, that’s what I thought.
Buying a home didn’t seem like a wise idea. Not only because it might not be a permanent stay here for me, but also because I believed it would only make it easier for Patrick to locate me.
“Are you considering going back to West Virginia?” Hanna questioned me.
“No!” I declared. There was no denying that I might have jumped to respond a bit too quickly and harshly. “No,” I said again, having gotten my voice under control. “I guess, well, if everything worked out the way I hope it will, then I’d love to stay here in Steel Ridge. But it might be a while before I can officially make that decision.”
A friendly smile spread across Hanna’s face. “Well, obviously, I don’t want things to be more difficult on you than I’m sure they already must be following a bad breakup, and I really do hope that everything goes the way you want, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it to take a little longer than necessary for things to settle for you, just so I can have you around for a bit longer.”
I let out another laugh and insisted, “Even if I knew tomorrow that this stay was going to be permanent, I wouldn’t be leaving that tiny house for quite some time yet. I’ve got a lot of things to work through before that’s going to happen. So, I’m glad to know that you’re okay with being stuck with me for a while.”
Hanna’s smile widened. “I’m definitely okay with it.” Then, her eyes dropped to the Scrabble board, and she said, “But I might reconsider playing this game with you again. You’re kicking my butt.”
“I might have a slight advantage,” I confessed.
As I bit my lip, Hanna looked at me curiously. “What do you mean?”
“Well, words have kind of always been my specialty, and I’ve been working for years now as an editor,” I shared.
“No kidding?”
I shook my head.
“I’m not much of a reader, but I would imagine that’d be a fun job if I were,” Hanna said. “I assume you enjoy it?”
Maybe it wasn’t my dream job, but it was the one thing I’d had that kept me sane for years. It was also the only reason I was even able to be here, sitting at this table with Hanna, playing Scrabble.
“I love it,” I told her.
