Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“So he changed the tickets after she left, to leave later?” I was clarifying.
“Yeah.”
“That’s not great,” Kola sighed.
“No, it’s not,” Sam agreed.
“Well, we just need to let him know that whatever happens with him and Hannah, we still love him, right?”
“Basically, yes,” Sam replied. “Though I did tell him that calling her a brat was not in his best interest going forward.”
“I suspect he already knows that from however Hannah looked at him on her way out the door,” I apprised him. “I’m sure Jake’s sorry.”
“Oh yeah. He blew up her phone, but she has not answered one call or text.”
A mess for the new year. Why not?
Hannah came down minutes later in matching sweats that I’d never seen before. The whole outfit was a pale pink—the pants cuffed at her ankles, the drawstring from the oversized shirt at the hemline.
“That’s cute,” I told her.
“Uncle Aaron got it in Tokyo and sent it with the pilot,” she told me, walking over so I could wrap her in my arms. “I’m sorry. I texted Jake and said I was sorry too.”
“You did?”
She nodded, her head on my chest. “I don’t want to talk about anything else with him, but I did apologize, and then I turned off my phone.”
“Which is why I can hear mine going off,” Kola groused, leaving the room.
“I shouldn’t have gone. I just wanted to stay here and veg with you all week while Dad and Kola were gone. I could have helped put away all the—wow,” she said suddenly, her tone cheerful as she looked around the kitchen. “Pa, you got all the stuff from The Container Store we talked about. It looks amazing in here.”
“You like the thing over the sink?” I fished, because having Hannah Kage pleased with you was like catnip. You just wanted to roll around in her compliments.
“Ohmygod, I love this!” she squealed and rushed over to the cabinets, opening them up. “This is exactly how I imagined it.”
“This is why she never learns to play well with others,” Sam grumbled.
“Eat your food,” I ordered him, showing her the spice cabinet.
She clutched her heart. “Oh, Pa, this is awesome.”
It was nice to have my work noticed. “I left the refrigerator for you because you had ideas for all those different bottles.”
“I do,” she whispered, eyes glowing.
“Now, what did we say about calling your uncle Aaron?”
She bit her bottom lip. “I tried to get tickets first, but everything was so much money to fly today, and I wouldn’t have gotten home before midnight, and so yeah, I called Uncle Aaron and told him I wanted to go home.”
“And he said, the plane is at LAX, I’ll alert the pilot, and by the way, I sent something for you and the pilot has it.”
Hannah grimaced.
“You can’t take advantage of him.”
“I’m not, I promise. I’m going to his office on the third to take over from the foundation coordinator, who’s going out on maternity leave for the next six months.”
“How can you do her job and finish high school?”
She grinned at me. “Easy peasy lemon squeezy.”
I wasn’t going to argue. The point was, she was taking care of Aaron just as he took care of her. “What are you and Jake going to do?”
“Talk when he gets home,” she told me, walking back over into my arms that I was holding out for her. “I mean, I was stupid. I never should have gone to California. I can’t be away from you guys for any holidays. I’m not ready yet.”
I squeezed her tight.
“Oooh, did you make my monkey bread?”
“I made everything,” I told her as Kola came back into the room.
“You guys don’t hafta watch Castle if you––”
“Castle is fine,” Sam assured his son, taking a plate mounded with food into the living room, but not before kissing me on the forehead. “Thank you for all your hard work, baby.”
I loved being thanked.
Hannah carried in the monkey bread and asked her brother to play Minecraft with her later, which, when he agreed, made her face light up.
“Okay,” Kola said, standing beside me. “She’s annoying, but I kinda like her.”
“Is Jake okay?”
“He’s wrecked, sorta. But he’s also okay. This thing might’ve come to a much quicker end than I thought it would.”
“We’ll see,” I said, not certain that the end was in sight yet, much more likely just a bump in the road.
“Whatever. As long as they can stay friends, we’ll be okay in the new year.”
“I agree,” I told him.
He gave me a shoulder hug, and then he too went into the living room. Hours later when we welcomed in 2022 with sparkling cider, the hugs from my family were the best part.
That’s it, all, have a lovely rest of January and I’ll see you in February.
FEBRUARY 2022
Hello, all, welcome to He Said, he said for February 2022. So, as expected, this month has been no fun at the Kage-Harcourt homestead. Not only has there been a definite chill around the house since Jake and Hannah called it quits, but worse, of course, is that there is Valentine’s Day to consider.