"You have it bad," Paul commented, his gaze not missing a thing. "So, what's the latest with you two?"
He forced himself to look back at his brother. "I don't know. It feels like two steps forward and one step back with Hannah."
"At least there's some forward progress."
"Some. I just want more, and I want it faster."
"That doesn't surprise me. You always want more, and you usually get it. I guess the question is—what does Hannah want?"
"She's fighting what she wants. But I'm working on her."
"Which is why you're here. Do you want to come with me to say hello to Mom and Dad?"
"I'll catch up to them later."
"All right. Good luck."
As his brother left, Jake looked back at Hannah. They'd gotten close last night, and he wanted to get closer. For that, he might need an ally, someone who could watch Brett, someone who could give him a little more alone time with Hannah.
As his gaze moved to Hannah's mom, he wondered if he might find one in Katherine. He was probably crazy to think that, but there was only one way to find out.
Hannah wished she could stop being so aware of Jake. She'd seen him the second she'd walked into the party, and even though she'd been mingling for the past thirty minutes with her friends and coworkers, she couldn't stop her gaze from moving back to him.
He'd also been mingling, but now he was talking to her mother, and they seemed to be getting along quite well. Her mom was actually smiling at him. What was that all about?
Maybe they were just talking about Brett. But Brett had reconnected with Hailey, and they had joined the kids watching the puppet show. Her mom and Jake were on their own. She couldn't believe they had that much to talk about.
"Hannah, there you are."
At Davis's voice, she turned her head, giving him a happy smile. Dr. McKenna was dressed in a dark suit with a bold-red tie, his brown hair starting to pepper with gray at the sideburns. While Jake couldn't stand his father, she liked Davis a great deal. He'd been a mentor to her before and after she'd become a nurse and watching him at work every day had made her respect him even more. He certainly wasn't perfect. He occasionally had an arrogance that was off-putting, but he did care deeply about his patients and the hospital and what more could you ask for from the chief of staff?
"Merry Christmas, " she said. "I like the tie.”
He tipped his head. "I bring it out every Christmas. I've been thinking about you, Hannah. I've been hearing some rumors about your sister. She disappeared after dropping her son off with you?"
"Yes. I think she's in some kind of trouble. The police are looking for her." She didn't even bother to ask how he'd heard. Gossip spread fast in Whisper Lake.
"I hope she's all right. How is her son?"
"Brett is great. He's a wonderful little boy, and I'm trying to make it a good Christmas for him."
"I'm sure you will succeed. I remember Kelly as a teenager. She was headstrong but also had such a beautiful laugh. She volunteered at the hospital one summer, and she was good with the patients. I thought she might go into medicine."
"I forgot she volunteered here. I don't really know why she did. But then, I'm starting to realize there was probably a lot I didn't know about her then. And there's certainly a ton I don't know about her now. I guess it's true what they say—everyone has secrets."
His smile dimmed at her words. "That is true. We never really know who anyone is. We only see what they want to show us."
"That's very philosophical."
"And way too heavy for a Christmas party."
She had to admit there was a stress in his eyes that seemed unusual for a holiday party. "Is everything all right?"
"Yes, everything is fine."
"You seem a bit off."
"I'm a little tired. But I actually got some good news a few minutes ago. We just snagged a very big donation that will go into next year's budget. It looks like we'll be getting a new MRI machine."
"That would be wonderful." She was impressed with how hard Davis worked to keep the hospital as technologically up to date as possible. "You're always working so hard for the hospital. I hope you know how much we all appreciate it."
"Thank you for saying that, but it's a group effort."
"You're the leader of the team."
He gave her a somewhat weak smile as his gaze drifted across the room. She realized he was looking at Jake.
"You should talk to Jake," she said quietly.
He straightened, annoyance moving into his eyes as he realized he'd been caught in perhaps a more vulnerable state than he would like anyone to see. "Why?" he asked.
"Because he's your son."
"He doesn't want to be my son. He hasn't in a very long time."
"I don't know what's between you, but I wish you could talk it out. It feels like you both have something to say, but neither one of you wants to be the first to say it."
"Don't worry about it, Hannah."
"I can't help it. I care about both of you."
"You care about Jake? I thought he broke your heart."
"He did, but that was a long time ago, and he's not that kid anymore."
His gaze sharpened as it swept across her face. "Are you and Jake getting back together?"
"Oh, I don’t know about that," she said hastily. "But we have called a truce."
"How did that happen?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but it happened. Maybe you and Jake need to do the same thing. You're living in the same town."
"I don't see him any more now than I did when he was traveling the world. I think his mother sees him, but
