“Yes, cards. Perhaps when we come and visit again? I could bring a pack of cards and we could play.” O’Malley’s offer was met with a broad smile.
“That would be good.” His forehead smoothed. “I bet I’m good at it.”
Hannah grinned at O’Malley. There it was, Karl Norton’s confidence verging on arrogance. “I bet you were.”
“And I bet I could beat you.” O’Malley winked at Hannah who rolled her eyes.
“I accept your challenge.” Karl got down from the large boulder and walked with them to the narrow opening under the rock.
“How do you manage to get big stuff in here?” Hannah asked as O’Malley went first, pulling himself along the ground on his hands and knees.
“We can lower larger things down over the cliffs.” Karl pointed upward. “I helped design a new winch system.”
“I bet you did,” Hannah told him fondly.
“Hannah.” Karl turned to her abruptly now that they were alone. “Do I know you? Did I know you before?”
“Wiroo asked me not to give anything away.” Hannah’s heart thundered in her chest. “We all think it’s best if you let your memories come to you rather than them being forced on you. At least that way you will know they are real.” She swallowed a lump in her throat as Karl stared at her.
He shook his head. “It’s like having something on the tip of your tongue. I can’t remember even though I know the memory is there.” He sighed heavily.
“I’ll come back and see you in a month or so.” She looked down at the narrow crawl space. “I should go to O’Malley.”
“Hannah.” Karl put his hand on her shoulder. “If I do know you… If I hurt you… I’m sorry.”
“I don’t think you have ever intentionally hurt anyone.” She kissed his cheek. “But I accept your apology, if it makes you feel better.”
“It does.” He chewed the inside of his lip as he stared at her for a moment longer.
Hannah was the one who broke Karl’s gaze. She hated being scrutinized like that. She also hated not being able to fling her arms around Karl and tell him it would all be okay. Keeping their relationship to herself was hard. Keeping the details of who Karl really was was even harder.
Crawling under the rock, she wriggled and shuffled herself along, glad she didn’t have to do this every day of her life.
“There you are.” O’Malley held out his hand for his mate and she took it, slipping her hand into his. “Let’s grab the packs and get going.”
They went to Wiroo’s house, Karl’s mate was in the kitchen area making bread. She seemed to be pounding out her feelings in the dough until she sensed O’Malley and Hannah as they entered the house.
“There you are.” There was a hint of an accusation in her voice.
“I needed time to clear my head,” Hannah began to explain.
“I know how difficult this must be for you.” Wiroo washed her hands and dried them on a clean towel as she approached them.
“It is, I’m not going to lie, but I also understand that you are doing what you think is best for Karl.” Hannah glanced at O’Malley. “If I hadn’t met my mate, if I had no idea how you felt about Karl, I might not be able to walk away. But I do know what you are feeling. I also have an idea of how Karl feels toward you.”
Wiroo nodded. “I appreciate you being candid. I also appreciate you not forcing the truth on Karl.”
“I know you will look after him.” Hannah wanted to get out of there. If she stayed too much longer, she would either run from the house and go tell Karl who he was, or she would break down and cry. Neither option was acceptable right now.
“I promise he’ll be happy here. I also promise to keep in touch with you. There is a phone in one of the villages along the ridge. A satellite phone, they call it.” She went to a small drawer and took out a pen and paper. “Please, write down your phone number. I will try to call when I can.”
“Thank you.” Hannah jotted down her phone number and gave it to Wiroo. “I hope one day Karl will know who I am.” She glanced down at Wiroo’s stomach. “I want to be a part of my nephew or niece’s life.”
Wiroo nodded. “I never really thought anyone would come looking for Karl. It was as if he just dropped from the sky.”
“Didn’t he have a backpack with him?” Hannah asked.
“He did but all it contained was a few items of clothing and some food. It’s not unusual for those on the pilgrimage.” Her expression was apologetic even though she had nothing to apologize for.
“Karl didn’t want any reminders of his old life, the life he wanted to put behind him.” Hannah nodded and then met Wiroo’s eyes and held her gaze. “Karl’s life wasn’t so terrible. I can understand why he would come up here and want to change his life. We lost our mom when we were only teenagers. Karl served in the Army and saw things that he would rather forget. I think more than anything he took the pilgrimage because he was alone. But it was as if he exiled himself from those who loved him. Perhaps because my father got sick and he didn’t want to go through the loss of another parent.”
Wiroo’s expression softened. “I see. Thank you for the insight into my mate’s mind.”
Hannah turned away from Wiroo. “We should get going before we lose too much of the day.”
“You are walking back down the mountain so soon?” Wiroo asked, surprised, yet also relieved.
“We are walking some of the way down and then getting a ride,” O’Malley explained.
“A ride?” Wiroo looked intrigued.
“Thanks for your hospitality,” Hannah said, wanting to keep some secrets of her own.
“Thank you for caring for Karl.” It seemed a strange thing to say but Hannah let it go.
