I force a smile. "Hey, Wyatt. What's up?"
Wyatt smiles at my obvious distraction. "I'm here with the wine delivery. For the rehearsal and the wedding. But I can come back when you're finished glaring at Hannah and the playboy."
"I’m not glaring," I say, too quickly. I try to sound less defensive when I speak again. "I was just making sure he doesn't do anything inappropriate. For Hannah's sake."
"I don't think she's hating the attention, Finn," Wyatt says gesturing with his chin as Hannah laughs at something Douchebag says.
I feel my jaw clench in annoyance and work to loosen it. I turn my back on Hannah and the new guest. It’s not my business. Besides, Hannah can handle herself. I abandon my quest for a late breakfast.
"Come on," I say, motioning Wyatt toward the door. "Let me help you unload."
We talk as we work. It’s only been a few days since I last saw Wyatt, but we still have plenty to talk about. With a family as large as ours, there’s always something or someone to discuss. We talk about Claire, the baby of the family and our only sister. She’s still something of a free spirit and hasn’t decided what to do with her life. We’ve all sort of indulged her since our parents’ death when she was just 14. None of us had known how to raise a teenage girl. I sometimes wonder if we let her down somehow, but she’s grown up to be an amazing woman, even if she still seems a little aimless. She has plenty of time to figure things out.
We finish and head inside to wash up. We stop by the kitchen for glasses of iced tea before taking them out to the wrap-around porch. I ask Wyatt about his girlfriend, but he waves away the question.
"History," he says. "She went back out west for her Masters."
"I'm sorry, man," I say, truly meaning the words. I barely knew the girl, but I want my brother to be happy.
"Don't be," Wyatt says. "It wasn't serious. If she was upset about leaving me behind, it didn't show. She didn't invite me to follow her and honestly, the idea never crossed my mind.” He shrugs. “It was just a fun couple of months."
I shake my head. Wyatt is still young in a lot of ways. I sometimes forget that fact because we’d all been forced to grow up at a young age. The idea of having a fling for a few months is something that would never cross my own mind.
"I don’t know how you do it. What's the point of having a relationship if you both know it's heading nowhere?"
"Ah," Wyatt says, smiling. "Sometimes the journey is more fun than the destination." He winks.
"Degenerate." I say, but I smile back.
"Some of us are just lucky that way," Wyatt says, leaning back in his chair. "What's that I saw with you and Hannah in there earlier?" He points back toward the house.
I feel my face start to heat and turn to look out at the grounds. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Hm,” Wyatt says in a knowing tone. “Hannah is a beautiful woman.” His words are observational, as though he’s merely commenting on the weather. Still, I feel a hot stab of jealousy as he says it. I make no comment and he keeps talking.
"You didn't think you'd be the only one to notice that fact, did you? Sooner or later she's going to find someone who does more than just notice. He's going to tell her. And there won't be a damned thing you can do about it."
I feel my annoyance ratchet up a notch.
"Hannah and I are friends,” I say. “Colleagues. That's it." I can hear the way my voice has shifted into something bordering on anger. I know Wyatt can hear it too.
"If you say so," he says. “Just know that she won’t be single forever. Don’t wait too long.” I don’t reply and Wyatt stands to leave. "I've gotta get back to Mack's. I'll see you Sunday?"
"I’ll be there,” I say, forcing the annoyance from my words. Wyatt means well, I know. But my little brother still hasn’t grown out of pressing the buttons he knows will get a rise out of me.
“Thanks for making the delivery."
Wyatt smiles. "Any time."
After he leaves, I remain on the porch thinking about my brother's words. They bring back my annoyance in full force. Why does the idea of Hannah with someone else bother me so much? I have no claim on her. I don’t want one. Do I?
Chapter Seven
Hannah
The next morning, I’m working the front desk again for what I hope is the last day. I spoke to Matt last night and he sounded much better. He apologized for my having to fill in for him while he’s sick. I assured him it was no trouble but we both knew I was lying. There are a dozen different things that need my attention and having to run the front desk is a distraction I don’t need this
