“About as well as could be expected,” she said. “I think it’s been a hard couple of days for everyone.”
“Yeah, that’s one way to say it,” he said flatly. “Have… have you seen Lacey at all since Saturday night?”
“Caroline and I stopped by to drop off some food for her yesterday,” she said.
“How is she?”
She shrugged. “I’m not really sure how to answer that. How do you think she is doing after losing her husband like that?”
Bucky, morosely shoved his plate away from him. “No offense,” he said, wincing as he glanced up at her. “I’m sure it’s great. I’m just not in the mood to eat. I was actually hoping to get a drink, but the bar's closed. I’m such an idiot. I should’ve thought to bring something for her.”
“We don’t open until the evening hours,” she said. “And if I’m being honest, it’s probably better that you didn’t bring her anything. It seems like half the town did. She has enough food to last a year, and I don’t think any of it made her feel better.”
“Still, I should’ve done something,” he said angrily. “It’s Lacey. I should’ve thought of something to help –” He broke off, running his hands through his hair.
“Are you… okay? “ she asked delicately. She wished Caroline was here. She knew Bucky. Hannah had said maybe two sentences to him during the dinner.
“I’m very much not,” he admitted. “I didn’t realize this would be so hard. Lacey…” He hesitated, glancing over at her. “Can I tell you something and trust you not to spread it around, not even to Caroline ?”
“All right,” she said. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to agree to that, but she figured if whatever he had to say was important enough, she would just tell Caroline anyway. She didn't know Bucky, after all. While she wouldn’t reveal something that he said to her in confidence lightly, she wouldn’t feel bad about doing it if it was important.
“I’ve been in love with her for years.” He blinked, and quickly added, “Lacey, not Caroline. I never made a move because she was obviously happily married, but seeing her trying to keep Edward breathing, it tore me up inside. Now she’s suffering and I don’t know what to do to help.”
“Give her space,” Hannah said immediately. He looked at her in surprise. “Whatever you feel for her, she doesn’t need to hear it right now. Maybe in a few years, but even then you'll have to take it slowly. Give her space, and if she does need anything, just be her friend. The time to confess your feelings for her is not right after her husband died.”
He winced. “No, I know that. I wouldn’t have – I just feel so helpless. I want to help her, but I can’t, can I?”
Hannah shook her head sadly. “I don’t think anyone can. The only things that will help her are time, and figuring out exactly what happened to Edward. Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Did you see anyone other than Caroline add any ingredients to the soup?”
He frowned for a moment, then shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Why?”
“We’re just trying to figure out what happened,” she responded. “Like I said, Lacey needs to know the truth behind how Edward died. Caroline and I are trying to help her with that.”
Chapter Six
Bucky’s confession gave her something to mull over for the next couple of days. Caroline and Dean ended up staying for longer than they had expected, but finally, Wednesday evening, they were able to go back to their home. Hannah spent the evening alone in her newly emptied house and wondered once again if maybe she should get a pet. There was no way that she had time for a dog, but maybe a cat. Or two cats – they could keep each other company while she was at work, but she would still have something living and breathing to come home to after her shift.
She could get a nice cat tree and put it by the big window in the living room, and one of those fancy litter boxes that scooped themselves. She was pretty sure they even made food containers that would release measured amounts of food at predetermined times. She would still be gone a lot, but surely two cats would be happy enough playing with each other during her long hours?
She didn’t know. She had never had a cat in her adult life, and while she was lonely, she didn’t want to bring home an animal that would be equally lonely whenever she was gone. She would have to ask someone who knew more than she did about cats.
She could only ponder the question of cats for so long before she finally had to admit to herself that it was time. She had to call her brother; she couldn’t put it off anymore. It was difficult, because over the past few days, her anger at him had faded into a gentle, almost fond annoyance. He was her brother, and while they certainly argued a lot, she loved him and knew that he loved her too. Planning a wedding wasn’t easy, and she knew that he and his fiancée were probably extremely stressed.
Still, it had to be done. She figured she could at least get an apology out of him and make him promise to owe her a couple of favors before she agreed to all of it. There wasn’t even question on whether or not she would agree – she wasn’t about to ruin her brother’s wedding out of pettiness, and she really did like Jennifer. The woman was kind, sweet, and good for her brother, even if Hannah thought she was crazy for marrying him.
Reluctantly, she laid down on the couch with her head propped up on the arm, and grabbed
