Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

hesitation take Grace from the most stable home she'd ever had? How could she deny the girl a lifetime of
love from two parents who cherished her?
Hannah's eyes welled up. She wasn't sorry they'd taken Grace
in. The little girl had been worth every minute. The memory of
watching her blossom into a talkative, confident little girl in the
months they had her was something all of them would cherish
forever.
But still it didn't seem right. Mrs. Parsons should have
checked Grace's background better, researched to see if Grace's
mother was telling the truth about the grandmother in Oklahoma.
Hannah took another sip of coffee just as the door opened. Matt stepped outside and sauntered over, taking
the seat beside her. "Hey."
Immediately a ray of sunshine pierced the darkness around
Hannah's heart. "Hi." Matt rarely came home in the middle of the
day, and almost never in the morning. She situated herself so she
could see him. "Did you get fired?"
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"Nope." His eyes twinkled. He leaned back in the chair and d his chin, letting the ocean breeze wash over
his face. "I'm
e for two reasons."
"One..."
He reached for her hand and wove his fingers between hers. .e, I had something profound to tell you."
She raised her brows, hearing the teasing tone in his voice.
Two?"
The corners of his mouth rose a notch. "Two ...I forgot a file I ;eed for a meeting this afternoon."
"I knew there had to be a catch." She dusted her thumb over
the palm of his hand. "Okay, what's so profound?"
Matt's expression grew serious. He shifted his weight forward and met her gaze. "We need to talk."
Hannah's stomach tightened. "You sound serious."
"I am." With the fingers of his free hand, Matt traced her
cheek. In his eyes she saw love, but something else. Concern, maybe. Or disappointment. "You're doing it
again, Hannah."
His words hung together and formed something she didn't recognize. "Doing what?"
"I know you don't mean it-" he rested his forearms on his knees and studied her-"but ever since Grace
left..." He met her eyes. "You're angry again. Like you were after Tom and Alicia died."
The hairs on the back of Hannah's neck rose as quickly as her temper. How dare he accuse her of being
angry! Who did he think he was, telling her how to feel? "I have a right to be mad."
"Okay." Matt leaned back in his chair. "At who?"
"At Mrs. Parsons. . .at Patsy Landers." Hannah balled her hands into tight fists. "At myself for agreeing to
take Grace in the first place. At you for not stopping me. I don't know" She released a loud huff. "I'm just
mad! It wasn't right what happened with
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Grace. She was our daughter, Matt."
Something about the calm in his eyes made Hannah even
angrier. She raised her voice, her tone harder than she intended.
"That was the profound thing you wanted to tell me?"
"Yes." Matt shrugged. "And that I found something in the