Harboring Hannah by Pepper North

Chapter 4

Blaring horns behind him drew Deke’s attention. Looking in the driver’s side mirror, he saw cars weaving erratically from behind him to swerve into the far-left lane. They seemed to be deliberately giving him a wide berth. As the vehicles passed, each pointed to the boat or shook their heads in disgust. One passenger had her phone pressed to her ear, and she stared at him—hard.

“What the hell?” Deke looked from one mirror to another. There must be something wrong with the boat. Immediately, he slowed and eased over to the side, switching his flashers on. He watched for a break in the traffic and threw his door open when he didn’t risk getting it torn off.

Running to the back of the truck, he scanned the port side. He couldn’t see anything wrong. He vaulted over the neck of the trailer, avoiding getting tangled in the safety chain. As he rounded the bow, Deke saw her. Hannah.

He needed to get to her now. “I’m coming, Hannah. Hold on,” Deke called as he ran past her to the back of the boat. Climbing on the trailer, he jumped up to press himself to the edge of the boat. Deke hooked a leg over the side and clambered into the boat.

“Deke? Deke, I’m sorry,” Hannah apologized as she hung over the side.

Scooping her up into his arms, Deke pulled her away from the railing. He collapsed onto the deck with his precious bundle. “Take some deep breaths, honey. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Deke reached a hand over his head to pull his T-shirt off. Without any fuss, he wiped the mess off her face and hands. Folding it to a clean spot, Deke wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“I’m glad to see you, honey.”

“I’m so sorry,” Hannah repeated as she clung to him.

Sirens blared behind the boat. Deke ran his fingers through her hair to reassure Hannah when she jumped. “It’s okay. They’re checking on why we’re pulled over. Let’s get out of this boat.”

Standing, Deke waved to the police officer and gave him a thumbs up before pulling Hannah to her feet. He wrapped a supportive arm around her waist and helped her move toward the back. When he heard a door slam, he knew the officer had gotten out.

“Thanks for checking on us. My girlfriend tried to surprise me by hiding on my boat. Unfortunately, she got majorly car… er, boat sick.”

“Sir, I’m going to ask you to get out of the boat and go stand by my patrol car.”

“Hannah isn’t able to stand by herself now. She’s too sick. Can you help me get her down? I’ll go stand wherever you want me as soon as she’s off this boat.”

Hannah lurched forward and threw her torso over the boat in desperation as another wave of sickness overcame her. The officer back stepped quickly to avoid being hit or splattered as Deke did his best to support her. He combed his hands through her hair, holding it away from Hannah’s face as she vomited to the pavement below.

“It’s okay, Hannah. Your tummy will feel better soon,” Deke reassured her softly.

“Go away,” she urged as she sagged over the side of the boat.

“You need my help, Little girl. I’m staying right here by your side,” Deke firmly stated.

When Hannah’s spasms ended, Deke used the last clean spot on his T-shirt to wipe her face again. “It’s okay. Take some deep breaths.”

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” she mumbled, the words on automatic repeat as she sagged against him.

“Shh! You don’t have anything to be sorry about. Let’s get you down to solid ground,” he suggested. When she weakly nodded, he supported her with an arm around her waist to the back of the boat.

“Sit here on the edge,” Deke instructed, well-aware that the highway patrolman watched from below. “I’m going to step onto the ladder and help you climb down in front of me.”

He moved quickly into position. As he tried to help Hannah step onto the rungs, Deke quickly concluded she wasn’t functioning on a level to get down on her own. “Daddy will help,” he assured her.

Without alerting her, Deke scooped her up over his shoulder. With a hand clamped over her thighs, he quickly negotiated the rungs. Her soft moan but no protests confirmed she was in bad shape. As sweet as Hannah had acted as they got to know each other, she’d never hesitated to be independent.

Deke hesitated, knowing that last hop to the ground would be rough on her. “Hold on, Little girl,” he urged before stepping off. Bending his knees, Deke tried to mitigate the force of their landing.

“Nooo!” Hannah wailed.

“Sir, put the woman down and go stand by the patrol car.”

Deke focused the glance that would have incinerated the patrolman on the asphalt at his feet. He nodded to acknowledge he’d heard and would comply.

“Hannah, I’m going to put you down in the boat's shade, sweetheart. Go ahead and sit down,” Deke encouraged as he helped her settle onto the solid surface.

“I’d like to get her some water. Can I get in my truck?” he questioned the officer behind him.

“In a minute, sir.”

After sweeping away the strands of hair clinging to Hannah’s sweaty face, Deke moved away from her. As he passed the officer, he stopped. “I’m Deke Brennan. My driver’s license is in my pocket. Can I give it to you?”

“Sir, go stand by the car. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Nodding, Deke turned to look back at Hannah. “Please, take care of her.”

The officer’s face softened fractionally. “I’ll be with you soon.”

“Thank you.” Deke tossed his shirt to the ground by the boat before walking back to stand by the hood. He didn’t know what was going through the officer’s head, but he wasn’t going to cause any additional problems.

The officer squatted down to Hannah’s level. He talked to her quietly before speaking into the radio attached to his shoulder. Standing, he called back to Deke, “Do you have water in your truck?”

“Yes, there’s a cooler on the passenger side.”

“Do I have your permission to open your truck?”

“Yes,” Deke answered without hesitation. He watched the officer look into the truck before opening the door. He glanced around, looking for anything incriminating before opening the cooler and pulling out a bottle of water.

Deke hated being powerless. That was his Little girl. He watched Hannah take several sips and lean back against the trailer. She shook her head to answer a question from the officer.

“Sir, she doesn’t want to go to the hospital and reports that she stowed away on your boat without your knowledge. May I see your ID?”

“Of course.” Deke pulled his wallet from his pocket and extracted his license.

“I’ll be right back.” The officer got into the squad car and entered information into a computer on the dash. He returned to talk to Deke after several minutes and a conversation on his radio.

“Mr. Brennan, you reported Hannah Tobler, twenty-six, missing last week. I’m going to take you and Hannah into the station for a few questions.”

“Can I follow you?” Deke asked, eyeing his truck and boat on the side of the busy highway.

“No, sir. If you have an electronic lock, set that now.”

“The keys are in the ignition. I jumped out of the truck to help Hannah without grabbing them,” Deke explained.

“I’ll cuff you and put you in the backseat before getting the keys and helping Miss Tobler to the car as well.”

“Is this necessary?” Deke asked in exasperation as the patrolman secured his hands behind him.

“There’s an active missing person report on Hannah. Until I make sure she’s not in danger, I’m taking you into custody.”

“I’m the one who reported her missing,” Deke explained.

“I know.”

Soon, Deke watched through the windshield as the police officer helped Hannah stand and walk back to the car. He was pleased to see that she was a bit less wobbly. When the officer placed her in the front seat, she turned around immediately to look at Deke.

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have hidden on your boat.”

“We’re going to figure this out, Little girl. It will be okay,” Deke reassured her.

As soon as they started down the highway, Deke watched the color leech from Hannah’s face. “Officer, could you blow the vent toward Hannah. She’s going to be sick again.”

Immediately, the patrolman turned up the fan and aimed all the forward vents at the passenger beside him. “Do you need me to pull over?” he asked Hannah.

“No. That’s better,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“You can’t help being sick, Hannah,” Deke reassured her.

Thank goodness the trip was quick. As soon as they arrived, officers escorted the shirtless Deke and Hannah in opposite directions. Deke repeated his story over and over.

“We dated for a short time, but it was serious. I was planning to take her with me to my new home. Then she disappeared. No one else seemed surprised or concerned. I was. I filed the report and hired a private investigator.”

“Her family reports that this is a pattern of behavior with Hannah. She runs away from her problems. Do you consider yourself a problem?” asked the investigator.

“No. I care about Hannah. Can I see her now?” Deke asked.

“Soon. She’s giving her statement. Remind me, when and how did you notice that Hannah Tobler was missing?”

* * *

Finally, someone walked into the investigation area and said, “Cleared.”

“Mr. Brennan, you’re free to go.”

“Can I see Hannah, please?” Deke asked, standing.

“I believe she is waiting for you at the entrance.”

Deke quickly retrieved his possessions and walked to the front of the station. Breathing out a long breath of relief, he jogged forward to join Hannah. “Little girl,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. Deke pressed his lips to hers softly.

“I’m sorry.” Hannah’s face flushed pink as she put her hand over her mouth.

“We’ll get you a toothbrush, so you’ll want me to kiss you more,” he teased.

“No, I’m sorry that you got dragged into all this,” she apologized again, sweeping her hand to indicate the police station.

“I don’t want to hear that again. You had some reason for disappearing. I’d like you to tell me, but first, do you want to stay here, or would you like to disappear from this town for the right reasons?”

“You’d still take me with you?”

“Definitely. Let me get an Uber to take us to the truck,” he said, pulling his phone up to request a ride-share. Deke tugged her to a padded bench and sat down. When Hannah sat as close to him as possible, he hugged her to his body with one arm as he thumbed through his phone for the app.

“Would you like me to take you back to your vehicle?” The familiar patrolman’s voice was free of the official stiffness that had colored his words previously.

“That would be wonderful. Thank you,” Deke stood, shaking the officer’s hand.

“I’m glad everything was cleared up quickly. I keep this in my car for my Little girl. I thought it might help Hannah.” He held out a sealed box of an over-the-counter motion sickness remedy. The two men’s eyes met as they communicated silently.

“I used to always take that when I was a kid,” Hannah volunteered.

“It’s chewable, but it may make her sleepy,” the officer cautioned.

“They make them chewable now?” she asked, reaching for the box.

“Your Daddy needs to take care of this for you, Hannah,” the officer corrected her quietly as he handed the package to Deke.

“Oh, he’s not my…” Hannah began, but stopped when Deke cleared his throat meaningfully.

“Thank you.” Deke opened the package and double-checked that the dosage was correct before pushing one tablet through the foil seal and handing it to her.

“Chew this. It will help in the truck.”

Deke handed the box back to the officer, but the man in uniform waved it off.

“You hold on to it. I’m glad to help another Daddy. My cruiser’s just outside.” He pulled a small pack of mints from his pocket. “These are for you, Hannah. They’ll get rid of the taste in your mouth.”

She took them eagerly and opened the roll to pop one into her mouth. Only after sighing in delight did she think to offer them to everyone. “Sorry! Would you like one?”

“They’re all yours, sweetheart.” Deke nodded his thanks to the officer before helping Hannah into the passenger seat of the squad car.

Hannah sat in the front with the vents blowing on her. Staying as still as a marble statue, she worried more about bumping something important in the patrol car than being sick. There were so many levers and weapons.

“Don’t worry. Everything is secured. You can’t hurt anything,” the officer reassured her.

After peeking back at Deke, Hannah tried to relax. She didn’t understand why he was even bothering with her. I mean, there was something there. Damn Tommy!

Hannah rolled her eyes up at the ceiling and bemoaned her taste in men. She’d always chosen the wrong one or run from someone who seemed too perfect. Then she’d trusted Tommy. Hannah looked back at Deke again. She loved that he smiled reassuringly at her each time she looked at him. Was it possible that he’d understand?

No, he’ll never look at me the same.

The large boat loomed before her. They’d arrived. Hannah shook off her scrambled thoughts and turned to echo Deke’s thank you.

Deke escorted Hannah down the shoulder of the highway. She stopped at the sight of her sickness on the side of the boat.

“Oh, no. I tried to lean over. Do you have a rag? I’ll clean it up!”

“I’ll get it. I don’t want you out in the heat. That won’t help you feel better. Come on. Get in the truck. I’ll turn on the air conditioning and take care of everything.”

One look at his face convinced her she wouldn’t be able to change his mind. Nodding, Hannah let him help her into the passenger seat. She watched him carefully as he started the truck and adjusted the vents to concentrate on her.

“I’m a lot of work,” she confessed, feeling guilty.

“Maybe you just need to let someone help you, Little girl. We’ll talk more later. Close your eyes and see if you can nap while I finish up. Then, we’ll get out of here.”

“You still want to take me to SANCTUM?” she asked, hating the nervous warble of her voice.

“Yes.”

“That’s it? Yes?”

“I’ve searched for you for a long time, Hannah. I wouldn’t have stopped looking for you.”

Deke picked up her closest hand and kissed Hannah’s palm. His lips were warm and soft against her hand. It was such a caring gesture that Hannah didn’t know how to answer.

“Rest. I’ll be back soon, Little girl. Did you leave anything in the boat I need to rescue?

“My backpacks there. I… I also used a pillowcase to put my dirty clothes in.” She felt her face heat. “I’ll wash it.”

“That sounds like a perfectly good substitute for a laundry bag. I’ll get it, too. Lean back. It won’t take me long.”

Nodding, Hannah settled back against the seat and closed her eyes as he let himself out quietly. Allowing Deke to guide her felt right. No one had ever made her a priority for a long time, and she’d definitely been her own worst enemy in the past.

The motion sickness medication made her sleepy. Combined with the stress of the day and her confidence in being somewhere safe for the first time in a long time, the drowsiness coaxed her into oblivion. Soon, the forward motion of the large vehicle wove its way into her dreams.