Free One From The Heart by Cinda Richards, Cheryl Reavis Page A

waiting to be asked in, and he didn’t wait now, stepping inside and attempting to take Petey out of her arms. Still crying, Petey reached for him with one arm and held on to Hannah’s neck with the other, locking them into a three-way embrace much the way she had that day under the umbrella.
    He took his hat off and gave it a haphazard toss. “Who is this, Miss Hannah?” he said, kissing Petey on the forehead. “Do I know who this is?” After a moment’s hesitation, he put his arms around both of them, and Hannah had the distinct feeling he wanted to kiss her on the forehead as well. It was all she could do not to lean into him.
    “Me—” Petey said, her voice wavering.
    “Me? I don’t know any clowns named Me. Now, let me see … This is Miss Hannah over here, so this must be—”
    “Petey!” she cried, her tears still streaming down her face.
    “Petey! It’s not!” Ernie said with such incredulity that Hannah almost smiled. Watch yourself, Hannah , she thought. He had been back for ten seconds, and she was just as smitten as ever.
    “Where is she?” Ernie continued to tease. “I don’t see Petey.”
    “Here, Ernie,” Petey insisted.
    “Where?”
    “Here,” she said, patting herself on the chest.
    “Well, dang if it’s not. Anna-Hannah, I thought you’d brought the wrong clown home. Here, let old Ernie take you.”
    This time she let go of Hannah’s neck. Ernie stood with her for a moment, patting her on the back, then walked toward the couch to sit down. He still limped, and he still presumed, taking Hannah by the arm and pulling her along with them.
    “You through crying, Pete?” he asked, repeating the question he’d asked that first night and painfully lowering his tall frame onto the couch. He glanced at Hannah, and she sat down beside him, trying unsuccessfully to read his look.
    Petey shook her head no and continued to cry.
    “Well, let me know when, because I want to tell you something. I want to tell you what I think about your mama.”
    Hannah was about to protest, but he shot her another look. Trust me . She pressed her lips together and waited. She could do that easily enough—God help her. Ernie sat with Petey on his lap until she grew quiet.
    “This is what I think, Pete,” he said when she was calm enough to listen. “Your mama left you with me, and she told me to take you to Anna-Hannah because she had important things to do. And what I think is as soon as she gets through doing those things, she’ll be right back to get you. Now, she knows I love you and Anna-Hannah loves you, so she doesn’t have to worry. You don’t have to worry either, Pete.”
    “I want her to hurry,” Petey said, her eyes filling with tears again.
    “I know you do, Pete. And I’ve told everybody I know, and Anna-Hannah’s told everybody she knows: ’If you see Petey’s mama, tell her to hurry.’ Okay?”
    After a very long moment, Petey nodded.
    “Now give me a hug,” Ernie said to her. “I need one pretty bad today. How about you?”
    “Yes,” Petey said, her voice still tearful.
    “Right,” Ernie said, giving her a hug that was more sound effect than squeezing. “Now have you got one for me?”
    “And Anna-Hannah, too,” Petey decided. “Everybody needs a hug.” She gave Ernie his return hug, hugged Hannah and finally slid down from Ernie’s lap to find Cowpoke and bring him in to watch television. Hannah got up to go into the kitchen, exhausted from the emotional trials of the morning and needing some kind of busy work to keep her mind off the man who was openly watching her every move. She just didn’t know what he wanted from her! She hadn’t from the first night he limped into her life. He liked her, she thought, but he certainly didn’t want to. She had sensed the struggle he was having with himself all along, and she couldn’t attribute it to anything but his regard for Elizabeth. The fact that a man was in love with one woman didn’t necessarily keep him from