Free To Forgive & Hold Safe (The Broken Men Chronicles Book 4) by Carey Decevito Page B

interjected.
    I turned to look at him.  “Why?”
    “Because you’ve had three years to process things and move on, and it’s still fresh for her.”
    “I know.” And then I added, “We’re just friends.”
    “But you’re falling for her.” Dad looked at me with that all-knowing gaze of his.  “I know you, son.”
    “I agree with your father,” Mom said. “Regardless of what you decide, take your time, Ben, and listen to your heart.  You deserve to be happy.”
    A soft laugh escaped me.  “That’s what her mom told me.”
    “Smart woman.”  Mom winked.
    “You’d like Anne and Adam,” I said.  “They remind me so much of you two.”
    Mom and Dad shared an odd look I couldn’t quite place, but as quick as it appeared, it was gone.
    “And what of Hannah?” Mom asked.
    “Seeing as you enjoy putting me back in my place, I think you’d love her.” I grinned.  “She’s challenging, sweet, and funny. I haven’t laughed as much in the last three years as I have in the last couple of days.”
    “I think we’ll have to meet this Hannah.” Dad shared another one of those mysterious looks with Mom.  “I don’t care if she stays a friend or not.  I owe that girl for bringing me my son back.”
    Mom only nodded.

Chapter 2 2
    It was late when I left my childhood home, Hannah never straying very far from my thoughts. I wondered if her parents had kept her company since I couldn’t be there with her like I normally was.  I found that I missed our late night chats, seeing as tonight had been the first where I hadn’t visited since her accident.
    As I drove home, the urge to see Hannah was still potent, but the time on the clock told me that she’d be sleeping.  I’d check in on her in the morning.
     
    Arriving at the hospital around lunchtime, imagine my shock when I got to Hannah’s room and the sheets were being ripped off of her bed.  Her flowers and gifts from friends and family were nowhere to be seen either.
    “Where is she?” I asked.
    “Who, sir?” the cleaner asked.
    “The patient that was in this room.”
    “Gone.”
    Gone?
    “Gone where?”
    The cleaner shrugged her shoulders, then pulled a piece of folded paper from her scrub’s pocket and handed it to me.  “This was left behind.  I was going to leave it at the nurse’s station.  Are you Ben?”
    I breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and took the paper.  “Thank you.”
    The woman nodded and I walked out of the room to sit in one of the hallway chairs.
    I looked down at the page, reading my name in fancy cursive.  Unfolding the paper, I took in the words.
     
    Dear Ben,
    By now, you’ve noticed that I’m not there.  The doctor came by this morning and told me that I was able to go home.  I’m excited, but I’m scared.  I’m inching toward normalcy again, and I’m not sure how I’ll deal when I get home.
    I’m staying at Mom’s and Dad’s for a few days until they’re happy with how I can handle myself physically.  I think they’re still worried that something will happen and I’ll snap.
    I wanted to say thank you for all that you’ve done and I hope to see you again.
    I finally heard back from Lee’s parents.  They’ve taken it upon themselves to handle the funeral arrangements without me.  There’s a back-story there, which I’m sure, when I see you next (if I do), you’ll get a full rendition.
    If this is it and I don’t see you again, I’ll forever consider you a friend.  Ben, what you’ve shared with me, what you’ve helped me through, makes you matter more to me than some I have spent an entire lifetime getting to know.  I only hope that I’ve been as much a source of comfort to you as you have been to me.
    Look me up when you’re ready for that baking session.  It’s the least I can do when I already owe you my life for everything you’ve done.
    Love,
    Hannah
     
    And there it was, in plain black and white – her phone number.
    I stopped myself from dialing her up right