A Hickory Ridge Christmas Read Online Free Page B

knocking on the door.”
    â€œI heard. I’ll get the door. Why don’t you go put your jeans on? Then go set up your dolls in the living room, and I’ll be there in a minute to play.”
    Again, Rebecca scurried off, but this time, Hannah followed, turning down the hall to the front door. She stopped as her hand touched the wood. Without a peephole to check for sure, she could only hold her breath and hope she was wrong.
    Lord, please don’t let it be Todd. It’s too soon. Please give me strength when the time comes. Amen.
    Her hand was on the doorknob when his voice came through the door.
    â€œHannah, it’s me. Todd. I know you’re in there. I can see the lights.”
    Panic came in a rush that clenched inside her and dampened her palms. No. She couldn’t tell him now. She wasn’t ready. Not yet.
    â€œGo away, Todd.”
    Though she recognized the voice as her own, the words surprised even her. She was taking the easy way out again rather than facing this mess she’d created, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.
    For a few seconds, there was no sound on the other side of the door. She almost expected to hear the crunch of snow as he trudged down the steps andaway from her apartment, but instead there was a more insistent knock.
    â€œYou might as well open the door because I’m not leaving.”
    Hannah stared at the door. Todd sounded different. The laid-back boy she remembered had been replaced by this determined and forceful guy she didn’t recognize at all, and yet she still found herself cracking the door open to him. Whatever happened to your fear of strangers? But irony encased that thought, for even this new Todd was in no way a stranger to her.
    He stood on the porch, the collar of his wool jacket flipped up to shield his ears and his hands shoved in the front pockets of his slacks. Several years on an island off the southern end of the Malay Peninsula hadn’t prepared him for a Milford December. She was surprised by the impulse to warm his hands with her own, but she remained behind the cracked door.
    â€œHow did you find out where I live?”
    â€œAndrew gave me your address.” He withdrew his hand from his pocket and held out a crumpled piece of paper.
    â€œWhy did Andrew—” she started to ask but stopped herself when the answer dawned.
    Have you told Todd? Andrew’s words from that long ago night flashed through her mind. The youth minister and his future wife, Serena, had counseled her when she’d first discovered she was pregnant. She’d denied Andrew’s assertion that Todd was the father, and neither of them had pressured her to reveal her secret.
    The secret that had come back to haunt her today.
    Hannah sighed, suddenly exhausted by the energy it had required to keep the truth hidden. “Todd, what are you doing here?”
    Todd’s teeth chattered as he zipped his jacket higher. “I told you I want to talk to you.”
    She cocked her head to the side and studied him. Now that the shock of seeing him was beginning to wear off, old, mixed emotions began to resurface. Anger she realized she had no right to feel and long-buried hurt collided, leaving her insides feeling exposed. “After five years? Why would we have anything to talk about?”
    â€œWe do. I know I do.”
    Hannah stared at him. He’d surprised her again with his certainty when she felt so unsure. “Maybe in a few days but not yet. I’m not ready—”
    As she spoke those last three words, she started closing the door. Todd pressed his foot into the space before it could close completely.
    â€œIsn’t five years long enough?” he said.
    Staring at his dress shoe, Hannah waited, but he didn’t say more, so she finally lifted her gaze to his. In his eyes was a look of anguish so stark that Hannah could only remember seeing an expression like it once before. She’d found it in the