I Want to Hold Your Hand Read Online Free PDF

speculatively, Hannah added, “We had plans tonight.” Watching her family process that momentous news with far more decorum than she’d expected from them also helped to lift her spirits ever so slightly. She could tell they were nearly bursting with the need to ask a thousand questions that they wisely contained. She was in no mood to deal with an Abbott inquisition right now, and they knew it.
    However, she also knew she was only postponing the inevitable. She’d be in for a grilling after she’d had sufficient time to mourn Homer.
    Her family stayed while Myles gathered up Homer’s body. They stayed while she spent some tearful time with Caleb’s parents. And they stayed until they were certain Hannah was okay. Convincing them to go took some doing on her part, but she finally succeeded in assuring them she’d be fine.
    When she was left alone with Nolan, she turned to him, unsure of what she should say. She appreciated that he waited for her to gather her thoughts and didn’t feel the need to immediately fill the silence.
    She forced a smile for his benefit. “Heck of a first date, huh?”
    “One for the record books,” he said as he took her hand once again. He couldn’t seem to refrain from touching her, and Hannah couldn’t deny that she liked being touched by him. “But I’m glad I was able to be here with you tonight.”
    “So am I. Can you sit for a minute?”
    “For as long as you’d like.” He released her hand only to add a log to the fire before he sat next to her and reached for her again.
    “What’re you thinking?” she asked after a long period of companionable silence.
    “That this brings back a lot of painful memories for me, so I can only speculate as to how you must feel.”
    “I feel pretty awful, but it helps to imagine Homer crossing the bridge and finding Caleb waiting for him. I can picture Homer running for Caleb the way he used to, both of them young and strong and thrilled to be together again.” She wiped away new tears. “They must be so happy to see each other.”
    “Yeah,” Nolan said gruffly, brushing quickly at his face with his free hand. “I bet they’re having one hell of a reunion.”
    “Thinking about that brings comfort, you know?”
    He nodded.
    “Remember how Caleb would pat his chest and Homer would jump into his arms?” Hannah asked.
    “I remember. I also remember that Homer wouldn’t do that for anyone but Caleb no matter how hard we all tried to get him to do it for us.”
    “That’s because Caleb was the only one he trusted enough to catch him.”
    They sat in silence for a long time, watching the fire, lost in their own thoughts and memories. It was nice, she thought, to have him there with her, to share the grief with someone who’d loved Caleb and Homer and felt their loss almost as profoundly as she did.
    “We need to do something for Homer,” Nolan said.
    “Like what?”
    “We should do what Caleb would’ve done—a full-on funeral with all the bells and whistles he would’ve insisted on.”
    For the first time in hours, Hannah had reason to truly smile imagining the send-off Caleb would’ve given his beloved companion. “You’re absolutely right. It needs to be huge and awesome and over the top.”
    “Totally and completely over the top.”
    “We need the Sultans.”
    “We couldn’t do over the top without them.”
    Hannah turned so she faced him. “This is a really great idea, Nolan. And you’re right. It’s exactly what Caleb would’ve done.”
    “You would’ve thought of it. Eventually.”
    “When should we do it?”
    “We’d need to give the guys some notice to get them here. Weekend after next?”
    “That works for me. I love this. Thank you so much for honoring Homer and Caleb by suggesting it.”
    Nolan shrugged off her praise. “Do you want me to go so you can get some rest?”
    “No.” She dropped her head against his shoulder. “I know you have to work tomorrow and everything, but if you don’t