Stranger in Town (Dundee, Idaho #5)(75)
Author: Brenda Novak

Time seemed to stand still. Hannah noticed the open mouths of Donny, Pug, and Violet, could see Russ’s eyes nearly bulging out of his head. She could even hear her own heartbeat, thumping loudly in her ears.

Gabe glanced at the camera, his dark eyelashes making the perfect frame for his blue eyes. To Hannah, it felt like he was looking right at her. “Her name is Hannah Price.”

“Oh, God,” Hannah whispered.

“Where’d you meet her?” Steve asked.

“She’s from my hometown.”

“Well, I hope you’ll be happy.”

Gabe’s grin turned into a hopeful boyish smile. “I will if she says yes,” he said, and the program cut to a commercial.

No one moved for several seconds until, finally, Deborah Wheeler turned to gape at Hannah. “You did it,” she murmured. “I can’t believe it…. You did it.”

Hannah could hardly breathe. Gabe was coming home. He was coming home to her. And he wanted to get married. He’d just said so. In front of millions of people including Russ and all of Russ’s family. On national TV!

It was a lot to take in, especially with everyone staring at her in stunned surprise.

“Mom?” Kenny said, his voice breaking with excitement. “Are you going to do it? Are you going to marry him?”

Could it last? Could he truly forgive her for the accident? “I told him I didn’t plan on getting married again,” she said, more to herself than anyone.

“So? You can always change your mind,” Pug said.

“He hasn’t asked me to, yet. At least not officially,” she said.

Kenny crossed the room and put his arm around her. “He just told all of America that he wants to marry you. That’s pretty official.” He leaned down so that they were eye to eye. “You want to marry him, don’t you?”

He can’t help but resent you eventually. Patti had said that. Was it true?

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t miss your chance, Hannah,” Pug said, and Russ shot him a furious glance.

This was her chance, Hannah realized. She had the opportunity to live with the man she loved, sleep with him, hopefully share the rest of her life with him. And she was going to take it. Risk it all. “I know,” she said.

Brent grabbed her hand. “Does that mean you’re going to say yes?”

When she nodded, he let out a whoop. “Lazarus is mine!”

Hannah might have laughed at his response, but she was still reeling. “Hannah Holbrook,” she said, practicing. She knew that no one, besides her, Kenny and Brent—and possibly Pug—appreciated the sound of it. But she didn’t care. Suddenly she felt as light as air. Maybe she’d even have another baby….

HE WAS ABOUT TO propose marriage. To Hannah Price. He was planning to stay in Dundee, probably for the rest of his life. And he wanted to coach.

Somehow it had all crystallized for him while sitting at dinner in New York, with Barbie cooing over him, Harvey pressing him to sign a multimillion-dollar contract, and Phil constantly stroking his ego. Hosting NFL Sunday Countdown was undeniably a great opportunity—but for someone else. He’d offered to be a stand-in when one of the regulars was out, and that would be enough.

The answer had been so simple, he’d almost missed it, Gabe realized as he drove home from the airport, his window down and the cool night air rushing into his truck. He belonged in Dundee, with Hannah, Kenny, Brent, Lazarus, and his own family. He had some ground to make up with his father. Reenie needed him right now, as well.

But he still couldn’t believe it. A few months ago, he never would’ve imagined he’d be getting married so soon. He’d been too busy deluding himself that he’d walk again, that he’d return to football.

He’d hung on to that hope so tightly because he’d feared there’d be nothing to replace it if he let go. But there was. Hannah, even the Spartans, were just as vital to him as anything that had come before.

Holding the steering wheel with his left hand, he reached for the small velvet box sitting in the seat next to him. He’d bought Hannah’s ring at Tiffany’s before flying home. He’d wanted to get her something special, something beyond anything she’d ever seen before—and he felt certain he’d found it. He just hoped he could convince her that marrying him wouldn’t be a bad thing for her boys. She loved him; he knew that. But she’d be worried about them, so much that she’d put their interests before her own wants and needs.

For probably the hundredth time, he ran through what he planned to say to her the moment she offered him any resistance. He’d be good to Kenny and Brent. They needed a better role model than they had. He could teach them a lot, about football, school, woodworking, overcoming adversity. He had the money to buy them things she couldn’t. And his best argument of all—how could it hurt a child to have an extra adult around to love him and care for him?

It couldn’t. That would have to be her reply. Then he’d tempt her with the ring. He didn’t know a whole lot about diamonds, but this one was certainly pretty. The salesgirl at Tiffany’s had nearly fainted when he bought it. That’s the most beautiful ring we’ve got….

Which is what made it perfect for Hannah. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, especially on the inside, where it really mattered.

The “Welcome to Dundee, Home of the Bad to the Bone Rodeo” sign came up on his right, and he felt a smile tempt his lips. To him, that sign might as well have said, “Welcome home, Gabe.”

HANNAH SAT ON HER PORCH in Gabe’s chair, staring out over her moonlit yard. The boys were asleep. As she pulled a blanket tighter around her shoulders to ward off the chill, she could hear the cicadas, smell the dew gathering on the grass. She liked this time of night. It was late, calm and peaceful. But she couldn’t relax. Gabe had called from the airport in New York an eternity ago to say he was on his way home. He told her he’d stop by, but he’d been in a big rush to catch his plane and hadn’t said anything more than that. She’d wanted to ask if he meant what he’d said on TV, if he was really planning to marry her—because she was having a difficult time believing what she’d heard.

From the reaction she’d already witnessed, so was almost everyone else. Russ had immediately gotten up and stormed out of Patti’s house. In the ensuing silence, Deborah had burst into tears and slipped away. Although Patti and Violet had glanced worriedly at each other when Russ left, they’d largely refused to acknowledge that anything unusual had taken place. Pug was the only one in Russ’s family who seemed pleased. He’d grinned and clapped her on the back. “See if you can get me a couple of 49ers tickets, will ya?” he’d said, and she’d hugged him.