Hannah's Blessing (2 page)

Smoothing her black dress over her hips one last time, she sighed and turned away from the mirror. Hannah still needed to get ready, and they had to leave soon. She had more important things to worry about. No more time for self-pity.

Though she had arranged a quiet graveside funeral, she was amazed to see so many people congregate around his casket. She only knew a small portion of the group, and they avoided her intent stare with the shifting eyes and shuffling feet of those who knew too much for their own comfort. Several times she caught some of the men in the group protectively covering their privates with a pained groan. So it was no secret what the police had determined as the cause of the accident, she realized with a touch of humiliation. When they caught her furious stare, they turned away in embarrassment. Not too long ago those men had flirted shamelessly with her. Now they glanced at her out of the corner of their eyes in pity. She and Hannah stood alone by the minister, dressed in their best and remaining dry-eyed and solemn while all his friends in their flashy, high-fashion clothes and lithe, well-toned bodies cried and mourned around her. 

The day was cool and sunny, perfect for a funeral, and the high altitude air was fresh and clean. Diana held onto Hannah’s hand tightly as she took several deep breaths. Not quite five yet, her daughter had not taken the news very well. With her youthful lack of wisdom, she could not seem to understand that her Daddy would not be coming back ever again. She wanted to know why and sent a barrage of questions Diana’s way. They were questions she did not have the strength to answer yet.

Why?

Diana could not say why. It was not her decision.

The morning after the accident, Hannah had awakened to find their elderly neighbor dozing on the sofa while Diana had gone with the police. She had been worried when her mother returned pale and numb with shock. After Diana had told her there was a bad accident, Hannah had cried. However, the tears were more from confusion than understanding.

Diana wept too. She wept bitter tears of anger with her husband. How could he be so foolish and remove himself from his daughter’s life so permanently? She remembered the look on his face again. Apparently he had not been considering either her or Hannah at the time and he had made it plain that he regretted their marriage. That look of pure contempt he had given her before he stormed out the front door would stay with her for the rest of her lifetime. Well she had certainly learned her lesson, and she would be damned if she ever fell that hard for a man again.

“May he forever rest in peace...”

The minister’s final words rung in Diana’s ears as she slowly lifted her chin. The silence only lasted a moment before more wailing captured Hannah’s attention. She turned her head out of curiosity, and Diana gave her a quick tug on the hand to keep her focused. At the same time, they heard a car door open from somewhere behind the long line of cars parked along the side of the dirt road leading up to the freshly dug grave. How rude to interrupt, Diana thought, though she was not surprised. The tight-knit crowd that Peter had grown friendly with was not necessarily a respectful group of individuals. Disturbing the somber silence of the last rites fell right in line with their standards. In fact, she half-expected that once the grave was filled, most of these people would return to celebrate with him one last time. The idea filled her with disgust.

Again Hannah’s head swiveled toward the distraction. Now was not the time to lose the child’s attention. With as much grace as she could muster, Diana gave Hannah another tug, this time pulling her forward so that they could drop the rose her daughter clung to her chest into the gaping hole. She could feel the stares upon her, watching her every move and just waiting to see her break down. But no, she would not give them the satisfaction. Her child squeezed her tightly when she saw the pastel floral casket cover that Hannah had chosen after Diana had flat-out refused the red rose arrangement designed to show everlasting love. No, they certainly had not shared that. The one that Hannah had picked out sported colorful blooms of pink, white, orange, lavender and green roses, lilies and mums, more suitable for an Easter celebration but acceptable for her daughter’s final gift to her father.

“Mommy, is that Daddy in there?”

Diana nodded solemnly. There was someone behind her, watching her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up in warning. Yet she remained cool, refusing to give in to the unspoken pressure.

“But why?”

“We can talk all about it later, honey. Now give Daddy your flower.”

Hannah cautiously approached the casket and threw down the single pink rose Diana had given to her. She stared at it intently, her small face a mask of concern. Then she grasped her mother’s hand again. Diana did not bring a flower for him. As it was, she had a hard enough time gracing his casket with such an expensive waste of beautiful flowers. Needless to say, his final and most public humiliation left no doubt to his friends that their relationship was long over. Why bother faking it after his death?

They stepped back and watched as the casket was lowered. Hannah’s voice took on a new urgency. “Mommy, why are they putting Daddy in that hole?”

Feeling that heavy stare was irritating Diana. She longed to turn around to see just who was watching her every move. But her daughter’s growing panic required all of her strength now. She bent down a little and whispered in her small ear.

“It’s okay. Daddy’s in Heaven now looking down on us. We’re just putting his body to bed.”

“But why, Mommy? Why can’t he go to bed at home, with us?”

Diana smiled gently. “I’m sorry; it’s not his home anymore. He is up in Heaven now. That’s where he’s going to live. And in Heaven he doesn’t need his body. So it’s just you and me at home. But don’t worry - Daddy will always keep an eye on you. He’ll smile down at you and send you kisses. Now hush up and listen to the minister. He’s almost done.”

Hannah frowned, obviously wanting to ask more questions. However she held her tongue and made her mother proud.

The minister glanced at Hannah and smiled gently. Then he blessed the casket one last time. “Now go in peace, and peace be with you.”

The congregation murmured their response and slowly began to melt away. No one approached Diana. Nor did she wish anyone to. She could not guess how many of these women her husband had enjoyed a relationship with.

They eyed her speculatively as if to say ‘now I know why he strayed from home’, and it hurt her more than she cared to admit. Though not a vain woman, she knew that she too had once been fresh and beautiful like them. However, her husband’s constant verbal abuse and lack of interest had chipped away at her self-esteem until she barely had any left. She had been at the point where she no longer cared enough about recapturing her former beauty.

Things would change now, she thought with a firm resolve. For whatever reason she had been given a chance to start all over again with Hannah, and she intended to do just that. Though her last five years had not been joyous, she still had Peter to thank for the gift of Hannah. She had her daughter, and that was all that mattered now.

Taking a deep breath, Diana approached the minister to thank him. He shook her hand and reached down to stroke Hannah’s cheek.

“Will you be all right, Diana?” he asked softly.

She managed a small smile. “We’ll be fine.”

“How about financially? I know that it took all of your savings to pay for this. Will you be okay?”

“I have a job. I’ve already looked into going full-time. Once I find good daycare for Hannah, I’ll take the extra hours. Thank you for your concern.”

He nodded. “My parish will do whatever they can to help. You need only ask.”

She reached forward and squeezed his hand. “Thanks so much. I do appreciate everything you’ve done so far, but I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

As Diana watched the minister move away, she again felt the gaze on her back. Glancing around her quickly, Diana noticed that almost everyone was returning to the waiting cars. With heads bent together in quiet words of soothing, Peter’s friends silently made their way away from her. They were leaving her and Hannah all alone.

Alone. She was alone again.

Well, not completely. She still had Hannah. Hannah was all she needed. She may be alone, but she would never be lonely while she had her precious child.

With everyone moving on, Diana gave her husband’s casket one last long glance. The colorful flower arrangement seemed so out of place residing on the final resting place of a man whose heart was as black as they came. Tilting her chin, she took a deep, shaky breath and let it out slowly. Why, Peter, she wondered. Why did you have to do this to our marriage, to our child, to us? Even as her agonized heart asked the question, she knew the answer. It was clear almost from the beginning. He had never loved her as much as he loved himself. She had foolishly lived a lie, hoping that he would see the good in her and overcome his selfishness. However that would never be, and she had learned a valuable lesson. Never would she succumb like that again.

Confident that most everyone had gained enough distance from her so she and Hannah could depart, she began to head back to her car. The prickly feeling on the back of her neck had not eased, but she felt fairly certain it was just her own paranoia. Then she noticed the long, black stretch limousine. Standing beside it was a tall, lean man as dark as the vehicle. His black hair was professionally trimmed and stirred only slightly in the mid-summer breeze, and even from the distance she could tell his black, tailored suit was top dollar. Hanging open and flapping lightly against his slacks was an elegant, lightweight overcoat. A large, hulking blond man stood beside him. Not as expensively dressed, he stood proud and tall and frighteningly impassive. Diana shivered. He appeared to be some sort of strong arm or perhaps a bodyguard. Had Peter gotten involved with thugs too?

From the distance she could feel his penetrating stare and shivered. A feeling of fear filled her at his intensity. Oh no, she thought with a touch of panic, what kind of mess had Peter gotten into? And more importantly, she realized, what did they want with her?

~

Devlan Doyle crossed his arms over his chest and frowned as he scrutinized his sister-in-law. During the end of the service his eyes had remained on her hastily pinned golden hair and trim back, not moving away even when she bent to speak to his niece. All he remembered of his sister-in-law was how beautiful and vibrant she had been, and how proud his step-brother was to have captured her. Looking at her now reminded him how destructive his step-brother had been. Not content with even the best, he always felt as though he deserved better.

It was sad that he left such a trail of devastation behind him.

He saw the bitterness in her profile when she turned to speak with the minister. It made her appear harsh, and his astute gaze carefully took note that she had not shed one tear. Even from a distance, he could grasp her disengaged countenance. She acted like a woman who no longer felt with her heart. While the other attendees held handkerchiefs and dabbed occasionally at their eyes, Diana remained stoic and grim. And once the minister said his final words and the guests began to mingle, not one person approached her or looked her way. She remained rigid as they meandered off, with her child by her side impatiently scuffing the green grass with the tip of her shoe.

The child.

It was the child that brought him here, he reminded himself, not her.

With Peter’s death, Devlan was faced with a problem. Unfortunately, he did not like problems. They were a nuisance. While there definitely had been no love lost between him and his closest remaining family member, his lawyers had advised him that the death of his younger step-brother had changed everything. A serious problem, he was told. His entire estate would now be left to a four-year-old child, and though he had no plans of dying in the near future, Peter’s accident reminded him that no one could ever be sure. Now this child, a child that he had never set eyes on before this very day, was his heiress and would remain so unless he married and had children of his own.

Hannah Somerset stood in line to inherit one of the largest software companies in the world. Now Devlan’s first priority was to ensure that the girl was in good hands. Peter’s influence could not have been all that good, and he was feeling the first stirrings of doubt about Diana now that he had seen her again. Not only had she stayed with the squanderer, but looking at her now made him even more concerned. Though he had been prepared for the possibility that her good looks hid the truth like Peter’s once did, all he saw was an angry and bitter woman. He knew he had to pay his last respects and see for himself the child that was all he had left of family, but he viewed the whole debacle with distaste and irritation.

Such a shame.

His attention was brought back to the present when Diana moved away from the minister and glanced around. Her cool gaze took in the mourners as they wandered away, but still her face expressed no emotion. Then her roving gaze met his. At that point, everything about her changed. As soon as she noticed him standing by the car, her whole posture stiffened and the hand that gripped Hannah’s noticeably tightened. She spun on her heel and rushed back to the road, hastily pulling her child along beside her and away from him.

With some surprise, he noticed Diana had taken her own vehicle to her husband’s funeral. She came to a sudden stop beside an older-style compact car while she fumbled with her keys, refusing to look in their direction. Pushing away from the side of his limo, Devlan turned to his companion with an almost imperceptible nod.