Hannah scanned the church lobby with one swift flourish of her eyes. Her shoulders sagged. Not a sign of him anywhere. Had Six gotten to him? Was Knox tied up in some basement somewhere, being held up by his stepfather for ransom?
Recognizing her own dramatics, Hannah tempered herself. Knox was fine. If he had been kidnapped, surely she would have already heard about it. Her calm returning, she remained in line for the refreshments table, even if she had no intention of getting either cookie or drink.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed.” Caleb snuck from behind her, his breath warm against the back of her ear.
Chills settled on the nape of her neck. “Notice what?” She tensed up further when her brother laid his arm on her shoulders.
“You’re looking for someone.” Caleb’s blue eyes scoped out the entire lobby.
“You’re cutting the line.” Hannah pointed at the people behind her, in hopes of distracting him.
“I’m just keeping my little sister company. Nova already has my coffee and food.” He pointed at Nova, who sat on one of the available tables, talking to Miss Rhoda, Robert, and Rachel. Four cups of coffee and a plate of cookies were on the table. Satisfied that the other people on queue heard him say he’s not in line, he said in a lower tone only Hannah could hear, “So, tell me. Who has caught my sister’s eye? Is it someone I’ve met? Please don’t tell me it’s Jordan. I mean, he’s a brother in Christ and all, but he’ll include a debate in all of our family gatherings.”
Hannah wrinkled her nose. “That’s mean.” She stifled a chuckle, even if the idea of Jordan with her family stressed her out. “He’s an okay guy. Granted, he can be a little overbearing — kind of like Miss Rhoda, sometimes — but it’s only because he’s passionate about the Word of God.”
“So, it’s him then?” Caleb made a face at her — similar to the way he had looked at her when she had once tried to run away from home with a backpack full of fruits, an entire watermelon included. “You’re into him?”
“What are you talking about, Caleb? Who’s him?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out!” Caleb squinted his eyes at Hannah, who would’ve given anything to get out of the predicament she was in at the moment. “Come on.” He nudged her shoulder, a playfulness from their childhood dancing in the expression of his face. “I know you, Hannah. Don’t play coy with me. Nova could tell too, so…”
Heat drained away from her cheeks like her blood and complexion had somehow decided to take a break and check out of her system for a few seconds. She gulped as she winced at her brother.
“Hannah.” Caleb threw his head back, his eyes slowly growing wide, and his brow quirking up. “It’s not Knox, is it?”
It was almost as if her throat had managed to twist itself into a knot. Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe? When had Caleb gained so much perception? His face was usually shoved into a book! Was this sudden inquisitiveness on his part Nova’s fault? After all, she was the one who had gotten his head out of books and back into the open air, now able to see things he had once ignored.
“No way… Hannah…” Caleb removed his arm from her shoulder, so he could position himself to face her. “It’s him, isn’t it? You’ve been checking every Sunday if Knox is here.”
Hannah cringed. The refreshments table drew nearer as the line moved forward. She pushed Caleb backwards as she moved forward, away from the queue.
Once she had backed her brother into a corner, she sighed and gave him a pointed stare.
“Unbelievable,” he said as he pressed his palm on his forehead. “I can’t believe it. Nova was right.”
Hannah bit her lip. “Nova noticed?”
“Of course she did. I never would’ve been able to tell otherwise. She’s the one who is a lot more observant about these things. Knox was my wild guess, though.” Caleb squinted an eye at her.
Hannah shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she tugged on the ends of her hair. She gritted her teeth at the effort she needed to maintain eye contact with her brother. “Are you guys angry?”
Caleb flinched. “I’m more surprised than anything. He doesn’t seem like your type. Then again, I’m not sure what your type is, because there’s nobody to compare him to.”
“And Nova? What she must think of me…”
“I can’t speak for her when it comes to this. Knox isn’t exactly someone we like to talk about, and you know Nova well enough. She tends to do her best to deal with whatever issues she has on her own. I don’t think you should worry too much about it, though.” He patted the top of her head. “I’d like to believe that Knox has changed. I’m sure Nova does, as well.”
His assurance surprised Hannah. She had been expecting this to be a much bigger deal as far as Caleb and Nova were concerned and didn’t expect him to react like he could be on board with it. It was one thing to believe that Knox would change, but to believe it enough to actually see him as a potential partner— Hannah flinched. Wait. What? How had her thoughts about Knox escalated from wanting to find out where he had been the past few weeks to seeing him as a romantic prospect? This was so becoming an obsession! Knox’s stalker tendencies were contagious! Hannah had no doubt about it, at this point.
That familiar knot of panic constricted her breathing, but Caleb didn’t seem to notice as he nodded at someone behind Hannah. “I’ll get back to my wife now. Wouldn’t want my coffee to get cold.” He patted Hannah’s shoulder and turned away from her to go join Nova and the Petersens.
Hannah watched her brother go. She opened her mouth to call him back, but she was busy trying to calm herself down.
“Hey, Hannah.”
She jolted from where she stood, simultaneously spinning around to find out who the voice had come from. At the sudden motion, the back of her shoulder hit somebody. “Oh! I’m sor—” Hannah tripped on her own foot before she could finish her apology. A strong grip caught her elbow, and she held on to the bicep of whomever it was who had rescued her from a fall. Her gaze locked with Knox’s, whose lopsided smirk slowly appeared, as he steadied her back on her feet.
“We have to stop meeting this way,” he said, his every word laced with mirth.
“Knox!” Thoughts from her spinning mind tumbled out of her lips before she could hold them back. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you.” A soft gasp followed before Hannah clasped her palms over her mouth to prevent more words from coming out. Had she just said those words out loud?
This is an excerpt from the Christian love story, The One Who Tripped Away.