Eavesdropping

Hello, I hope you are having a good day. This prompt was suggested by a guest. It's Hannah- eavesdropping- post series. Enjoy.

Hannah had always had good hearing. Better than she liked. There were many times when she "accidentally" overheard something. She didn't want to eavesdrop, but it happened.

One morning, all the boys were in the barn talking. Hannah walked out and overheard them.

"I don't know what to do with her. She's just not worth having around anymore." Adam sighed.

"Well, maybe you should talk to someone. Maybe you should talk to Hannah." Brian answered.

"Nah. She wouldn't understand. Besides, the last thing we need is her getting involved."

Hannah was confused so she walked in and saw Adam and Brian look at her.

"Wouldn't understand what?" Hannah wondered.

"Nothing." Adam answered. Adam looked at his younger brothers and sighed. "Get back to work."

Adam walked out of the barn and Hannah sighed.

That night, she was walking to the bathroom when she heard Brian and Guthrie.

"DO we really have to get rid of her? She has a purpose here with us." Guthrie said.

"Maybe, but... she's just costing us more money. We have to do something or else she's gone." Brian sighed. "Don't tell Hannah. It'll be too much for her."

"Ok."

Hannah got ready for bed and then she went back into the bedroom and saw Adam already in bed resting. Hannah laid down and rested her head on Adam's shoulder, but Adam groaned and pushed her away. Hannah watched Adam and became confused.

"Are you ok?" Hannah wondered.

"I'm fine. I just don't want to be touched. Let me sleep." Adam grumbled.

"Do you want to talk?"

"No, I don't. Now, go to sleep."

Hannah rolled over so that she wasn't facing Adam. Instead of sleeping, her mind was busy thinking about what she had done to upset Adam.

Morning came quickly and Adam jumped up out of bed and went to the bathroom to get dressed. Hannah sighed and got up and got dressed. When she went downstairs, she saw Adam drink some coffee and then rush by her without a kiss or even a good morning.

"Does anyone know what's bothering Adam?" Hannah wondered.

"Not really." Brian sighed.

That afternoon, Hannah could hear all the boys in the barn again.

"We can't keep lying to ourselves. For the past three months, it's been torture having her here. I wake up in the morning sick as a dog cause of her. She can't stay." Adam exclaimed.

"Have you talked to anyone about her?" Crane wondered.

"I'm gonna talk to judge Carlson, see if he can help."

"Ok."

Hannah walked in and Adam rolled his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Adam questioned harshly.

"I just came to tell you that lunch is ready." Hannah answered.

"I'm not hungry. I have to go to town. I'll be back." Adam said as he walked past Hannah. Hannah watched Adam get in the jeep and drive away.

"What's wrong with Adam?" Hannah wondered.

"Doesn't matter." Crane shrugged off. Crane walked past Hannah and Hannah stood there confused.

"Three months ago was when I had my miscarriage. Have I really been that impossible? Why won't he talk to me?" Hannah murmured to herself. A few hours later, Adam came home, but his mode was still the same. That night, Adam was in bed trying to sleep.

"Adam, have I done something to upset you?" Hannah wondered.

"No. What makes you say that?" Adam mumbled sarcastically.

"You barely speak to me."

"I don't feel like talking. I have a lot on my mind and I'm tired. Now, go to sleep."

Hannah fell into a light sleep, but she awoke to Adam getting up and grabbing his pillow and a blanket and leaving the room. Hannah sat up and looked at the empty space beside her. She began to cry thinking that she had done something wrong.

Morning came again and Hannah decided to stay in bed. She could hear the boys downstairs talking.

"Judge Carlson is gonna give me some papers tomorrow. Then we can get rid of her for good." Adam said.

"Is there any way she can stay?" Ford wondered.

"She reacts to every little thing. We're all walking on eggshells around her. She's ruins everything she touches. She gives half of us anxiety."

"That's for sure. I hate coming home because I know I have to deal with her." Guthrie scoffed.

"Hopefully, things will get back to normal when she is gone. Then we all can start eating better and sleeping better." Brian suggested.

"Maybe. Is Hannah up yet?" Adam wondered.

"Nah. She's been in her room all morning."

"I have an appointment to go to. Daniel, you drive."

"'k." Daniel sighed.

Daniel and Adam left the house. Hannah sat up and tried to wipe away the tears in her eyes. She got dressed and went downstairs.

"Do you think we should tell her? She's gonna find out sooner or later." Ford asked.

"Adam said not too. She needs to stay out." Brian replied.

When Adam came home, he and Hannah could barely look at each other. That night, Hannah went to bed first. She waited for Adam to come in and he did, but only to grab another pillow.

The next day, Hannah saw judge Carlson drive up with papers. He handed them to Adam and then left. Adam came inside with Crane and Brian and sighed.

"Finally. Maybe things will start getting back to normal. The sooner she's gone, the better. I can't stand her being here anymore. She's the biggest mistake of my life." Adam said.

"Among other things." Brian scoffed.

"I'm gonna go put these papers someplace safe."

Adam went upstairs and walked into his room and saw Hannah sitting on her bed. Adam put the papers down and Hannah stood up and closed the door.

"Can we talk?" Hannah wondered.

"Not now." Adam sighed. "I have work to do. Besides, I don't feel like talking."

"To me?"

Adam looked at Hannah.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Adam questioned.

"You've been talking to your brothers quite a lot. You've even talked to judge Carlson, but for the past few days, you've completely ignored me. If I've done something to upset you, you could at least tell me. I know these past few months have been hard, but I didn't think I was as impossible as you keep telling your brothers." Hannah ranted. Adam realized what Hannah was talking about and he sighed.

"You don't understand."

"You won't even let me understand. You guys keep kicking me out."

"Hannah, we were not talking about you. We were talking about the new mare."

"What new mare?"

"When you were in the hospital after... the miscarriage, we were given a mare. Well,... it's better if I show you."

Adam lifted up his shirt and turned so that Hannah could see his back. Hannah saw a large bruise on the back of Adam's right shoulder and she gasped.

"The mare did that?" Hannah wondered.

"Yeah. She's been impossible to work with. She destroys her stall. She freaks out over every little thing. She hurts me and Evan. We can't even get a rope on her." Adam explained.

"When did this happened?"

"A few days ago. When you walked in wondering what we were talking about. That's when we decided that if she was gonna give us anxiety, we need to get rid of her. Judge Carlson knew someone who could help. That's what the papers are for."

"What about your mood? I mean, you've been avoiding me and you won't sleep next to me."

Adam chuckled softly and walked up to Hannah and wrapped his arms around her.

"That's because, when you sleep, you tend to curl up against me and you would curl up against my shoulder and it hurt more than anything I'd ever felt. Last night, I decided to spare myself of the pain, so I slept on the floor downstairs." Adam explained.

"That still doesn't explain how moody you've been." Hannah stated.

"The pain was so bad that I had to take something for it. I don't react well with pain meds. I always end up a grumpy irritable mess. I'm sorry. We should have told you."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't want you to try and change our mind or try to tame her yourself."

"Oh. Adam, I'm sorry. I'm so ashamed of myself."

"Don't be. You weren't the problem. I was. I shouldn't have had an attitude around you. If I did have a problem with you, you would have been the first to know. Remember that."

"Ok."

"And let's let this whole thing remind us to communicate better. Next time, if I'm being a total jerk, grab me by the ear. It always did the trick when I was a kid."

"Wish I had known that when we were on the roundup."

They kissed and hugged.

"I missed this." Hannah whispered.

"SO do I, but we have one problem. Your left hand is right where the worst of the bruise is." Adam warned. Hannah moved her hand. "That's better."

"Sorry. What appointment did you have yesterday anyway?"

"I went to see Dr. Wolf about my shoulder. NOthing's broken, but I really should be wearing a sling."

"Where is it?"

"In the jeep."

"Let's go get it."

"Help me put my shirt on."

Hannah helped Adam and then they went downstairs and outside.

"So, you're hearing is better than we thought." Adam sighed.

"Yeah. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, it just happened." Hannah apologized.

"I know, but for the next month, don't let it win. Your birthday is coming up and I don't want you spoiling it."

"Ok. I'll try."

They grabbed the sling and Hannah helped Adam put it on. Then they went to the corral where the mare was kicking and fighting.

"She's already hurt Cora and Diablo." Adam sighed. "We can't let her keep it up."

The mare walked over to Hannah and calmed down. Hannah grabbed some treats and started feeding the mare. The rest of the brothers walked over and watched.

"Hey, Evan, I think you just lost your title as an animal whisperer." Daniel teased.

"I don't mind." Evan chuckled. Hannah was able to slip a rope around the mare and was even able to get the reigns on her. Adam got closer and the mare started to spook.

"It's ok, honey. It's ok." Hannah hushed. The mare calmed down and Adam was able to pet her.

"You did it again. YOu're pretty good with animals." Adam answered.

"She just needed someone different. I'm the only girl in this family. It's just what she needed."

Adam wrapped his free arm around Hannah and kissed her.

"The solution was staring me right in the face and I didn't even see it. I guess I owe ya." Adam whispered.

"I know how you could repay me." Hannah answered.

"How?"

"You could start with dinner for two and some much need alone time."

"Ok."

Three down, one to go.