Page 49 of Hurricane Love

“I’m going to do my best to protect you, but that’s exactly why we need this restraining order in place. So that the police can arrest him if he does try something.”

“Okay,” Hannah said at last, not entirely onboard with the plan but resigned to go along with it. Wylie hoped he was making the right decisions, ones that would truly help protect her and Kayla from that asshole.

While they waited for the judge to review her paperwork, Wylie let Hannah use him as a pillow, and she drifted off to sleep right there in the courthouse. Wylie watched the hustle and bustle that surrounded them, noting whom he thought might be attorneys according to how they dressed and carried themselves, moving through the hallways with familiarity and purpose or else chatting with colleagues and clients. He reflected on his recent acceptance into law school, feeling bittersweet about it because of all that he’d have to leave behind.

But he wanted this, wanted to belong here and do this work, to try to make order of a chaotic world. And if he had to defend an abusive asshole like Brian MacPherson, then he’d do it to the best of his ability and let a jury decide the man’s fate because that’s what the law demanded.

A little while later they were called in, and Hannah was granted a temporary restraining order; it would need to berenewed before the 15-day term expired, but that was a battle for another day.

By the time they finished at the courthouse, it was evening. Exhausted and starving, they drove through Sonic for cheeseburgers, fries, and cherry limeades for themselves, Kayla, and Nancy, which they ate on Nancy’s front deck. Afterward, Hannah took Kayla back to Wylie’s trailer to clean up and get ready for bed while Wylie spoke with Nancy about next steps.

“You think she’ll leave him this time?” Nancy asked, knowing Hannah’s track record of going back to the man.

“God, I hope so,” Wylie said with a desperation he’d been hiding all day. “But we gotta help her, Nance.”

“This isn’t a reason for you to delay law school,” Nancy warned as if that was where this conversation was headed.

“I know that, but you gotta keep me informed. And she’s going to need help with Kayla.”

“Are you going to let her stay in your trailer?”

“If that’s all right with you.”

“More than all right. We’ll take care of her, Wy. Don’t you worry.”

“Thanks, Nance.”

That was one weight off his chest. Back at his trailer, he insisted the girls take his bedroom. After Hannah had gotten Kayla to bed, she came out to the living room wearing a pair of Wylie’s boxers and an old t-shirt and plopped herself right there beside him.

“What am I gonna do now?” she asked with her head resting on the back of the couch and one arm covering her face like she was trying to block out the world.

“You’re going to stay here,” Wylie said. The timing made sense. Thank God for small blessings. “Because I’m moving out. I’m going to law school.”

She sat up and turned toward him, a tentative smile lighting up her face. “What? Are you for real?” She cupped her lip where the scab had torn open and started bleeding again. Wylie handedher a tissue. “Wy, that’s awesome. Congratulations.” She reached out for a hug and Wylie enveloped her in his arms, mindful of her injuries.

“But maybe it’s not the right time,” he said. After all, who was going to protect Hannah from Brian and offer her the emotional support she needed to get through this? What if she went back to him? What if raising Kayla on her own was too much?

“No, do not do that,” she said with a fierceness in her eyes that he’d thought had been extinguished.

“Do what?” he asked, even though he already knew what she was going to say. You couldn’t be best friends with someone for more than a decade without being able to read their mind sometimes.

“Do not use this as an excuse to back out of law school. You need to go for it, Wy. This is your dream. I’ll be fine here without you.”

“Will you?” he asked, not trusting her at her word because she was always so reluctant to ask for help in the first place.

“Yes, I will, I promise you, I willnotgo back to him. It’sover,” she said vehemently.

He exhaled a long sigh and prayed that she stuck to her guns this time. Giving her a wan smile, he patted her hand. “Okay.”

“So, when do you leave?”

“Two weeks. I’m going to pack my shit and either take it with me or put it in storage. You can stay here for as long as you like. Rent free, just pay for utilities and cable. I already cleared it with Nancy.”

Hannah blinked. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“The trailer would be sitting here empty. It makes sense. Your mom or Nancy can watch Kayla while you go to work. You don’t need him for anything.”

“He’s going to want to see her.”