Chapter 6 - Ethan Asked Hannah to Stop Fighting Everyone Else’s Battles, and She Finally Admitted Who She Wanted Beside HerThe arrests continued.
The town slowly changed.
Weller's businesses were seized.
The corrupt sheriff was convicted.
Rebecca faced trial.
The illegal network collapsed.
But Hannah struggled.
For years, fighting had been her identity.
Without an enemy, she didn't know who she was.
Ethan noticed.
“You're restless.”
She laughed.
“You say that like it's a disease.”
“It might be.”
She looked at him.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Live.”
“That sounds boring.”
“Try it.”
She smiled.
They built the community center into a real nonprofit.
Food programs.
Legal aid.
Medical assistance.
Ethan funded it.
Hannah ran it.
They worked together.
They argued.
They laughed.
They kissed.
Then one afternoon, Hannah found something in the old files.
A deed.
The original Cole farm.
It was not owned by Weller.
It had been secretly transferred to a trust.
The beneficiary was Ethan.
She stared.
“Why is your name here?”
Ethan looked.
“I don't know.”
His father's explanation came back.
The trust had been established decades earlier.
The Cole family and the Mercer family were partners.
The land belonged to both.
Weller had stolen control.
But legally, Hannah and Ethan could reclaim it.
They did.
They turned it into an agricultural cooperative.
Small farmers could lease land cheaply.
Families could rebuild.
Hannah cried when the first farmhand signed a lease.
“This is what my father wanted.”
Ethan hugged her.
“You made it happen.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“We did.”
That evening, Hannah sat on the porch.
Ethan joined her.
“Remember when you told me everybody leaves?”
“Yes.”
“I'm still here.”
She smiled.
“I noticed.”
“And?”
“I was wrong.”
He looked at her.
“About?”
“Some people stay.”
He took her hand.
“I intend to.”
She kissed him.
Then she whispered:
“I love you.”
He smiled.
“I know.”
She laughed.
“You're impossible.”
“And you're terrifying.”
May you like
She leaned against him.
“Only to people who deserve it.”
Related Stories
