Chapter 427: Chapter 446

Chapter 0445 Hannah I couldn’t help but feel guilty as I stared out the car window.

The tall trees passing by were a dense green blur, the scent of pine and fresh air filling my nostrils even from inside the car. The sky was the clearest blue, perfect for an outing in the countryside. Melody was cooing happily in the backseat without a care in the world.

Noah was taking us on a weekend trip, just the three of us, and I should have been elated beyond measure. 1 But instead I just felt... tired. Panicky. A little confused.

“Quit picking at your lip,” Noah suddenly said, the sound of his voice ripping me out of my reverie. “I swear, Hannah, if you’re thinking about work right now”

“It’s just so unexpected, that’s all,” I replied as I quickly sat on my hand to keep myself from nervously picking at the dry skin on my lower lip. “If I had a couple weeks‘ notice, I could have prepared things ahead of time, worked some late nights to get more done-”

“And that’s precisely why I didn’t tell you.” Noah glanced at me from the driver’s seat, a look of mild disappointment crossing his features. “You’ll work yourself to the bone, you know. I don’t even have a Beta and I’m not half as stressed as you.”

I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him. “Keeping respect as a female Alpha is enough to make anyone stressed,” I quipped. “One weekend vacation could be enough to paint me as a ‘lazy housewife‘ in the other Alphas‘ eyes.”

Speaking of eyes, Noah looked like he wanted to roll his–I’d brought up my issues with being a female Alpha on more than one occasion–but instead sighed and said, “I know. But you’re still Hannah, beyond being an Alpha. And I just so happen to know Hannah well enough to know that she needs time to recharge just like anyone else.”

I almost retorted, but quickly shut my mouth again and slid down a little further in my seat. “You’re right,” I admitted, shaking my head. “I guess I have been a workaholic lately, haven’t I?”

“Yes, you have. And I’d appreciate it if I could still see my girlfriend and daughter on occasion.”

There was no arguing that–especially not when he reached over and placed his hand on my thigh, giving it a squeeze. That gesture alone was enough to set me on fire, and suddenly, the idea of a weekend getaway in the countryside, away from work and my rather nosy family, did seem rather tempting.

Finally, around lunchtime, we made it to the rental Noah had picked out. The GPS took us up a narrow dirt road riddled with potholes, causing Melody to whine in protest in her car seat, but once we pulled up to the front of the house, even she seemed to realize that the bumpy ride was worth it.

“Oh, Noah... Where did you find this place?” I breathed as we climbed out of the car.

Noah beamed and draped his arm across my shoulders. “It took a lot of rental–hunting, trust me.”

I didn’t even have the words to describe how beautiful it was; it was a sweet little cottage nestled into the edge of a forest clearing, a little stone path up to the front door wending between a garden full of 1/2 +25 BONUS Chapter 0445 wildflowers. Baby blue shutters lined the whitewashed walls, birds chirping on the windowsills.

“Come over here,” Noah said before we could head inside, carrying Melody in one arm with his other still wrapped around my shoulders. “You’ll want to see this.

My eyes widened as we rounded the house and saw, in the back, the world’s tiniest farm.

It was just a little pen with two goats and a few chickens, really. But being the spoiled rich girl I was, even this felt like home on the range.

I turned to Noah, my mouth agape as I pointed at the goats. “You–How–What-

“They’re just pygmy goats, Hannah,” Noah laughed, adjusting Melody in his arms. “You can pet them if you want. The rental owner says they’re very friendly.”

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