The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (Hart and Mercy, #1)

by Megan Bannen

he was not entirely a man—not by half—much

wut

“Hello, Hart-ache,” she sighed. “Hello, Merciless.”

I SHIP

It was so unfair of Mercy to have magnificent breasts.

dead 😂

And that was what he wanted, wasn’t it? For someone—anyone—to answer?

I can’t help but wonder if more people are lonelier than either of us will ever know. Maybe lots of people are walking through their days, lonely as can be and believing no one understands what it’s like.

While I am not alone, per se, there are times when I feel like I’m at a party, standing against the wall when I’d rather be dancing. Everyone else is cutting a rug, completely unaware that I’m there. Or worse, they don’t want to dance with me. And I’m a pretty good dancer, let me tell you.

it didn’t matter what he looked like. He was a friend. He was her friend. And she was glad of it.

“Hold on. I’ve got my license right here,” said the more fearless of the pair. He dug around in his dungarees pocket and pulled out his middle finger,

Ron “I can do what I want” Swanson

tip grate against Duckers’s tiny arrow. He pulled it out and wiped it clean before putting it away. “The next thing

I always approve of a man who dotes on his wife, don’t you?

Yes, I do

Her shirt was unbuttoned to her sternum, and Hart had to will his eyes away from the resulting cleavage. That is enemy cleavage, he reminded himself.

“I would rather have dinner with a rotting corpse than with Mercy Birdsall. A more infuriating woman I have never met.” “Are her boobs infuriating? Because you definitely got an eyeful of those.” Caught. Fuck. “I notice all boobs, regardless of their owners.”

Her sunny yellow dress seemed like the only color in the world.

I love that 🥺

she seemed to get him, and he seemed to get her, and she made him want to… Live a little.

crying in the clerb

“I think he likes you,” Pen told her as he went in search of the silverware drawer. Mercy gaped at him for a full five seconds before sputtering, “He hates me. And I hate him.” “I think he likes you. A lot,” Pen said, dropping knives and forks into place with a plink, plink, plink. “A lot a lot.”

How does a person go about living beyond getting up, going to work, and sleeping?

When you live in the middle of nowhere, you can see the stars—all of them—without town lights getting in the way. Do you ever look up? I mean really look? I find myself staring at the stars more and more lately, wondering what exactly it is I’m doing here. Here, meaning the universe.

There it was, a truth so evident that it may as well have been painted on his forehead in red letters. He was helplessly, boundlessly, stupidly in love with Mercy Birdsall.

“Was that a joke? Do I spy a smile on your face?” He was definitely biting the inside of his cheek now. “Nope.” “Your mouth turned upward for half a second. I saw it.” “Probably indigestion.” “Or evidence of mild joy.

Mercy felt as if someone had shaken up a bottle of root beer and opened it inside her in a fizzy explosion.

“Curtis Cunningham has offered to buy us out. I think Pop’s going to take it.” “But what about you?” His concern on her behalf sent an electric zing of gratitude bouncing around her insides like a pinball. “Yes. Exactly. Thank you for asking. Because do you know what? You’re the only person who has asked that question: ‘What about you, Mercy?’”

I would never in a million years expect any of them to give up their hopes and dreams for me. But my whole life, I’ve done what’s best for everyone else, and I never minded it or begrudged my family anything. Now, for once, there’s something I want, and it feels like there’s no one in my corner.”

And honestly, it’s a comfort. It’s something that links me to everyone around me, no matter who they are. Most people seal themselves off from death, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re all joined together by this single thread.

“I think I’m about to do something stupid.” “Okay.” Mercy stood on tiptoes and kissed the corner of his mouth on the exact spot where the frosting had been. She pulled away and watched him as he gawked at her and said nothing, and his silence screamed around her until she couldn’t take it anymore. “Well? Say something.” “I’m still waiting for you to do something stupid.”

she heard his hat hit the floor as he reached for her with both hands, his fingers uncurling against her cheeks, and he kissed her again, his lips sliding against hers, sensuous and savoring.

He pressed his forehead to hers, and because it would be absurd to tell her that he loved her, he poured everything he felt into one word: “Mercy.”

he had only the barest understanding of his physical surroundings with Mercy’s bare cleavage outshining everything else in the room like a beacon of hope in a dark world—before

“What’s not sexy?” “The boring underpants. If I’d had an inkling this was going to happen tonight, I would have worn something skimpier.” “You could wear a paper bag. As long as you’re taking it off, that’s all I care about.”

“Are you staying?” she asked, getting right to the point. “Do you want me to stay?” “Most people don’t feel comfortable here.” “Why?” “There’s a well full of dead bodies in the basement.”

“So you were seventeen, but you had to run the office and help raise your sister and brother, too?” “I didn’t have to; I got to.”

That’s how I feel about my little sister

“How tall are you? Six six? Six seven?” “Six nine.”

LIKE. A. TREE!

“When you bite your lip like that, it makes me want to bite your lip like that.”

“Yes, I want you to spend the night.” “That’s good, because I packed my toothbrush.” “I’d like to think you would pack your toothbrush no matter where you ended up.” “And deodorant. You are very special to me.”

she nestled her head into the real estate of his body she had claimed as hers, as if she didn’t already own everything he was, body and soul.

“Be careful.” “I always am.” “But now you need to be careful for me.” He went still and quiet in her hands, his pale eyes softened,

“Are you trying to tell me you got it on with Hart Ralston?” “I’m not trying to tell you anything. You’re yanking it out of me with brute force.” “Holy Three Mothers, how many times?” Mercy wavered, a denial on her tongue, but she knew it would do her no good now. “How many times for him, or how many times for me? Because they’re not the same, and I am definitely in the lead.” Lilian screamed in her face.

He was going to die here. He could feel his life leaking out of him. As his mind clung to thoughts of Duckers and Alma and Diane and Mercy and Mercy and Mercy, he was so relieved to know that he was mortal after all.

“Her contractions aren’t even ten minutes apart yet. We’ve got hours to go.” “‘We’?” Lil bristled. “Hours?” Danny puled, gazing at his crushed fingers.

blond hair

why did Hart’s hair color shock me more than his death

my favorite color is yellow, because your favorite color is yellow.

What words could do justice to the precious time you gave me? You’ve made me want to live my life, rather than spend my time

I hope one day you’ll give your heart to someone good and decent and that you will cherish his heart in return. But it’s a rare man who deserves you, so I’ll leave you with this: I wish you a happy life, surrounded by the people you love and who love you in return. Your friend, Sincerely, Love, Hart

HOW FREAKING DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME MEGAN BANNEN

“Hartley James,

HARTLEY JAMES RALSTON I’m getting an “HJR” tattoo on my heart

Gracie was at his heels, yipping.

sHUT UPPPP IM CRYING

I’m the Warden—you know, the guy who ushers souls into the House of the Unknown God.

Maybe it would be best if you called me Jeff.”

“mY nAmE iS JeFf”

That was when he remembered Mercy, and the hurt that came with the memory made him wish he could forget her all over again. Except he didn’t want to forget her. As soon as she returned to his mind, he latched on and refused to let go. It’d be like reading a book that doesn’t end, she told him in his mind. No matter how good the story is, you want it to be over at some point. But she was wrong. Now that the grim, depressing novel that was his life had come to an end, he wanted to make the story keep going.

she had a gap between her front teeth, which some people think of as a fault, but to me, it made her lovely. Perfectly imperfect. Suddenly, all I wanted to do was make this woman laugh as often and as much as I could. It wasn’t love at first sight, exactly—more like a knowing. I understood then and there that I was going to fall in love with her if I stuck around. So I stuck around. And

“Did you want to meet me?” Hart asked, his voice high and light, a child’s voice with all its unhidden fear and desolation. “Fuck yes, I wanted to meet you.” The Warden no longer resembled Bill at all. He was tall and lean, his face angular, his eyes an innocuous shade of blue gray, and Hart knew this was what his mother had seen when she met a man named Jeff and fell in love with him. This was his father, and for the first time in his life, the notion didn’t tear his heart in two. “And you loved my mom?” Hart sounded even younger now. The god’s thin mouth curled up on one side. “Sure did. Sure do. She’s home now. She came home to me.”

This is making my Father Problems arise

Tanria was always where you were going to die the first time.

What?