“My dad only plays with men at his level.” Amusement filled Winn’s eyes. “Unless he thinks it might further a business deal.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Hailey drawled, then clapped a hand over her mouth. Regardless of her feelings for Jim, the man was Winn’s father.
Winn didn’t appear to notice her faux pas. Or if he did, he didn’t take offense.
“My grandfather believed golf was more than a game,” Winn said, almost to himself, “and that playing it would teach me valuable life lessons.”
Hailey visualized a little white ball—or her favorite pink one—sailing down a fairway. Other than her need to work on her swing, she tried to think what her golfing experience had taught her.
“I know you’re supposed to keep your mouth shut while someone is teeing off...” Hailey brought a finger to her lips, thinking hard. “I suppose a takeaway could be we need to respect a person’s right to have their time in the spotlight.”
Winn’s smile flashed. “Excellent analogy.”
She laughed. “I’m glad you like it because it’s all I’ve got.” She pointed to Winn. “Back to you, Ferris.”
He stopped the car at a light and shifted in his seat to face her. Winn’s gaze lingered on her face with such intensity that Hailey felt heat creeping up her neck.
“The game helps a person develop a sense of personal responsibility,” Winn responded as the light changed and he shifted his gaze to the road ahead. “You can’t blame a wrong choice of driver on anyone other than yourself.”
“What about a caddy?” Not that she’d ever had anyone carry her clubs and make suggestions, but she’d certainly watched her share of tournaments on the Golf Channel.
“The caddy suggests,” he pointed out. “Ultimately the choice is yours.”
Hailey nodded.
“Granddad emphasized the game is about managing emotions. That one struck home.” Winn spoke quietly, but she sensed intense emotion simmering just beneath his tightly held composure. “You and I both know things don’t always go our way. We can triple bogey in life as easily as we can on the course. What’s essential is keeping perspective and focusing on the next shot.”
“Your grandfather sounds like a wise man.” Impulsively Hailey leaned over and kissed Winn’s cheek. “Like grandfather like grandson.”
A quick smile was his only response.
She may have started the conversation as a pleasant diversion but found herself wanting to know more.
“Is that why you got involved with a company that develops courses? Because you love the game so much?” Hailey pressed.
“I golfed in college, at one time thought about turning pro. Then I did an internship at a company started by Arnold Palmer. It specialized in golf-course design. I’d found my niche.”
“How’d you end up at GPG?” From what Tripp had told her, the company was more of an investment firm.
“Once I finished my master’s in landscape architecture, I did an apprenticeship at GPG.”
“Do you plan to stay with them?” From the time in his home, Hailey had discovered Winn was a busy man,. His job didn’t leave him much free time.
“If the development here falls through, I might not have a choice,” Winn said in a matter-of-fact tone. “They’ll probably give me the boot.”
Shocked, Hailey straightened in her seat. Anger rippled through her veins. “Surely they realize you don’t have control over the approval process.”
“Doesn’t matter. If the project is turned down, it’ll be on me.” His expression turned contemplative. “The sad thing is, the design is top-notch. I incorporated all the principles of a good ecosystem.”
Puzzled, Hailey cocked her head. “I’m not sure what that means.”
“Providing wildlife habitat, protecting topsoil from wind and water erosion, things like that.”
“Does my brother know all this?”
“He should. It’s in the report.” Winn pulled the car to a stop and shut off the ignition.
Hailey looked around, startled to realize they were home. She fought a surge of disappointment. She wasn’t ready for the conversation to end. She and Winn may have been physically intimate, but she’d barely scratched the surface of who he was as a person. She was eager to hear his views on any number of issues. Hailey especially wanted to learn more about his design work.
“Where are we?” Cam rubbed sleep-filled eyes and fumbled with his seat belt.
“We’re home.” Winn twisted in his seat, his gaze searching his son’s face as if looking for signs of any of his earlier distress.
Cam stroked the dog’s back. “Can Bandit spend the night? Just this once? Please?”
Hailey pushed open the car and stepped out. Following her lead, Cam got out, too. As soon as the door opened, Bandit launched himself from the boy’s lap and sprinted to a nearby tree.
“Please, Daddy.” Looking small and defenseless in his Spider-Man pj’s, Cam fixed his pleading gaze on his dad.
“I need to speak with Hailey before I make that decision.” Winn’s tone was firm, brooking no argument. “While she and I discuss the matter, I’d like you to stand right there and keep your eyes on Bandit.”
When Cam eagerly nodded and turned to watch the dog, Winn gently grasped Hailey’s arm and pulled her out of the child’s earshot.
“It’s okay with me if he stays—”
Winn’s mouth closing over hers stopped the words. His kiss was warm and persuasive, leaving her lips tingling when he pulled back.
“Forget the dog,” he said in a husky voice that had her insides scrambling. “Will you stay?”
She glanced in Cam’s direction. His eyes were still firmly focused on the dog. Hailey lowered her voice. “We’ve discussed this before. Not while Cam is there.”
Winn slid a hand up her arm. “Is there anything I can say—or do—to change your mind?”
Hailey shook her head. Still, she couldn’t resist wrapping her arms around Winn one more time. She held him close. But before she could give in to temptation, she stepped back and called out to Cam. “Take good care of my Bandito.”
Cam whirled. “He can stay with me?”
“All night.” Winn glanced at his wrist. “That is, what’s left of it.”
“Yippee.” Cam bent over and gave Bandit a fierce hug. “C’mon, boy.”
Hailey and Winn followed Cam as he and the dog bounded up the stairs.
“If you change your mind, you have the key.” Winn’s tone was low, the words for her ears only.
“If you recall, you made it clear that was for emergency use only.”
His gaze met hers. “I’m sending out an official SOS.”
She smiled. Then resolutely, and with more than a little regret, Hailey turned in the direction of her condo and her own bed.
* * *
When her alarm went off the next morning, Hailey was tempted to simply roll over. Instead, she hopped out of bed and hit the shower. Securing her hair into a low twist, she slipped on the blue eyelet dress she’d gotten on sale last week. Then she grabbed her heeled sandals and was out the door in ten minutes.
She found a parking space a block from the café. As she clicked her car doors locked and hurried down the sidewalk, she wondered once again why she’d agreed to meet Anna and Tripp for breakfast.
Most of the group that met every week for breakfast attended church first. While their children were in Sunday school, couples hurried to the café for food and conversation with friends. Her brother and Anna were regulars, but the composition of the rest of those around the table was fluid and varied from week to week.
Hailey never felt as if she fully fit into the tight-knit group made up of young movers and shakers in the Jackson Hole community. She liked everyone a lot. It was just
she had little in common with couples who had children and more settled lives. It was always nice to see Tripp and Anna, though she usually saw them at her parents’ home every Sunday evening.
Tonight she’d spend with Winn and Cam at his father’s ranch. Just the thought of Jim’s sarcastic nature brought a sick feeling to the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t concerned for herself but for Cam. Hailey determinedly pushed aside her trepidation. Winn would keep his dad on a short leash. Not an easy task, but if anyone was up to the challenge, it would be Winn.
Winn.
The lights had been dark in his condo this morning. Instead of knocking on his door to let him know her plans, she’d texted him. After such a late night, he and Cam deserved the extra rest. Still, she couldn’t help thinking if she’d accepted his offer last night, she’d be snuggled up against his warm body right now.
Hailey expelled a resigned sigh. Sometimes doing the right thing sucked.
She entered the Coffee Pot, a popular café in downtown Jackson, and immediately began threading her way through the tables filled with chattering tourists and year-round residents, dressed in their Sunday best. Situated at the back of the dining room, so close to the kitchen you could hear bacon popping, a large rectangular table was reserved for the group every Sunday.
The waitress, an older woman with frizzy gray hair and bright orange lipstick, was well aware most at the table had only an hour to eat. She made it her mission to get them out in time to pick up their kids, knowing a generous tip would be her reward.
As Hailey drew close, she noticed there were still several empty seats at the table. Though her sister-in-law’s back was to her, the lush chestnut hair made her easy to identify. “I’m sorry I’m late—”
A man stood and she skidded to a stop, her heart leaping with surprised pleasure.
Winn was pulling back the empty chair between him and Anna. “Good morning.”
Hailey gaped. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
“Getting ready to order.” Winn shot her a smile that made her heart stammer as much as her voice. “And, in case you’re wondering, Cam is at Sunday school and Bandit is sleeping...on the sofa.”
Hailey chuckled at his pained expression and dropped into the chair. She was conscious that Meg and Cole were staring with puzzled expressions.
Of all the people Hailey had thought might be here, it wasn’t them. For chrissakes, they had two kids to get ready and had been up past 3:00 a.m.
“Winn was telling us that Cam slept well after he picked him up.” Meg offered Hailey a reassuring smile.
While there was no guarantee that Cole wouldn’t mention her late-night visit, the careful way Meg worded her comment didn’t throw up any red flags.
“I’m happy you made it this morning,” Kate Dennes said to Hailey. A dark-haired woman with green eyes, the young pediatrician was one of those women who always looked stylish and perfectly put together. This morning she wore a dress with bright yellow flowers cinched tight at the waist. “It seems like forever since we’ve had a chance to talk.”
Her husband, Joel, a local contractor, paused with his coffee cup halfway to his lips, a puzzled look on his handsome face. “Didn’t we just see her and Winn last night?”
Her and Winn.
Hailey wondered if she was the only one who’d caught the way Joel had lumped the two of them together, as if they were a couple.
“Saw her,” Kate clarified to her husband. “We never got a chance to talk and catch up.”
“Of course,” Joel said as if that explained everything. He shifted his attention to attorney Nick Delacourt, who sat to his right.
“How’s the job going?” Kate asked.
“Which one?” Hailey accepted a cup of coffee from the waitress, acutely conscious of Winn beside her.
Obviously startled, Kate lifted a perfectly tweezed brow. “How many do you have?”
“Three.” The coffee was good, Hailey realized after taking a sip. Strong and black with just the kick she needed to get her system jump-started. “For now.”
“Three?” Kate voice rose.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Hailey said with a laugh. “I fill in at the hospital as needed. I help Cassidy Kaye with makeup for special events. And, as you know, I’m watching Cam for the summer.”
“Such a sweet little boy.” Kate’s eyes softened and she shifted her gaze to Winn. “If you ever need a last-minute sitter, just give us a call. Chloe would love to mother Cam.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Winn said, seeming touched by the offer. “Thank you.”
“Winn told me he brought Cam in for his physical.” Hailey glanced expectantly at Kate. “How’d it go?”
She’d meant to ask Winn last night about the visit, but then he kissed her and she kissed him back and they’d ended up in bed instead.
Kate smiled apologetically and gestured to Winn, making it clear that any information concerning that visit would have to come from him.
“It went well.” The humorous glint in Winn’s eyes told Hailey he, too, remembered what had forestalled the discussion. “I signed a release so Kate can get Cam’s records from his family doctor in Georgia. She assured me he appears to be a healthy eight-year-old.”
“He’s a bright boy,” Kate added.
“What about his stuttering?” Hailey directed the question to Kate.
Winn nodded in answer to Kate’s raised brow.
“I need to see what his records show,” Kate said. “Specifically when the stammering began and what steps have been taken to address the issue.”
“Unless it began fairly recently,” Hailey said.
“If that’s the case, we’ll know because nothing will be documented,” Kate mused aloud.
Hailey turned to Winn. “You could always call his grandparents. That might be a faster way to get the information.”
Though Winn stiffened, his voice was calm. “I could. But remember, they were upset with me for taking him.”
“From their perspective, that’s understandable.” Hailey remembered the affection in Cam’s voice when he spoke of Grandpa Larry and Grandma Jan. “Perhaps if you reach out—”
“Not a chance,” Winn said flatly. “Not when they’re talking about blocking my adoption.”
“What?” The warmth that had enveloped Hailey when she’d first sat down disappeared in an arctic blast.
“It may be an idle threat,” Winn said, “but it’s something I intend to take seriously.”
Across the table, Hailey saw Nick Delacourt’s eyes sharpen.
“Threats like those should always be taken seriously.” The attorney lifted his coffee cup and took a sip.
Winn’s gaze met Nick’s. “I’d like to schedule some time for us to talk this week.”
Nick was a well-known family-law attorney with offices in Dallas and Jackson Hole. Several years ago, he’d briefly lost his memory in a skiing accident. His wife, Lexi—then a single mother—had been the social worker assigned to his case during that time.
Nick nodded. “I’ll tell my assistant to expect your call.”
Hailey had more questions about the threats Cam’s grandparents had made and she wanted to know why Winn hadn’t mentioned them to her before. But now wasn’t the time for such a discussion.
The conversation around the table shifted to everyone’s plans for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. Hailey found it difficult to focus. Her mind kept skittering back to Cam’s grandparents and what it would do to Winn if he lost his son again. And, what it would do to Cam.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched a distinguished-looking man with salt-and-pepper hair approach her table and stop by her brother’s chair. He didn’t stay even long enough for introductions. Apparently he only wanted to commend Tripp on several of his commu
nity-improvement projects.
Once the man was out of earshot, Lexi exhaled a melodramatic sigh. “Another Tripp fan. How do you inspire such adoration?”
Looking slightly embarrassed, her brother only chuckled.
“Tripp is a natural-born leader,” Hailey told Lexi. “Even when we were kids, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t trailing along in his shadow.”
Winn twisted in a move so abrupt, she found herself shrinking back when he faced her.
“You—” he pointed at her chest “—don’t trail in anyone’s shadow. You make a difference in the lives of everyone you touch, just as much as he does.”
Winn gestured with his head toward Tripp, who was watching the scene with intense interest.
“You don’t have to defend me, Winn,” Hailey said in a matter-of-fact tone. “There’s nothing I do—”
“What about Cam?”
“What about him?”
“I’ve heard you working with him in the other room while I’ve been in my office.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, instantly contrite. “I tried to keep the noise down so we wouldn’t disturb you.”
Those hazel eyes fixed on hers and in that moment, everyone around them disappeared and there was just her and Winn.
“Listen.” He took her shoulders in his hands, gave her a little shake. “You don’t disturb me. You impress the heck out of me.”
Hailey blinked. “What? How?”
“The speech games you play with my son, for starters. He doesn’t realize they’re therapy. He just thinks he’s having fun.”
Her lips quirked upward. “Education doesn’t have to be boring.”
“You give him your total attention, make him feel important, teach him techniques that help with his stammering.” Winn’s broad hand gently cupped her face. Apparently with no thought to anyone at the table, he pressed his lips against her, the kiss as gentle as softly falling rain. “You have a gift. Not just as a speech therapist but as a caring, giving woman. I’m certain he’s not the only child or person whose life is better because of knowing you.”
There was no subterfuge in his eyes. These were no empty compliments. He meant every word. Winn Ferris thought she was something special.
Ready, Set, I Do! (Rx for Love) Page 14
