“Thank you,” she murmured past the sudden lump in her throat. Then she said it again, more loudly this time in case he hadn’t heard. “Thank you.”
“It’s true,” Anna said softly, her hand reaching over to give Hailey’s hand a squeeze. “Everything he said about you is true.”
By the time the waitress arrived to take their order, both Hailey and Anna were blinking back tears. Thankfully, by the time all the food had been ordered and their coffee cups refilled, the talk had turned to baseball and the College World Series.
“Looks like UCLA will take it all this year,” Winn commented just as his phone dinged. He glanced down, opened the text and silently read the message.
“Your mom is going to work with me on my knitting after supper,” Anna said to Hailey as the men continued their CWS talk. “I thought it’d be fun if we could practice together.”
“I’m afraid I won’t be there,” Hailey said with real regret. “Winn and I are going with Cam to his father’s for dinner.”
“Change in plans,” Winn said, and she wondered at the irritation in his eyes. “I just got a text. My dad extended his stay in Philly. Hot business deal.”
Was it wrong, Hailey wondered, to feel so relieved?
“So I’ll see you tonight?” Anna asked eagerly.
Hailey turned to Winn. “Want to go to my parents’ for dinner?”
“I appreciate the invitation.” Winn pocketed his phone. “But Cam didn’t get much sleep last night. I think we’ll stay home, maybe get a pizza.”
“Pot roast is much better for the kid than pizza,” Tripp interjected. “And, if you come, it’ll be a good chance for us to talk. I have some questions that were brought to me on the golf project.”
Winn hesitated and glanced at Hailey.
“You know there’s nothing better than my mom’s pot roast,” was all she said.
“Count us in,” Winn said.
Hailey wanted him and Cam to come, truly she did. She only wished she knew if Winn had finally agreed because of her...or because of her brother.
Chapter Fourteen
“Are you certain your mother won’t mind two more at the table tonight?” Winn asked as they strolled up the walk to the porch.
Cam had raced ahead but stopped at the door. While he waited for them to catch up, he put Bandit through his arsenal of tricks.
Hailey shifted her attention back to the man at her side. “My mother was delighted you were coming.”
Delighted but suspicious. There was no need to mention that part of the conversation to Winn. He didn’t need to know the concerns her mother had expressed over the time she was spending with Winn when she was “off duty.”
Apparently, Anna had mentioned something about them being at the Coffee Pot this morning. Her mom had incorrectly assumed they’d arrived together.
“That’s a relief,” Winn said, and Hailey pulled her thoughts back to the present.
“It’s always a plus when the host and hostess are genuinely happy to see you,” he continued, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Hailey slipped her arm through his. “Trust me. Having you and Cam along makes everyone’s evening more pleasurable.”
Winn stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned her to face him. His eyes met hers and the blood in her veins began to hum. He cupped her face with one hand and those beautiful hazel eyes grew dark.
He’s going to kiss me. He’s going to kiss me. The words repeated over and over like a mantra.
Her heart sped up, tripping over itself. She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, anticipating the feel of him, the sweet taste of him.
She lifted her face just as the front screen door banged open.
The sound was like a gunshot. Hailey jerked back so suddenly she stumbled. But Winn’s hands remained on her shoulders, steadying her.
“If you two are finished gawking at each other,” Frank called out as Cam and Bandit slipped past him into the house, “your mother could use some help in the kitchen.”
Hailey saw the flash of resignation in Winn’s eyes as he dropped his hands. But when he shifted his gaze to her father standing on the porch, his smile was warm and easy.
“Your daughter is so pretty, I have to gawk,” Winn said, and Hailey felt the heat of a blush stain her cheeks. “By the way, I appreciate the dinner invitation.”
Winn took Hailey’s arm as they climbed the stairs, not seeming to notice the slight narrowing of her father’s gaze.
Ever since they’d made love, there was a physical ease between her and Winn that hadn’t existed before. Hailey reminded herself she wasn’t sixteen anymore. Still, in her father’s eyes, she’d always be his little girl. Woe to the man who hurt her.
Will you hurt me, Winn?
The second the thought surfaced, Hailey shoved it aside. They were friends. That’s all.
“We’re glad to have you.” Her father clapped Winn on the back and ushered them inside. “But I’m warning you, after we eat, I need some muscle, so I’ll be putting you to work.”
A smile hovered at the corners of Winn’s lips. “Just what kind of work do you have planned for me, Frank?”
Seeing Winn’s dark tailored pants, Ralph Lauren shirt and Berluti loafers, Hailey could only hope that whatever her dad had in store for his guest didn’t involve physical labor of the grimy sort.
His father’s grin flashed and the wicked gleam in his eye told her he sensed her discomfort.
“Don’t worry—” Frank waved a dismissive hand “—it doesn’t involve cattle.”
“I wasn’t worried.” A hint of coolness crept into Winn’s tone. “Simply curious.”
“I’m the one who’s worried.” Hailey pointed at her father. “I’ve seen some of your ‘projects.’”
She paused, though there was much more she could have said, as sounds of frantic barking came from inside the house.
“Sounds like Bandit treed a squirrel in the kitchen,” Frank said mildly.
Hailey cast a worried glance in her dad’s direction as the dog continued to bark. “I hope you don’t mind that we, I mean I, brought him.”
“He’s a good dog.” Frank frowned as the noise escalated. “Even if he is kind of loud.”
Cam came running down the hall, his eyes wide. “You gotta c-come. Bandit is going to kill it.”
A shriek from the kitchen had both men running.
“What is it?” Hailey asked the boy, sprinting down the hall after the men.
“A snake,” Cam said. “It’s humongous.”
* * *
“I can’t believe there was a snake in the house.” Anna gave a little shudder. She lifted a cup of steaming coffee to her lips but didn’t drink. “I guess I should be happy Mindy Bigg’s baby delayed his entrance into the world long enough to make us a few minutes late.”
“Today, being a midwife was definitely a lucky thing.” Hailey shivered. “I hate any kind of reptiles, too.”
Hailey, Anna and her mother sat at the kitchen table enjoying their coffee while a full dishwasher hummed happily in the background.
By the time Tripp and Anna arrived, the men had removed the three-foot-long garter snake from the kitchen and taken it down to the creek to release it. Out of Cam’s earshot, Frank laughingly reported the boy had begged Winn to let him keep it as a pet. His pleas had apparently fallen on deaf ears and the snake had slithered off into the brush.
The snake had turned the dinner conversation into story hour. Everyone at the table—other than Winn—had a crazy animal-encounter story to share. Even Cam. With exaggerated gestures, the boy told about a skink in the house that made his mother scream.
At everyone’s baffled expressions, Winn explained that skink was another name for chameleon, and they were quite common
in the south.
Winn asked questions and laughed at the outlandish and obviously embellished tales with an easy smile.
His background had been so different from everyone’s at the table that he had no stories to tell. Hailey knew how it felt to be on the outside looking in, how lonely that could feel.
While her brother regaled them with his unfortunate encounter with a skunk—as opposed to Cam’s skink—Hailey had taken Winn’s hand beneath the table linen, linking her fingers with his.
“Where did Dad take the guys?” Anna set her cup down and removed a ball of buttercup-yellow yarn and two knitting needles from a tapestry bag next to her chair.
“Out to his shop,” Kathy said, the needles in her hands already clicking as she added rows of perfect stitches to the cashmere christening blanket she was knitting for her grandbaby.
Though the word dad sounded strange coming from Anna’s lips, it also sounded right. Hailey knew her parents had been pleased their daughter-in-law had recently agreed to call them Mom and Dad instead of Frank and Kathy.
An only child, Anna’s parents had died when she’d been a freshman in college, victims of carbon-monoxide poisoning.
Hailey tried not to grimace when her mother brought out a ball of pea-green and gray variegated yarn and put it in front of her, telling her she should knit Winn a scarf.
Looking at the ugly yarn, Hailey couldn’t quite decide if this meant her mother liked or hated Winn.
“Frank wanted to show Tripp the cradle he’s building for our new grandchild.” Though she smiled at Anna, Kathy’s voice was strung tight as piano wire. “He thought about just presenting it to you both once it was done, but we felt he should show it to Tripp now, help him prepare, get his thoughts—and emotions—in order.”
“I think that was smart,” Anna said softly. Her green eyes held a hint of sorrow. “Gayle’s death hit us all hard. But for Tripp, well, having me pregnant brings all those fears back. He tries to hide his worry, but—”
Kathy took Anna’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You’re a midwife. You know what happened to Gayle is a rarity. If she’d have been near a large medical center—”
“I know,” Anna interrupted. “I’m not the one who’s worried.”
Hailey wondered how it was going out in the shop. How would her brother react to something so tangibly tied to the upcoming birth of his child?
The depth of pain her brother experienced when he’d lost his wife and their unborn child had shaken Hailey. Tripp had been living the dream. Until that moment, anything he ever wanted had been served up to him on a silver platter.
But he’d survived those dark days. Survived the horrific loss...and come out stronger. Now he had Anna. Though Hailey would never voice the thought, she believed Anna was a much better match for her family-oriented brother than Gayle had been.
“Have you started on the nursery?” Hailey asked, then instantly regretted the question when she saw Anna’s face.
“Not yet,” Anna said with an extrabright smile.
“Plenty of time.” Kathy patted Anna’s hand.
“I feel as if I’ve monopolized most of the conversation this evening.” Anna looped a strand of yarn around one needle. “Hailey, we haven’t even talked about you and Winn.”
“Not much to say.” Hailey took a sip of coffee. “I’m still watching Cam.”
“What about the mistletoe?” her mother asked.
Hailey’s smile froze on her lips. “What about it?”
“I was wondering if Mary Karen and Travis put it out this year.” Her mother’s innocent expression didn’t fool her. “You girls made it sound like an annual tradition.”
Hailey paused, remembering the mistletoe Winn had hung from the ceiling fan over his sofa.
“Lots and lots of mistletoe.” Anna’s laugh sounded girlish and carefree. The worry that had darkened her eyes moments before had disappeared. “Your son made it his mission to find every last sprig.”
“That’s my boy.” Her mother shifted her teasing gaze. “How about you, Hailey? Did Winn kiss you under the mistletoe?”
Hailey’s cheeks burned red hot. She saw her mother and Anna exchange a quick significant glance.
Kathy laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
A kiss had only been the beginning. Thinking of everything she and Winn had done under the mistletoe did nothing to lessen Hailey’s blush. If anything, remembering his touch brought more heat to her cheeks and an ache of longing deep in her belly.
She wanted Winn to hold her, touch her...love her as she loved him.
The realization brought both wonder and fear.
How had this happened? She hadn’t been looking for love, hadn’t wanted to find anyone special until her life was more settled. Yet, it had happened.
Anna continued to wrap yarn around her needle, casting one uniform stitch after another, while Hailey fumbled with hers.
“Tripp is impressed with Winn,” Anna announced.
Kathy’s smile encouraged her daughter-in-law to continue.
“Initially he wasn’t sure what to think of him. On first impression, Winn can come across as being a chip off the old block.” Anna cast an apologetic look at Hailey. “But after they talked at the party, Tripp is convinced he misjudged him. And you certainly seemed to like him.”
“He makes me feel good about myself,” Hailey murmured.
“I thought at first his paying so much attention to you was self-serving and some kind of act,” Anna said, not appearing to notice Hailey’s indrawn breath. “I don’t think that anymore.”
With lips pressed together, Hailey pulled out a series of loose stitches. She believed Winn to be sincere. She desperately wanted to believe he was sincere.
But she’d been duped before. Completely. Foolishly. And that knowledge was a heavy weight to bear.
* * *
Winn cast a sideways glance at Hailey. Though her hand rested comfortably in his as they walked, there was a distance between them that hadn’t been there earlier.
He didn’t understand what had caused it. From his perspective the evening had gone well. The snake had added a touch of levity leading to a lively conversation over dinner.
Winn had been astonished by the stories of skunks, skinks, possums and mischievous raccoons. Then, afterward, he’d been surprised when Frank had ushered them into a heated exterior building and uncovered a partially finished cradle.
At first it had been awkward to witness what he believed should have been a private moment between father and son. When Cam had begun jabbering about how cool it was and asking if that thing really rocked a baby, Winn had opened his mouth to silence the boy. But he’d caught Frank’s look and shut his mouth without speaking.
The more Cam talked the more Tripp’s tight expression eased, and the haunted look left his eyes.
By the time the cover was replaced over the cradle, Tripp was back to his normally jovial self. They discussed golf while helping Frank move an ancient table saw from one part of the shop to another corner.
On their way back to the house, Cam held Frank’s hand and skipped beside the older man. That gave Tripp and Winn the opportunity to discuss some of the concerns about Winn’s project that had been brought to the mayor’s office.
But by far the best part of the evening had been being with Hailey: laughing with her, holding her hand beneath the dining room table and sharing a piece of what her mother called Heaven-and-Hell Cake. The multilayered cake was a decadent delight, containing both angel food and devil’s food cake, peanut-butter mousse and milk-chocolate ganache.
He’d wanted to kiss the thin layer of mousse and ganache off Hailey’s lips right there in front of everyone. Out of respect for her parents, he’d resisted. Besides, what he and Hailey shared was so new that he found himself
wanting to hold the emotions close and savor them.
He’d been glad she hadn’t wanted to head straight to her condo when they got home. Instead, she’d suggested a walk.
“Not so far ahead, Cam,” Winn called out. “Stay in sight.”
“Okay,” the boy called back over his shoulder, retaining a tight hold on Bandit’s leash.
“A walk was an excellent idea,” Winn said to Hailey.
“Cam was revved after the time at the ranch.” Hailey’s gaze lingered on the little boy a quarter of a block ahead. A slight smile lifted her lips. “Not at all ready for bed.”
“Which is surprising, considering how little sleep he got last night.” Winn shook his head and chuckled. “Heck, how little sleep we all got.”
Hailey stifled a yawn. “I could go to bed right now.”
“Can I join you?”
She chuckled and gave his shoulder a shove. “You’re always working the angles, Ferris.”
“Like father like son.”
Her smile faded.
“Hey.” He closed his hand around hers. “What’s wrong?”
“I was thinking of what Cam asked my dad.”
Winn’s expression tightened. “I’ll speak with him later. I didn’t want to make a big deal of it at the time. Especially with your father being so gracious to him.”
Winn had been as shocked as Hailey when, shortly before they left the ranch, Cam had asked Frank if he could call him Grandpa. Just thinking of that moment brought a lump to Winn’s throat.
Frank’s voice had been thick and gravelly as he told Cam he’d be honored.
“Don’t say anything to him, Winn.” There was a pleading note in Hailey’s voice he didn’t understand. “Cam recently lost the only grandparents he’s known. I mean, from what you’ve said, your father never did embrace that role.”
“No.” A chill, at odds with the warm summer night, washed over him. “He didn’t. I don’t believe that will change.”
“Cam misses his grandparents.”
The fact that she spoke the truth infuriated him. He wasn’t angry with her but at the situation. Cam had endured so much loss.
Ready, Set, I Do! (Rx for Love) Page 15
