Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Sloane ran out from behind their parents and hissed, “I’ve been texting you since yesterday morning! I tried to warn you!”
“Thanks,” she murmured. “I wasn’t ready to…”
“Young lady, what in the world is going on?” her mother demanded as she came to a stop in front of her. “You leave town and then turn off your phone and disappear? Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been? We’ve been calling every one of your cousins, and no one knows anything except how you showed up in Sweetbriar Ridge and then disappeared the next day!”
“I’m sorry that you were worried, Mom,” Hailey began, “but we texted Marcus and Billie to let them know where we were. So if you called them, they probably told you.”
“We did,” Billie said wearily, pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment. “I’m sorry, Hales. I explained everything repeatedly how you and Max were taking some time away to figure stuff out and that you’d be back today and…”
“Of course your cousin was going to make it sound like it was completely normal,” her mother went on. “This…this Max person is her brother-in-law! She’s not being objective! For all we knew, she was protecting him , and you were really lying in a ditch somewhere! We had to know for ourselves.”
“Mom, don’t you think you’re being dramatic? Billie wouldn’t lie to you! No one in this family would lie to you!” She sighed loudly. “Can we please just…take a step back so I can get more than three feet into the house?”
“That attitude is not helping anything, Hailey Shae!” her father angrily chimed in before turning his sights on Max. “And you ! Are you the reason our daughter left town and made us all a bundle of nerves? What did you do to her? Why couldn’t you talk to her here, where there was family present?”
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Max’s eyes go wide. “Um…”
“Okay, that’s enough,” she commanded loudly, and the room went so silent you could hear a pin drop. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough of a deterrent to stop the interrogation.
Her father took another menacing step forward. “You knock up my little girl and then steal her away for days on end and make her cut all ties with her family? Do you have any idea how offensive that is?” Then he looked at Hailey. “And you! You were not raised to go sleeping around with a man you don’t even know! What were you thinking?”
Now probably wasn’t the time to say she thought that he was an incredibly sexy man who kissed like a dream and turned her on more than any man ever had in her life.
Yeah, I better keep that to myself…
“Dad, I’m not going to stand here and try to defend myself. The fact is that Max and I are having a baby. All the yelling and carrying on isn’t going to change that,” she said firmly, and was a little impressed with herself when her father looked slightly contrite. “I get that you’re disappointed, but you know what? It’s still not going to change anything! So you can stand here and lecture us all you want, but you’ll just be wasting your breath!”
“Hailey,” her mother began tearfully. “You have to understand how devastated we are! This is all so completely out of character for you! I’ve been picturing your wedding since the day you were born! After having three boys, I had finally had my little girl who was someday going to have a wedding fit for a princess!”
“Um…I’m still here,” Sloane interjected, slowly raising her hand. “You know, I can be a princess too. Just saying.”
Unfortunately, no one was really paying attention.
“Look, this wasn’t the way I thought things would go either,” Hailey went on, “but this is the way things are. You know I haven’t been happy living in Florida for a while, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’m going to move to Sweetbriar Ridge so I can be with Max.”
Both parents went to comment, but she held up a hand to stop them.
“I get that you’re freaking out, but I am going to be surrounded by family. Besides all my cousins, Uncle Ronan lives here too. It’s not like I’m moving somewhere all by myself, okay? So you both need to relax. This is my life and…” Pausing, she sighed, “This wasn’t planned, but I don’t regret it. Max is a great guy and if you would both just take some time and calm down and get to know him, you’ll see it for yourself.”
Her mother slowly turned and sat down at the kitchen table and promptly stared at them. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit. You’re acting like a rebellious teenager instead of a responsible woman. Getting pregnant out of wedlock! What am I supposed to say to people?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed how everyone kept looking back and forth between them like they were watching a tennis match. She’d laugh if she wasn’t so annoyed.
“You might remind them how Ben was an eleven-pound preemie or how he then had a ‘preemie’ of his own with a woman he picked up in an airport bar who walked away as soon as the baby was born!”
“Who…?” Max quietly asked.
“One of my brothers,” she murmured over her shoulder.
“Oh, damn!” Sloane said with a laugh. “You went there! Nice!”
“That’s different,” her father said. “Boys…”
“If you dare say ‘boys will be boys,’ I swear I will never speak to you again,” Hailey snapped. “You and Mom were pregnant before you got married! So please don’t stand here and try to convince me that I did something so horribly wrong. Things happen! It’s not the end of the world, and the two of you have been married for over thirty-five years!”
“Yes, but we had been dating for a year before we got pregnant with your brother,” her mother countered. “You just met this man!”
“Max,” Hailey said. “His name is Max Calloway and he’s the father of your grandbaby. If you want to know more about him, then the two of you can come back here later for dinner, along with everyone else. Right now, I’m tired, I need to unpack after being away, and I think we all need to take some time to calm down.”
She heard Sloane snicker and Billie telling her to hush.
“Now if you’ll all excuse me, I’m going upstairs.” Looking at Billie, she added, “I’m sorry that all this drama came to your home. I’d completely understand if you’d like me to stay somewhere else.”
“Um…you’re fine,” her cousin assured her. “You think this is the first time there’s been uninvited drama in a Donovan house?” She laughed before immediately sobering as she faced Hailey’s parents. “Sorry Uncle Kevin, Aunt Bridget. It’s just…”
“We know what you’re saying,” Bridget said as she stood back up. “This is a delicate situation, and it was unfair of us to put you in the middle of it. We just never expected our daughter to be so insensitive and selfish.”
“Mom…”
But her mother was holding up her hand to stop her. “No. You made your wishes clear.” Then she turned to Billie. “I hope it’s okay if we join all of you for dinner. Ronan mentioned he was coming over too, but we didn’t just want to assume it was okay for us to show up uninvited.”
And yeah, she gave Hailey a sour look, like they hadn’t shown up uninvited already.
Refusing to feel bad, she pasted a big smile on her face as she leaned in and hugged her mother. “Well, we’ll see you later then! Tell Uncle Ronan I’m looking forward to seeing him!” Then she hugged her father too. “Okay, see you later! Love you! Buh-bye!”
Making her way across the kitchen, she snagged Sloane. “You need to stay,” she whispered firmly. “Why didn’t you stop them from coming here?”
“Sloane?” their mother called out. “Aren’t you coming back to your uncle’s with us?”
“Um…I’m actually going to stay and help Hales with her unpacking,” she cheerily replied with a wave. “We’ll see you later, okay? Byeee!” Slowly, they made their way further away from their parents until they were practically hiding in the living room. It wasn’t until they heard the door close that they relaxed. “I’m gonna pay for that one later, but it was worth it.”
“This so wasn’t on my bingo card for today.”
Her sister gave her a fierce hug. “We really were a little worried. You never turn off your phone.” Pulling back, she grinned. “I hope there was at least some fun while you were away and it wasn’t all awkward talking.”
“Definitely not awkward and very little talking,” she murmured and stopped from saying more as Max, Billie, and Marcus all came to join them. “I really am sorry about all of that.” She looked directly at Max. “I tried to warn you.”
Raking a hand through his hair, he let out a long breath. “You did, and yet I still wasn’t expecting all of that.”
“It’s a Donovan thing,” Billie assured him. “Very overprotective parents—except mine—and they love to throw the guilt around. That last one my mother does like a champ.” With a soft laugh, she looked at Max. “Get used to it, because this is going to be your life now.”
“Don’t scare him, Bill,” Sloane said with amusement. “Sheesh! This is all new! We don’t need him running away already!”
For a moment Hailey wondered if her parents had truly scared him, but when she looked over at him, he smiled and said, “I don’t scare easily, and I’m not going anywhere.” He closed the distance between them and kissed her softly. “I’m here for you. Remember that.”
She felt herself blush as he took a step back. “I’m going to bring your bags up to your room and then I’ll let you and your sister have some time to visit.” Looking at his brother and Billie, he added, “And I’ll be back over when everyone gets here.”
“Or…you can stay so we can talk,” Marcus suggested.
“Why don’t the two of you go up to Max’s apartment and talk?” Billie proposed. “And while everyone is doing their thing, I can finish getting ready for when they all come back. God help us.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Max said before walking away to grab their luggage.
Hailey and Sloane followed him up to the guest room and he kissed her again before he left, closing the door behind him. As soon as he did, Sloane hopped up on the bed with a knowing grin. “Sooo…you two are cozy! I take it the time away was beneficial?”
Groaning, she sat down on the bed beside her. “We didn’t intend to go away. It was supposed to be an all-day date.” Then she gave a grin of her own. “Then it turned sexy and we decided to stay up at the resort for the night.”
“Ooh…I love that resort! I hope it’s as awesome in the winter as it is the rest of the year! And their festivals are amazing! The last one I went to…”
“Can we focus on me, please? I mean…you brought Mom and Dad here and it’s really kind of ruining how glowy I’ve been feeling!”
Frowning, Sloane twisted a bit. “I didn’t bring them here; I simply tagged along when they announced they were coming.” Shrugging, she explained, “If you had just kept your phone on, none of this would have happened. You have no one to blame but yourself.”
Another groan. “Why can’t we just have normal parents? They knew I was coming here to stay with Billie, and Billie told them where I was! Why did they have to get on a plane?”
“You heard what Mom said earlier—she thought Billie was just protecting Max. It’s not the most outlandish thing to think.”
“Yes, it is! Billie isn’t the kind of person who would lie!” And yet another groan. “I just hate that they had to show up here and ruin what was supposed to be a somewhat relaxing day. I mean…I was a little nervous because I wasn’t sure who knew about the pregnancy, but…”
“Everyone,” Sloane said matter-of-factly. “Everyone knows. In Mom’s quest to find out where you were, she threw that fact into every conversation.”
“Seriously? And you didn’t try to stop her?”
The bland look she got spoke volumes.
“Okay, fine. There’s no stopping her. I just…I hate this. Max and I kind of hit pause on everything so we could get to know each other and now Mom and Dad are going to come back here and demand answers! I hate putting Max on the spot like that!”
“And what about you? Do you have everything figured out?”
Flopping back against the mattress, she mumbled, “No.”
“Maybe you should be talking to Max instead of me right now.”
It wasn’t the worst idea, but she was sticking to her avoidance method for a little while longer.
Mimicking her pose, Sloane turned her head with a sympathetic smile. “You’re really moving here?”
“Yup.”
“And Max is a good guy?”
“He really is.”
“Are you going to marry him?”
That wasn’t something she could answer quite so confidently.
“First, we still barely know each other. Second, nobody needs to get married anymore. We can easily co-parent—especially since I’ll be living here.”
Propping herself up a bit, Sloane’s expression turned serious. “Okay, but…just hear me out. You’re moving someplace completely new. You don’t have a place to live, a job, or anything. You’re pregnant, and you have no idea what this pregnancy is going to be like.”
“That’s all true, but…”
“Imagine having someone there to support you—and I’m not talking about financially, but someone who can share the load with you. Someone who is just as invested in this journey as you are.”
“I get what you’re saying, Sloane, but—again—you don’t have to be married to have that. Maybe Max and I can live together or near each other. I’m not planning on staying here in Billie’s guest room indefinitely. Finding a place to live was always part of the plan. And if Mom and Dad hadn’t shown up here today, it would be something I could have freely discussed with everyone.”
“Don’t be a brat. You can still do all of that. It’s not like they’re going to spend the entire day blocking you from speaking.” With a snort of amusement, she laid back down.
“No, they’re just going to keep trying to make me feel guilty while giving Max the stink eye.” She sighed loudly. “I can’t believe what a mess I’ve made.”
“Um…I hate to break it to you, but it takes two to make a baby, so…Max shares the responsibility for this mess.” Sitting up, she shrugged. “And if you ask me, it’s not that much of a mess. You were totally into him, he was obviously very into you, and you both currently seem very into each other. You said you like him and he’s a great guy, so I’m not seeing this as being a bad thing. Did you speed things up? Yes. This pregnancy allowed the two of you to reconnect when you were both too stubborn to reach out to each other.”
Flinging her arm over her eyes, she murmured, “Maybe.”
“Would it be so terrible to marry Max?”
“No.” Forcing herself to sit up, Hailey shook her head. “You’re forgetting one key thing.”
“What?”
“We’re not in love! Marriage should be about being with the person you love and want to spend the rest of your life with.” Then she remembered Max’s suggestion. “Plus, he sort of already suggested it.”
“He did?!” Sloane went on. “And what did you say?”
“I said no! It seems weird to say yes this soon.” Pausing, she had to admit that her gut reaction was to say yes. It was crazy, and it would basically be for practicality’s sake, but…she didn’t hate the idea. “This is why I never do anything impulsive! It’s all just too much!”
Sloane stood and stretched. “Okay, okay…relax. I’m just trying to help you figure some things out.” She looked around the room. “This is kind of a great space. How far away is Max’s place from here?”
“The other side of the driveway.”
Her sister’s eyes went wide. “Seriously? Then why are you here and he’s there? After being away for the last few days, you’d think you’d just move into his space!”
“Sloane?”
“Hmm?”
“You are seriously giving me a headache. Can we please just…chill for a little while? We have about three hours before everyone shows up and I’d really love to talk about something other than me and this pregnancy. I know I asked to focus on me, but…right now, I think I’d rather focus on you. Can we do that?”
Sighing dramatically, Sloane walked back over to the bed and sat down. “Did I ever tell you about the cute guy working the kissing booth at the last festival I was at here?”
“Trust me, you’re going to be fine. All the Donovans genuinely like you.”
“Clearly not all of them…”
“Okay, fine. Get me on a technicality. All of the Sweetbriar Ridge Donovans—and Hailey—genuinely like you,” Marcus said with a huff of annoyance. “Happy?”
“Too bad we didn’t have more time to coordinate a ‘Max is Great’ campaign. I could really use the support right now. I wasn’t expecting Hailey’s parents to be so hostile. She warned me how they could be dramatic, but…”
“To be fair, you weren’t expecting them at all. And neither were we,” Marcus stated, frowning. “Imagine my surprise when they showed up here this morning demanding to know where you were.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal—certainly not big enough for people to get on a plane and fly a thousand miles.”
“Welcome to the family. The Donovans are very different from the Calloways. Trust me.”
“I guess I’m gonna have to.” They were standing outside the side door to the main house, and there were already several cars in the driveway. “Are they always this early?”
“No. Billie put out the call for everyone to get here a little sooner than planned so you wouldn’t have to face Hailey’s parents alone.”
“Well…Hailey’s going to be here.”
“It was for her protection too. It’s a wild dynamic; the siblings are almost ridiculously close, and they are the same with their cousins. I guess since we didn’t grow up with a big extended family, it’s all foreign to us. Once Kevin and Bridget left, my wife rallied everyone, so it might not be a ‘Max is Great’ campaign, but it’s still a support network.”
Feeling oddly touched by the gesture, he gruffly said, “Thanks,” before they walked into the house.
And immediately were met by Ronan and Kevin Donovan.
Here we go…
“Max!” Ronan jovially shouted. “Good to see you! I hear my brother gave you a bit of a hard time earlier!”
“Um…”
“Come! Sit and have a drink with us! I was telling him all about our plans for the bar!”
Oh, no…
“Our family has been in the pub business for a few generations,” Kevin said stiffly. “None of us ever thought of doing one on our own. The one our brother Shane owns was originally started by our great grandfather, so I’m a little intrigued by the thought of what it would take to start one from scratch.”
Clapping him on the shoulder, Ronan led Max toward the living room. “Levi, Reid, and Tanner are all interested in investing too! We can make it a real family affair! This town needs a place that’s just a casual space to hang out that maybe isn’t geared for families.” His bark of laughter almost made Max jump. “Kind of funny how in one breath I’m saying it’s a family affair and then in the next saying it’s not for families! Ha! ”
“Is that the sort of thing you’re against, Max? Families?” Kevin asked.
When they reached the sofas, Max waited for Hailey’s dad to sit before he responded. “Actually, quite the opposite. I’m a huge proponent of families and anything family related. I also believe that there needs to be places where adults can hang out without any kids being around. I’m also very close to my father and brother, and I’ve genuinely enjoyed getting to know Billie and her family. My brother and I don’t come from a large family, so this whole dynamic can be a little overwhelming at times.”
“Mm-hmm…and what do you do for a living, Max?”
“I have my own cybersecurity firm, sir. It was something I started right out of college. I used to tend bar part-time, and I still do it occasionally.”
Kevin’s gaze narrowed. “And do you own your own home?”
Crap.
“Not currently. I sold my house a few months ago. I moved back to Sweetbriar Ridge to help my father as he recovered from a fall, and even though I had been searching for a house, nothing’s felt right yet. Right now, I’m living in the apartment over the garage.
“Max really spent a lot of time helping our father and then he watched our house while Billie and I were on our honeymoon. He took care of our three dogs,” Marcus interjected. “I spent a lot of years living away from everyone and it’s been nice having my brother so close by. We’ve been reconnecting.”
All Kevin did was give a cursory nod before focusing on Max again. “And you expect my daughter to give up her life in Florida to move into a room over a garage? Did you think we’d be okay with that?”
Swallowing hard, he knew it was important to be confident and truthful. And even though he and Hailey hadn’t truly discussed anything yet, Max figured anything he said could only help smooth things over.
“No, sir. I don’t think you should be okay with that,” he began carefully. “Which is why I am actively looking for a house and one that Hailey and I pick together. She shouldn’t have to move here and either live in a room over a garage or in her cousin’s guest room.”
Kevin seemed to relax a bit.
“Obviously this is all still new and it’s a lot for both Hailey and I to work out, but I promise you right here, right now, that I am going to take care of your daughter and our baby. I won’t tell you not to worry because you’re her father and that’s your job. But I will tell you that you can trust me. All I want is to make her happy and be a good partner to Hailey and a good father to our baby.”
“You have to respect a man who doesn’t shy away from his responsibilities,” Ronan quietly commented as he nudged his brother’s shoulder. “I knew Max was a fine young man the moment I met him! And you should meet his father! Yes, John Calloway is a good friend. We’ve been hanging out a lot together since he’s recovered from his accident.”
“Oh, well, um…”
“Mr. Donovan,” Max went on. “Hailey and I spent the last few days just trying to get to know each other better without the pressure of solely focusing on the pregnancy. I believe she’s overwhelmed and very nervous about how you and the rest of the family are reacting, so my goal is to put her mind—and yours—at ease. I want her to know that she’s not alone, but I also want you to know that I’m not afraid to step in if anyone upsets her right now. This is a tremendous change in her life, and I believe we should be supporting and encouraging her, not yelling and throwing accusations.” He shrugged with a little more confidence than he actually felt. “And like she said earlier, it’s not going to change anything. You’re only pushing her away right now. If she’s ready to make this move here, you can be damn sure that I’m going to take care of her, and so are her cousins.”
“And me,” Ronan chimed in before smiling at Max with a wink.
There didn’t seem to be anything else he could say because after this, actions were going to speak louder. He felt good about how he handled himself, and yet it didn’t make that frown on Kevin’s face go away. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his brother walking away and almost shouted for him to come back, but at least Ronan was still sitting here with him.
“I’m going to go get us some drinks,” Ronan said, still smiling, before he got up and walked away too.
Seriously?
His smile felt a little forced as he tried to think of something to say to Hailey’s father now that it was just the two of them. Fortunately, Kevin was the one to break the silence.
“Tell me about this bar,” he said, sounding completely casual and not the least bit hostile.
“Um…the bar?”
“The one you’re planning with my brother. How do you go from running your own cybersecurity firm to opening a bar?”
“Oh, well…I tended bar while I was in college—after I turned twenty-one. I had a knack for it and I enjoyed it. When I started my firm, I worked from home and that can be very isolating, so working part-time bartending was a great way to get out and socialize a bit. I was working at a place a buddy of mine owns for the last several years, but it’s an hour away from here and once I moved back, it became a bit much to do that drive back and forth.”
“Commuting is a bitch,” Kevin said with a small laugh. “I’ve owned my construction company for the last thirty-years. I started out small—you know, renovating kitchens and doing some small home extensions—and eventually grew to building entire subdivisions. Some projects are close to home, but most of them nowadays are farther away. It doesn’t matter that I’m the boss; I still like to be hands on and walk the job daily, so I know things are getting done the right way.”
“Well, yeah. I would imagine you’d have to. That’s your name on the business, so you need to know what’s going on.”
“Exactly!” Leaning back against the sofa cushions, he smiled. A genuine smile. “Are you going to build something new or modify an existing building? It seems like there have been a lot of older buildings that have new businesses in them—especially in the last few years. Every time we’ve come to visit for a wedding, there are some new shops or restaurants in the downtown area.”
“Ideally, we’d love to renovate an existing building, I think. Marcus is the money man, and I believe he and Billie are looking over the finances of what a project like this would cost. We were just getting that ball rolling when Hailey came to town, so I’ve been out of the loop for a bit this week.”
Nodding, Kevin studied him for a moment. “Have you…do you have a reliable contractor yet?”
“Um…”
“Because I could be interested in investing and donating my time and a crew as my contribution,” he explained. “It would be a way of ensuring that Hailey is taken care of. And what about a house for the two of you?”
Crap. He and Hailey hadn’t talked about actual living arrangements, and even though he was the one who brought it up earlier in the conversation, he didn’t expect Kevin to circle back to it.
“Like I said, that’s a top priority. Living here in the room over the garage was just a temporary situation. I never wanted to get too comfortable there and…”
“Dad!” Hailey said as she practically sprinted across the room toward them. She glanced anxiously between them before fully facing her father. “I hope you’re being nice to Max and not giving him a hard time. I honestly thought you wouldn’t rush back here to interrogate him.”
Holding out his hand, Max gently tugged her down onto the sofa with them. “It’s okay, Hales.”
“No one’s interrogating anyone,” her father told her. “Max and I are simply having a conversation.”
She still looked wary. “About…?”
“The bar he and Ronan are going to open.”
“The bar…?”
Nodding, her father went on. “I’m thinking of investing in it too. You know, help with the construction. Then we were just talking about the kind of house Max was going to buy—hopefully for the two of you—when you came running across the room.” He shook his head. “Seriously, Hailey, you didn’t need to make such a dramatic entrance.”
“Dramatic…?”
“And you really should finish your sentences,” he said, still shaking his head. “You’re a grown woman. Use your words.”
Max could feel her bristling, but had no idea if he should calm her down or let her react however she was going to react.
She glanced at him briefly, as if looking for assurance, so he smiled and nodded and then let her say whatever was on her mind.
“You know why I’m confused, right? Just a few hours ago, you were shaking your finger in Max’s face and talking to me like I’m a child,” she said calmly. “Then I notice the two of you alone in here while everyone else is watching from a safe distance. Even Mom is staying in the kitchen! And my entrance wasn’t dramatic; I was just making sure you were playing nice.”
For some reason, that made her father smile broadly, like he approved.
“So you’re protecting Max,” he said, nodding. “I like that.”
“You do?”
“Before you came running in here, he was telling me all the ways he was going to look out for you and that I didn’t need to worry. As your father, that’s always going to be my job, no matter what. But listening to you both separately, I can tell that you have something between you.” Then he frowned. “Something other than a baby out of wedlock.”
“Oh my God…Dad, seriously?” Sighing loudly, Hailey turned and looked at Max again. “I am so sorry. I really thought we could all be adults about this.”
“Hailey Shae, we are being adults, and the two of you are having a baby out of wedlock,” her father casually said. “Seems to me at least part of that can be rectified.”
Her head snapped around so fast that Max was shocked she didn’t have whiplash. But before she could say anything, Kevin was speaking.
“You’re moving here to be close to Max, the two of you are obviously very fond of each other and taking the time to get to know one another. Would it be so wrong to get married? I know it would go a long way in making your mother feel better.”
Max remembered Billie’s words from earlier.
They love to throw the guilt around…
Clearly, she wasn’t exaggerating.
“Dad, this really isn’t any of your business. Max and I haven’t started making any plans, and we certainly haven’t talked about making that kind of commitment,” she nervously explained, and he had to wonder if she had already forgotten how he suggested this exact thing not so long ago. “And it’s unnecessary. We can co-parent while each living our own lives.” She turned to Max. “Right?”
And something in his expression must have given him away because her eyes went wide.
“Max?”
“I…” He cleared this throat. “I know we haven’t talked about it, um…much, but…” Pausing, he cleared his throat. “I’m not opposed to the idea. We already know we get along and have a lot of things in common. We both want to be hands-on with raising our baby, so I don’t see why we can’t consider getting married.”
When she just continued to stare at him with those wide, shocked eyes, he continued.
“It would make sense financially too—we could buy a house that we both like and then we wouldn’t be supporting two households. You could take as much time as you need after the baby’s born before going back to work, and I’d be there to help so you can rest and recover and sleep.”
“Now he’s talking sense!” her father said cheerfully.
“Dad, please!” Hailey hissed, clearly annoyed, even as her eyes never left Max’s.
“This isn’t the place to discuss this, and I know we need to discuss it, but I wanted you to know how I felt. That’s all.”
“And you couldn’t wait until we were alone?” she asked incredulously. “You can’t possibly want my parents’ approval that badly that you’d throw out this ridiculous idea again!”
Ah…so she does remember…
She was definitely pissed, but he wasn’t going to lie to her. “I don’t think it’s ridiculous. If I thought you’d say yes, I’d get down on one knee right now.”
“Oh. My. God!” Jumping to her feet, she stared down at him in horror. “You did not just say that!”
Slowly, Max stood. “Hailey, I…”
“Just…” And with a little cry of frustration, she stormed off. Max went to go after her, but Kevin stopped him.
“Give her time,” he said, looking cool as a cucumber. “I know my daughter, and she can be stubborn. A lot of what’s happening is out of her control and she’s angry with me and her mom because of how we’ve reacted. She sees you siding with me as a betrayal. Don’t take it personally.” Then he stood and smiled. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat!”
For a minute, Max stood there and wondered what the hell just happened and what he was supposed to do about it.
But he was also slightly terrified to find out what was going to happen next.