Chapter 7
HAYES
Hayes drove his truck over the gravel road to the campsites at Hickory Cove.
Ever since he was a teenager, he had worked school breaks and summers at The Hickory.
As a teacher and coach, the school breaks and summer still applied, but he had long stopped taking a paycheck.
He and sometimes his team would help Mrs. Ruby, and now Tessa, at The Hickory.
The Sinclair family resort had always boosted tourism in Hickory Falls and employed several Hickory Falls families.
This was one reason Hayes was happy to donate his time whenever he could.
Hayes pulled into the small outbuilding that served as a type of general store for the tent camping sites on the resort. He went to the back of his truck to grab the supplies to restock the firewood rack and s'mores shelf.
As he was stacking wood, he heard a crunch in the woods.
Looking up, he saw Tessa emerge from the walking path by the lake.
She was wearing hiking shorts and hiking boots with a t-shirt from her college alma mater.
Her red hair was pulled into a ponytail.
She looked very distracted and like she had been crying.
Hayes paused for a moment, not wanting to intrude on a private moment, but Tessa looked up at that time and saw him. He waved awkwardly, his arms full of firewood. Tessa changed direction and walked up to him.
“Hi, Hayes, thanks for that,” she said, nodding at the firewood.
“No problem.”
“I know I can always count on you,” she said somewhat bitterly.
“Uh, yes.” Now Hayes knew something was wrong. “Is everything all right?”
“Sure.”
“Tessa, you know you can talk to me,” Hayes encouraged.
“Everything is just fine,” Tessa said. “Just fine, perfectly fine. Fine. Fine. Fine.”
Then Tessa burst into tears. Hayes dropped the firewood and rushed over to her.
He quickly wrapped her in a warm hug. Tessa sank into his chest and cried more deeply.
After a couple of minutes, she seemed to have exhausted her tears and sank a little further into Hayes’ chest. Finally, she took a step back but stayed in his arms.
“Sorry about that,” she laughed awkwardly.
“No worries,” Hayes said. “Are you okay?”
“Not really,” Tessa replied as she stepped back and put a little space between them.
Hayes reached out, grabbed her hand, and guided her toward his truck.
“Why don’t we take a little drive around the lake?” he asked.
Tessa nodded and climbed into the passenger seat of Hayes’s F-150. Hayes steered his truck carefully onto the employee-only track by the lake. They sat in silence for a little bit, just taking in the scenery, before Hayes tentatively approached the subject that contributed to this impromptu drive.
“So, do you want to talk about what is bothering you?”
TESSA
Tessa sat up a little straighter in the truck and looked straight at Hayes, taking in his dark, wavy hair and piercing green eyes.
He was solid and sincere. Always helping.
Always a friend to anyone in need. They were real friends.
They had shared many ups and downs. A couple of times in their history together, Tessa thought it might develop into something else, but it never did.
And then there was Landry. Landry, ugh, Tessa thought. The supposed love of my life.
“Well,” Tessa pondered for a moment. “I thought Landry was going to ask me to marry him, but instead he chose his job and is moving to New York next week. Oh, and I have to get married by January, or I could lose resort.”
Hayes brought the truck to an abrupt stop. He turned to look at Tessa. “What?!”
“Which part?”
“All of it.”
“Landry and I went out to dinner last night, which was one year from when we reunited. Foolish me, I thought my boyfriend, whom I had loved for most of my life and who begged me to take him back, was going to propose. Instead, he told me he didn’t want to live in a small town and had already accepted a job in New York.
Apparently, it’s a dream job and a wonderful promotion. ”
HAYES
Hayes sat speechless for a moment. Stupid Landry.
Growing up, Landry had been Hayes’s best friend.
Obviously, they were not as close as they were in high school, but they were still pretty good friends.
But if Hayes was honest, Landry wasn’t that great of a friend to him.
Landry could be pretty selfish and self-absorbed.
What he had just done to Tessa, again, proved that.
“Wow. I’m so sorry, Tessa,” Hayes said. “I know Landry can be a jerk sometimes, but I really thought he was here to stay and serious about you.”
“So, you didn’t know about this promotion?” Tessa asked a little accusingly.
“No, not at all,” Hayes rubbed at the scruff on his chin. “We haven’t hung out that much recently, but Landry didn’t even hint to me that he was planning on leaving.”
“Surprise!” Tessa said bitterly.
All of a sudden, Hayes sat up taller. “Wait, did you say you had to get married by January?”
“Yes,” Tessa laughed. “Isn’t that funny?”
“But why?” Hayes was confused.
“After the reading of Nana’s will, the attorney asked me to stay behind. She left a letter just for me.” Tessa went on to explain the terms of the letter, while Hayes tried not to let his mouth drop open.
When she had finished, Hayes asked, “So you have to get married, or The Hickory will be put up for sale? That doesn’t make any sense. Mrs. Ruby knew how much this place meant to you; why would she ever jeopardize you losing it?”
“I have been asking myself the same question all day. When Landry and I got back together, I put the letter out of my mind. He seemed so serious,” Tessa sighed. “I feel so stupid. How could I fall for him again?”
Hayes scratched his head. Landry was an idiot.
His opinion of his friend dropped considerably when he thought about the way he had led Tessa on.
And why had Mrs. Ruby put in that stipulation about the resort?
Hayes knew she would never want Tessa in this precarious situation, so why would she engineer it?
Tessa sat slumped in the passenger seat, her head in her hands.
“I’ll do it,” Hayes whispered, surprised at himself.
“What?” Tessa raised her head quickly.
“I’ll marry you,” Hayes said, stronger this time.
“Hayes! That is ridiculous!” Tessa exclaimed. “And not the reason I told you!”
“I know,” Hayes said. “But, why not? It would help you keep your resort. How long do you have to stay married?”
“I don’t know. It didn’t say. It just said I had to be married by the time I am 30.”
“So, let’s get married,” Hayes said. “Neither one of us is seeing anyone else. And no prospects on the horizon.”
“Yes, but I don’t know. It seems dishonest. Nana’s letter was all about love,” Tessa sighed.
“I don’t think she realized that this stipulation would put you in such a rough spot,” Hayes said, trying not to analyze why he was pushing so hard to marry Tessa.
Tessa rubbed her eyes wearily. “I just don’t know what to do. But thank you, Hayes, for being such a good friend.”
“You’re welcome,” Hayes said, disguising the disappointment he felt.