Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Marshall
D ouble-booking the cottage was a mistake, but I wasn't willing to give up the cottage. Even if Hayden was holed up in her room thinking her life was over, I had hopes that this place would bring us together.
So I unpacked my things, confident I'd convince Saylor to move out. I set the recommended book about teen girls on my nightstand and placed my folded clothes in the drawers of the dresser.
The view of the water was beautiful from this room, and I didn't want to lose it. When I was finished unpacking, I went downstairs to fire up the grill. I'd bought necessities from a store off the island, enough to get us through the next few days.
It was weird not having to report to work. I wasn't sure what I'd do with all my free time. I'd hoped to spend it with Hayden, but so far, she'd spent the day in her room.
I wanted to confiscate her phone, but the book I was reading said girls' friendships were important to them. I didn't want to cut her off from them any more than I already had.
I hoped that dinner on the patio, with the sounds of the water feet away and the palm trees, would ease her anger. But I wasn't so sure about that. I had a feeling she wasn't going to like anything I did.
I wanted to figure this out without leaning too heavily on Billie's advice. This was my time to bond with Hayden. I’d make up for the lost time.
When the slider opened, Saylor stepped out. I'd hoped it was Hayden who had smelled the grill and wandered out to talk to me. Instead, it was the one woman I was hoping to avoid.
"I talked to my grandmother," Saylor said.
I tensed. "What did she have to say?"
"She swears she told the management company about my stay." She sat on the couch and kicked her feet up on the ottoman.
I raised a brow. "The property manager was adamant that she didn't."
Saylor sighed. "I suppose you have the right to the place, then."
"You're not going to try and convince me to leave?"
Saylor didn't meet my eyes. "I'll figure something out."
I'd been prepared for her to fight me, to insist that we could live together, that there wouldn't be any problems. I wasn't sure how to deal with this Saylor. The one that was defeated, as if life had taken from her too much lately.
I raised a brow. "You're going to find something on this tiny island in the height of tourist season?"
Saylor blew out a breath. "Well, when you put it like that?—"
"Why don't you stay for the night, and we'll figure something out?" I wasn't sure why I was offering for her to stay when I'd been prepared to tell her she had to leave. The space was too small to share. And how would I bridge the gap with Hayden if my one-time fling lived in the spare bedroom?
Her eyes brightened. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. Just remember to lock the bathroom door when you're in there."
Saylor smiled, and it did something to my insides, reminding me how she was at eighteen, carefree and positive about the future. This Saylor was more tentative, as if she'd been hurt. I shouldn't care about her life when we were apart, but I was curious. I wanted to know who'd dimmed her spirit.
I closed the grill and sat next to her. "I have to tell you that my daughter, Hayden, is thirteen, and she's very much a teenager. I apologize in advance if she's rude. I'm trying to navigate this change with her, and it hasn't been easy."
Saylor's shoulders lowered now that the attention was off her. "I remember what that was like. I argued with everyone, rushing off to my room to slam the door, and played my music so loud my dad walked around with headphones."
I chuckled at the picture she'd drawn. "You weren't like that when I met you."
Saylor frowned. "I think girls drop the attitude before eighteen. But I can't remember when."
"One of my friends said it lasts for two years."
"I'm sure it seems like a long time when you're in the middle of it, but she'll come around. I bet there will be moments where she's the loving girl you remember. She's still in there; she's just dealing with a lot of change."
"She's pulling away at a time when I want to lean in." It felt good to talk to someone about this.
"It's unfortunate timing, but I'm sure you'll figure it out."
"I hope you're right." I stood. "I have to tell her that dinner's almost ready. Wish me luck."
Saylor laughed. "It can't be that bad."
"You'll see," I mumbled as I walked inside.
Saylor's laughter followed me all the way to Hayden's bedroom where I knocked on the door. When she didn't answer, I knocked harder, wondering if she had her earbuds in.
Finally, I heard an exasperated, "What?"
"It's dinner time," I said and waited for her to answer.
"Yeah, so?"
"I don't mind if you spend time in your room." I'd read that it was important for girls to feel independent. "But I'd like you to come to the table for meals."
"Ugh. Fine!" I heard some rustling before the door finally opened.
Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her earbuds were still in her ears, her phone in her hand.
"We have a guest." I hadn't explained the situation with Saylor to her yet because she hadn't come out of her room. Maybe the en suite bathroom wasn't such a good idea.
Hayden rolled her eyes.
"The management company double-booked the cottage with the owner's granddaughter. I'd like to offer her the spare room upstairs. I knew her a long time ago."
Hayden shrugged. "So tell her to leave."
"It was a mistake, and she doesn't have anywhere to go." The more Hayden pushed back on this, the more I wanted to let Saylor stay. "I invited her to dinner, and I expect you to be polite."
"Whatever—" Hayden moved past me, bumping into me.
My jaw tightened at her rudeness. "Can you remove your earbuds and leave your phone in your room?
She whipped her head around, her hair flying behind her in an arc. "Why?"
"Because you don't need your phone at the dinner table, and when you wear earbuds, it makes people feel like you're not listening to them."
She groaned but set her things on the dresser just inside her room, mumbling, "Because I'm not."
I let her comment go because I was learning to pick my battles, and I'd won on dinner and electronics. I didn't hold out hope that she could be polite. The best I could hope for was silence.
I turned and went outside to remove the chicken kabobs from the grill. I'd grabbed premade ones at the store and was glad now that I had. I wanted something simple and easy for our first night in the house.
As much as I was looking forward to time alone, it was kind of nice to have another adult here to talk to.
I arranged the kabobs on the serving platter and placed it in the center of the table.
Then I went into the kitchen to grab a pitcher of lemonade, something younger Hayden had loved but teen Hayden would probably hate. By the time I carried the pitcher outside, Hayden was slumped in a chair, looking like she'd rather be anywhere but here.
I set the pitcher in the middle of the table and the glasses by everyone's plates. "Hayden, this is our guest, Saylor Benedict."
"I don't understand why we have to let a stranger live with us," Hayden said without looking at Saylor.
I cringed internally at her rudeness. "I told you I knew Saylor from before."
"That's interesting," Hayden said in a tone of voice that said it wasn't interesting in the slightest.
"Hayden—" I said.
Hayden rolled her eyes and sighed heavily.
I reminded myself that the book said this was normal. I gave Saylor an apologetic look, and she smiled reassuringly.
"This is my grandmother's home. She moved into a condo a few years ago and rents it out. I thought she'd reserved it for the summer for me, but there must have been a mistake, because your father was able to rent it too."
Hayden's shoulders stiffened. "Do we have to leave?"
"I'll figure something out."
Hayden was quiet, and I took the opportunity to serve everyone kabobs, then passed around the potato salad I'd purchased at the store.
"Did you grow up here?" Hayden asked Saylor.
"My grandmother lived here, and I'd visit from time to time. The longest was the summer I graduated from high school. That's when I met your father."
"What was that like?" Hayden asked, and I wondered if she'd guessed we were intimately acquainted back then.
"I was hunting for seashells, and he was jogging on the beach. We hung out a lot that summer, but then we lost touch once we went to college."
"Then I signed up for the military, and the rest is history."
"Why are you visiting for the summer?" Hayden asked Saylor, picking at her kabob.
Saylor's face shuttered. "I needed a break."
"Are you working while you're here?" I asked her.
Saylor nodded. "My company is allowing me to work remotely for the summer. It’s easy to do because I work in graphic design. But I have to return to the office by the end of August."
"That's nice," I said.
"There was a magic to that summer I stayed here, and I'd love to find that again. I think it was the island itself." Then Saylor said to Hayden, "Hopefully you catch some of that while you're here too."
Hayden pushed her food around on her plate but didn't respond.
"There are some teenagers who live here year-round. You can find them at the community center or the library."
"I don't need friends. I have some back home."
Saylor shrugged easily. "It might make your time here go more quickly."
As if Hayden's time here was a prison sentence.
At least Saylor had found a way to talk to Hayden.
It probably had something to do with the fact that she wasn't her parent.
Another woman who could possibly understand what she was going through.
I was doing my best, but teen girls were outside my wheelhouse.
Saylor kept the conversation going, talking about all the things she loved to do on the island when she was a teenager: hanging out with friends at bonfires on the beach, riding her bike on the paths, and hunting for seashells.
When Saylor fell silent, Hayden asked, "Will you show me how to work on this graphic-design program? We have a free one through our school computer, and I want to learn how to do more."
I had no idea she was into creating art on the computer. But she'd always loved to draw and paint.
Saylor smiled. "Of course."
It might be good for Hayden to let Saylor stay here. They seemed to connect on a level that we couldn't, and if she could show her graphic design, that would be even better. I was happy that she was interested in something besides the four walls of her room, and her phone.
We finished dinner, and I was pleasantly surprised when Hayden asked to be excused. "Please take your dish to the kitchen first."
Hayden disappeared inside with her plate and glass."
"That went well," Saylor said.
I nodded. "She was less cranky with you around."
Saylor smiled. "That's because I'm not her dad."
I threw my napkin on my plate. "I wasn't around as much as I would have liked when she was younger. She was always happy to see me. But now? I feel like I'm in enemy territory."
Saylor nodded. "I remember giving my parents a hard time at that age too."
"I wish I'd left the military earlier. Maybe this would be easier."
"I don't know about that. Teens go through these phases."
"After college, my family expected me to return home and help run the business. At the time, I wanted to explore the world. I met Hayden's mother, Billie, after I joined the military. It wasn't anything serious."
"Was your family upset?"
"We haven't talked about it much, but Hudson seems to be upset with me." I couldn't blame him for feeling that way.
"What will you do now?"
"I wanted some time with Hayden before I jumped back into work, but I was hoping I could still work for Kingston Construction."
"You don't think they'll let you?" Saylor asked, genuinely curious.
I sighed. "We haven't discussed it, and both Hudson and my father were upset when I didn't return as planned after college."
"I'm sure they understand that plans change—" Saylor began.
I shook my head. "It's been this thing between us for years. I'm hoping to clear it up, but I don't know how. I'm not the best at talking to people."
"You are doing a good job now."
I laughed. "That's because you're so easy to talk to. It was always that way with us."
Saylor smiled. "I think you're right. We had an easy connection."
"But we were kids back then." I wasn't sure why I felt the need to add that. It diminished our feelings for each other.
Saylor's face was carefully blank. "Young love and all that."
"Right." We were only eighteen and believed we were in love. I'd never felt anything like that for anyone since.
Back then, we didn't spend much time talking about the future.
I had assumed she'd return to the island the next summer, but she hadn't. I was a dad now. I didn't have time to contemplate what-ifs. I wanted a better relationship with my daughter, and I needed to mend things with my family and figure out my job situation. "I'm not used to having free time."
"You're planning to take some time off before you talk to your family about working?"
"I'm hoping to."
"I'm confident that everything will work out exactly how it's supposed to. You're a great dad for taking your time with Hayden. Not everyone would do what you're doing."
Her praise made me feel a little uncomfortable. "I'm no hero."
She smiled sweetly. "You are to Hayden. You're her dad. That's an important role in a girl's life."
"Are you close with your dad?" She'd spent that summer with her grandmother, so we hadn't talked about her family life back home. She was free to run the island with me, and that was all I cared about. I probably should have asked more questions, not assuming that we'd happen upon each other again.
"Our relationship was strained when I was a teenager, but it got better when I moved out and went to college. Now we talk on the phone maybe once a month."
"Why did you come here to escape?" I wondered what she was running from.
"Sanibel has always been a magical place for me. It's an island, and where I met you. What's not to love?"
My brain snagged on her comment that it's where we met, as if it was special because of that. She was feeling nostalgic for that one summer. We had great memories of our time together, but that didn't mean we were destined for any kind of shared future.