Epilogue
A week later…
“It was kind of cool to hear the baby’s heartbeat again when we weren’t freaking out,” Hailey said as they got into the car.
“Definitely. And it was also nice to talk to a doctor who only had good news for us.”
“Technically, the ER doctor had good news too. It just took him a while to get to it.”
“Fair enough.” Max pulled out of the doctor’s parking lot. “Want to take that tour of the bar? Your dad really blew me away with his plans, and once Marcus works up all the numbers, we could go to contract by the end of the month.”
“That is amazing!” she said, but then immediately frowned.
“What? What’s with the face?”
“Okay, I swear I’m not trying to be a total buzzkill, but…it is like the universe is shining down on you! You bought a house, you’re buying a bar, you’re marrying me,” she added with a wink to lighten the conversation. “And I’m getting fatter and I’m still unemployed.”
“For the record, you gained a pound. A. As in singular,” he reminded her. “All of your bloodwork came back great, so you’re healthy and so is the baby. As for the unemployed…”
“You got nothing. I know,” she said miserably. “Jade and Billie both said I can work part-time at Books she just let him keep talking.
The upstairs was already split up with several rooms and she could envision the office spaces. As they made their way back down the stairs, he asked what she thought.
“I think it sounds like you guys have it all worked out. What kind of timeframe are you looking at if you close on the building by the end of the month?”
“Depending on the contractors, your dad thinks we could realistically be open in three to four months.”
“Oh, wow! That’s fast!” With her hand still in his, they walked outside and over to the other space. “If you’re not going to rent this side out, what are you going to do with it?” All the windows were covered in brown paper, so she had no idea what was on the inside.
“You tell me,” he said as he unlocked the door and held it open for her.
“Tell you…?”
“Surprise!” People called out and it took her a few seconds to realize that Marcus, Billie, Ronan, John, and her dad were all standing there.
“Wh…what’s going on?”
Max stepped up beside her. “This town is growing and has a lot of amazing businesses, but it doesn’t have a yoga or Pilates studio or a nutritionist. We thought maybe you’d like to be the one to make that happen.”
Wide-eyed, she looked around in shock. “I don’t understand. How…?”
“Hailey Shae,” her father began. “When your cousin Patrick told me about this space, we all just figured we’d rent out this half to another business. But during one of our many conversations, both Max and Marcus mentioned how there were no businesses in town for you. That’s when the idea came to me to use this space for a studio for you.” He took her hands in his. “I’ve always believed in you. You’ve worked hard and I know you always dreamed of starting your own studio. Working for someone else was never your endgame. And now you don’t have to.”
“But…I can’t afford to do all of this, and it’s not fair to expect all of you to do it for me,” she said, even though she wanted this more than anything.
“I think by now you know that I’ve invested in a lot of businesses in this town,” Billie said as she stepped forward. “When I see a need and it’s something I believe in and trust that it’s going to be successful, I get behind it. Hales, I believe your yoga studio will be an amazing addition to Sweetbriar Ridge. Levi is going to donate his advertising skills to get you launched, we’ll put up flyers in Books & Beans along with Ash’s salon and Chloe will also put some in the teachers’ lounge at school. You’ll have to start out as a solo instructor, but if you get the membership we all think you will, by the time your baby’s born, you can have a staff of instructors to cover for you.”
It was almost too good to believe. Looking up at Max, she saw him nod. “We all believe in you. You just need to believe in yourself and say yes.”
“And just to maybe encourage you a little more, I already have fifteen people ready to sign up,” Billie added. “So…what do you say?”
Another look at Max and then her father, and she knew there was only one answer. “Let’s open a yoga studio!”
Two months ago, she was convinced that she’d made a complete mess out of everything. But standing here right now surrounded by some of the people she loved most in this world, Hailey knew everything was going to be alright.
Better than alright.
It was going to be perfect.