Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
HAYDEN
Ithought my aunt had been exaggerating when she said nearly the whole town was coming to the party she’d decided to throw on a whim. That just went to show what I knew, because it felt like every single resident in Hope Valley was currently standing in our backyard.
I’d woken up this morning frantic that nothing had been done in preparation. I’d hightailed it out to Sylvia’s to find out what I could do, only to be told “Everything will work itself out, my precious girl. Just relax.” I hadn’t bought it, but sure enough, she’d been right.
Everything was running like a well-oiled machine. Other than making a big helping of potato salad and two apple pies—my contribution to the potluck aspect of the whole thing—there’d been nothing else for me to do. There was no setting anything up ahead of time, no preparing for our “guests”.
People showed, some with folding tables, some with chairs, others with yard games, and they set stuff up wherever there was an empty space.
Each person came with at least one dish, so the spread was more impressive than the catering at my wedding.
There were a few kegs off to the side, and coolers full of drinks had appeared out of nowhere.
And people milling about everywhere. Micah had dragged a grill over earlier and spent the past hour standing around it with a bunch of other men, talking and drinking beers while grilling up hamburgers and hot dogs.
I didn’t recognize three quarters of the people, yet they all seemed to know exactly who I was, giving ‘hellos’ or waves, some even stopping to chat with me for a bit.
There wasn’t a single stranger in sight.
Everyone had made themselves right at home, kicking back and enjoying a beautiful fall day before the weather got too cold, hanging out with good friends, good food, and lots of laughs.
Eden sidled up to me, a clear plastic cup with what looked like lemonade clutched between her hands and propped on her baby bump. “Hey, babe. You having a good time?”
I let out a small laugh. “This is certainly not what I was expecting. The last time I hosted a barbecue, it had been planned weeks in advance, there were no kids allowed, and everyone came dressed in ‘garden party chic’.”
She turned her face to me, her brows raised in confusion. “I’m not even sure what that means.”
“Lightweight dresses and heels for the women. Sport coats and chinos for the men.”
“That sounds . . .” she scrunched her nose up adorably.
“Awful?” I added on a giggle. “Yeah. It really was. It was an event for Alex’s clients and work associates. I was bored out of my mind.”
“And now?”
I looked out at the sprawling yard. My baby girl was easy to spot with her long, wild hair and the purple tutu and T-shirt sporting a sequined Eiffel Tower she’d paired with her combat boots.
She was in the middle of a Frisbee game with a group of kids of all ages.
She looked like she was having the time of her life.
A smile slowly stretching across my lips.
“Now I’m having the best time,” I admitted in a quiet voice.
“Everybody knows everybody. There’s a comfort in that I’ve never experienced before.
There are no pretenses, no one’s trying to show anyone else up.
The only thing anyone cares about is that the person next to them is having fun. ”
Eden grinned big. “Welcome to small-town living, honey.”
“It really is the best.”
A woman who looked to be around Sylvia’s age shuffled her way in front of Eden and me. Her short, gray hair was tinted blue and, while she was far less spry than my aunt, there was a shrewdness in her eyes telling me this woman still had her wits about her, and then some.
“So, this is the new one, huh?”
My chin jerked back at her bluntness while Eden let out a giggle before introducing us. “Ms. McClintock, this is Hayden Young. Sylvia’s niece. Hayden, this is Ms. M. Don’t let her fool you, she’s actually sweet as pie. You’ll love her.”
The old woman harrumphed before stating flatly, “What are you tryin’ to do, Eden Sheppard? Scare the girl off? Of course she’ll like me. Everyone likes me. I’m a ray of freakin’ sunshine.”
My attempt to swallow my laughter resulted in a loud, indelicate snort. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. M.”
She looked me up and down, mumbling, “Mmmhmm,” and giving me the impression she was still waiting to see what I had to offer before casting judgment. “So, you’re a pretty thing,” she stated in the same tone someone might use to announce they had food poisoning, almost accusingly.
“Um . . .” I looked to Eden for direction, getting only a shrug in return. “Thank you?”
“I’m assumin’, seein’ as you’re pretty and this town’s full of good lookin’ men, you’ve got your sights set on one already.” She looked out toward the yard like she was weighing the options. “So who’s it gonna be?”
“Oh, uh . . .” I cast big eyes to my friend, silently begging her to save me from whatever the hell this was, but I got nothing. “Actually, I’m not really—”
“Don’t gimme that BS about not lookin’ for a man. Every single woman’s lookin’ for a man. Hell, I’d be lookin’ for a man if they weren’t already beatin’ down my door.”
My head fell back on a deep belly laugh. “You know what, Ms. M? Eden was right. I do like you.”
“Of course you do,” she said snidely. “Now stop avoiding the question.”
“Ms. M—” Eden started, but the old woman waved her hand, silencing her.
“You got yours, and he already popped a bun into that oven, so you know. Don’t act like your friend doesn’t need a man of her own.
At the very least, she should find someone to sleep with.
I read somewhere that orgasms actually extend a woman’s life.
It’s science! It also means I’m gonna live forever,” she added with a cheeky wink that had Eden choking on the sip she’d just taken.
“For the love of Pete,” Sylvia decreed, coming to a stop next to Ms. McClintock and grabbing hold of the woman shoulders. “Will you leave the youngins alone already, Pearl? They don’t need you scarin’ the life outta them. Come on. I’m trying to get enough people to start a game of bingo.”
Ms. McClintock gave my aunt a scathing glare. “I’m old, not dead. Bingo is for people who don’t have a life.”
“Not how I play it. Each time a person yells bingo, you have to take a shot. And I got a bottle of Maker’s Mark just for you.”
“Well why the hell didn’t you start with that?”
The two of them scuttled off, leaving us standing there, slack-jawed.
“Is my aunt really organizing a drinking game at”—I looked down at my watch—“two in the afternoon?”
Eden wrapped her arm around my waist and pulled me against her side. “It’s gonna be a long day, sweetie. And just a warning, it’s highly likely that, at some point, at least one old person’s gonna get wasted enough to start taking their clothes off.”
Sweet merciful hell.
“You know what? This might be the best party I’ve ever been to in my entire life.”
I looked to McKenna. She was staring out into the yard at her man Bruce with a glazed look in her hooded eyes, and burst into laughter.
At some point in the afternoon, someone had come up with the brilliant idea of starting a touch football game in the side yard.
The longer the game went on, the sweatier the men playing became, until one by one, they started stripping out of their shirts.
Ms. M hadn’t been wrong. This town was full of seriously good-looking men.
I was surrounded on all sides by my new girlfriends, and as I watched their men running plays, I was seriously happy that these incredible women were going home to the likes of all that.
Seeing them all now in their full glory, it was a wonder Eden was the only one currently knocked up.
I made a silent bet with myself that there were going to be at least two more pregnancy announcements before the spring.
I bumped my shoulder against Mac’s. “You act like you don’t see your man without a shirt every single day.”
“It’s not about seeing our men shirtless,” Gypsy insisted, fanning her face as her gaze remained riveted to the makeshift field. “It’s more the group as a whole. All these fine men, half naked, glistening with sweat . . .”
She trailed off on a dreamy sigh, so Tempie finished. “It’s like some sort of witchcraft. I mean . . .” She waved her hands in front of her. “Behold.”
She wasn’t wrong, it was definitely something to behold.
And we weren’t the only ones beholding. As soon as the game started, the old ladies lost interest in drunk bingo, and pulled their lawn chairs over to watch while they sipped their cocktails, rooting for their favorites.
Or in some instances, heckling the players.
“You call that a throw?” Ms. M. had yelled at Eden’s husband, Lincoln, a big, blond Viking-looking dude. “I could throw better than that, and I got arthritis in my entire body!”
“Get it together, Castillo!” a woman Gypsy had introduced to me earlier as Odette yelled at her man, Marco. “I put money down on this game. Don’t you go blowin’ my social security check!”
I looked back to the game—or to one player in particular—and felt my pulse begin to race.
My libido was in the red, warning sirens were going off left and right in my head.
Micah was dead center of the fray, his ripped chest and thick arms shining with sweat under the bright sun.
The nice seventy-something degree weather began to feel almost sweltering the longer I stared.
“Go, Mike, go! Go, Mike, go!” Ivy chanted from her chair right beside Sylvia. She jumped up and down, cheering for her best friend at the top of her lungs as one of the guys called out the play.
Someone snapped the ball, bodies started crashing together, and I used that as my opportunity to duck away and grab a drink, hoping a few minutes by myself would help tamp down the heat building in my blood.
Moving to the coolers, I flipped the top on the one with the beer and pulled out an ice-cold bottle. I’d just popped the cap and taken a refreshing swig when a pair of hands landed on my hips from behind.
Jumping in fright, I whipped around, nearly choking on the beer I’d just swallowed. “Jesus, Greg,” I croaked, placing a hand over my pounding heart. “You scared the shit out of me.”
He held his hands up in apology while giving me that charming smile that, the more often I saw it, the more I felt it was strictly for show. Nothing genuine seemed behind that smile. “Sorry, beautiful. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s all right.” I gave him a small, shaky grin and took a step back, trying to put some space between us. “I-I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Well, I wasn’t planning on it at first, but if I can’t take you out on a date, at least we can still spend some time together here.”
“Oh, um . . . That’s nice.” I looked around, trying to find any reason to get away from this guy.
The other day at Divine Flora, my gut was telling me something was off, and after talking to Dani, that instinct had turned into a sick, queasy feeling.
“Well, uh, there’s still plenty of food if you want to make yourself a plate. And we’ve got all kinds of drinks—”
“I’m good. But maybe you and I could go somewhere a little more private? You know, just to talk for a bit.” He took a step closer, reaching out and running his fingers down my forearm before wrapping them around my hand and giving it a tug. “Maybe get to know each other a little better?”
“Greg.” I pulled my hand from his and took another step back.
“Look, you’re a sweet guy, but I think we’re looking for different things right now.
See, I just got divorced. Right now, I need to concentrate on my daughter and building our life here.
I’m not looking to start something with another man right now. I’m so sorry.”
That smile fell, taking all the charm with it. His brows slashed down into a deep, unhappy V. “Then what was all that shit at the bar the other night?”
“I’m sorry, but I think you might have gotten the wrong idea.”
“Or maybe you’re just a cock tease.” I rocked back on a foot at the venom in his voice. “I didn’t have the wrong idea. You put it right out there, practically throwin’ it at me.”
I thought back to that night, and could say with absolute certainty, I hadn’t thrown anything at him. “Okay, you know what? I think maybe you should go.”
“Yeah, I’m thinkin’ you’re right.” He looked me up and down, his top lip curling in a nasty sneer. “Waste of fucking time.”
I didn’t bother taking offense. I’d known more than enough men like him in my lifetime. A single blow to their ego, and they lashed out in an extreme and unwarranted way. His insult didn’t even faze me. In fact, all I felt as he stomped through the backyard toward the driveway, was relief.
Until I turned around and noticed the football game had stopped, and almost everyone was now staring in my direction . . . because a seething Micah was storming through the yard, looking like a raging bull as he headed right for me.