Chapter 9
At exactly eight twenty on Sunday morning, Hailey’s Explorer pulled up in front of Peter’s house.
He jogged to the vehicle and climbed inside. “Punctual, I see.”
“I try.” She handed him his wallet, then glanced in the mirror. “Some days are easier than others when you have a toddler.”
“I can imagine.” As the vehicle began to move, Peter leaned into the space between the front seats and signed Good morning to Jenna’s reflection in the car-seat mirror. The little girl rewarded him with a shy grin and a half wave. When he straightened, he found Hailey smiling too.
“How’s the head? You sleep okay?”
“Well enough.” It hadn’t been his most restful night by far, but he’d survived with the help of a few Tylenol.
They chatted about light topics for a few minutes—the weather, family, local places of interest. As if by mutual agreement, both of them avoided the subject of her late husband, whom Peter had discovered last night had been secretly involved in some criminal activity before his untimely death.
From what he could find online, the investigation had uncovered no evidence that Hailey had participated in her husband’s illicit activities.
She and her daughter were as much victims of his actions and their consequences as everyone else.
As they neared the church, Hailey began to grow distracted and seemed almost nervous.
Had he said something amiss? He replayed their last few exchanges.
Nothing stood out to him, and he didn’t know the woman well enough to pry into the inner workings of her brain, so he could only hope he wasn’t the cause of her poorly veiled discomfort.
After they arrived and she’d backed the Explorer into a parking spot, she turned to him with an over-bright expression.
“It’ll only take me a minute to get Jenna.
” She jumped out and was halfway through unbuckling the car seat before he rounded the vehicle to join her on the driver’s side.
She hadn’t indicated she wanted him to go on in, so he lingered until she pulled Jenna from the SUV and set her on her feet.
Keeping a firm grip on the toddler’s hand, she leaned back in to grab what he assumed was a nappy bag, judging by the stuffed monkey peeking from the main compartment and the sippy cup stuck in a mesh side pocket.
“Need me to carry something?”
“No, thanks. I’m used to it.” She tossed the straps of the purple bag over her other shoulder and closed the door. “We’re ready.”
But before they took a step, Jenna latched on to his fingers with her free hand. He shot a questioning glance at Hailey, unsure if she’d be comfortable with him holding her little girl’s hand or if that was crossing some sort of boundary. He was a near stranger, after all.
She gave him a reassuring smile but didn’t release her own hold. “It’s fine. I’m surprised though. She doesn’t usually take to new people very quickly.”
“I am honored.” He said the words lightly, but he meant them.
Hand in hand, the three of them crossed the lot together.
If they’d been a family, the scene would have been almost picturesque.
He kept that thought to himself. He barely knew the woman.
Besides, the tension still emanating from her was almost tangible as they joined the bottleneck of last-minute arrivals at the door.
The service flew by, and Peter found himself totally entranced by the sermon based on the life of Gideon.
The account was new to him, and he jotted the text in a notebook to reread on his own later.
Although he had visited his grandparents’ church during the summers of his childhood, his immediate family had been nominal Christians and rarely attended at home.
That hadn’t bothered him until he came to Christ himself.
Now, even a year later, he was frequently reminded just how much he didn’t know—and how the Bible was anything but boring.
After the sermon, the congregation rose to sing a closing hymn. Or it might have been a worship song. He hadn’t really figured out the difference yet. Either way, he put his heart into it, and he noticed Hailey did as well.
As the last strains of music faded and the minister dismissed them, she lifted Jenna to her hip. Hailey had calmed during the service, though her attention had been split between the sermon and keeping Jenna entertained and quiet. Now, though, her discomfort seemed to be returning.
“Are you ready to go, or do you prefer to mingle first?”
“Both.” He grinned. “I usually hang around a bit, but I’m ready to go if you are.”
She seemed relieved at his words, and he was glad he’d made the right choice.
When an opening in the aisle presented itself, he took it and motioned her to go ahead.
He nodded to acquaintances as they passed through the foyer, but he managed to avoid getting caught in conversation.
They were nearly to the exit when an elderly woman stepped into Hailey’s path.
“Good morning, Mrs. Bright.” There was a subtle hint of caution in Hailey’s tone, as if she suspected something more than a friendly greeting was coming.
“Good morning.” She looked from Hailey to Peter and back to Hailey and clucked her tongue. “You already have a new man, I see. Some people would wonder at how quickly you’re moving on after that last disaster.”
Peter opened his mouth, ready to come to Hailey’s defense, but she didn’t give him the chance.
“Some people have nothing better to do than wonder about other people’s business.
But their opinions don’t matter as much as they seem to think, poor dears.
” Hailey delivered the retort with such saccharinity that the other woman looked like she wasn’t sure how badly she ought to be offended.
Before Mrs. Bright could recover, Hailey offered an “Excuse me” and stepped around her and out the door.
Peter followed suit, trying to decide whether he was more appalled at the woman’s verbal attack or entertained by Hailey’s deft handling of the situation.
But as he came up beside her and got a good look at her face, all amusement fled.
She maintained a placid expression, he’d give her that.
But the flush suffusing her cheeks betrayed her indignation.
Sensing she wouldn’t want to discuss the matter in public, he waited until she got Jenna buckled in and they were both inside the vehicle to bring up the subject.
“I hope I didn’t cause you trouble by our showing up together.”
“You didn’t cause anything. Mrs. Bright is just being a busybody. I have half a mind to invite you on a date just to spite her.” She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “That was a joke. I wouldn’t really use you like that.”
He laughed. “I appreciate that. However, I’d have half a mind to accept if you did—just to spite her, of course.” They shared a mischievous grin, and some of the tension dropped away.
Hailey maneuvered her SUV into the line of cars leaving the church parking lot. While they waited their turn to pull onto the road, she asked, “What are your plans for the day?”
“Considering I’m not supposed to be driving yet, I’m planning on a lazy day at home. Maybe a nap and some TV if there’s anything good on.”
“Want to join us for a noon lunch? I don’t have anything special planned—just chips, salad, and sandwiches—but there’s plenty. You’re welcome to hang out until then or nap in the guest room while I get things ready.”
He raised an eyebrow.
She slid her gaze to him again. “No, I’m not asking you on that date we just talked about. I’ll be having family over too, so we won’t be there alone once people start to arrive.”
He rolled the invitation over in his mind as she exited the lot. Salad and sandwiches sounded just as good or better than the frozen pizza he’d been planning on. The company definitely sounded better. “I’d be game.”
“Perfect.”
The Sunday churchgoer traffic thinned as they neared the edge of town.
Just as they passed the point where city speed limits surrendered to open highway, a dusty blue pickup truck, one that looked a lot like the one that man from the grocery store had driven away in, pulled out from a side road and swung in behind them.
It quickly closed the space between the two vehicles.
“Someone’s in a hurry,” Hailey muttered.
The truck swung into the left lane and started to pass them, but a car appeared around the approaching curve. Instead of slipping back behind Hailey, the driver gunned it. Barely past her, he pulled back into the right-hand lane, narrowly avoiding the oncoming car.
Hailey leaned on her horn. “You blueber muffin! What was that?”
Whether in response to the honking or because the near miss had scared him, the other driver hit his brakes.
Hailey slammed on hers to avoid a collision, jerking both of them against their seat belts. “What are you doing?” She honked again.
Peter watched, his senses on high alert. Was the other driver baiting them? Trying to cause a collision to give him an opportunity to attack? Or was Peter overreacting because of his past career? This could easily be nothing more than a poor driver.
The pickup continued at a snail’s pace for the next half mile, and Peter felt his anxiety rising, especially when another vehicle ate up the space behind them.
If the two were in cahoots, he and Hailey might be in major trouble.
But just then, a patrol car pulled into line behind the newcomer.
At the next opportunity, the blue truck turned off, and the tailgater followed.
With the possible threats gone, Peter allowed himself to relax slightly. Nothing had happened, and he was thankful for that fact. Perhaps the whole thing had been nothing more than a foolish driver.
He returned his attention to Hailey. From the hard set of her lips, he’d guess she was still upset. Had she realized the potential danger they’d been facing?
“Please tell me people in England drive better than that.” She gestured ahead of them as if the other driver were still there.
So maybe her mind hadn’t immediately gone to possible nefarious intentions like his had.
And he didn’t want to scare her by bringing it up when it could have been an innocent encounter.
Instead, he infused a calm, almost bored, tone into his voice and said, “A bit of a road rager, are you?”
Hailey’s neck turned a deep shade of red. “Sorry. I’m not used to having hearing passengers. Well, except for our dog, Maggie, and she doesn’t snitch on me.”
Peter replayed the encounter—and her words—in his head as he tried to level down his near-panic of a few moments before. Something she’d said struck him, and he had to ask, “What exactly is a blueber muffin? I don’t think I’ve ever heard that term.”
“Oh. That. It’s, um, something that my cousin and I came up with to refer to not-so-skillful drivers.
If they’re in a black or gray car, they’re shadow muffins.
If they’re in a white car, they’re fluff muffins.
Green car, moldy muffins.” She flicked a glance at him, then refocused on the road.
“Saying blueberry muffin for a blue car was too long, so we shortened it to blueber muffin.”
He couldn’t help himself. He broke into full-blown laughter.
Hailey eyed him. Apparently deciding his humor was good-natured, she allowed an impish smile to rise. “It was supposed to be a cure for my road rage, but I’ve used it so many times, I can say it with a straight face.”
Peter wiped tears from his eyes. “I don’t think I’d ever be able to shout blueber muffin with a straight face.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “One of my many talents.”
He laughed again.
A few minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of a large craftsman-style brick home with an expansive lawn. When they stepped out of the SUV, the scent of freshly cut grass carried on the air.
Hailey surveyed the yard, a wry expression on her face.
“Something wrong?” Peter asked.
She shook her head and moved to pull Jenna from her car seat. “I told Bryce it was too hot to mow this weekend. That man never listens.”
“Bryce Jessup?”
“Yes. You know him?”
“Sort of.” He hoped she didn’t push for an explanation. He’d known Bryce for approximately thirty-six hours before his world got turned upside down two years ago. Though they now lived in the same town, he hadn’t sought the man out, and their paths hadn’t crossed since his return.
She shrugged, apparently satisfied with the vague response. “He’s my cousin. One of the gentlest guys you’ll ever meet. I thought I’d struggle with keeping this place up on my own, but between Bryce, his sister’s fiancé, and my dad, I rarely have to worry about anything like that.”
“I’m glad you have them.”
“Me too.” A shadow flitted across her face. Was she thinking about her late husband? Jenna started squirming, and just as quickly as the shadow had appeared, it was gone.