Chapter 18
Hailey awoke Tuesday morning to little hands patting her cheeks. She opened her eyes just as Jenna’s fingers came in contact with yesterday’s bruise. Ow. She sat up, careful not to knock Jenna off-balance, and gave her little girl a smile. Good morning.
Jenna pointed at Hailey’s face, then tapped her index fingers together in a sign for ouch.
Hailey fought the frown that tried to form. She didn’t want to worry her daughter—yesterday had been enough trauma to last them both for years. Instead, she kept her lips turned up and signed, I’m okay.
Apparently satisfied, Jenna grinned and wiggled back off the bed.
A moment later, she was back, waving a clean Pull-Up and a rumpled dress that she’d dug out of the diaper bag.
That was not an outfit Hailey had packed last night, and she couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d placed it there.
But it passed the sniff test and looked like it should still fit, so she decided to go with it.
As soon as the dress was on, Jenna marched to the door and pointed.
She was clearly ready to start their day.
Maggie stood next to her as if seconding her demand.
Hailey yawned. She wasn’t feeling the rush, but she swung her legs over the side of the bed and reached for her phone.
She frowned when her fingers met only the smooth surface of the empty nightstand.
She’d forgotten she didn’t currently have a phone.
Getting a replacement would be high on her to-do list. Her frown deepened.
Since she wasn’t working today, she guessed that was the only thing on her list—besides caring for Jenna, of course.
Grabbing the light robe she’d had the presence of mind to pack last night, she stepped around Jenna’s trundle bed and joined her little girl at the door.
Hand in hand, they made their way down the hall, Maggie close behind.
Breakfasty scents already hung in the air—coffee, ham, and something sweet. Apparently, Mom was going all out.
When they entered the kitchen, Mom was in the middle of pouring perfect rounds of pancake batter onto a cast-iron griddle. Without looking up, she called, “Good morning. How’d you sleep?”
“Well enough.” Hailey glanced at the digital readout above the stove. Despite yesterday’s ordeal, Jenna had only slept thirty minutes later than usual. Figured.
Jenna tugged her hand free and ran to wrap her arms around her grandma’s leg. Mom laughed. “There’s my girl.” She set the batter bowl aside and wiped her hands on her apron before picking her up and giving her a big hug. With Jenna propped on her hip, she turned toward Hailey. Her smile faltered.
“Do I look that bad?”
“You wouldn’t ask that if you’d looked in the mirror.”
Hailey managed a wry grin. “Jenna was in a hurry to get in here. I haven’t made it to the bathroom yet.”
Mom turned back to the stove and began flipping the pancakes. “Go. I’ll take care of this one until you get back.”
She seemed to have things under control, so Hailey took her up on the offer.
She almost gasped when she saw her reflection.
No wonder Mom had reacted as she did. Hailey had known her eye was still pretty tender and swollen, but she hadn’t quite been prepared for how much worse it looked than it had last night.
Good thing she didn’t have to go into the office today.
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she didn’t have time to stare at her shiner all morning. As quickly as possible, she took care of her most pressing needs, then splashed some cold water on her face before returning to the kitchen.
Looked like breakfast was almost ready, so Hailey added a scoop of dog food to Maggie’s dish, then set the table.
The front door slammed, and her dad appeared a moment later.
His eyes darkened when he saw Hailey’s face, but he didn’t comment.
He’d already said all there was to say last night.
If they’d had any idea who those men were, Hailey was certain he’d have gone after them himself.
“You’re just in time,” her mom said.
He leaned in to press a kiss on her cheek. “It smells delicious. How’s my favorite granddaughter?” He held out his hands to Jenna, and she readily went to him, freeing Mom to finish up unencumbered.
Hailey smiled at the scene. So far, Jenna was the only granddaughter.
Though two of Hailey’s siblings were married, one didn’t have children yet and the other had four-year-old and two-year-old boys.
Not for the first time, she wished her siblings lived closer.
She missed them and the simpler days of their youth.
She shook off her melancholy and moved toward the coffeepot where three mugs had already been set out. Steam rose as she poured the strong brew, and she inhaled deeply. No one got weak coffee at this house.
“What’s the plan for today?” Mom asked as they began to dig into their food.
Hailey swallowed. “Not much, other than getting a replacement for my phone.”
Her dad grinned. “Already taken care of.”
“What?” She stared at him.
He shrugged. “I ordered one after you called last night and requested it be overnighted. Should come in sometime today.”
“How much was it?”
“It was still under warranty. Only cost was the shipping.”
“That’s a relief. Thank you.” She’d joined her parents’ phone plan after Wesley’s death, so she knew they had access to all the necessary information.
In other circumstances, she might be irritated that her dad hadn’t asked her before making the order, but she knew he was worried about them.
His way of dealing with problems was to protect and provide.
And to be honest, with all that was going on right now, she was grateful the issue was taken care of.
She added a bit of maple syrup to her coffee. “In that case, I have nothing on my agenda.”
“You should take it easy,” her mom suggested. “Watch a movie with Jenna or read a book.”
“Both of those sound wonderful, but I can’t sit in front of the TV all day.” And she doubted she’d be able to concentrate on a book. “Is there anything I can help with here?”
“It’s bread day. You’re welcome to pitch in.”
Hailey nodded. She could do that. While lots of people had taken up sourdough baking over the last several years, her mom had been crafting her own bread for decades.
She’d gifted Hailey a jar of starter when she and Wesley returned from their honeymoon, and Hailey had happily carried on the tradition.
Until she’d been thrown into the role of single mom.
With the stress of losing her husband and the surrounding circumstances, parenting a toddler, and unexpectedly having to return to full-time work, she hadn’t had the heart or the time to maintain her starter.
At some point earlier this year, she’d come across the moldy jar in the back of her fridge and had to toss it.
After they cleaned up the breakfast dishes, her mom insisted on watching Jenna while Hailey got ready for the day—and she told her in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t to rush. Considering how long it had been since she’d had the opportunity for a leisurely morning shower, Hailey didn’t argue.
When she returned forty minutes later, she felt almost like a new person.
She poured herself a second cup of coffee, then went looking for her mom and daughter.
The house wasn’t huge, so there weren’t many places to look unless they’d gone outside.
Hailey quickly found them in the living room, working on a large foam puzzle in the middle of the floor.
More accurately, her mom was working on the puzzle as Jenna brought her the pieces.
Mom glanced up and winked when she caught Hailey’s eye.
Smiling, Hailey leaned against the doorframe, not wanting to interrupt. She loved the bond between Jenna and her grandparents. She had fond memories of days spent with her own grandma, and she was so grateful Jenna had the chance for that same type of experience.
Her dad joined her in the doorway. He lifted his mug to his lips. “Sorry if I overstepped about the phone.”
“It’s okay. Thanks for taking care of me.”
“As long as I’ve got breath in my lungs, you can count on me for that.”
“That means a lot. I hope you know that.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I only wish I could take all your troubles.”
“That would be a task for my heavenly Father.”
“And he and I have been having quite a few talks on the subject lately.”
Her lips twitched at his candidness, but she was glad for the reminder that her parents prayed for her.
When he spoke again, his voice was hardly above a whisper. “What’s really going on? Does this have something to do with Wesley?”
She threw her hands up, almost spilling her coffee. “That’s the only thing we’ve been able to think of, but honestly, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. You know the people around here. They might give me the cold shoulder because they don’t trust me anymore, but they aren’t vicious.”
He grunted. “Sometimes people surprise you, especially when they’ve been hurt.”
He wasn’t wrong, and she couldn’t deny that Wesley’s actions had hurt the community—but his actions had hurt her too.
And even if she could reconcile the idea of someone trying to get rid of her for that reason, she kept coming back to the question of why now?
She’d have thought if an angry mob was going to run her out of town, they’d have done it right after Wesley was exposed.
With the passage of time, her fears of such an event had faded—though she still felt the stigma of having been married to a criminal.
But there had been the incident with Oscar Redmond the other day, which had seemed to come out of nowhere. Had his anger been smoldering over the last ten months? And if so, what had fanned it into flame?
She’d have to chew on that, but she wasn’t going to bring it up to her dad.
He’d be furious, and rightfully so. But the last thing she needed was for him to confront the town hothead.
If Oscar threw a punch at him, her dad wouldn’t react with the same grace as Peter had, and she wasn’t sure which of the men would come out less injured. No, she’d let Eric handle Oscar.
“I don’t know, Dad,” she finally said. “I just can’t see it.”
He nodded, frown lines etching deep into his face. “Then what if there’s someone the police missed when they took down that crime ring?”
She blinked. That thought hadn’t occurred to her. But it only took a moment to see the flaw in his suggestion. “It’s possible, I guess, but I can’t imagine why they’d come after me.”
As far as they knew, everyone involved in Wesley’s shenanigans had died or been arrested months ago.
Even if there was someone who had gotten away unnoticed, she couldn’t fathom what they would stand to gain from running her out of town.
She might be able to see it if they were trying to blackmail or extort her, but whoever this was didn’t seem to want anything from her—only for her to leave.
It made as little sense as the other scenario.
Her dad shook his head thoughtfully, but she could sense his frustration. “Do the police have any other theories?”
“None that I know of,” she murmured.
“I don’t like this, Hailey. I really don’t.”
That she could agree with.