Chapter 8 Ransom
RANSOM
When dinner was eaten and the dishes were cleaned up, they all trooped out to the front porch to see Hailey’s surprise.
The kids scampered along by Hailey’s side, but Ransom hung back a little. He wanted to see her reaction, but he also felt a little nervous. Would she think he had overstepped, or that he might expect something in return?
“Oh, Ransom,” she said softly, her eyes shining as she looked at the stacked boxes of paint cans, tarps, brushes, rollers, masking tape, and other supplies. “You didn’t?”
“I went by the hardware store for something else today,” he told her. “And I got to chatting with Michael. He said you weren’t sure on finishes, and since I know the house so well…”
“This is so nice of you,” she said turning to him. “I can reimburse you.”
“Absolutely not,” he said firmly. “This is a housewarming present.”
“Do you love it?” Mae asked her excitedly.
“I do love it,” Hailey said with a big smile for the little girl.
“Well, if the kids don’t mind entertaining each other for a little while, I can help you get a room prepped,” Ransom offered.
“We don’t mind, Dad,” Travis said.
“Oh, if it’s okay with your daddy, I can put on a Christmas movie for you,” Hailey said. “I’ve got my favorite one.”
“Which one is your favorite?” Mae asked.
“It’s Elf,” Ransom answered for her, then caught himself. “At least it used to be.”
“Still is,” Hailey said.
“That’s Dad’s favorite too,” Mae said, her voice filled with wonder.
Hailey turned to Ransom and his heart pounded.
Back in school his favorite was It’s a Wonderful Life because he watched it with his mom, and Hailey knew it.
But Elf always reminded him of Hailey. When she was gone from his life, he grew fonder of the things that brought her back to him, even just in spirit.
“Interesting,” Hailey said. “Well, shall we put it on?”
The kids were very much in favor of that idea. They all piled back into the house and she got them set up on the sofa with cozy blankets and the movie playing on the TV.
“They look happy,” she said softly to Ransom, joining him by the front door.
“Thank you for getting them set up like that,” he told her. “I know they’re going to love their movie night. Now, where did you want to get started?”
“You might think it’s funny,” she ventured. “But I was thinking maybe I’d start in the library. I’ve heard trim is hard. But figured that if I start on the built-ins and I don’t do a good job, it will be covered up by the books.”
“That’s actually a great idea,” Ransom said.
He didn’t mention out loud that he also liked the idea of being in the room next to the kids. He was sure they were just fine snuggled up on the sofa watching a funny movie, but it was good to be close enough to hear if anything went wrong.
He and Hailey busied themselves finding the paint they needed for the library walls and trim, and he grabbed everything she would need for prep.
“What’s all that?” she asked when he carried in a big box of extras.
“This isn’t like back in the shop when we used to paint sets on the concrete floor that was already covered in a hundred different colors from all the other sets we’d painted there,” Ransom said. “We’ll want to use tarps on the wood floor in here, and we have to tape off what you’re not painting.”
“Oh, right,” she said.
“And there’s a coverall in here for you,” he went on. “So you don’t have to ruin any clothes. But if you have painting clothes, that works too.”
“Nope,” she said. “Though I might have some by the time I’m done if I forget the coverall.”
They continued unpacking the box and he showed her everything. He’d actually done most of the handiwork around this house growing up, so he knew what to expect. He’d even painted this room himself back in high school, but it was high time for another coat.
“I guess what I really need to do is empty the room,” she said to herself, looking around.
“Yeah,” Ransom said. “That probably means you won’t get to the painting part tonight. But I can help you empty off the shelves and move all the furniture to the center of the room.”
“We can put the books in the boxes you brought the paint over in,” she said, her eyes lighting up.
That made him smile—it was Hailey all over. No matter the task at hand, she was always enthusiastic and ready to roll up her sleeves, even if it was something she had never done before.
He remembered her fearlessly hanging lights over the auditorium when the kid in charge of the light crew suddenly realized he was too scared of heights to climb the big ladder or stretch out from the catwalk to do the work.
All the kids on crew looked up at her, her blonde hair glowing as she cranked the heavy metal fixtures securely into place, focused them, and dropped in gels.
He was pretty sure none of the leading actresses in the other school plays in Tarker County were hanging from the ceiling, wielding a wrench.
And he’d definitely never seen anyone sell baked goods with such gusto as the year they didn’t have funding for the play and had to raise money themselves. Hailey didn’t just bake and sell stuff, she found a way to make it fun for everyone around her, and she shone while she did it.
It was part of why he had known he couldn’t hold her back. The rest of the world deserved to see that beautiful light.
He swallowed over a lump in his throat and headed out to the porch without a word to retrieve the boxes.
When he got back inside, she was standing in front of one of the shelves, holding an open book.
“What’s that?” he asked, setting the boxes down and walking over to join her.
“Look,” she said, gazing down at the page with a smile.
It was the yearbook from their junior year, and the photo was of the cast and crew of Sleeping Beauty.
“You were an amazing Aurora,” he told her.
“We had so much fun, didn’t we?” she asked, her eyes still on the page.
Ransom was next to her in the picture, wearing the crew uniform—black jeans and t-shirt. The two of them were both smiling up at the camera, but they leaned toward each other slightly, like flowers seeking sunlight.
His heart ached at the memory of how proud he’d been that Hailey was his girl.
“I can’t believe your mom still had this,” Hailey said, smiling up at him. “Is it weird that I want to keep it?”
“Not at all,” he told her, clearing his throat. “I still have mine from senior year too.”
“You do?” she asked him.
“Sure,” he said. “Those were good memories.”
The kids laughed in the other room, reminding him that they weren’t alone, and that plenty had happened since high school.
“I love that movie,” Hailey said with a smile, closing the yearbook and setting it in one of the boxes.
“I know you do,” Ransom laughed.
They applied themselves to removing the books in friendly silence for a little while, the soft sounds of the television in the next room drifting in here and there.
“What are you going to do with all the books?” he asked after a bit.
“Oh,” she said. “I hadn’t really thought about it. If there are any you want, feel free to take them. They really belong to your family.”
“Mom went through everything before she moved out,” he said.
Though he honestly wasn’t sure if she’d done that good of a job, now that he was unpacking the shelves and finding some personal things among the paperbacks like that yearbook and a family photo album.
“I just figured you had books of your own you’d want to put up. ”
“I never really had time to shop much, and my city apartment was so tiny,” she said a little sadly. “I guess it’s good to have some books to put on the shelves here, at least until I can start getting my own. Plus, you have some really great ones.”
He nodded and moved to the far shelves by the window that overlooked the side yard. A whole set of Nancy Drew and another of the Hardy Boys were waiting for him.
“I wonder if Travis and Mae will read these,” he said. “I guess they’re probably pretty old-fashioned.”
“I’ll bet they’d love them,” she replied. “Take them home if you want.”
“Maybe they can come up here and borrow them one day,” he suggested.
That earned him a big smile.
She turned back to the bookshelf, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her, so he saw the moment when she pulled a book off the shelf and something fell out of it and fluttered to the ground.
She bent with the grace of a dancer to pick it up, and when she straightened, the expression on her face transformed.
He went to her without speaking, knowing instinctively that she was moved by what she was looking at.
“Oh, Ransom,” she murmured.
He took her hand gently and pulled it closer to him so that he could see what she was holding in it.
Unlike the pristine yearbook, this was just a discolored photograph that was worn around one edge, like it had been accidentally bent over. But he recognized it instantly and his breath caught.
It was a casual picture of the two of them backstage during a dress rehearsal for Sleeping Beauty.
Hailey wore a beautiful princess gown that sparkled with sequins and pulled tight around her tiny waist. Her head was thrown back as she laughed, and Ransom stood beside her, a tender expression of naked longing on his young face as he gazed down at her.
He could close his eyes and be that boy again right now, basking in the glow of the girl he couldn’t help but adore.
Hailey tilted her head up to look at him, probably wondering why he wasn’t saying anything.
But as soon as her blue eyes met his he felt a pull like she was the sun and he was now in her orbit.
His whole world seemed to slide into slow motion, and he knew with absolute certainty that he was going to kiss her.
Will it be like the kiss in Sleeping Beauty? Will it break the spell, make her see how much I’ve always loved her? Will it make her want to stay?
His hand moved to cup her delicate cheek, but before he could touch her, there was an explosion of small footsteps.
“Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad,” Travis and Mae yelled, bursting into the library.
He dropped his hand just in time for Mae to grab it.
“It’s your favorite part,” Mae yelled.
“He’s about to do your favorite part,” Travis said. “You know, with the soda.”
“Where he drinks the soda, the whole big soda, and then he burps,” Mae squeaked, hopping up and down in place with glee.
“Well, we don’t want to miss that,” Hailey said, tearing her eyes from Ransom’s and smiling at the kids. “Lead the way, guys.”
Mae tugged on Ransom’s hand, and he let himself be led back to the living room.
His heart was thundering from almost kissing Hailey, but as he watched her laughing with the kids, he felt a fresh joy rising in his chest.
The best things are worth waiting for, he thought to himself.