Chapter 11 Hailey
HAILEY
Hailey stepped into the library at the farmhouse and sighed happily as she looked at the painted walls and ceiling.
“Wow,” she said to herself, feeling a little whisper of pride.
Ransom had gently recommended that she actually do the ceiling and the walls before the trim, and she was grateful for that advice, since those flat expanses were definitely the easiest part of the room.
And yesterday she had been very grateful for the tarps Ransom brought as she set about painting the ceiling. No matter how careful she tried to be, paint dripped everywhere, and she got it in her hair and even her eyelashes at one point.
But the job was done now, and the result was actually really nice. It had been encouraging to see it this morning when she set about starting the walls, which were also a snowy white.
Even with the furniture and books taking up the whole center of the room, she could see how nicely it was all coming together.
The space was already brighter, and she knew the white walls and ceiling would make the Tiffany blue of the bookshelves pop once she got them painted.
And it was easier to do white on both the walls and ceiling while she was still learning.
“Tomorrow the trim,” she said to herself happily.
It would be difficult and time-consuming to paint so much by hand, but she had been looking forward to adding bright colors here and there since the day she made an offer on the place. And now that she had been working with paint again for two days, she felt more ready.
Aidan the carpenter was going to be painting the kitchen cabinets and putting on new pulls. He would probably do the living and dining rooms for her next week, so that the place would be ready for her mini event.
Aidan had already built trellises that flanked the big patio, and Tanner had installed some lighting. A plumber friend of Tanner’s was going to run a gas line so she could have the heat lamps put in this weekend.
When she was done with the library, she still wanted to sew curtains from the gorgeous fabric she had bought in the village, and do some thrifting for fun decor to add.
Since the mini event for vendors and friends was just a first floor and outdoor event, she would have more time for doing the upstairs bedrooms on her own, or to bring Aidan back for them later, depending on how she felt.
For now, she kind of liked rolling her sleeves up, and it certainly helped with her budget, even if the work went much more slowly.
If Ransom stops by to help me, it’ll go a lot faster.
He’d been sending her a text here and there, and one of them was to ask her permission to stop by next week when the kids were in school to lend a hand. But most of them were about the big event at the open-air market today.
Her phone buzzed now, like he knew she was thinking of him. She pulled it out of her pocket, and smiled at the message.
Ransom
We’re heading over now
She wasn’t proud of how her heart leaped.
It’s just a fun day with some friends, she reminded herself.
The veteran’s center was helping to throw a huge holiday event up at the Trinity Community Market. And she was tagging along with Ransom and the kids.
She knew Ransom had helped out with it some, but she hadn’t even had a chance to look into what the event was all about or what would be happening.
Glancing down at her jeans and sweater, she hoped she was dressed properly. She had figured anything at the open-air market would be pretty casual.
“No time to worry about it now,” she said to herself, heading over to the door.
By the time she had pulled on her boots and coat, Ransom’s truck was pulling up out front. She jogged down the steps, but he still got out and opened the door for her.
“Hey, Hailey,” he said, his voice gruff as their eyes met.
“Hi,” she said. “Thanks for picking me up here.”
He closed the door and headed to the driver’s side.
“Hi, Hailey,” the kids chorused from the back seat.
“Hi, guys,” she said, turning to see them. “Are you excited about today?”
“Yes,” Mae said right away. “There’s a train, a big toy train, and it really moves.”
“Wow,” Hailey said. “What about you, Travis?”
“I think my friends are there,” he said shyly.
“That’s so great,” she told him. “I used to run around at the Hometown Holiday celebration with my friends, but this event is a new thing for me.”
“It’s new for everyone,” Ransom said as he started the truck. “Valentina set it all up and at first I thought maybe it was beyond what we could pull off, but the whole town has really come together to pull it off, and I think it’s going to be spectacular.”
“We already missed some of it,” Mae said accusingly.
“Well, we have dogs to take care of,” Ransom reminded her. “They don’t take a day off.”
“Besides,” Travis said, “it’s going all day and at night too.”
Hailey smiled, figuring he was repeating something his dad had told him.
Mae frowned and turned her attention to the view outside the window.
“Look at the lights,” she chirped a moment later, pointing to a house that was lit up like the sun.
“They must really love Christmas,” Travis said.
“Do you guys wish we had outside lights?” Ransom asked them.
That suggestion was met with a lot of enthusiasm and Ransom looked over to Hailey and winked.
She felt a happy little shiver go through her, just like she had back in high school when he winked at her.
Smiling back at him, she wondered if she was ever going to be able to spend time with him without thinking about what could have been.
Half an hour later, they were walking around the open-air market, and Hailey could hardly believe her eyes.
“The last time I was home this was just sort of a field,” she said in wonder to Ransom.
Now the area had been leveled and the open-air market was as big as the gym at the high school.
A massive roof covered the concrete floor and there was a big wall along the back with bathrooms and a big kitchen.
A small wooden stage had been set up near the back wall and there was a band on it playing some joyful holiday music.
Everywhere she looked, there were booths of crafts and home-cooked treats decorated for the holiday.
Familiar faces smiled and waved to each other as they made their way between the beautiful offerings, and between songs the whole space was filled with the hum of conversation.
Mae had grabbed her hand the moment they arrived, and she tugged at Hailey now.
“Can we have hot chocolate?” she asked excitedly.
Hailey looked to Ransom, who nodded.
“Yes, of course we can,” Hailey told her. “Shall we get in line now?”
“Yes,” Mae said.
The four of them headed over to a stand where two older ladies were taking donations, pouring hot chocolate from a massive urn, and chatting up a storm with all their customers.
“It can’t be,” Hailey breathed.
“Betty Ann Eustace and Ginny Davies,” Ransom said, nodding.
“But they look just the same,” she said, shaking her head.
“Betty Ann told my mom that staying busy keeps her young,” Ransom laughed.
“I guess it does,” Hailey said thoughtfully.
The two of them had been older ladies back when she was a little girl, and along with their friend, Shirley, they seemed to be the driving force behind just about all the big events in town, and never too proud to roll up their sleeves either.
“Oh, would you look who’s here,” Ginny said warmly when they reached the front of the line.
“Good afternoon, Mae and Travis,” Betty Ann said with a big smile for the kids. “Can we get you some hot chocolate?”
“Yes, please,” Mae said politely while her brother nodded.
“And what about you two—my goodness,” Betty Ann exclaimed. “There’s a pair I haven’t seen in a long time.”
“Hi, Mrs. Eustace and Mrs. Davis,” Hailey said, feeling happy that they still knew her. “It’s wonderful to see you.”
“I didn’t like what happened to you on that television show one little bit,” Betty Ann leaned in to say.
“That Dr. Silverman was sweet on you,” Ginny put in. “I just can’t imagine what they’ll do without you.”
“I guess we’ll find out tomorrow night,” Hailey said, thinking to herself that it was kind of odd that she was only going to learn about the show’s plot along with everyone else now.
“Oh, I won’t be bothering with it anymore,” Betty Ann sniffed. “You don’t support a show that does away with your favorite character.”
Hailey couldn’t help smiling. She highly doubted that BeeBee Evans was the favorite character of anyone who didn’t know Hailey personally. But it was lovely to see the ladies in her hometown were still loyal to her.
“Can we go see the train now?” Mae asked when they each had a paper cup of hot chocolate.
“Of course,” Ransom told her, putting an extra bill in the donation tin after paying for their snack.
They headed through the happy crowd, past the little stage where the band was playing Christmas songs, to the train set that took up the center of the market.
Children crowded around, watching it move gracefully along the big track.
“Travis,” a happy little voice called out.
Travis turned, and his face lit up.
“Nick,” he yelled back, weaving through the crowd to get to the other boy.
Nick had blond hair and a big smile on his face.
A tall and familiar-looking man followed him, along with one of the most beautiful women Hailey had ever seen.
The leads in her show spent hours in hair and makeup to look half as good as this person just wandering around the market. She was glad they weren’t here now.
“Hey, Jacob,” Ransom said.
“Jacob Cassidy,” Hailey said quietly, realizing that was why she knew the man.
“Hi, Ransom,” Jacob said with his signature twinkly eyed smile. “Hey, Hailey. This is my wife Hope and our son, Nick.”
“Nice to meet you, Hope,” Ransom said. “This is Hailey, and these are my kids, Mae and Travis, who it looks like Nick already knows.”
“We’re friends at school,” Travis said, looking up at his dad. “We’re in the same class.”
“And the same recess,” Nick added.