Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Hayden
“Cara and I are getting married.”
I asked Aaron to stop by after dinner—the usual Wednesday night dinner at his house was canceled due to Hope and Daisy being under the weather—so he and our mother are sitting on the couch.
I’m standing across the room, facing them, and I’m glad I tucked Penny into her bed upstairs before dropping this bomb. I don’t want her upset by the fallout.
I’m braced for an angry tirade or maybe even tears, but after opening and closing her mouth a couple of times, Colleen just shakes her head. It appears she’s speechless, which is interesting. I’ve always wondered what it would take.
“No,” she finally manages to say, as if I might misinterpret her shaking her head hard enough to loosen a few strands of hair from the messy bun it’s mostly gathered into.
I wait for more, but it seems the one word is all she has. “I wasn’t so much asking you as letting you know.”
“Hayden William Reilly, I am not sharing grandchildren with that woman.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, annoyed at not having foreseen my mother’s brain shooting right past the marriage to the babies. Babies I’d neglected to consider while concocting a plan to get my hands on the deed to the Gamble house.
I wonder if hypothetical children have crossed Cara’s mind yet, and how much of an obstacle they’ll be when Gin considers them. Colleen has Daisy and AJ, but does Gin want a grandchild more than she hates me? Not that she’ll actually get one, but she doesn’t know that.
I can only put out one fire at a time, though, so I focus on my mom.
“If we have children—” it would mean we had sex, which I can’t think about right now “—we’ll split holidays so you don’t have to pass a Gamble any mashed potatoes.”
She gives me one of those maternal looks that says she’d like to throw a shoe at my head right about now, but my focus shifts to Aaron. My brother hasn’t said a word, and the husband of an orthodontist should know better than to clench his jaw that hard.
The eye contact with him seems to shake words loose. “I know you can be ruthless when it comes to business, but this is… I didn’t think you’d sink this low.”
The disgust in my brother’s voice is reflected in his eyes, and I’m tempted to break my own rule right off the bat and tell him what’s actually going on. But I made Cara swear she wouldn’t tell anybody the truth—not even her sister or best friend—so I have to stick by the story.
“This isn’t about business. You know we dated in high school.”
“You did?” Colleen throws her hands up. “What the hell is going on?”
“Yes, we dated for a few months in high school.” Then I was forced to break up with Cara and I handled it poorly, but I don’t want to get into it. “We crossed paths online recently and started talking. Since I’ve been back, we’ve spent some time together, and we don’t want to be apart again.”
“Is this a joke? Did you hide cameras somewhere?” She looks around as though she might spot a lens. “It’s not funny, Hayden.”
“It’s not a joke, Mom. Cara and I are getting married, and we really hope our families will be happy for us.”
She stares at me, her eyes narrowed and her breath coming fast, and then she spins and storms out of the room. I hear a cupboard door slam in the kitchen and then the clanking of ice cubes tumbling into a glass. Whether she’s adding water or vodka to the ice is anybody’s guess.
Now I’m alone with Aaron, and he stands, folding his arms across his chest. “You reconnected online? Funny how you didn’t mention that when we talked about there being no way Gin will sell you that house, or after I told you I knew you’d gone to dinner.”
“We were keeping it low-key. You know how this town is.”
“I’m your brother.”
“And our mother, who works for your wife, is the primary person I didn’t want in the loop.” He snorts, but doesn’t deny it would have been a tough thing to keep from Hope. And from there, it would have spread.
“You being Cara’s husband, which means Gin selling you the house keeps it in her family, doesn’t factor into it at all, huh?”
I hate lying to my brother, but luckily I have years of hiding my thoughts during business discussions.
“The feelings between Cara and I rekindling is the important part, but yes, it will enable Gin to sell the house to me—for Cara and me to live in—without breaking her deathbed promise to her husband.”
I know Aaron wants to push harder, but Colleen reenters the room. “When is this wedding supposed to happen?”
And now for round two. “The twenty-ninth.”
She blinks. “Of?”
“June.” I watch her struggling, and then do the math for her. “Nine days.”
I’m horrified to see tears welling in her eyes. “This has to be a joke. If you’re pranking me, Hayden, please stop now. It’s not funny.”
I expected my mother to be angry and to yell—and maybe actually throw a shoe at me—but I didn’t want to make her cry. I can’t cave, though. There’s no going back now. I can’t put Cara in that position. “Mom, please be happy for me. You’ve been after me to get married for years.”
“Not to a Gamble!” She’s mad again, and the tears are angrily swiped away.
Penny’s nails clack on the stairs as she joins the party. I thought she’d avoid the noise, but maybe she doesn’t want to miss her human getting lectured by his mother. She looks around, taking in the situation, and then curls up in the furry bed kept tucked in the corner whenever we’re here.
“That’s not fair,” I say quietly. “Whatever’s gone on between this family and hers, she’s never done anything wrong. She’s a good daughter, and a local business owner. She’s smart and funny and kind, and—in a week and a half—she’s going to be my wife.”
“I have to go,” Aaron says, heading for the door. “Congratulations, I guess.”
“Wait,” I call after him, just as he opens the door. “You’re going to be my best man, right?”
“Of course I am, you asshole. I’m your brother.” He slams the door closed behind him.
My mom sinks onto the couch, then lowers her face to her hands for a moment. “I left my water in the kitchen.”
“I’ll get it.”
By the time I return with the glass of ice water she’d poured, she seems to have gotten her initial emotional response under control. She doesn’t look happy, but it feels safe to hand her a glass of very cold liquid I’d rather not wear.
“You’ll stay in Sumac Falls?” she asks. “After, I mean? What about your company?”
“We’re still working out the details,” I hedge. “The plan is for Gin to sell the house to Cara and me, and find a small retirement home somewhere.”
“Somewhere far away?” she asks hopefully, making me chuckle.
“Probably not, but it won’t matter. Cara and I will restore the house and probably split time between here, with me working remotely, and Boston. But we’ll be here for holidays and random family dinners.”
She takes a long drink of water and then sighs before leaning back against the cushions. “I need to process this. And where are you getting married? Nine days, Hayden?”
“You don’t have to worry about a thing. Once we have the final details figured out, all you have to do is show up and smile.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’re definitely going to want a bride’s side and a groom’s side for the seating, with a really wide aisle between them.”
Even though that sounds ominous, relief floods through me. She’s accepted there will be a wedding, at least. “Noted.”
“Okay, my show’s going to start. Leave me alone to watch it while I process all this.” I bend low to kiss her cheek, but she grabs my face between her hands. “Will this make you happy?”
Owning the Gamble house will make me very happy. “Yes. Cara makes me happy, Mom.”
She looks like she sucked a lemon, but at least she manages a weak smile. “Then I’ll be happy for you.”
“Thank you. I’m going for a drive while you watch your show,” I say. I need to get out of this house for a few minutes, and driving calms me. “Penny, you want to go for a ride?”
My faithful sidekick just nestles further into her bed, squeezes her eyes shut and pretends she didn’t hear me.