Chapter 48
Chapter Forty-Eight
Cara
There are better ways to wake up than being startled out of sleep by the clang and clatter of one’s mother taking her anger out on kitchen pans.
But there are worse ways than waking up in Hayden’s arms. If not for the cacophony of cookware coming from the floor below, I’d think we were back in Boston.
Wrapped in the warmth of his body, with an extra little bit of heat near my chest where Penny is curled up, I can’t help but think of what an incredible kisser this man is. And how thorough he is with his hands.
Then he chuckles.
Since he’s obviously awake, I disentangle myself and slide back to my side of the bed, ignoring Penny’s disgruntled sigh. Maybe instead of a wall of Penny, we need a giant wall of pillows. Or a brick wall.
“Your mom’s in a mood this morning.”
“Yeah, she’s a slammer. Doors. Cabinets. Pots and pans.”
Hayden’s phone buzzes on the nightstand. Before he can even reach for it, it buzzes again. Then again. After picking it up and reading the screen, Hayden drops back to his pillow.
“Bad news?” I ask, because he doesn’t look happy. Instead of answering, he hands me his phone so I can read the text messages.
COLLEEN
Why are you staying at that woman’s house?
COLLEEN
Hayden William Reilly, you better answer me.
COLLEEN
Why would you stay with that woman when you have a lovely room here?
As I’m reading, another text arrives.
AARON
Mom just called and told me to drive by the Gamble house and see if your car’s really in the driveway because she can’t believe you would actually do this to her. I take it this means I’m the favorite son again.
Laughing, I hand the phone back to him. “I think your brother’s enjoying this.”
I take advantage of Hayden being distracted by his family to snatch up some clean clothes and head for the bathroom.
I don’t usually get dressed for the day in the bathroom, but we haven’t had a man in the house since my dad died.
Also, stripping out of my pajamas and getting dressed in my bedroom while Hayden’s in there feels far too intimate.
He may have seen me naked once, but we’re not making it a habit.
Once I’m wearing my armor of jeans and a blue T-shirt, which is about as festive as I get for the Fourth of July, I go back down the hall to my room. It isn’t until I’ve stepped through the door I realize Hayden could be getting dressed, but he’s still in bed.
He’s sitting up against the headboard now, though, with his phone in his hand and Penny on his lap. “I didn’t have a logical excuse ready to give my mother as to why we wouldn’t stay in the very nice guest suite I specifically made so I could stay there when I’m in town.”
That woman.
That house.
There’s a very logical excuse for me being nervous about staying at Colleen’s house, though. She doesn’t like us, and her son marrying me didn’t magically change that. “What did you tell her?”
“I told her I was fixing a few things around the house for my mother-in-law so it was easier to stay here, and then I got a text from Aaron letting me know Mom told him to tell me she’s no longer speaking to me.”
“I’m sorry.” If I’d just sucked it up and agreed to stay at Colleen’s for the weekend, I’d have the only mother throwing a temper tantrum.
He waves away my apology. “It’s not that serious. If she was upset enough to actually impact our relationship, she wouldn’t have dragged Aaron into it. Is she mad? Yes. Will she get over it? Also yes.”
“Considering our mothers are kind of known for holding grudges, I doubt that, but I’ll take your word for it. So what’s the plan for today?”
He grins, giving his face a boyish charm that weakens my knees. “Fourth of July in Sumac Falls! Ice cream. Family. Popcorn. Lots of booths to explore.”
“I do like ice cream, popcorn and exploring booths,” I say, and he chuckles to let me know the omission wasn’t lost on him. “You didn’t mention the fireworks.”
“About them,” he says. “Like most dogs, Penny isn’t a fan.
And being away from home… Even in Boston, we hang out and watch movies together.
You’re a dog person. You know how that is.
So I’ll be here with Penny, and if you want to go with Gin, you have a valid reason for having a little time away from me. ”
I don’t confess I don’t actually want time away from him. I just wish our time together didn’t involve lies, anxiety and fraud. Or my mother. “We can play it by ear.”
“We’ll enjoy the daylight activities, though, won’t we, Penny?” She lifts her head and licks the back of his hand once.
“Maybe you’ll run into some old friends.”
“I only had two really good friends in school and, like me, they got the hell out of Sumac Falls. Unlike me, they didn’t come back. Their families moved away, too.”
It’s tempting to argue that Hayden didn’t actually come back. Boston is definitely his home, and he has no intention of making a life here. But I don’t bother because I have enough stress in my life without picking a semantics fight with Hayden.
Plus, it sounds like Gin just pulled everything out of the pan cabinet and let it clatter on the floor. “I should get down there. She’s definitely trying to communicate with me because we don’t even use that many pots and pans for Thanksgiving dinner.”
“I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“If you plan to shower, you should do it before she starts washing dishes. And don’t get too good a lather up, or you’ll be half-frozen by the time you rinse it all off.”
I can tell by his expression he forgot again, and I’m laughing as I walk out the door. One look at Gin’s expression when I walk into the kitchen kills any lingering amusement, though.
“I was going to make pancakes,” she says in a clipped tone. “But I can’t find the pan and I promised Sherry I’d help her set up her booth, so I’m going upstairs to find my sun hat and then I’m leaving.”
And then she walks out, without me ever saying a word. I hold my breath, dreading her and Hayden running into each other in the hallway, until her bedroom door slams.
Hard.
Whether he planned it or was just lazily scrolling his phone in bed, Hayden doesn’t come downstairs until my mother’s gone—her departure announced with more doors slamming.
He’s dressed in well-worn jeans and a casual, short-sleeved button-down in a soft sage that’s suddenly my favorite color. It looks really good on him.
“Apparently, the good pancake pan is missing,” I tell him. “But we do have some eggs. And cereal.”
“Let me take Penny out for her morning walk, and then we can grab something at the diner.”
“They’re not open today.”
He frowns. “With everybody in Sumac Falls converging on downtown? They should at least be open for breakfast.”
“Nope. And before you pull up that magic food-on-your-doorstep app, don’t bother. I’ll make some scrambled eggs and toast while you walk Penny.”
By early afternoon, I’m running out of steam.
There are very few people in the town square that one or both of us doesn’t know, and the people Hayden knows are eager to catch up.
I think it’s even more exhausting to play out this charade now than it was for our wedding because everybody wants to talk to us.
And we don’t have other guests to use as an excuse to step away.
At least our mothers are behaving. I’m not sure if they’ve both snapped out of their bad moods or if neither wants to appear ungracious to their child’s new spouse in public, and I don’t care.
When we stopped by Sherry’s booth to thank her again for such gorgeous floral arrangements on short notice, Gin managed a smile.
And when we ran into Colleen by the Little League’s fundraising game, she was slightly cool, but not so anybody else would notice.
“How come you don’t have a booth?” Hayden asks when we have a few blessed moments to ourselves, walking hand-in-hand through the crowd.
I try not to dwell on how right it feels for our hands to be clasped together.
“There’s really no benefit for me,” I explain.
“The people with pets already know I’m here.
They’re either existing customers, already travel to another groomer, or they do it themselves.
And the people who don’t have pets don’t need me.
No matter how awesome my booth is, nobody’s going to go out and buy a dog just so they can give me business. ”
He nods. “Good point.”
I reach over with my free hand and scratch under Penny’s chin.
Because she’s so little and easily stepped on, Hayden’s been carrying her since we arrived, and she’s a little smug about it.
“Though some people might drag their dog up from a different state to get her nails done just so they can talk to me.”
He chuckles. “And now you’re my wife, so my plan clearly worked.”
My wife. There’s something about the way he says those words that still heats my skin.
“Cara!” I see Mel walking toward me, her hand in the air.
“Uncle Hayden!” we hear at almost the same time.
“We’ve been found again,” he says, and then he winks at me before heading toward his niece and nephew, giving me time with Mel.
“I didn’t think I’d ever find you,” she says after giving me a quick hug. “I wasn’t even sure you’d be here, actually. I meant to text you, but then I got distracted. A few minutes ago, I heard a woman talking about the little dog Hayden Reilly is carrying around, so I started hunting.”
“I knew I’d run into you eventually. You’re always here. But where’s Lucas?”
“One of the old classic cars that’s going to be in the parade won’t start, and he was so excited to get his hands in an engine that’s not all computerized, I didn’t have the heart to remind him he promised to spend his entire day off with me.”
I’m trying to pay attention to what she’s saying—she’s my best friend and I haven’t gotten to spend much time with her lately—but over her shoulder I can see Hayden.
While I could probably summon the willpower not to watch him if he was alone, watching him with the kids is too hard to resist. I can’t tear my attention away from the joy on their faces as he swings AJ up on to his shoulders, while Daisy forces a leashed Penny to accept a kiss on top of her head.
He’s unguarded—love practically shining from him—and staring at him is like standing outside in a lightning storm.
You know it’s dangerous, but it’s too mesmerizing to look away from.
He’ll be a great dad someday, when he has kids.
With some other woman.
“Oh, hey. Why do you look like you’re going to cry?” Mel moves closer to me, and sees where I’m looking. “Dammit, Cara. We talked about this.”
“I’m not going to cry, Mel.”
She leans close enough to hiss in my ear. “You said you wouldn’t fall in love with your husband. It hasn’t even been a week.”
“I am not in love with my husband.” I tell myself it’s the truth, but I might be lying.
“Did you sleep with him on your honeymoon?”
“Mel.” I’m not answering that question, best friend or not. “We are standing in the middle of the Sumac Falls Fourth of July celebration. Literally everybody we know is around us right now.”
“You better call me later.”
“Sure. I’ll talk to you about it when I’m in the house that has zero sound insulation while my mother and my husband are in another room.”
Her eyes narrow. “This level of snark from you tells me everything I need to know about what’s going on.”
I force myself to look her in the eye. “Nothing has changed regarding our situation.”
“I’d call you a liar, but a lot of people are looking at us right now, probably afraid we’re having an argument.” She fakes a laugh. “How was that?”
I paste an obnoxiously fake grin on my face. “They’ll never suspect a thing.”
When I look for Hayden again, he’s no longer playing with Daisy and AJ. He’s talking to an older guy I’ve seen around town for years, but can’t actually place. I say goodbye to Mel and head over, but by the time I reach him, he’s already shaken the man’s hand and started walking my way.
“Who was that?”
He smiles and shifts Penny to his other arm. “He’s the man that’s going to install a new hot water heater at nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”
“You’re kidding. A Friday in the middle of a holiday weekend, with no advanced notice? Hayden, that’ll cost a fortune.”
“I’m pretty sure you know how I feel about hot water, since you’ve been in my shower.”
Heat floods my face and I lower my head to kiss Penny, hoping Hayden won’t notice. His low chuckle tells me it didn’t work.
“She’s trembling,” I tell him, scratching under her chin.
“She’s a good sport, but she doesn’t love strangers. Or crowds. Or people. Or, believe it or not, being outside. Unless there’s snow. She likes snow.”
“Should we take her home?”
Something I can’t decipher flashes through his eyes—perhaps a reaction to my use of the word home—but he smiles.
“She’d like that. You can stay here if you want, though.
I’ve gotten a few snide comments about spoiling my dog, so if anybody asks where I am, they won’t bat an eye if you tell them I took her home because she needed a nap. ”
I think the only thing worse than having to look happily married in front of all of Sumac Falls would be answering questions about my husband’s whereabouts. So far Hayden has done most of the talking, reminding me yet again that he’s a very smooth liar, and I’d rather not be here without him.
“No, I’m ready to go, too. Maybe if I put all the pans away before Gin gets home, she’ll forget she was mad this morning.”