Riley huffed, then moved closer to him. “Sneaky, Hayden Price.”
“A little. You have to admit we both had a good run and a nice talk.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, we did. But . . .”
“But what?”
“There has to be a consequence for your action.”
He started to back away, half grinning. “I don’t like the sound of this.”
Before he could get out of reach, she stood on her tiptoes and dumped the rest of her water on top of his head.
“Whoa!” His eyes grew wide. “That’s cold!” Then he grinned and took a step toward her. “And refreshing.”
The teasing glint in his eyes told her she was next. “No, you don’t,” she said, turning to dash off.
But he grabbed her around the waist, holding the water bottle above her head. Then he stilled. Droplets dripped from his hair, running down the side of his face and cheeks. One landed on the top of his lip, and she couldn’t resist wiping it away.
He held her close to him, water poised above her head, for what seemed like forever. At any moment he would dump the water on her. Her heart slammed in her chest. Why didn’t he? She was leaning back from him, which meant he was supporting a good bit of her body weight, but he didn’t seem to struggle with it at all.
“Hayden,” she whispered.
“Yes?” His eyes didn’t leave hers.
The attraction, the desire she saw in his eyes stirred her. Was this part of getting to know Hayden better? She knew it wasn’t, not in the casual way she and Mimi had discussed.
No, there was nothing casual about this moment.
Even if she wanted to stop herself, she couldn’t . . . and she absolutely did not want to stop. She slid her arms around his neck, threaded her fingers through the damp ends of his hair, and tilted her face to his.
Then she kissed him.
Chapter 13
Hayden couldn’t think. He threw the water bottle to the side and pressed Riley against him, accepting the gift of her kiss while trying to hold himself back. It wasn’t easy, but he managed, letting her take the lead as she explored his mouth with hers. Heaven. This was pure heaven.
When she eventually pulled away, he searched her face, unsure what to expect. Her kissing him hadn’t even been on his radar. He told her the truth about using the talk with his parents about the store as a ruse to see her again, and he’d intended their run to be relaxed and friendly. But holding her in his arms, reeling from a kiss he hadn’t wanted to end . . . He had no idea how to react.
“Riley,” he murmured.
“I . . .” Her eyes were wide with shock, but she didn’t move away. He could also see the satisfaction on her face.
That boosted his ego. “What?” he asked, running the back of his fingers over her hot cheek.
“I’m all sweaty and stinky and—”
“I don’t care.”
She couldn’t face him. “I don’t know why I did that.” When she started to squirm in his arms, he reluctantly let her go.
“I hope it was because you wanted to.” He held his breath, because there was a chance she could devastate him now and not even realize it. When Riley had her guard up, she couldn’t be budged.
But that guard was nowhere to be seen. “I don’t like being confused. I don’t like not understanding how to act or react. But I do like how I feel with you.” She shook her head. “You probably think I’m crazy or silly. Or both.”
“How about neither? This is new territory for me, too, Riley. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”
“Then you’re not confused like I am.”
“I didn’t say that.” He put his hands on his waist. “How about we stop analyzing this and just live in the moment? Why don’t we just enjoy the time we spend together, without worrying about what comes next?”
She shook her head. “I thought I . . . I’m not sure if I can. Not when I feel this way.”
He dropped his hands and went to her, tilting her chin so he could meet her gaze. “Do you want to try?”
To his surprise, she put her hand on his but didn’t move it away. “Yes. I do.”
Hayden kissed her forehead, then looked at her again. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
He smiled. “For being you.”
She scoffed. “Yes, because I’m such a prize.”
“You are to me.” He hoped she wouldn’t think the words were too much, but he meant what he’d said. They couldn’t keep going around in circles like this. They both liked each other and wanted to spend time together. It shouldn’t be that complicated.
Her gaze softened. “Thank you.” Then she surprised him again. “Come over for supper Saturday night after the softball game.”
“To talk about the house?” When she nodded, he felt the sting of disappointment. It disappeared when she added, “Maybe we could play cards or something too.”
“That sounds great.” He grinned, then walked over and picked up his discarded water bottle. “I’ll be over as soon as I shower and change after the game.”
Riley nodded, and then got into her car. He waited until she drove away before he started grinning like an idiot. Saturday evening couldn’t get there fast enough.
* * *
As soon as Riley pulled out of the parking lot, she put in her earphones and called Melody. “You won’t believe this,” she said as soon as her friend picked up.
“And hello to you too. Hang on. Let me turn down the TV.” A few seconds later, she said, “All right, lay it on me.”
“I kissed Hayden.”
Silence. “Who’s Hayden?”
Riley had been so caught up in her excitement about him that she’d forgotten she never told Melody about him. She quickly got her friend up to speed.
“And you kissed him,” Melody said.
“Yes.” Riley grinned with pride.
“Have you never kissed a guy before, Riley?” she asked, her tone tinted with shock.
“I’ve been kissed.” Even by Hayden, but she wasn’t going to mention that or her friend would be even more confused, not to mention offended that she was only hearing about all this now. “But I’ve never kissed anyone. Until now.”
“If you weren’t the one telling me this, I would find that hard to believe.”
“What is that supposed to mean? That was kind of insulting.”
“It wasn’t meant to be. I’m glad you let loose enough to kiss him.” She chuckled. “Was it good?”
“Very. And that’s all I’m saying.”
Melody laughed again. “I haven’t had a conversation like this since junior high. And no, that’s not an insult either.”
Riley turned down her grandmother’s street. “I just needed to tell someone—someone who doesn’t live in Maple Falls. If I told anyone here, it would be in the newspaper by morning.” She remembered how Harper said she and the girls wanted a full report. She’d tell them something the next time she saw them, but she wasn’t ready for them to know about this. She’d done more gut spilling in the last few days than she had in her entire life, and she wasn’t used to it.
“Then you like this guy, huh?” Melody asked.
“Yes.” Now that she was allowing herself to feel the emotions Hayden brought out in her, she was filled with happiness.
“Do you think it might be going somewhere?”
Melody’s question tempered her joy. “I don’t know. Right now I don’t care.” She pulled into Mimi’s driveway. “I just want to be happy, you know?”
“Yes, I do. I’m glad you’re finally letting yourself enjoy life.”
Riley sat in the car and talked to Melody for the next twenty minutes as they caught each other up on what was going on in their lives. Melody had an audition for an off-off-Broadway play that she felt good about, and she and Charlie were still getting along as roommates.
“I miss you,” Melody said. “But if being back in Maple Falls is what it takes to make you happy,
then I’m glad you’re there.”
Riley opened her mouth to correct her but decided against it. In spite of what had just happened, she hadn’t changed her mind about going back to New York, but she didn’t want to think about leaving right now. She remembered what Hayden had said about living in the moment. That idea was foreign to her. She usually spent so much time thinking about the future and how what she did in the present affected that future, that she didn’t take time to enjoy anything. Now that she knew what it was like to slow down, set aside her worries, and have a good time, she was willing to try.
Not just for Hayden, but for herself as well.
* * *
For the next three weeks, Riley put in ten-hour days between working at the yarn store and helping Hayden rehab Mimi’s house. By the middle of June, Knots and Tangles looked like a completely different store. The walls were painted crisp white, as were the wooden shelving units and cubbies. The shelves lined the two walls and were filled with a colorful array of hanks, skeins, and balls of yarn. Riley had repainted the checkout counter a soft sage green, and next to it she’d installed a pegboard, painted it the same color as the walls, and hung a variety of packages containing knitting needles, crochet hooks, stitch markers, and other yarnish novelties.
She was most proud of the center of the shop. She’d gone to a variety of local thrift and antique stores and hit a couple of flea markets with Bea. She found four mismatched armchairs upholstered in various shades of light purple that somehow all went together. An oval, wood-topped coffee table with a brass pedestal sat atop a faded sage-green area rug with off-white curlicues, completing the gathering space she had envisioned. The Man Chair had to stay, of course, and was positioned by one of the picture windows. She’d set up a table near it where shoppers could help themselves to coffee and water. Riley wanted to get rid of the lime-green couch, but Mimi put her foot down. They compromised by keeping the couch in the back room.
While the shop was in the rehab process the last three Thursdays, the Bosom Buddies had met at different houses. Tonight, however, they would see the finished results of Riley’s hard work, and she couldn’t wait.
This would be the second Thursday BB gathering she’d attended since returning to Maple Falls. Being surrounded by all the yarn and knitting and crochet supplies made her want to pick up the hobby again. She’d been thinking of ways she could incorporate different motifs into the art Mimi had commissioned.
Riley was putting out a tray of mini cheesecakes on the front counter, specially ordered from a bakery in Malvern, when Bea and Myrtle walked into the shop fifteen minutes early.
“Oh my.” Bea pressed her pudgy hands against both her plump cheeks. “Riley, you have outdone yourself.”
“Is this Knots and Tangles?” Myrtle marveled as her gaze traveled over the store. “It’s beautiful. When I came back from my cruise two weeks ago, I thought you had performed a miracle in this place, but now . . .” She went to Riley and gave her a warm hug, much like she had when she saw Riley for the first time after returning from vacation.
“Isn’t it?” Mimi came out from the back, limping with her cane. She’d only needed the crutches for less than a week before switching to the electric-blue cane she now used.
Riley was thankful her grandmother was almost healed, but it also signaled that her departure wasn’t too far away. She refused to think about that now. Instead, she was going to enjoy the happiness and camaraderie of the Bosom Buddies tonight, a lesson she had learned not only from her grandmother and each of these women, but also from her budding friendships with Harper, Olivia, and Anita, whom she always met for lunch after church on Sunday.
Harper and her mother had a strained relationship, Anita was hopelessly in love with Tanner, who didn’t seem to know she existed, and Olivia was working on her second master’s, this one in American Southern literature. Riley still played her emotions close to her chest and hadn’t mentioned Hayden too much. She also made sure not to sit with him at church, and he’d agreed. Neither wanted to inspire any small-town gossip.
As each of the BBs entered the shop, they all expressed their amazement. Even Madge, whom Riley had learned was extremely picky and critical about almost everything.
“This is stunning, Riley.” Madge looked around the store as the rest of the women sat down, their project bags in hand. “So fresh and tidy and welcoming.”
Riley blushed. “Thank you. That’s what we were going for.”
“We? This is all you, sugar,” Mimi said, beaming with pride from her seat across the room. “I just approved the colors.”
“And gave me the inspiration.” She smiled and walked over to the group, then put her hand on Mimi’s shoulder. Mimi covered Riley’s with her own.
Tonight’s group project was knitting and crocheting hats for chemo patients at the various hospitals in central Arkansas. Riley was pleased to see that the patterns weren’t plain but had creative touches that made them special. As the women started to work, she joined them with a crochet hook and started her hat. Riley had grown to appreciate her grandmother’s friends’ loyalty and support, and not just as a member of a needle group. These women were Mimi’s family, and Riley’s by extension.
“I’m impressed with what you’ve done with the outside too,” Peg said, her needles flying fast as she knitted with, surprisingly, the neon-pink-and-purple yarn Mimi had saved from the donation bin. “I love the blue you painted the facade.”
“Hayden helped with that,” Riley said, crocheting four chains with her flax-colored yarn.
The women stopped and looked at her.
“He did, did he?” Bea asked, pursing her lips.
“Now, you gals don’t start.” Mimi pointed her crochet hook at each of them. “Hayden is also working on my house. He’s a very talented young man.”
“We all knew that.” Viola grinned. “We just didn’t know he was so chummy with you and Riley.”
“We’re friends,” Riley said quickly, then pulled too tight on the magic ring and had to undo it.
“Friends,” Gwen said, winking at Mimi.
Mimi shook her crochet hook at them. “Y’all are incorrigible.”
“Why yes, we are.” Bea grinned. “And you love us in spite of it.”
The women laughed and then began to discuss the upcoming Fourth of July picnic at church.
Hayden had been dropping hints to the mayor about restarting the Too Dang Hot Parade next year, but Riley didn’t think he’d been taken seriously yet. He wasn’t going to give up, though. They’d talked about it the other night as they sanded down the shutters he’d taken off the front of Mimi’s house.
“Since I’m still in negotiations for the hardware store, I haven’t had time to press the issue,” he’d said.
His father had accepted the initial offer for the store, so they were working with Henry to figure out how to get out of the deal by compensating the buyer. So far nothing had worked, but Hayden remained optimistic. “I can’t imagine we won’t come to an agreement at some point,” he’d said. “I’m not one to back away from a challenge.”
Riley smiled to herself as she continued to crochet. She knew firsthand how stubborn and persistent Hayden could be.
The next two hours she concentrated on her work, chiming in occasionally when one of the BBs asked her a question or drew her into their conversation. She was half finished with her pattern when the evening ended. Bea offered to take Mimi home when Riley said she wanted to stay awhile longer and do some straightening up.
As soon as everyone had left, Hayden opened the back door and poked his head in.
“Is it safe?” he asked, his gaze darting dramatically around the empty shop.
“If you’re asking if the BBs left, they did.”
He walked into the store, and as usual Riley took time to watch him. Even the simple act of walking showed off his athletic grace, coupled with his fit body. She still had difficulty keeping her eyes off him. Tonight a lightness was also in his st
eps, and when she met his eyes, she saw excitement.
“You’re happy,” she said as she moved toward him from behind the counter.
“I’m always happy to see you.” He stopped close to her, and she anticipated the light kiss he always gave her when he was sure they were alone. Instead, he leaned against the counter and stared at her, still grinning.
“I get the feeling there’s something else going on.”
“You would be right about that.” Suddenly he picked her up and whirled her around before setting her lightly on her feet. “I’m now the proud, and happy, owner of Price’s Hardware store.”
Riley squealed. “They let the store go?”
He nodded. “Finally.” He took her hand. “Let’s celebrate. I bought a bottle of champagne when my parents agreed to let me buy the store, and it’s been sitting in the fridge at home. I also want to show you something else—”
The bell above the door jingled. Hayden dropped her hand, and they both turned to see who had come in.
“We’re closed,” Riley said, then froze.
“Even to me?”
A sickening feeling jolted in her stomach. After all these years . . .
“Riley?” Hayden whispered, searching her face. “Are you okay? You turned kind of pale.”
Riley couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. All she could do was stand there and stare at the woman she hadn’t seen since she was thirteen years old. The woman she’d hoped never to see again. Tracey. My mother.
Chapter 14
“Riley?” Hayden grabbed Riley’s shoulders, then glanced at the woman who had walked into the store. He had no idea who she was, but her presence clearly unnerved Riley. He turned to Riley again. “Talk to me, honey.”
“Hey, Riley.”
Riley stiffened and her complexion drained completely.
“You lookin’ good, baby. New York must be treatin’ you real well.”
Riley came to life and brushed past Hayden as she stormed toward the woman.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice shook. “You said you’d never come back when you took off with your boyfriend of the week. Remember? Because I do. I will never forget you sayin’ that was the last time I’d ever see you again.”
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