The Hail You Say (Hail Raisers Book 5)

by Lani Lynn Vale

  He didn’t smile. Didn’t laugh. Didn’t do a damn thing but watch me.

  “What?”

  He didn’t say anything, only came in and took a seat on the loveseat.

  “It’s weird being here,” he admitted.

  I snorted.

  It was weird for me, too.

  Since my parents had died, I’d moved back into my old house.

  I hadn’t wanted to, but until I figured out a way to sell this place since I couldn’t afford the taxes on it, it would have to do.

  My parents were rich, and by default since they didn’t have a will, I was, too.

  Yet, I refused to spend any of their money. I’d been living on my savings account since I’d moved, and I was getting dangerously low on my reserves.

  If my guestimations were correct, then I’d have exactly two more months to live how I’d been living before it ran out.

  And I’d already canceled all of my parents’ utilities except for the ones I absolutely needed like water, electricity, and trash pickup.

  All the rest of my monthly expenses, like television, Netflix—which really hurt the most—and my anime membership on Crunchy Roll and Hulu, had been canceled as of today.

  With the doctor bills I was about to be accruing, I didn’t see any reason to delay the inevitable.

  Hence why I was getting a job.

  “It is,” I confirmed, uncomfortably aware that he was now looking at me instead of the house around him.

  “Is that my soccer shirt?”

  I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest.

  I’d stripped the bra off the moment that I walked in the door.

  The pants had soon followed.

  The shirt I’d already been wearing at the doctor, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that I was wearing it.

  But, apparently, it was.

  “I thought I lost that shirt.”

  I didn’t reply.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked as the silence stretched on.

  His eyes flicked up to mine.

  “I never wanted this to happen.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that.

  I hadn’t either.

  But it still smarted to hear him say those words.

  “I’m sorry.”

  And honestly, I was on birth control. Really, it hadn’t been my fault…or his. It’d been a joint effort, that was for sure.

  As much as I had thought how we shouldn’t have done what we’d done, I knew that I wouldn’t have stopped it.

  I’d wanted it.

  Wanted him.

  Had wanted him for a very, very long time.

  It didn’t matter that twelve years had gone by. Not one of those days passed that I didn’t think about him. Didn’t want him. Didn’t miss him.

  I started to cry.

  And, for the first time in twelve very long, very exhausting years, I was back in his arms.

  Everything in my world was right for the few short minutes that he held me.

  ***

  Reed

  The moment the first tear hit her face, I couldn’t resist any longer.

  She was carrying my baby—my babies.

  It physically hurt to be in the same room with her and not touch her, and I just fucking missed her. Plain and simple. I. Fucking. Missed. Her.

  I missed the way she smelled, and the way she brushed her hair. I missed the way she talked my ear off about anything she felt needed my attention, and the way she stole my t-shirts.

  My favorite ones, might I add.

  I remembered that specific soccer one from high school. It seriously was my favorite.

  It was worn out and soft due to the many washes and wears that ensued during my senior year of high school soccer. Games. Practices. Just for the hell of it. I wore it everywhere. It was an old faded gray t-shirt with Hostel Soccer on the front and a soccer ball. There wasn’t anything special about it, and it damn well wouldn’t fit me anymore, but I hadn’t known she’d had it.

  Though, even if I had I wouldn’t have taken it from her.

  I wanted her to have a reminder of me.

  I wanted her to think about me.

  Like she did every time she got into the car she refused to sell.

  Her senior year of high school I’d helped her buy a car with the money that she was able to finagle from her father, as well as the money she saved from her summer job the last summer we were together.

  It was a piece of shit. But it meant something to both of us.

  Which was why she kept it even though she had been able to afford a new car for a while—and had a new car now. She drove it almost as much as her new one, and that was saying something since there wasn’t a promise that it would stay running the minute she left her driveway.

  It was also why, every time it came into my brother’s shop, it had a permanent spot just for it. It was always kept open for the next time that she’d need it. And for four years while she was away with the Army, my brother kept it in his shop, in its exact spot, and I paid for the rent.

  I paid the bill, even though she protested to Travis that she didn’t need the charity.

  She likely didn’t know that I was the one paying for the parts or the space, though, because otherwise she really would’ve thrown a fit and refused to bring it there anymore.

  We both knew that Krisney was a woman who would refuse the help based on principle alone, which is the reason my brother kept it quiet.

  And I didn’t want her to do that.

  I wanted to make sure she got it fixed correctly without getting shafted if she took it anywhere else.

  The minute she started to cry, I couldn’t stand it any longer.

  I needed to have her in my arms, if only for a little bit.

  So, the minute the first tear hit her cheek, I was moving from the spot I’d occupied for the last few minutes, practically dive bombing her as I scooped her into my arms, pulling her in close.

  I twisted so that we were both on the couch, and she curled further into me as she let the tears flow.

  Having her in my arms again? It was like nothing I could’ve ever dreamed up.

  I still remembered our first kiss. Our first date. Our first everything.

  That feeling that hits you. The one full of nervousness, anticipation, and excitement all rolled into one.

  I remember that day and those feelings just like it was yesterday.

  Chapter 9

  Life is soup, and I’m a fork.

  -Krisney to Reed

  Reed

  Then

  I stared at the phone number on my phone, biting my lip as I tried to decide what to do.

  I’d been contemplating texting her for three days, but I couldn’t quite make myself press the send button on my Nokia phone.

  “Just do it, pussy.”

  I looked up to find my brother, Travis, staring at me like I was the king of losers.

  “What if she doesn’t answer?”

  “Then she doesn’t answer,” Travis countered. “But how will you know if you don’t pony up and do it?”

  I grimaced.

  “Fine.”

  I hit send, and then had a mild heart attack while I waited for her to reply.

  After the twentieth minute of just staring at my phone, I got frustrated and shoved the phone into my pocket.

  “I’m heading out to the field,” I said. “Do you want to come?”

  I was in my third semester of classes at the local community college to get all my basics set in place so I could enter medical school in exactly two years.

  I had it all planned out, and had for a very long time now.

  My last two years of high school, I’d started taking dual credit classes at the local college to get me a few steps ahead of the game. My freshman year of college, I started with over thirty credits to my name, meaning that I was actually considered a junior instead of a f
reshman.

  Now, at eighteen, I was halfway through my sophomore year, and well on my way to getting all my classes done so I could start pre-med. Then, after that was accomplished, I’d start medical school.

  Once I was finished with medical school, I would join the Army as an officer.

  I had it all mapped out, every single bit of my life.

  Which was what was throwing me when it came to Krisney Shaw.

  She was everything I didn’t need. A distraction. A person who was well on the way to making me forget my duties, and what I wanted to make out of my life.

  Did that stop me from thinking about her, though? Hell no.

  It only made me think about her more, and I felt like a goddamn moron.

  Which was why I’d contemplated sending the message in the first place.

  Did I really want to start something I couldn’t finish?

  I kicked the ball up, bounced it off my chest, and then did a few foot drills while I contemplated what to do next.

  “Hey.”

  My whole body froze when I heard her voice.

  I hadn’t realized how much I’d wanted to hear it until now.

  Turning around, my eyes widened.

  “You’re sweaty.”

  She started to laugh. “I had practice. Volleyball. I got your text. I was about to text you back when I saw you up here, so I thought I’d come say hi.”

  I hadn’t realized that she was in volleyball.

  I hadn’t realized she was still in high school…which made me feel incredibly awkward.

  I was eighteen. Which meant I was at least two years older than her.

  Her brother was one year older than her, and he was still in high school, so I suppose I should’ve put two and two together.

  I hadn’t, though.

  “You’re still in high school?” I blurted.

  Her smile slipped. “Yeah…why? Didn’t you know?”

  I frowned. “Jay’s still in high school. I guess I kind of thought you were the older one.”

  She shook her head. “Jay’s eighteen months older than me, but he failed two classes last year, so he had to repeat the grade. They considered letting him graduate with summer school, but since it was math and reading, they—my parents—decided that it was best to let him repeat.”

  I’d actually known that. Her brother had been good friends with Tobias for a while now…a couple years, at least. I hadn’t realized that they were in different grades, though.

  “Oh,” I said, not able to think of anything better to say.

  Krisney shifted from foot to foot, and that’s when I saw that she was in tight black shorts—and when I say tight, I meant that they left very little to the imagination—and a tank top that molded to her every curve.

  My dick hardened behind my soccer shorts, and I dropped the ball that was under my arm to hold in front of my dick.

  It was incredibly embarrassing.

  “I guess I’ll go…”

  Before she could take even two steps, I was in front of her, stopping her forward movement.

  “Go out with me,” I blurted.

  Her eyes widened.

  “You want to go out with me?” she asked in surprise.

  I nodded. “That’s why I sent the text.”

  Her mouth tipped up into a small smile. “You said ‘hey.’”

  I shrugged. “If you’d have answered back, I would’ve followed up with ‘do you want to go out to dinner.’”

  She started to snicker, and then her eyes met mine.

  Something flashed so fast in their depths that before I could get a gauge on what it was, it was gone.

  “Sure.”

  And just like that, all was right with my world once again.

  “Good.”

  “I like your shirt.” She reached forward and peeled the wet fabric away from my skin. “After you wash it, can I borrow it?”

  My mouth kicked up into a grin. “I don’t think that it’ll fit you.”

  I let my eyes trail up the length of her body, and she blushed bright red before laughing.

  “No, but I can wear it to sleep in,” she admitted. “Where do you want to go eat, and do I have time to go home and shower first?”

  I nodded. “Take all the time you need.” I paused. “Can I pick you up?”

  Her eyes studied me for a second, and then she nodded. “Unless you want my dad bringing me to the date, I think that’ll be best.”

  My brows furrowed. “You don’t have a car?”

  She shook her head. “No…my parents don’t believe in cars.”

  “But Jay has one.”

  “Let me rephrase…my parents don’t believe in cars for me.”

  One eyebrow cocked up at that. “That’s sexist.”

  “That’s my life. My mother makes the rules, I just follow them or pay the consequences.”

  I actually had met her mother once before when she was dropping Jay off for the weekend. She was a bitch. I remembered her staring at our house with a disgusted look overtaking her features before she could smooth them into a blank mask.

  I’d brought it up to my brother after Jay had been picked up the next day, and Tobias had explained that Jay’s parents were super rich and didn’t really like it much that he was spending so much time at the Hail house.

  “Will your mother be okay with me taking you out?” I finally asked.

  I’d hate to find out that she wasn’t.

  Krisney paused, thinking it over. “Technically? Not yet. I have about four months until I’m seventeen, and officially considered an adult. Age of consent is seventeen in Texas…so if that’s what you’re worried about…”

  Age of consent. Sex. Oh my God.

  I’d thought about it before, of course. But I didn’t think she’d just bring it up in a casual conversation like we were having.

  “That doesn’t mean that she will be okay with it…”

  I bit my lip as I thought about it. “Maybe we should just get it out of the way. Are your parents home? I’ll come introduce myself before we go out.”

  She looked like she’d rather do anything else, but reluctantly nodded her head.

  “I guess that’s best,” she admitted. “What time?”

  I looked at my watch, noticed that it was almost after four, and said, “How about seven?”

  “I have to be at practice tomorrow morning by six thirty,” she admitted. “We have practice early, before school. I won’t be able to stay out too late. Nine at most.”

  “Six?”

  Her smile was radiant. “That’s better.”

  “Okay. Six it is,” I replied softly.

  Her eyes were bright as she offered me a small smile. “See you then.”

  Then she was gone, walking away without another word.

  I watched her go across the entire field, then move through the gates that led to the parking lot beyond.

  There, she disappeared around the side of the building and left me to my thoughts, which were rioting.

  On one hand, I knew that this wasn’t a good idea. Jay’s parents—Krisney’s parents—were fucking nuts. They were asshole rich people who thought they were better than us. It wasn’t a stretch to think that they wouldn’t like me. Based on her mother’s face as she stared at my house, I knew that when I showed up at her door dressed in nice jeans and a collared shirt, she wouldn’t think I was good enough for her daughter, either.

  But I couldn’t see myself not going out on this date.

  It’d been three days, and I couldn’t get her out of my mind.

  She’d always be that ‘what if’ that I couldn’t stop thinking about. I just knew it.

  And let’s not forget that she was still sixteen. Those years didn’t make that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, but for state law…yeah, that made a difference.

  So, after twenty minutes of more playing around on the field, I drove home
and quickly showered.

  Once I was dressed in my nicest pair of jeans and my polo shirt—the only collared one I owned—I drove over to her house with ten minutes to spare.

  My car was loud in her driveway, and I immediately winced.

  The car that I had was loud because I’d cut the mufflers off of it a few weeks ago. I loved the way it sounded…but now, with the reverberation of it bouncing off the houses around me, I was acutely aware that it wasn’t going to be approved of by her parents, either.

  Shit.

  I shut the car off and walked up the perfectly landscaped path straight up to the front door. Before I could think better of it, I knocked and waited, shuffling from foot to foot.

  The door opened moments later, and the nervousness exploded inside of me when Krisney’s father—or at least who I assumed was Krisney’s father—answered the door.

  His eyes took me in quickly as he asked, “Can I help you?”

  I cleared my throat. “I’m here to pick Krisney up for a date.”

  The man’s eyes narrowed. “And you are?”

  “Dad, that’s Reed Hail. Tobias’s older brother. Jay’s best friend?” Krisney appeared wearing a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt with black lettering that said ‘Hostel Volleyball’ on it in big bold letters, and a pair of tennis shoes.

  “Oh, you,” the man said, finally taking my offered hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Have her back by ten.”

  Then he left without another word.

  Krisney came through the open door and patted my hand. “Let’s go before my mother gets home. If she sees us leaving, she’ll want to know a whole lot more than my father did.”

  “What’s your father’s name?” I questioned her as I stuffed my hands into my pockets.

  “My dad is Ephraim, and my mother is Brenda.”

  I walked down the pathway with her to my ride, circled around the big beast to her side of the car, and opened the door.

  She smiled at me, and I felt that smile straight in my heart.

  It kicked thunderously, and I wanted nothing more than to pull her into my arms and kiss her.

  She took her seat, though, and grinned up at me. “I’ve never been in a muscle car before.”

  I snorted.

  “This isn’t really considered a ‘muscle’ car,” I told her. “More like a fast car, with a little more oomph than anything.”