“Yes.”
Rhonda’s simple word rode an infectious giggle. Hailey couldn’t help but laugh too. It was always like this when they were together, as if no time had passed, and they were still carefree children.
It was the first time in months she’d been able to smile despite her problems and it felt good to set the weight of the world aside, if only for a few minutes. She hoisted her leg over, and joined her cousin on the gate, facing Rhonda. “But seriously, if I moved back to town, I could help take care of Dad. If it gave him an extra six months at home wouldn’t it be worth it?”
Rhonda frowned. “Of course it would, but you don’t know that it would give him even an extra day. You need to get all the facts before you make such a big decision. Stop avoiding the conversation with your brother and sister. Sit down and talk to them.”
Hailey nodded, gripping the rail in front of her. “I know, you’re right.”
“I always try to think of New Year’s Eve as a big reset button. You’ll see. It’s time to close the door on all the crap you’ve gone through the past year and try to face the new one with a bit of hope. You’ll get another job.”
“I hope your right.” Hailey paused and looked up toward the hayloft. “We had so much fun growing up here.”
“Didn’t your brother catch you up in that hayloft with Jimmy Johnson?”
“Nah! Not Jimmy.” Her giggle sounded child-like, even to her own ears.
“Who was it then? I know it wasn’t Nate Jenkins. No matter how bad you always wanted it to be.”
Hailey pressed her lips together. Some secrets were too precious to speak, even to Rhonda. The incident her cousin remembered wasn’t with Nate, but she’d had a moment here with him in the quiet of the old barn too.
It was the Fourth of July the summer before they were all to leave for college. Her parents had encouraged her to have a bonfire with all of her friends from school.
Late in the evening, Nate pulled her aside and asked her to go for a walk and right here—in front of the old gate—he’d asked her out.
“Seems like a hundred years ago.”
“You can’t go back in time.”
“But wouldn’t it be nice if we could?”
He’d been so nervous that night. Talked about the weather, the baseball game from TV the night before, and even how high the corn stalks were in the field before he rubbed his sweaty palms on the back of his denim shorts and asked if “she might want to” go out with him.
“What would you do? Not go to college and law school? Marry Nate Jenkins? Work with him in the diner?”
Hailey swung her leg back over the gate and jumped down. With a smooth movement, she reached down, picking up her drink. “Don’t say it like that. Nate’s a good guy.”
“Lighten up. Did I say he wasn’t? I’m just saying you made the right choices. That’s all.”
She leaned her arm against the wall and peeked into an empty stall. “I’m glad you’re sure. Sometimes I don’t know.”
“He has a daughter you know.”
Hailey nodded. “I heard. He moved home so his mom could help him take care of her when she was a baby. No one knows anything about her mother.”
“It’s hard to imagine any of us from school with kids of our own. What is she, five?”
“Almost six.”
She heard Rhonda’s feet hit the ground and then her footfalls. “Really? You’re still hung up on him?”
“I didn’t say that.” Didn’t mean it wasn’t true though. Hailey turned, leaning back against the wall and facing her cousin. “It’s a small town. Jake has actually become pretty good friends with him over the years. I hear things.”
“Sounds to me like you’re protesting too much.”
Hailey shrugged. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the choices I’ve made in life. Being out of work gives you a lot of time for introspection.”
“Sounds like you’ve spent too much time examining the past, if you ask me.”
“The decision to leave Nate behind and head to college early was huge. Things might have turned out differently if I’d let the rest of the summer play out.”
“And things might have turned out differently if my family had left fifteen minutes later or sooner to come over here for Christmas dinner. You’ll drive yourself mad thinking about all the ‘what ifs.’”
Hailey nodded, crossing her arms in front of her chest. It didn’t stop the questions from rolling through her mind. But Rhonda was right about one thing, she couldn’t make any decisions based on hypotheses. She needed to gather facts, and her dad’s health was a good place to start. “I guess it’s time to go have that talk with my brother and sister.”
Nate and Hailey: The Sunnydale Weddings Page 5