A squeal came through the small diner and Hailey looked up to see an old friend. “EEE. Hailey Waters? Someone said you were back in town, but I didn’t believe them.” The woman practically pulled Hailey up out of her seat to give her a hug.
“Hi, Emily,” Hailey said, when she was finally able to breathe again. “How are you?”
“The better question is, how are you doing, honey? I didn’t think we’d see you back here so soon, after, well, you know.”
Hailey nodded, her throat constricting. “I’m here to sell the house,” she said automatically. She’d been thinking about it since yesterday in between all of the thoughts that were filled with Troy. She scrunched her forehead. “And I’m working on the Forest Festival this year.”
Emily kept eye contact. “I did hear that you had something to do with the Forest Festival even happening this year, but I didn’t know you were still here working on it.”
Hailey nodded. “I’ll be here until it’s finished.”
Emily’s eyes widened. “Really? Then we need to get together.” She finally turned to Troy. “I’m Emily. Hailey and I have known each other since we were seven years old and I moved next door to her aunt. Hailey was my favorite friend when she’d come and stay with her aunt in the summers.”
“Where are my manners? Emily, this is Troy. Troy is … helping me with the Forest Festival.” Hailey blinked at the handshake between Emily and Troy.
“It’s nice to meet you, Emily,” he said. “Any friend of Hailey’s …” He let the sentence dangle.
Emily gave her a sideways glance, like she couldn’t believe that was the only connection between the two of them, but she smiled broadly and said, “Nice to meet you.”
“We should catch up,” Hailey said, when there was a lull. “I’d love to get together for dinner or something while I’m here, and you can fill me in on what you’ve been up to. I’m afraid I wasn’t in the mood to be social when I was here in the summer.”
Emily gave her a sympathetic nod. “It was understandable. Truthfully, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon. We all miss your aunt. Especially at the hospital. She really made a difference.”
“Thank you,” Hailey said, choking out her gratitude. She gave Emily her phone number.
“We should totally double,” Emily said. “There’s a guy from work that I’ve been seeing a little of.”
Hailey’s mouth dropped open as she made eye contact with Troy. “Uh, I don’t think—”
“We’d love to,” Troy said.
Emily smiled. “Great. There’s this place in Silverwood by the ski resort, and it has the perfect view this time of year with the snow all over the mountain. You’re going to love it.”
Hailey forced a smile. “That sounds great,” she said.
Emily glanced at her watch. “I better get to work. It’s a long shift today. I’m off tomorrow night, if that works for you guys?” She looked between them.
Troy nodded. “Tomorrow night sounds great,” he said.
Hailey had to agree, grateful that Troy was taking the idea in stride. It was just dinner, and they’d been going out to eat for over a week together. Having other people join their table and discussion didn’t need to be a weird thing. They could go as friends, it was fine.
Emily beamed. “I can’t wait. Oh, and don’t let me forget, I’d love to help you out with the volunteering side of the Forest Festival.”
Hailey smiled. “Thanks, Emily. That’s really kind of you. I’ll add you to the list.”
After Emily said her goodbyes, Troy turned to Hailey. “She seems really nice.”
Hailey nodded. “She is really nice. She’s a nurse at the Children’s Hospital.”
“And she’s willing to volunteer for the Forest Festival, so that’s one more person on our growing list,” he said.
“Every little bit helps,” she said.
They finished up their meal, and then Troy asked, “What’s on the schedule today, boss?”
Hailey laughed. “I’m definitely not your boss.”
“You’re in charge of this whole operation.”
“I was thinking we could do our research on how many trees we want for donations.” She looked at her notebook to confirm her numbers. “We already have eighteen, and that’s a great start, but I don’t think it’s anywhere close to enough. This event brings in people from outside of the town too, so there’s potential for a lot more donations. We could start asking in other towns.”
“If we had more cash donations, could we use that money for trees and decorations?”
Hailey nodded. “Sure, we could do that, but then we’re the ones who are doing the tree set-up and planning. We could do a few trees ourselves, but part of the beauty of this event is that it gets the entire community involved. Everyone decorates the trees in such different styles, that it’s nice to have the variety. We still have time to get more donations.”
Troy nodded his head. “That makes sense.”
They spent the day planning out their strategy for talking to businesses in two other neighboring towns, dividing up the businesses, and researching which companies had been solicited in the past. They made flyers asking for tree donations, then printed them. They’d distribute them over the next week.
At every question, Troy had sound advice on the approach for each of the small businesses based on his internet searches of the owners and each company’s information online.
After a few hours at the foundation offices, they went to Hailey’s aunt’s house and worked in the living room. She’d made them some hot chocolate, and they drank it while she scribbled plans down her book.
Hailey looked up from her notebook, where she’d been wrapped up on one side of the couch. She watched Troy’s hands fly across the keyboard, like he was doing the easiest task in the world. “You’re really good at this,” she said.
Troy flashed her a boyish grin at the praise. “Thanks. Just trying to earn my keep,” he said, and went back to typing.
“What is it you do again?”
His hands stilled, hovering over the keyboard. “I work in data collection mostly. This kind of stuff is second nature.”
“I don’t even know what that means,” Hailey said.
Troy shifted on the couch, turning toward her. “It means I get paid money to figure out things for my clients. Mostly it has to do with data mining. Truthfully I don’t always understand it myself.” He shook his head, a grin on his face. “Thankfully I work with people who are much smarter than I am.”
“Do you like what you do?” she asked.
He nodded. “I really do. It’s exciting and fast-paced. It feels like I’m finding buried treasure when I get a nugget of information that is helpful, especially in relation to this type of work.”
“What do you mean?”
He turned his computer screen toward her. “Take this business, for example. On the surface, a cabinetry shop might not seem like a great fit for a business to go and solicit. But if we look deeper at this page …” He clicked onto the bio sheet of the owner. “… We get a good idea about what the owner values. Hard work is one of them, but he’s also worked with the Happy Moments charity in some of their international projects. He’s taken his skills and blessed others with them. That says something about his character.”
“We’re still trying to go to every single business. Regardless of whether or not their business appeals to the Forest Festival, they still might have a desire to help,” Hailey suggested.
“Exactly. But now we have something to connect about,” he said. “We know that he’s the kind of person who will get behind a worthy cause, so it would be good for us to remember that when we’re talking to him, because while he is giving, he does seem to be very busy, especially this time of year.”
Hailey thought about it for a moment. Troy was able to connect with people. It seemed like he had that gift. “Looks like you’re going to be the one talking to him. I don’t know much about Happy Moments.”
>
Troy nodded. “I’d be happy to talk to him.”
Chapter 12
Troy couldn’t believe his good luck. He was finding out so much about the different businesses, and each of them had a story that he felt like he could relate to. Even without his name or title as a CEO and billionaire, he was able to affect change, and connect with people. It was an odd sensation to realize that maybe his title or his name had held him back in some ways.
Without the stress and pressure of his title, without people knowing that he was a billionaire, they seemed to focus on the immediate goals of helping the Forest Festival, instead of trying to impress Troy Rasmussen. Things were going his way, and he didn’t have to try harder to get the results he wanted.
The reality was people wanted to donate and be part of something larger than themselves, especially at this time of year. It was encouraging, and Troy was grateful that he’d decided to get behind a cause this holiday season too. There was still several weeks until the actual weekend of the Forest Festival, but they had their work cut out for them.
“You mentioned to Emily you’re going to sell your aunt’s house?”
Hailey nodded, her beautiful curls bouncing on her shoulders with the gesture. “It was originally the main reason to come here, in addition to clearing out the closet at the foundation. I still need to go through a few more boxes of my aunt’s stuff. I’m not sure how much of it I’ll want to ship back to Seattle with me, but if there are a few things, I’d like to take them on this trip.” The light in her eyes seemed to dim. “My aunt would be so sad to see it go. She’d always talked about turning it into a place where families could come to be close to their kids.”
The idea caught hold of Troy. He could see her carrying on her aunt’s dream. It sounded amazing. “Why don’t you do that?”
She hesitated, a mixture of emotions on her face. Finally she said, “My life isn’t here. I wouldn’t know the first thing about it.”
“It’d be a beautiful place for it.”
“Agreed,” she said, glancing around the main living space. “I’m donating everything I make on the house to the Children’s Hospital, so in that small way, it’s hopefully staying true to my aunt’s idea.”
Troy wasn’t sure what to say. He could tell Hailey was hurting, but wasn’t sure if it was from grief or from selling the house. “Would you ever consider keeping the house?” he asked, trying to gauge where her strongest feelings came from.
Hailey shrugged. “I’m not really sure what I would do with it.” She bit her lip, and Troy could see the internal struggle that manifested itself as two vertical lines between her eyebrows. “It is part of me, but I … I just don’t think I would do the maintenance on it, you know. Red Oaks is a long way from Seattle.”
It was the reminder he needed too. She was only here until the Festival was over. He was only here until the Festival was over too. This wasn’t their town. They weren’t really living here. She was staying in a home that would be up on the market soon. He was living out of a suitcase in a hotel.
“You could rent it out,” he suggested.
Hailey nodded. “I thought of that, but in all reality, after this Festival, how many more years will I come back to visit in a town that my aunt doesn’t live in anymore? Dealing with a rental property company feels like a pain. My family doesn’t live here. I’d be coming back for the memories—the nostalgia.” She shook her head. “It’s a long plane ride when that’s my reason.”
“So you’ll list it soon?” he asked.
“I haven’t figured the timing out. My plan was to list it last week, but that was before the Forest Festival became a reality. Now I don’t know how to really do that when I’m still living there while I’m in town. If it sells too soon, then, what do I do? I can’t afford to stay at a hotel every night.” She laughed lightly, then narrowed her eyes. “I feel bad you’re spending so much money there.”
He shrugged it off. “After the first week, I extended for the rest of my time, and the hotel cut me a deal for staying so long. It was actually more reasonable than you might think.” He didn’t want her worried about his financial situation, especially because he didn’t want to deceive her more than he had to. Kyle hadn’t made lodging part of the $10,000 he could donate, so he was fine to stay at the hotel on his own dime. He hadn’t even blinked at the idea of paying for his entire stay upfront, regardless of the discount. He just knew it was something he didn’t need to be bothered with.
“They really cut you a deal?” she asked.
He nodded, wanting to alleviate her concerns. “I tried to find a local Bed and Breakfast, but the two that were closest would have had me switching rooms every few nights to accommodate their booking schedule.” He’d liked the idea of a B&B because it wouldn’t have drawn a lot of attention, like a hotel would, but he didn’t want to move rooms that much. They were also farther outside of town. He liked being close to the foundation, to the center of the action, and closer to Hailey.
“There used to be a B&B on the corner of Main Street, but it caught fire a few years ago. It was quaint, not even as big as my aunt’s house, but it was warm and cozy. My aunt and I stayed there for a few days when she was getting some remodeling done.”
* * *
Troy and Hailey spent the following day putting up flyers advertising both the Forest Festival and asking for tree donors. They also solicited businesses for donations, and volunteers in Blue Pines. Troy had been right about the man who owned the cabinetry shop. He gave a generous cash donation and also offered custom-made nativity pieces for the silent auction. Hailey looked like she was going to cry from the generosity, and Troy was happy that he’d kept the conversation light, and hadn’t had to name drop Kyle Montgomery—the founder of Happy Moments—to connect with the man.
They drove back from Blue Pines to Red Oaks together.
Hailey fidgeted with her purse strap in her lap. “So, about tonight …” she began.
Troy nodded. He’d been anticipating their double date. Not because they were going out with friends but because he could actually put a label on one of their outings that it was an official date. “Did Emily get back to you with the details?” He couldn’t wait to spend time with her outside of the stress of the Forest Festival.
“She did, but …” She twisted in her seat, facing toward him as they drove the final mile back to her aunt’s house. “Are you sure you want to go? It’s just a fancy restaurant. We’ve been eating out a lot.” She studied him.
Did fancy restaurants bother her? She threw amazingly incredible parties for rich and famous people—did fancy really bother her? Was she worried about the cost of food? Or was she simply tired of eating out?
He kept his eyes on the road, staying well within the speed limit, and kept his voice calm. “What’s really bothering you, Hailey?” When she didn’t answer he glanced at her from the corner of her eyes. “You can tell me.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re roped into a double date. It was Emily’s idea. I can always catch up with her another time.”
Troy cared for Hailey. He liked her more than he could admit, and he wasn’t going to let the fact that it was someone else’s idea to go on a double date stop him from having an enjoyable night. He stopped at the red light and looked at Hailey. “I don’t want you thinking that somehow just because I didn’t come up with the idea that I’m not all for the idea.”
“What are you saying?”
“Hailey, will you go on a date with me?”
Her mouth fell open but no words came immediately out. She blinked, her intense blue eyes studying him. “You really want to go on a date with me? Not just appease my friend for an evening out?”
“Obviously.”
She sucked in a breath, her words coming out breathy. “Okay.”
He covered her hand with his, and she released the purse strap. The light turned green, and Troy went through the small intersection. A real date with Hailey. He cou
ldn’t wait.
Chapter 13
Hailey raced to her room when Troy dropped her off. He’d be back in less than an hour, but now that he’d asked her out, not just agreed to her friend’s ideas to double, the date felt more real. Stress over what to wear ran through her mind, which was silly. She’d just spent the whole day with him. He knew how she’d looked, and she’d had dinner with him multiple times. He’d been sweet with her, but at the moment the officialness of tonight had her holding up all of the clothes she’d brought with her to Red Oaks, wishing she had more options.
She ignored the shivers that ran down her spine when she thought of her hand brushing against his over the past few days. It was silly, but the words he’d said when he thought she was asleep repeated in her mind.
For some strange reason she’d brought up her hesitation about the double date because for all intents and purposes he’d been roped into it. And the moment that she’d brought up hesitations, he’d immediately assuaged her fears and asked her out on the date. Now this date with Troy felt real, her insides betrayed her feelings that she cared that he wanted to ask her out.
When the doorbell rang, Hailey smoothed down the red dress she’d brought. The dress had been a last minute add to her suitcase, considering she’d only planned to be in town less than a week, but she was glad she always packed at least one dressier outfit. She paired it with a sparkly black purse and a set of matching heels.
She opened the door, and the expression on Troy’s face was complete shock. He wore slacks, a button down without a tie and a sports coat. “You look nice,” she said.
Troy cleared his throat, then said, “I hope it’s dressy enough. I didn’t bring many options.” He looked down as if he was genuinely concerned about it.
“It’s perfect,” she said.
“You look amazing,” he said.
She blushed. “Thank you,” she said, reminding herself that he was a gentleman and would have said she looked amazing regardless because he was nice like that.
The Billionaire’s Christmas Miracle: The Billionaires’ Christmas Gifts Romance Page 10