by Joan Kilby
“I hope she won’t mind moving because I don’t just want you to join the firm as a partner, Adam. I want you to head up our new office.”
“In Sydney? Wow, that’s exciting. I didn’t know we were expanding nationally.” He prefered Melbourne but Sydney was fine, and Summer would be close to her mother, too. His new package would no doubt cover relocation expenses. He started doing mental calculations to see if he could afford to keep the Melbourne apartment as well as buy a place in Sydney.
“You’ll be based in Shanghai.”
He blinked. “I beg your pardon? Did you say Shanghai?”
With a laugh Lorraine leaned back. “You should see your face. I understand you’re feeling stunned right now. It’s a huge undertaking. I’ve talked it over with the board and the decision was unanimous. You are perfect for the job. And you deserve it for all your excellent hard work. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Shanghai. His heart sank. Melbourne was one thing, but maintaining a relationship from overseas might prove a tad more difficult.
“Now, let me tell you about the package we’re offering,” Lorraine said. “I think you’ll be very pleased.”
* * *
HAYLEY LEANED ON the paddock fence and elaborated on the basics of her horse therapy program, which she’d explained to Graham last night over dinner. He listened attentively, interrupting her to ask questions now and then, fleshing out the details.
Summer went back and forth from the barn to the paddock, getting Bo, Sergeant and Major saddled and ready for their ride. While Hayley chatted with Graham she kept one eye on Summer, noting how much she seemed to enjoy the task and the responsibility.
“Write up a brief overview of your program, including testimonials if possible, and email it to me,” Graham said. “I’ll draft a grant proposal over the next week or so and shoot you a copy so you can vet it before I send it out.”
“That would be fantastic. What do you charge for that?”
“Don’t worry.” He waved it away. “I owe Adam a favor. And he’ll write you a glowing testimonial.” Graham’s eyes went to Summer. “He says you’ve made amazing progress with his daughter.”
“She’s coming along really well.”
“Hayley, look,” Summer called and pointed at Jewel. The foal was peeking out of the stable door. While they watched she took her first tentative steps into the paddock. Her head lifted and her small black tail whisked back and forth as she surveyed her expanded world.
Shane slithered beneath the bottom rail of the fence and crept into the field. He usually kept a safe distance from horse hooves but apparently he had to check out the new filly. Jewel lowered her nose, lipping the dog’s head as if to see what sort of creature he was. Shane gave her a friendly lick on the chin. Startled, Jewel jerked her head up and trotted away. She stopped abruptly, all four legs splayed, her small sides heaving with the unaccustomed exertion.
Summer laughed heartily and her unrestrained delight warmed Hayley’s heart. The process of healing, begun by horse therapy, had been accelerated by the sheer joy she found in the foal. Jewel had given Summer a new purpose, something to focus on beyond herself.
“Excuse me a second, Graham.” Hayley walked over to the girl and touched her on the shoulder. “Summer?”
Summer didn’t take her eyes off the filly. “Yeah?”
“If your dad agrees, I’d like you to have Jewel. My gift to you. You can keep it at my house and I’ll help you train—” She didn’t get any further.
“Really? Oh, my God, thank you!” Summer flung herself at Hayley, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Dad will say yes. He has to. I’m going to ask him now.”
“No, wait,” Hayley said quickly. “He’s in a meeting and won’t want to be disturbed.” Damn. Why had she spoken so impulsively? She was an idiot. She should’ve asked Adam before she offered Summer the foal.
“He won’t mind.” Summer pulled away from Hayley.
“Summer, wait. We’re about to head off. Save it for after the ride.” Hayley reached out to grab the back of the girl’s hoodie but Summer was too quick.
“I’ll only be a minute.” She ran off to the house.
“That’s one excited girl,” Graham said. “I understand Adam’s trying to sell this property. Where would he keep a horse in the city?”
“Jewel can stay with me,” Hayley said worriedly. “Summer can come and ride whenever she’s in Hope Mountain.” But she knew Summer wouldn’t be content with that. She still couldn’t believe she’d given the girl a horse just like that. All she’d wanted was to build on Summer’s high. Or was that all? Had she subconsciously been trying to trap Adam into staying? “I’d better get in there.”
She ran to the house and pushed through the screen door, not stopping to take off her boots. In the dining room Summer was chattering excitedly about how Jewel was now her horse, her very own. Adam stared at her, his shock turning to anger.
“Hayley,” Summer said, spotting her enter. “Tell him. It’s true, isn’t it? You gave Jewel to me for keeps.”
Adam turned to Hayley with a stony expression. “Yes, tell me. Tell me you didn’t give my daughter a horse. Because it’s not going to happen.”
Remorseful only a moment ago, Hayley now felt a surge of defiance. Adam’s uncompromising response didn’t allow one iota of negotiating room. A glance at Summer and her heart caught at the girl’s open yearning. Hayley’s loyalties were being tested. Why should Summer suffer because Hayley had made a dumb mistake? On the other hand, how could she undermine Adam when he’d been so generous and kind? When their relationship had evolved into something not only exciting but also healing for her?
But she could only support one of them.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ADAM SHIFTED IMPATIENTLY while Hayley took forever to answer a simple question. How dare she foist this on him out of the blue? She’d put him in an impossible position with his daughter, and in front of his boss, no less. He was already in a quandary over the biggest decision of his life.
“Well?” he demanded.
Hayley straightened her shoulders and cleared her throat. “Yes, I did give her the foal. It’s part of her therapy.”
“See, Dad? You have to let me.” Summer went from pleading to demanding in an instant. “Hayley says so. I won’t get better unless I have Jewel. Don’t you want me to get better?”
This, from the girl who insisted she didn’t have problems. Adam counted to ten, then added another five. He couldn’t even look at Hayley right now. His initial reaction to moving to China had been a resounding no, but right now Shanghai was looking like a mighty fine escape from this mess. Then he took in his daughter’s anxious face. It wasn’t going to be that easy. She might have made progress, but she still had issues that needed to be addressed. He’d never run away from problems. He wouldn’t start now.
“We’ll talk about this later,” he said firmly. “Lorraine and I are discussing something important.”
“Your stupid job again,” Summer muttered.
“Lorraine, I apologize for my daughter’s behavior,” Adam began stiffly.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got teens, too.” Lorraine waved off the interruption. “Anyway, we were pretty much done. Unless you have any more questions, or want to give me your answer now.”
He wasn’t ready to say yes to Shanghai. He didn’t want to make a decision this important in the heat of the moment, when he was distracted by guilt and anger. “I’ll need time to think about your offer. May I have a few days?”
“Take a couple of weeks if you need it.” Lorraine began to pack up her briefcase. “I’ll leave you the contract and the rest of the material to look over.”
Adam turned to Hayley. “We need to talk.”
“I left Graham alone with the horses. I should probably make sur
e he’s all right.”
“Summer can do that.” Adam turned to his mutinous-looking daughter. “Summer?”
“I’ll go with you, dear,” Lorraine said, steering the teen toward the door. “You can show me how the foal is doing this morning.”
Left alone with Hayley, Adam’s anger surged with renewed force. “How could you offer Summer a horse when you know I want to move back to the city and take her with me? You’ve just made my task an order of magnitude harder and cast me as the bad guy.”
Hayley’s chin rose another notch and she took a step forward. “I did tell her she had to ask you first.”
“You can’t do that with kids. Don’t you know that?” He took a pace away and threw his hands in the air. “No, of course not, because you don’t have kids yourself.”
The skin around her eyes tightened and her mouth compressed into a bloodless line. “That was uncalled for.”
Oh, hell. He hadn’t intended to be cruel but he’d obviously touched a nerve. What if she’d wanted children but couldn’t have them? What if she’d, God forbid, lost a child? Suddenly it hit home that she was right—he barely knew her.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But you should’ve asked me first, without telling Summer what you were thinking. Now she’s got it in her head that she not only wants that horse but she needs that horse.” His tone became strident as he thought about how Summer would use the alleged requirements of her treatment to get her own way. “My life will be a living hell unless I allow her to have it.”
“Maybe she should be allowed. Has that occurred to you?” Hayley was hot under the collar now. “You want her to overcome her anxiety and depression and heal. I believe having Jewel will help her do that. It would at least make her happy.”
Exactly what Diane’s approach would have been—give Summer whatever she wants. “Don’t you understand how spoiled that would make her? Diane gave into her way too much.”
“I’m not suggesting you spoil her. Just be kind to her. She’s so vulnerable. Be gentle. Love her.”
His nostrils flared. Hadn’t he turned his entire life upside down to be with Summer, to help her, precisely because he did love her? “That’s monstrously unfair.”
Hayley’s eyes closed briefly as an agonized expression flitted over her face. When she opened them again, he expected to see contrition. Instead, they blazed fiercely on Summer’s behalf. “She’s afraid of your anger and of your disappointment. You need to show her that no matter what, you are on her side.”
“And you think I can prove that by letting her have a horse? I’m selling this property, remember? Where will she keep it? It’s a real live horse, for God’s sake, not a figurine.”
“She can keep it at my place. I told her that. But you went off the deep end right away, so she didn’t get a chance to explain.”
“I was planning on letting her have a horse once we go back to Melbourne and board it closer to the city. But now—” He broke off. If he moved to Shanghai that plan was out the window. All his recent plans and hopes and dreams involving Hayley would come to nothing, also.
“Now what?” Hayley asked impatiently.
He wasn’t ready to tell her about Lorraine’s offer. He hadn’t decided if he was going to accept. If he said anything now there would be another huge thing for him and Hayley to deal with. “Nothing.”
“Look, maybe I should’ve asked you first if Summer could have Jewel, but it wasn’t a plot to force you to say yes,” Hayley said, more forceful than defensive. “I may not have kids, but I do know you don’t hold out the lollipop until you get the dad’s okay. She was so thrilled and so happy about the foal. I wanted to give her something to make that happiness last.”
“I thought that’s what therapy is about—to enable her to find her own inner happiness. Is she going to chase that foal around the ring until it follows her?”
Hayley shook her head. “Summer has lost so much. I wanted to do something nice for her.”
“Something nice is taking her on trail rides. Not giving her a goddamn horse.” Adam cleared the papers off the table with jerky movements.
Hayley watched in silence a moment. “How did your meeting with Lorraine go?”
“Fine.” He didn’t want to talk about it with Hayley right now—he didn’t want to talk to her, period.
“Partnership in the bag?” Hayley persisted.
“She made me an offer that is difficult to refuse.” He folded his laptop and stacked the documents on top. After his big plea for Hayley to keep the future open, how could he turn around and say he might be moving to another country?
“You’re not going to discuss it. Okay. Fine.” She turned and started to go, then paused. “By the way, do you still have Leif’s watch? I want it after all.”
“It’s in the sideboard.”
She found it and stalked out. A second later, the back door slammed.
Adam felt sick, from anger and adrenaline. In the space of minutes Hayley had driven a wedge between him and his daughter, even though she’d had the best of intentions. And he was keeping a secret that could kill their budding romance.
Hayley was as natural as a wildflower, as skittish as the wild horses in the high country and as prickly as the thistles growing behind the barn. From first to last, their relationship was problematic. What made him think anything would change in the future?
* * *
“I FEEL TERRIBLE, Jacinta.” Hayley flipped through the dress rack in the Healesville boutique without really looking. “Adam’s so mad at me and I don’t blame him.”
“Who cares what he thinks? Summer’s the one who matters, right?”
Summer mattered, but Hayley also cared about Adam. She cared a lot. She avoided Jacinta’s gaze. She hadn’t told her friend what was going on between her and Adam. What was the point in making their relationship appear more real than it was? Although there was nothing fake about the desire she felt when he kissed her.
And on top of everything else, she couldn’t help but wonder what Adam had been hiding about his talks with Lorraine. She knew there was something important he wasn’t telling her. She wished he’d just be up front with her. She’d had a partner who was deceitful—she didn’t want to ever go down that road again.
“Well?” Jacinta said impatiently, reminding Hayley that she’d asked a question.
“Summer won’t be happy with me, either, if she doesn’t get to keep the horse. I should’ve handled it better. I never act impulsively. I don’t know what got into me.”
Had she been subconsciously trying to keep Adam in Hope Mountain? She couldn’t bear to think she would lower herself to manipulation, even subconsciously. If he didn’t want to stay for her sake, what was the point? She didn’t want to be that woman again, the one who abased herself to keep her man. Not that he was “her” man. The future was so far up in the air it was practically in outer space.
“Quit beating yourself up,” Jacinta said. “Being impulsive now and then isn’t a crime.” She handed Hayley a dress in a soft sky-blue. “Try this. It’s your color and the style would look fabulous on you.”
“All right.” It didn’t look like much—a halter top and a skirt made of a stretchy fabric that went midcalf—but she trusted Jacinta’s taste. She was determined to wear a hot dress to the dance. She wanted Adam to admire her in it. In it? Hell, she hoped he’d want to rip it right off her.
In the fitting room she quickly shucked her jeans and shirt and pulled on the dress. She shook it down, checked herself in the mirror and blinked.
“How is it?” Jacinta called from the other side of the door. “Do you need a different size?”
“It fits like the proverbial glove. I love it.” Hayley opened the door and struck a pose. “What do you think?”
“Wow,” Jacinta said, her eyes wide. “You look am
azing.”
“I’m going to buy it.” She started to go back inside the cubicle. “Can we have lunch now? I’m starving.”
“What about shoes?” Jacinta was like a drill sergeant when it came to shopping. She wouldn’t let Hayley stop until she was completely outfitted.
“I’ll wear my black pumps.”
“You can’t ruin that fabulous dress with those chunky shoes. Here, try these sandals.” Jacinta handed her a pair of strappy silver high heels.
Hayley grumbled but she had to admit the shoes went perfectly with the dress. That sorted, she returned to the cubicle and changed back into her own clothes.
Jacinta was waiting by the checkout, her own purchases already paid for. “Do you want to pick me up on the night of the dance or should I come out there? I can’t remember whose turn it is to drive.”
“I’ll pick you up.” She finished her transaction, then headed for the door, adding casually, “Adam will be coming with us. That’s okay, isn’t it?”
“Oh, really?” Jacinta grinned. “Is it a date?”
“No, don’t be silly.” Hayley set off at a brisk pace down the sidewalk. She knew Jacinta wouldn’t disapprove, but there were some in town who might censure her for going out with another man so soon after her husband had died. Leif was a bit of a hero around Hope Mountain.
Jacinta caught up and pulled Hayley to a halt. “Come on, spill.”
“Oh, all right. We’ve been...getting close.”
“How close? Like holding-hands close?”
Hayley felt her cheeks warm. “We kissed.”
“Oh, my God!” Jacinta hooted with laughter. “Good on you, girl. It’s about time you found someone.”
“Look who’s talking. Who are you bringing to the dance?”
“Don’t deflect attention from yourself. Now tell me everything. I want all the gory details.”