Hung Up on Hadley (Red Maple Falls, #5)

by Theresa Paolo

“It’s a stupid dance.”

  “Because you can’t do it.”

  “Maybe I just need a better teacher.”

  Hadley snorted. “If you could find someone more patient than me, well then, God bless them.”

  He was about to tell her he would when a call came over his radio. Natural instinct had him jumping into action. He stepped into his boots then pulled his pants up.

  “Sorry, Hads, have to run.”

  Hadley grabbed Lady and brought her out of the way of the truck. Chase and Miguel jumped in the truck seconds later, already dressed in their gear and ready to go.

  Sam turned the siren on and gave a quick wave to Hadley as they passed her.

  “Be careful!” she called after him.

  “I always am.”

  Chapter 7

  Sunday dinner had been a staple in the Hayes’ family since before Hadley was born, and even though she and her siblings were well beyond their years of living home, they still all could be found at their parents’ house on Sunday nights, except for Daisy. Their numbers had grown as her siblings met their better halves, and now they were working on creating the next generation of Hayes. If Hadley was lucky she would be able to contribute one day.

  With a coffee date a little later, there was a chance she would be moving closer to the possibility. She checked her watch, grateful she still had another hour before she had to leave her parents’ since they hadn’t started dinner yet.

  “What’s taking so long?” Hadley asked no one in particular as she took a sip of Mason’s newest batch of beer. Sweet Dreams—a chocolate stout he’d named after their sister-in-law’s bakery and now the beer Shay would use in her chocolate stout cupcakes.

  Mason was the proud owner of Five Leaf Brewery, a local brewery he’d converted from an old dairy barn that specialized in small batches that he always let the family sample first.

  “Mom’s waiting on Sam,” Kate said, giving Hadley a knowing smirk.

  “Sam? He’s supposed to be working a double tonight.”

  “He gave his shift to Miguel.”

  Hadley nodded, Miguel’s wife was pregnant with their first child, and it made sense that he’d want to grab as much extra income as he could. Sam was the type of guy who would willingly offer it to him.

  “Great,” Hadley said.

  “What’s the problem?”

  Hadley looked around to make sure no one could hear “I have a date tonight.”

  “Good for you! A guy from the site?”

  Before Hadley could answer, Shay walked over with a toddler on her hip, her long dark hair pulled to the side in a loose braid.

  “Hadley has a date tonight,” Kate said before Shay even came to a stop. Hadley cut Kate a look. Secrets were hard to keep in their family which is why it shouldn’t have surprised her to find out so many people already knew about her crush on Sam.

  “What? With who?” Shay adjusted baby Matthew onto her other hip and moved closer to them.

  “A guy I met online. Daisy set me up on some site. It’s not a big deal. It’s just coffee.”

  “Famous last words,” Shay said.

  “I’m not going to sleep with the guy, if that’s what you’re insinuating. We don’t even know each other.”

  “Worked for me,” Kate said with a big smile before popping a piece of crostini in her mouth.

  “That’s different,” Hadley said, and Kate cocked a curious eyebrow. “You two had been yelling at each other for at least a week. I’ve talked to this guy twice on the computer and once on the phone.”

  “There was a phone conversation?” Kate asked.

  “Of course. I didn’t want to show up and see some kid or old man. I figured I could tell a lot by his voice.”

  “That’s not always true,” Shay said, and Hadley gave her a look. “What? I’m just saying it’s not foolproof.”

  “Exactly why I’m meeting him for only coffee.”

  “Who are you meeting for coffee?” A three-month pregnant Sarah asked as she joined their group. Hadley loved Sarah, admired her really, and not just because she was a kind, single mother who worked her ass off to be a successful business woman, but because she was the first and only woman to get her baby brother to stop travelling the world and settle down. And now they would be adding to their family and the next generation of the Hayes’ family.

  After only finding out about the baby a week ago, the excitement still hadn’t settled down. Hadley gave Sarah a hug and rested her hand on Sarah’s barely-there bump. “Sorry I can’t help myself.”.

  “It’s okay.” Sarah said. “So… What about coffee?”

  “I have a coffee date with a guy I met online, and no, I don’t plan on sleeping with him.”

  “Okay, then.”

  Ready to move on from the topic of her date, Hadley kept her focus on Sarah. “How are you feeling?”

  “Really good, actually. I guess since I’ve done this before I’m not as scared as the first time, even if it was eight years ago.”

  “How’s Cooper been?” Shay asked.

  “Amazing. He helps around the house, takes Tommy to and from school, brings me lunch if I forget to leave my office… We go for walks.”

  “He’s not questioning everything you eat? Insisting you don’t walk for too long because you might over-exert yourself? Or telling you not to pick up a bag of groceries because you might hurt yourself?”

  “Nope.” Sarah laughed.

  “Bitch,” Shay said, but it was all in good fun. Everyone was well aware of how crazy Matt was when Shay was pregnant. For a while Hadley thought Shay would go to jail on murder charges before her nephew would arrive.

  “Has anyone seen Cassie?” Hadley asked, looking around for Mason’s better half.

  “Betty cornered her as we were heading in here,” Sarah said.

  “You abandoned ship?” Hadley asked.

  Sarah held her hands up. “When it comes to your grandmother, it is every woman for herself. Besides, I’m already knocked up; she has no use for me.”

  Betty Hayes was on a quest to get all of her grandchildren married and reproducing. Cooper was currently her favorite child. But while Betty always seemed to be butting her nose into everyone’s personal lives, she never seemed to do the same to Hadley. Betty never tried to play matchmaker when it came to her, and she wasn’t sure if she should be grateful or insulted.

  “As long as she has her claws sunk into Cassie, then I should be able get through tonight without hiding behind a glass of wine,” Kate said. Ever since she and Caleb eloped Betty had been in an all-out quest to see her pregnant.

  “Have you and Caleb thought about children?” Sarah asked. “And please tell me if I’m out of line.”

  Hadley laughed. “You’re family now.”

  “I always wanted kids,” Kate said. “Have always seen myself with them. At least two— preferably a boy and a girl. But right now, I want to hold onto this time with just the two of us for a little longer before I’m elbow deep in shitty diapers. No offense, Shay.”

  Shay held up one hand while the other cradled a sleeping Matthew. “Trust me, none taken. Don’t let Betty, or anyone else pressure you into something you’re not ready for.”

  “Also, don’t forget protection if you happen to come down with the flu, get put on antibiotics and become forgetful because next thing you know…” Sarah rested a hand against her growing baby bump.

  “This just proves that baby is going to be just like his father,” Kate said. “Unpredictable and the center of attention.”

  Sarah shook her head. “God help me.”

  Cooper came from behind, wrapping his arm around Sarah’s shoulder. “Hey, baby.”

  “Speak of the devil,” Hadley said.

  “You girls been talking about me? I mean, I’d be talking about me, too.”

  Kate waved her hand. “Oh, go away!”

  “Actually, I’ve come to warn you all that Grandma is on the prowl.”

  “Excuse me,” Ka
te said, dodging around the group and going straight to the bottle of red on the coffee table.

  “You’re welcome!” Cooper called after her.

  “I have to go change this one’s diaper. Unless you want practice, Cooper,” Shay said.

  “How hard can that be?” Cooper asked, taking their nephew into his arms.

  Sarah covered a laugh. “I have to see this.”

  The three of them disappeared, leaving Hadley alone. Even Lady had left her to go play with Sarah’s son, Tommy.

  A few minutes later, Hadley heard the front door open and shut. Hadley knew it was Sam before she even saw him. She could feel it just like she always could. He stepped in and slipped out of his fireman’s jacket, hanging it up on a hook by the door.

  She watched from the couch as he greeted the family, waiting her turn because he would eventually seek her out.

  “There you are,” he said, walking toward her with natural ease. His dark hair speckled with premature grey gave him that sexy salt and pepper color. Instead of making him look older, it made him look more refined, yet somehow also added to his rugged appearance.

  He plopped down beside her, the cushions sinking beneath his weight.

  “Here I am,” Hadley said, wishing for the first time that Sam wasn’t at Sunday night dinner. How was she supposed to see him all night then leave to go on a date with some other guy?

  “Too cool to come and say hi?” he asked.

  “This is the comfiest spot in the house. If I got up one of my brothers would have jumped on it.”

  “Nice to know you favor a couch over me.”

  “I’m sorry is that a bruise to your ego?”

  He turned to her with that panty-melting smile, the slight gap of his teeth peeking through beneath his top lip. “Maybe.”

  “Good. It would do you some good to be knocked down a few notches.”

  “At least I know I can always count on you for that.”

  “That’s what I’m here for,” she said, trying not to let her disappointment show in her tone. She wanted to be there for him for so much more than that. She wanted to be the one he came home to at night. The one he kissed goodbye in the morning. The one he finally took a chance on.

  She didn’t care that he was known for his one-night stands or that he’d never been in a real relationship before. None of that mattered to her because she could see beyond the surface to the man he really was.

  Maybe Kate was right. Maybe it was time Hadley was honest with not only herself but with him, too. She had no idea how he would react unless she told him how she truly felt. Or…maybe she just went on her date and did her best to forget about him.

  “Dinner’s ready,” her mom called from the kitchen, and Sam stood, holding his hand out to her.

  “Ready to leave your spot?” he asked, his aquamarine eyes picking up the blue in his shirt.

  “For food? Absolutely.” She slid her hand into his.

  “Oh! I see how it is,” he exclaimed as he yanked her up with a little too much force. She fell into his chest, her hands pressing against the hard muscles and sending a jolt of electricity through her body.

  The slight scent of burnt wood permeated from him and made her think about the constant danger he lived in. “Fire today?” she asked, her voice much breathier than she anticipated.

  “Stupid kids let a bonfire get out of control. It was nothing.”

  “You always say that.”

  “Because it usually is. Now come on. I’ve been craving your mom’s meatloaf all day.” He snaked his arm around her shoulder and guided her toward the dining room. It was a friendly gesture that he had done so many times before, but she couldn’t help and pretend it was more, which made her feel equally pathetic.

  He sat next to her at dinner with Matt on his other side, but with Matt’s attention being on his son, it gave Hadley the opportunity to talk with Sam more freely.

  “How’d Missy do on her science test?” Missy, Sam’s fourteen-year-old half-sister was the only girl—to Hadley’s knowledge—Sam ever loved. She was his world, and he went out of his way to make sure she had the life that he never had. While their mother was now sober, unlike when Sam was Missy’s age, Sam still felt the need to make up for his shitty childhood, and he did that by way of Missy.

  “She aced it.”

  “Did she really? That’s fantastic.”

  “I realized that girl will make anything happen if I bribe her with a trip to the outlets in Tilton.”

  “I’d pay money to see you following her around all those stores.”

  “How much?”

  Hadley tapped her chin. “A lot.”

  “How about free of charge?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Come with us. Please.” He gave her those puppy dog eyes she could never resist.

  She forced herself to stand strong. “You probably know more about women’s clothing than I do.”

  He smirked. “True. But I’d still like for you to come.”

  “Why?” she asked, staring into his eyes as if he was about to admit his secret love for her.

  “I could use a buffer. There is only so much Justin Bieber talk a guy can take.”

  “Is he still a thing?”

  “I have no idea. See? I need you.”

  That was the problem, though. He always needed her, but not in the way she wanted him to need her. She was convenient, an easy guarantee, and she should say no.

  “I’ll go.” She sighed because she would always take time with Sam whenever she could get it. Just being near him made her heart happy. “But I have one condition.”

  He lowered his fork and turned his head to her. “We’ll stop at that burger joint you love.”

  A smile spread wide across her face at the fact that he knew exactly what she was thinking. “You got yourself a deal, then. When are we going?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I’m waiting on her to pick a date.”

  “Let me know.” Hadley glanced at her watch, realizing she should have left five minutes ago. “Dinner was great, Mom, but I have to get going,” she said as she placed her napkin on her plate and pushed her chair away from the table.

  “Where are you going?” her grandmother asked.

  “I… uh… I have a date.”

  “Wearing that?” Cooper asked, getting him a smack to the shoulder from Sarah.

  “You look beautiful,” Sarah said. “Don’t listen to him.”

  Sam raised a curious eyebrow. “You have a date? You haven’t had a date since that last douchebag. What was his name? Stan? Stu? Steve?”

  Her eyes narrowed as he snapped his fingers trying to remember. “Stetson,” she finally said.

  “Don’t look at me like that. He was a douche.”

  She let out an exaggerated sigh when her grandmother chimed in. “Sam’s right. He was a douche, though I wouldn’t have used those exact words.”

  “Unfortunately, they can’t all be winners,” Hadley countered. “Besides, I don’t want to be alone for the rest of my life.”

  “You won’t be,” Sam said. “You have your dogs.”

  “That’s reassuring. Speaking of dogs, can I leave Lady here for the night? I don’t have time to run home.”

  “I’ll bring her by your place when I leave,” Sam offered.

  “You sure?”

  “I’m passing right by there. Plus, it’ll be nice to be in the company of a female who doesn’t expect anything at the end of the night.”

  “The guy isn’t picking you up?” Matt asked.

  “It’s our first date, so no.”

  “What’s his name? I’ll run a background check.”

  “I don’t need you to run a background check.”

  “It couldn’t hurt,” Kate said, and Hadley shot her a look. Usually when it came to their overbearing older brother, Kate was on her side. “What? I’m just saying. You met the guy online. Who knows who exactly you’re meeting?”

  Matt’s eyes narrowed to two
irritated slits. “You’ve never even seen the man in person?”

  “No, that’s what online dating is. You make a connection, you strike up a conversation.”

  “I don’t think you should go,” Sam said, placing his napkin on the table and looking up at her.

  It was just like him to agree with Matt—to push his way into her business and try to make decisions for her. It was a damn date, and it wasn’t like he was chomping at the bit to ask her out.

  “I appreciate the concern, but I’m going.” Hadley bent down to Lady sleeping under the table. “You be a good girl for, Sam. Okay?” She kissed her snout and got an enthusiastic lick in return. “I love you, too. Yes, I do.” She kissed her one last time and stood up. “Goodnight, everyone.”

  “Please be careful,” her mother said as she walked away from the table.

  “I always am, Mom. Don’t worry.”

  Hadley almost made it to the front door when a hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her, spinning her around. “Sam, what the hell?”

  “Text me when you get there.”

  “Why?”

  “So I know you’re okay.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Can you for once not argue with me and just do what I ask?”

  “Where’s the fun in that?”

  He arched an eyebrow and looked down at her with those spellbinding eyes.

  “Fine.”

  “Where are you meeting him? Somewhere heavily populated, I hope.”

  “I’m not an idiot.”

  “Never said you were.”

  “We’re meeting at a coffee shop. I plan on having one cup and calling it a night. I have to be up early tomorrow.”

  “Make sure you get decaf.”

  “Yes, Dad,” she joked, and she walked away from the man who she wanted but would never have.

  Chapter 8

  The idea of Hadley on date with some guy she didn’t even know was making Sam itchy. He didn’t like it one bit. He watched her drive away before heading back to the dining room where the rest of the family was gathering dishes.

  “Make yourself useful,” Kate said, handing him a bowl of what was left of mashed potatoes.

  He took that and grabbed another bowl from her hands. “You’re okay with your sister going off to meet some guy she doesn’t know from a hole in the wall?”