“I’ll tell her to go for it and then research what she needs to do to get there.”
“And if Evvie wants to be an actor? Are you going to point out all the obstacles in her path, remind her how few people ever make it big?”
“Of course not. I’ll pay for headshots and help her find an agent. I’ll drive her to auditions."
“And while you’re telling them they can be anything they want but working a job you hate and piling up robes in a closet, which message do you think they’ll listen to, your words or your actions?”
Hailey didn’t want to upset the girls’ lives more than necessary, so until she found a home for the three of them, she’d live in Cole’s house. She did, however, get her own car the day after she got home.
Because fuck him and his Land Cruiser. She hated that he thought he could fill her heart with promises of love and hope for a beautiful life together, and then leave her with nothing but cold, hard cash.
Money?
Really?
That check had been a slap in the face. She’d immediately put it through Trevor’s shredder.
To be honest, it was the blazing anger that kept her from sinking into despair. He’d skated in and out of her life so fast he’d blown a hole right through her. If she’d never met him, she’d have been fine. She was used to being alone. It was what she knew best.
But what she’d never had before was the intimacy, the laughter, the connection, she’d shared with Cole. And now, without it…her body ached as if she’d been in a head-on collision.
The worst part was that, in those moments when she could be anything other than deeply hurt, she knew he loved her. He loved the girls.
He just truly believed he was a menace.
But it wasn’t in her power to convince him otherwise, so…onward.
Tonight, she’d hired a sitter for the Petticoat Ruler meeting and had put out the word on the group chat that she was looking for someone to work part-time for five days a week. It sucked that she had to be a single parent—but not because of the workload.
It was an honor to raise these girls. And she would not let them or Lindsay down.
It was just sad because the girls would’ve had the best daddy in Cole.
She entered the Town Hall meeting room to find it packed.Good. Because she needed help.
Her friends came rushing over to greet her. Callie, Knox, Glori, Stella, Rosie…all of them gave her warm hugs.
“How was the family birthday celebration?” Callie asked. “Did you find a cabin?”
“We didn’t have it.” She wasn’t sure how much to say. She would never badmouth Cole, and now wasn’t the time to talk about it. “Cole’s back on the ice, so everything’s postponed.”
Glori stood in front of the room. “All right. Let’s get started. Everyone, please take your seats.”
The group was large enough that they sat in auditorium-style seating, instead of around a conference table like last time.
“I hope you all had a great holiday and are ready to get back into it,” the president said. “We’re going to skip reading the minutes since the December meeting was more of a party and get right into it. Okay, who’d like to go first?”
Hailey’s hand shot up, and Glori nodded for her to go ahead. “Not me being overeager.”
Everyone laughed.
“Okay, well.” She pressed her hands to her stomach. “Deep breath.” She looked at her friends. "I’m going to launch my lingerie business.”
“I volunteer.” Stella shot out of her seat. While everyone burst out laughing, she hugged Hailey. “I’m so happy to hear this.”
“Woo hoo,” someone else shouted.
“You got this,” Callie said.