“Makes sense.” He brought up his chat with the social worker. “How about tomorrow morning?”
“Paisley will be in school.”
“You want to gowiththe girls?” He could only imagine their expectations about going home—and finding it empty. The impact might be devastating.
“We should probably ask Chase about it. I mean, I know they’re young, but this is their only chance to get things that might be meaningful to them.”
He figured Deborah would be the better resource. “My dad hooked me up with a therapist. I’ll ask her.” He shot off a message asking her if she had time to talk, and then set his phone down. “I’m not good at waiting. I want to fix all their problems before I leave on Thursday. Well, I play on Thursday, so I’ll actually leave on Wednesday.”
Hailey wasn’t one to hide her emotions, and her irritation bristled like static electricity. “We can’t fix anything in three days.”
“No, we can’t. But I’m doing everything I can.” He held up his phone. “Like buying them presents so they have a good Christmas.”
“Look at us. We’re the perfect team for these girls. You’ve got their physical world covered, and I’m all over the emotional.”
“That’s not fair. I care about their feelings, but they’re six and three. They can’t even begin to understand what’s happened to them. I don’t know what you want me to do.”
“Well, for starters, instead of standing over here buying things, you could be sitting with them.” She pointed to the kitchen table. “And from my perspective, they need us more than all the toys in the world.”
“They can’thaveus, Hailey. We can give them a great Christmas, but we can’t let them getattached.” He lowered his voice. “They just left their neighbor’s house. Now, they’re with us. Pretty soon, they’ll move on to someone else. The best thing we can do is keep them alive and happy.”
“Maybe you can do that, but I can’t.” She stepped closer, her back to the girls. “Given what’s happened to them, how can we not comfort them? Honestly, it hurts my heart to think of them eating alone at the table with you standing over here looking at your phone. I don’t mean to be harsh but come on. We have to give them more than a pillow and mac and cheese. We have to make them feel safe. Loved. They need to know they’re not alone. That we’ve got them.”
While everything she said rang true, he was coming at it from a personal perspective. He knew what it felt like to get attached, to have expectations, and to have that person move on as though he’d never existed.There comes a point where a kid just shuts down.
She glanced at the girls over her shoulder, an impassioned look in her eyes. “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, let alone next week, but I do know we’re the only ones here right now. They’re lost and alone, and I have to make sure they feel loved and safe. Ihaveto.”
“I hear you.” And maybe the difference was that no nanny had ever been as invested in his welfare as Hailey was in these girls. “I’ll be better.” He watched the girls for a moment, Evvie chomping away, and Paisley slugging back her milk. “I know you think I just want to throw money at the situation, but I do care about them.” Well, he should clarify. “I care about Darren’s kids. And since I’m going back to Boston soon, my focus is on providing for them.”
“No, I get that. And it’s equally important.” She grinned. “I guess it turns out us being opposites is a good thing.”
“I don’t know why you’d say we’re opposites. You don’t really know me.”
“Sure I do. Because of Lindsay and Darren, we spent a lot of time together that year. And now, everything I see of you in the media confirms it.”
“Confirms what, exactly? Are you saying you know me because of how I’m portrayed on social media? Come on, Hailey. You know better than that.”
“No, that’s not—” Now, it was her turn to be flustered. “Look, we’re getting totally off the point. We’re talking about the girls, and what we need to do for them.”
“Oh, hell no. I want to hear it. Go on and say what you think of me. We’re stuck in this house together. Might as well put our cards on the table.”
ChapterSix
She letout an exasperated huff of breath. “You’re obviously smart, and you’ve got a lot going for you.”
“A lot going for me, huh? Well, damn, Hailey. Don’t make me blush.” Did she really think so little of him that she couldn’t come up with a single compliment?
She flicked a hand dismissively. “You know you’re good-looking and have a great body. You’re charming and fun. Blah blah blah.”
“Oh, no. See, that’s not how conversation works. ‘Blah blah blah’ isn’t an actual sentence, and it’s not descriptive. Come on. You took AP English. Do better.”
Smiling, she shook her head. “Does your ego never get its fill? Cole, everyone likes you. How much more reinforcement do you need? Okay, let’s see. You were homecoming king, voted most popular and most likely to succeed…you’re the top scorer in the country. You’ve dated the world’s hottest models, actresses, and singers—”
“So, that sums up everything there is to know about me, huh?” It shouldn’t come as a surprise. Hadn’t he always figured she’d seen him that way? “The only things I’ve got going for me are looks, money, and athleticism.” None of the things that mattered to a woman like Hailey Casselton. She would only care about a man’s character. And she’d never cared for his.
But what have you shown her? Have you had an actual conversation with her?
Or did you just act like a fool to get her attention?