Right With Me - Stacey Lewis Page 0,58

for it to end yet.”

At first, she looks like she’s going to say no. Evie and Sophie are both holding their hands up under their chins like they are praying and saying, “Please, please, please,” until finally Tabitha relents with a beleaguered sigh.

“Great,” Stacey says with a big smile. “I’ll call you tomorrow to figure out a time to bring her back.”

Tabitha’s attention is already on her phone, so she just nods before turning to walk away. She doesn’t even say goodbye to Evie, not that Evie notices. She and Sophie are still jumping up and down with glee over their sleepover.

“Thank you.” The two words aren’t enough to adequately convey my gratitude, but Stacey gets it.

“No problem. I’m just glad she gets to stay and celebrate.” She turns back to look at their family, then turns back to Hailey and I. “We’re all going to Isaac’s parents for a barbecue they’re throwing to celebrate the success of the recital… and also because none of us want to cook after this and no restaurant will have enough room and privacy so we can eat without gawkers. We’d love for you to join us.”

I look down at Hailey. “What do you think?”

She smiles. “Why not? It will give you a little time with Evie too.”

Her voice reveals her presence to Evie and Sophie, and they both run over to hug her when they see her. Small voices talk over each other as they both try to get her attention, so she crouches down to be on their level and gets them to take turns telling her all about the recital and ask what she thought. Hailey’s in her element with the kids, and the longer they talk, the more kids come over to join.

Not all of them are in Hailey’s class, but it’s clear she makes it a point to talk to every child she encounters at the school because she knows a lot of them by name. Watching her with these kids makes me fall a little harder for her. She’s everything I could ever want in a mother for my kids. Granted, they already have one, but they would definitely benefit from having Hailey and her warmth in their lives on a more full-time basis.

The thoughts going through my head have me off-balance. I swore when my relationship with Tabitha turned to shit that I would never do the marriage thing again, but here I am thinking about Hailey in that context. It’s crazy how much she’s come to mean to me in such a short time. I just hope she feels the same.

Chapter 26

Hailey

After a quick phone call to my mom to make sure she’s okay with keeping Connor longer that ends with her agreeing to keep him until tomorrow, I ride with Mitchell over to the Montgomery’s. I could ride with Riley since she’s invited too, but I want to be with him.

We’re the last ones to get to the house, and when we walk through to the backyard it’s full of people standing together in groups. Some are holding the smallest children, while there are others holding margarita glasses or bottles of beer.

Isaac is the first to see us. He comes over to greet us and thank us for coming, then leads us over to two older couples standing close to the grill.

“Dad, this is Sophie’s teacher, Hailey. Hailey, my dad, Steven.”

The man turns away from where he’s flipping burger patties on the grill to hold out his hand for me to shake. “Ah. I’ve heard a lot about you. Sophie loves having you as a teacher. She’s especially fond of the reading nook you have set up in your classroom.”

Beaming at him, I lean forward to confide, “It’s my favorite spot too. And, I love having her in my class. Sophie’s such a sweet girl.”

He grins back at me, then turns to greet Mitchell. It’s obvious they’ve met before, but since Sophie and Evie are good friends, that’s not surprising at all. Isaac introduces me to his mom next, and her response is much the same as his dad’s. “Hi, Hailey. I’m glad you,” she lifts her head to smile at Mitchell too, “and Mitch could make it. Sophie has told us so much about you and your class.”

Mitchell joins us before I can say anything, placing his hand possessively on the small of my back and leaning forward to kiss her cheek. “Hey Gail, thanks for having us.”

He’s making it clear that we’re here