sit here with you until it did just to force you to answer it.”
I chuckled. There was little doubt that she would do just that. As it was, she was heading to the doctor, and Harrison had been picked up an hour ago for an afternoon with my mother. The gallery was open, but with the rain holding steady, we weren’t seeing much business. With a dozen commissioned pieces that needed my attention, I was running out of excuses to not get them done.
My mind had been distracted, though; the artistic flow blocked by thoughts of Walker. My night had been spent dancing in and out of nightmares between Neil showing up and me wondering if Walker's mother was as terrifying as I’d been told. Either way, the only answer was to talk with Walker. The door chimed, and I jumped at the opportunity to help a customer and get out of the conversation. Matty sighed and slipped out the back door as a familiar face rounded the corner.
“Hey! How are you doing?” I asked.
Hailey smiled. “Good, this weather is awful, though. I can’t get anything in the garden today, so I thought I’d stop in and see how the farm piece was coming.”
I beamed. “It’s almost done. It’s one of the few pieces I can actually focus on right now, to be honest, so it’s getting a lot of extra attention.”
“I’m so happy to hear that!” She exclaimed. “I won’t ask to see it; I want to be surprised. So, I heard you had a date the other night with Walker? How’d it go?”
I blushed. “It went good. I was just getting ready to call him again.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really? That’s wonderful! He’s such a sweetheart, but I know sometimes he can be pretty shy. I was surprised you two went out but honestly, you are such a good match.”
“Did you talk to him about the date?” I asked.
She nodded. “Just a little. He wasn’t too open about it, but I could tell that he was pretty smitten with you.”
“Well, that goes both ways,” I admitted. “I just don’t know if I’m ready for that sort of commitment yet, to be honest. We may want similar things, but they are separate dreams, and I don’t really know if I’m ready to merge mine with someone else’s.”
“I bet it’s hard with a son. I can’t imagine trying to find the right guy not only for myself but for my child. You know I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you didn’t call him back. Sometimes, the timing just isn’t right, and I know how you feel about Harrison coming first.”
“Really?” I stammered.
She nodded, “What? You weren’t expecting a reasonable response from a Wheeler? Don’t forget I wasn’t always one of them. I think you should follow your heart. If that’s Walker, great! If that’s Paris in the fall, fine! The most important thing Harrison can have is a happy mom.”
The entire conversation caught me entirely off guard. As soon as I knew that Hailey knew about the date, I’d assumed she would side with Walker in thinking we were soulmates. I wasn’t sure if what we had was real, but knowing I had a friend in Hailey made me want to give Walker a chance that much more. For Hailey to speak highly of someone was rare.
Her years as a bartender in a roughneck dive had given her keep instincts with the opposite sex. Even if Walker and I didn’t end up together, I’d keep her around to root out the lousy date potentials before I ever set foot out the door with them. Suddenly I was reminded of Neil, and anger started to poke through the surface. Hailey frowned at my expression.
“Is something wrong? Did Walker do something?” She asked.
I shook my head. “No, I was thinking about the slime ball whose parents I bought the gallery from. He stopped in last night, making threats and passes at me. It wasn’t a good time. Walker was the perfect gentleman on our date, though.”
“Maybe you should tell Walker about that guy, I don’t think he’d like someone making you feel bad. Especially considering how amazing you are. Everything you’ve accomplished you’ve done so as a single mother, and that’s pretty impressive.”
“Neil is harmless…I think. I don’t know that I want Walker jumping in to save the day.” I said.
“Well, if you change your mind, I’m happy to help you bury a body.” Hailey offered. “I have to get going,