Hayley - Kathryn Shay Page 0,31
his drink and pushed away from the sideboard. “I can be. Remember that.”
* * *
Seth rang the front bell of the lake house and it flew open. Hayley, with a hopeful expression on her face, sighed. “Hey, honey.”
“Hi, Seth.”
“Can I come in?”
“Of course.” He stepped inside; she closed the door and turned.
“I heard you got stood up.”
Though she was disheveled, very unusual for her, she gave a grim smile. “You came to see me one other time when I got stood up. For a prom. Did you hear this from Finn again?”
“Yep.”
“Remember how you took the subway to New York, marched into the ballroom and slugged the guy?”
“He was a little twit.”
“You’re Mr. Pacifist now. Finn and I were shocked by what you did.”
His eyes lit up. “I can go to New York and beat up Paul.”
“Ha.”
They took seats on the couch. She curled her legs under her and faced him. “How much do you know?”
“Finn filled me in some.” He didn’t tell her the expletives his shy, reticent cousin used. Now that shocked Seth.
“I’m not so much sad, Seth, but disappointed in Paul.”
“You’re kidding yourself. You’re sad. And I’m disappointed in him, too.” He’d thought maybe the guy was the one for her, even though he never met the guy in person, only knew him through Hayley’s point of view. “Tell me in your own words what happened.”
“Here are the facts: he told me he wasn’t ready to share all his secrets; I said I’d wait until he was ready; his mother showed up at the Medal of Honor ceremony. I saw her sitting alone, and went to talk to her.”
“Did you pump her?”
“Not for his secrets. All I wanted to know were some stories about his childhood. In hindsight, I guess I shouldn’t have even done that.”
“What you did doesn’t sound bad. Must be Paul’s struggling with all this.”
“Did you come here to defend him?”
“Not at all. I’m seeing the situation objectively, counselor.”
“I know you are, I’m sorry. Can I get you something? I made dinner and Paul’s not coming. Fried chicken and potato salad. It’s your mother’s recipe.”
“Sure, I’d love it.”
As they set out the food, he remembered Julianne making this salad for him after getting the recipe from mom. “Do you want to talk more about Paul?”
“No. Not much to say. I have to see how all this plays out. But I’m very glad for the company.”
After they were seated with food, she said, “Tell me about your date with the model.”
He talked to this cousin at least once a week, like he did to Rafe, Ali and Gideon. Since she met Paul, they didn’t get together as much.
“Her name is Lorna. The date was fun.”
“Not serious?”
“Nope.”
“I hope you find somebody to share your life with.”
“Have you, Hayley?”
She stared over his shoulder. “I thought maybe. But now…who knows? I’m tired of thinking about him. Can you stay?”
“No plans tonight.” Actually, he’d reneged on his promise to go out with the people in his office. He’d rather be with Hayley when she needed him.
* * *
He’d dreamed about Finn Casella. The man had come to his condo and shot him with an AR-16. He didn’t need Freud to tell him the meaning of that. Maybe he was experiencing the PTSD the authorities mentioned, hence Finn carried the same gun as the ballroom attacker. Maybe Paul was reacting to the reaming out he’d gotten from Hayley’s brother. Whichever haunted his nocturnal adventures, he’d slept only a few hours and the rest of the night tore the covers off the bed thinking about Hayley and the images of her that Finn put in his head. Nothing he came up with would fix this situation. So, an hour after dawn, he got in his car and drove up to Hidden Lake, arriving at her house at eight.
No signs of life in or around the place, but he saw a car parked in the driveway. No lights on, nobody walking past a window. He thought about going to the back, but he didn’t want to scare her. Maybe he’d peek in the front window before he rang the bell. They’d been left bare because the trees in the front lawn gave them privacy. He sidled in between the bushes and the house.
And wasn’t shocked to see her curled up on the floor in sleeping bags with another man. Seth, he presumed. He still hadn’t met the guy. Finn must have called his cousin after all. Well, at least she hadn’t been