“Hi,” she said, walking over to the group. “I’m Hailey, Matt’s neighbor.”
She had no idea what, if anything, he’d told his family about her, so that’s all the information she intended to give them.
Then she had to keep up while they introduced each other. His parents, Charlie and Connie. His older sister, Deb. Her husband Jeff, who Hailey thought she recognized from moving day. Their kids, Georgia and Tommy. And Matt’s younger sister, Brenna, and her son, Caleb. The Barnett family resemblance was strong, and she probably could have picked them out of a lineup as being related to him.
“Matt called while we were on the road,” Connie told her. “He had to work, but he’ll be along shortly.”
“I saw him leave in uniform. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.” She was uncertain as to what to do next.
It would be awkward for her to invite Matt’s family into his house and offer them refreshments. She should probably go home and finish cleaning her coffeemaker, since it was sitting on the counter full of hot vinegar. But she was curious about his family, too.
“Where’s Uncle Matt’s bathroom?” Georgia asked her.
“He has a bathroom downstairs next to the kitchen,” Hailey told her, but when the little girl hesitated, her decision was made for her. “I’ll show you.”
The entire family went inside and she got caught up in helping to carry in the coolers of food they’d brought with them and pack it in the fridge. By the time they were done, Connie had already poured her a lemonade and she ended up sitting on the deck with them.
The kids ran around the yard, playing ball with Bear. He was quite possibly the happiest dog Hailey had ever seen at that moment, and she enjoyed watching him with Matt’s niece and nephews.
“They love that dog,” Deb said, following her gaze. “We’re trying to plan a family trip to camp around the last week of July. We try to do it at least once a year, and I don’t know who’s more tired at the end, Bear or the kids.”
“I met Matt near your camp. My friend and I were separated from our tour group and he found us and made sure we got back to our car.” It was as if a lightbulb went off over the entire group and she shook her head. “He told you about us, didn’t he?”
When Jeff opened his mouth to say something, Deb elbowed him and spoke instead. “He mentioned coming across two lost women in the woods.”
“Did he mention I called him Jeremiah Johnson?”
Her grin was almost identical to her brother’s. “He might have mentioned that. And the boots.”
“And the makeup,” Brenna added.
“I’m not really the outdoors type,” Hailey admitted.
“We got that impression,” Connie said. “So you’re the librarian, right?”
“The one and only. It’s not a big library, but it has a lot of support from the community.”
They talked about books for a while. They were all big readers, and she and Brenna had similar tastes in books. Then, somehow, the talk turned back to their cabin and the guys started telling stories.
Hailey’s glass was empty and she was waiting for a lull in the conversation to excuse herself, but Charlie was a funny guy and she kept getting caught up. Right after the next story, she told herself.
Then, just as she was going to stand and tell them goodbye, Bear took off running toward the corner of the house and she saw Matt. The kids shouted his name and took off after the dog, and it became a pig pile of man, dog and kids.
He laughed and hugged the kids, ruffling their hair and talking to each of them. It was obvious he adored them and they felt the same way about him. Bear showed a little jealousy, trying to shove his way between Matt and the kids, which made them all laugh.
He finally extricated himself from the kids to say hello to the rest of the family. He hugged his parents first, then his sisters and shook his brother-in-law’s hand. Hailey felt a pang of longing for her own family and made a mental note to call her mother for a nice long catch-up session. Facebook kept them in touch almost daily, but there was no substitute for hearing her mother’s voice.
“I should go,” Hailey said, seeing her opportunity to escape. “I was halfway through cleaning my coffeemaker, so I’ll be a sad puppy in the morning if I don’t finish it.”
Matt was giving her a questioning look, but she couldn’t exactly let him know in front of everybody that she hadn’t told them their relationship had been more than neighborly. In addition to the fact it wasn’t her place, she had no idea how to define it.
“Matt, invite your neighbor to stay and eat,” Connie said. “She helped us carry all the food in and we’ve been enjoying her company.”
His gaze flicked to Hailey’s and she was glad that question had been answered. Neighbor. Not girlfriend or any other term she might have used. Now he knew how she’d introduced herself.