“The test will be getting out of the car. After that, I can crawl if I have to.”
“We should have invited our rescuer home with us. I bet he could have carried you inside without even breaking a sweat.”
With a body like that, he probably could. Unfortunately, the package as a whole didn’t do much for her. “What is it with you and trying to hook me up with that guy? He probably collects roadkill in his freezer.”
Tori frowned. “Who would do that?”
“Exactly.”
“Hailey, just because a guy is hairy, smells a little bad and has a hat so gross even a ten-year-old boy wouldn’t touch it doesn’t mean he’s not marriage material.”
She actually shuddered. “Then you marry him.”
“Oh, no. I’m never getting married. You’re the one who’s on the hunt for Prince Charming.”
“And that guy wasn’t him.” She reached into the backseat for her boots, wincing. “Next time, let’s go to a nightclub.”
“Whitford doesn’t have a nightclub.”
“Katie and I went to a great club on the Valentine’s Day before last. We’d have to spend the night at a motel, but we wouldn’t be in the woods.”
“Nice places?”
“Of course.” Hailey paused halfway out of the car. “Okay, not really. But they meet the minimum requirements of being a nightclub and motel.”
“Gee, I can hardly wait.”
Hailey managed to get out of the car without falling on her face. “I’ll call you tomorrow if I don’t drown in the tub.”
Boots in hand, she walked to her front door in her stocking feet. She’d never been so glad to see her house, and that was saying something. She was crazy about the little Cape and coming home at the end of the day was one of her greatest pleasures. It was also one of the reasons, besides loving her job, that kept her from leaving Whitford and moving someplace with a little more variety in its men.
There was a ranch-style house to her left and a young family lived there, but she couldn’t really see or hear them thanks to a strip of woods along the property line. On the other side was a smaller version of her own house. It was closer than she would have liked, but a couple whose only child had already moved out had lived there when Hailey bought her house. A few months ago, the couple had moved away in search of work.
The house hadn’t sold, though. Fran Benoit, who owned the Whitford General Store and was ground zero for all things gossip related, told her they never even got a nibble, so they were trying to rent it instead. While Hailey didn’t mind the lack of interest because new neighbors were always a crap shoot, she was starting to have reservations about it sitting empty. It would start going downhill and she didn’t want it dragging her property value down with it.
Ignoring the front door, with its sidelights and hanging pots, she let herself into the door she usually used, which opened into a mudroom between the garage and kitchen. After tossing the boots into the corner, knowing there was a good chance she’d never wear them again, she went into the kitchen. A bright room, with lemon walls and white cabinets and woodwork, it was devoid of clutter while still being warm and welcoming. It usually cheered her up after a long day at the library which, despite her best efforts, still had a lot of dark-stained oak going on, but right now she just wanted to grab a glass of iced tea and collapse.
Her living room wasn’t quite as bright as the kitchen, with pale mint walls and beige leather loveseats, and the master bedroom was more neutral with soft blues and peach tones, but overall her home was decorated in colors that made her happy. Most of the accent furnishings were white rather than wood, and she kept redecorating limited to a slight throw pillow fetish. Some women bought shoes. She bought colorful throw pillows.
Throwing herself onto a loveseat, Hailey sent a text to Paige Kowalski. Paige had only been in Whitford a few years, but they’d become almost immediate friends and she was still the person Hailey went to when she had something on her mind.
Are you busy/sleeping/covered in baby poop?
Within seconds, the cell phone rang in her hand and Paige’s name flashed on the screen. Hailey swallowed some iced tea and answered it. “Hey, new mommy. How’s it going?”
“Right now, it’s quiet. Which means right now is the greatest moment of my life.”
Hailey laughed. “Oh, come on. Sarah’s almost seven weeks old now. You don’t have the hang of it yet?”
“What I have figured out is that little Sarah Rose loves to sleep on her daddy’s chest. Poor Mitch has been trying to signal to me he has to pee for a half hour now, so I’m avoiding eye contact.”
“Didn’t you tell me he has to start traveling again next week?”
Paige’s sigh was loud over the phone. “He’s trying to keep it to a minimum but yeah, he has to go out of town next week.”