There was a long moment of silence during which Grant felt himself growing closer to Hailey and not wanting to fight it. He let his thoughts come to him, then he softly whispered, “if I tell you a secret, do you promise not to breathe a word of it to anyone?”
Hailey nodded, knowing how out of character this moment was for Grant.
Grant’s voice was soft, sweet, honest, trusting and filled with a sympathetic hurtfulness that Hailey could hear as he spoke the words he had never spoken to anyone before: “Emily isn’t really my sister; she’s my niece.”
Hailey tried to piece Grant’s words together.
“My sister, Rachel, is Emily’s mother,” Grant confessed.
Hailey’s mouth fell open, as she recalled meeting Grant’s older sister at Thanksgiving. “Rachel must have been really young when Emily was born,” she managed.
“She was…very young,” Grant nodded.
“So Wally’s not Emily’s dad, right?” Hailey asked curiously.
“No,” Grant shook his head.
“Does Emily know her father?” Hailey asked slowly.
“Rachel doesn’t even know Emily’s father,” Grant gulped.
Hailey’s breathing quickened. She sat up on her elbow, taking a moment to comprehend what Grant was telling her. “She was raped?” she sighed.
Grant nodded. “There was a party near the base where my dad was stationed at the time. A lot of the younger enlisted guys planned on grilling out. David and Ike knew a few of the guys, and they went over to hang out. They took Rachel with them because she begged to go. They thought it was just supposed to be a good time…a few hamburgers and maybe some backyard football.”
“Oh my goodness,” Hailey gulped. “That’s why you were so panicked! That’s what happened, right? They left her there alone?”
“They were ready to go…they had promised a couple girls they would go to a late movie with them,” Grant shrugged. “Rachel wanted to stay, and, since David and Ike knew some of the guys, they said it would be no problem for her to get a ride home. She was soaking her feet in the pool when they left…it seemed innocent enough.”
Hailey shook her head. “What happened?” she asked, the fear in her voice sounding urgent.
“Rachel trusted some guy she hardly knew to drive her home,” Grant repeated the story that had been told to him. “She thought he was cute; he was paying her a lot of attention despite their age difference, and he seemed nice enough. She got in his car, thinking she was going home…totally unaware of any danger.”
“That’s so awful,” Hailey shook her head.
“He raped her…” Grant said slowly, “and he left her on the side of the road, to find her own way home.”
“What happened to him?” Hailey asked angrily. “Was he prosecuted?”
“Rachel was traumatized and embarrassed, so she never told anyone what happened that night,” Grant sighed. “She was young. She was scared. Though she had her fears, she wasn’t even totally sure she was pregnant until she started to show. My parents didn’t find out about the rape or the baby until Rachel was five months pregnant. At that time, they were preparing to move across the country with their own newborn, and my mom convinced my dad that rather than going after Rachel’s attacker, it was more important to hide the pregnancy. Rachel had her baby, and my parents raised her as their own.”
“I had no idea,” Hailey shook her head.
“Anyway…it’s why I wouldn’t leave the girls at that party tonight,” Grant replied as he sleepily rubbed his eyes.
Hailey draped her arm across Grant’s stomach and closed her eyes, taking in everything Grant had just told her.
“A couple years later, while my parents were still really dealing with that, my brother died,” Grant added, his voice shaky. “The rape, the car wreck, it was all before my time…I just know my family went through a lot.”
Hailey lifted her head and moved her lips to Grant’s cheek. She kissed him tenderly and laid her head back on his shoulder. “Thank you for sharing all this with me,” she said so genuinely that Grant’s heart fluttered. “I’m so sorry for everything…”
Grant brushed a strand of Hailey’s hair away from his face and turned his head to kiss her. Hailey didn’t know if it was wrong of a girl to think of her mother as a boy kissed her, but that was exactly what she was doing. Tears ran down her face as she imagined telling her mother how lucky she was to have found a boy who amazed her more every day. She imagined telling her mother how handsome he was and how proud she would be when she met him. She pictured herself sitting on the couch with her mother in the living room of that very house, both of them giggling as Hailey shared stories of her perfect date! Hailey couldn’t believe that this was her life now. She had never imagined herself as the girl who would charm a prince, but that was exactly how she felt in that moment. Everything was right. He was the one she wanted next to her for the rest of her life.
“What are you thinking?” Grant whispered.
“I wish you could meet my mom,” Hailey heard the words leap from her lips before she could stop them. “Heck…I wish I could meet my mom.” Grant nodded so understandingly that her words no longer felt awkward; Hailey recognized empathy in his gentle smile, and she smiled back at him. In the dim light of that bedroom, she was no longer embarrassed by her tears…instead, she embraced them. “And I wish you could meet Ike,” she whispered. “Mothers and brothers are supposed to be parts of our lives…not fond memories for everyone except those of us too young to remember. I know he would have loved you…and I know my mama would have too.”
Silently Grant pulled Hailey close, and she smiled as she closed her eyes, finding peace in his touch. She felt Grant’s tears roll warm onto her cheek and blend in with her own so naturally that she could no longer tell them apart.
The next morning neither Grant nor Hailey had changed positions.
In the kitchen, Nora handed Jack a cup of coffee, secretly offering it in hopes of forgiveness for lying to him the night before. “I’m gonna go wake up my two star players and try to get some breakfast in them before we head to the school,” he said as he started down the hall.
Jack eased the door to the girls’ bedroom open, trying not to disturb Jessica and Emily. Hailey wasn’t in her bed, so Jack quietly pulled the door to. With one knuckle he tapped on the bathroom door. “Hailey?” he called. “You in there, Baby?”
Hailey’s eyes popped open at the sound of her name. Groggily, her eyes moved to Grant, sound asleep, his head leaning toward her own. Gasping, she shook him. “Wake up,” she whispered. “Grant, wake up!” Grant startled awake, and the two stared at each other for a moment.
“Grant, time to get up, Buddy!” Jack called as he reached for the doorknob on the bedroom door.
His breath catching at the sound of Jack’s voice, Grant practically slung Hailey off the bed. Then, after jumping to his feet and helping Hailey to hers, both stood at attention as Jack entered the room.
Jack eyed them curiously.
Hailey snuck a glance at Grant, standing there shirtless in a pair of gray jogging pants. “I’ve been trying to get this sleepyhead out of bed,” she said, energetically jumping around as though she’d had ten cups of coffee. She broke into jumping jacks, insisting that Grant join her. “I’m just so excited about the game!”
“That’s my girl,” Jack nodded as he stepped outside the door. “You two come grab a good breakfast before we head to the school.”
