Grant’s voice was only faintly audible from the kitchen, yet it seemed to ring in Hailey’s ears, drowning out Jessica’s words.
Emily, who had also migrated toward the window, offered Hailey a sympathetic smile. “Have you asked him to stay?” she gulped.
“I don’t think there’s any right answer to that, Em,” Hailey stared out the window. “He has his plan; I have mine. We both knew this time was coming.”
“But the two of you love each other,” Jessica pled.
“I know,” Hailey nodded, but she was already zoned out, focusing on the falling snow, trying to avoid the subject for just a moment longer. She thought about the numerous conversations she and Grant had engaged in about college. Unlike before, college didn’t seem far away at all now. Suddenly, decisions were pressing. And now, as the brisk wind blew against the window, Hailey questioned a decision she had been confident in since she was a little girl. As her thoughts overwhelmed her, she did the only thing she knew to do; she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer.
Grant appeared back in the living room quickly and took his mug of hot chocolate from the table. He picked up the quilt off the back of the couch and tucked it under his arm. “Hailey,” he said with an insistent nod of his head. “Me and you…outside…now.”
“Such a charmer,” Emily rolled her eyes.
“Oh yeah, he’ll charm the pants right off of ya…right, Hails?” Jessica muttered under her breath.
Hailey glared at her sister, secretly swearing that it was the last time she ever confided in her.
Jessica and Emily watched eagerly from the window as Grant and Hailey cuddled underneath their blanket on the porch swing. Neither said a word as Hailey laid her head over on Grant’s shoulder and snuggled against his sweatshirt. Grant moved his hand to Hailey’s face and gently lifted her chin. Then, surprising her, he took her mug of hot chocolate and sat both mugs on the porch. “Here it goes,” he said as he cuddled close to her again. “I love you,” he sighed. “I love you a whole lot more than I love any college…so ask me again…ask me to go to Knoxville with you.”
“No,” Hailey wiped her tears. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately, and I’ve come to a decision…just now. For the first time in my life, I am standing at a crossroad that is going to determine the person I become, and it so scary, but it feels so good. Universities are a dime a dozen; basketball isn’t the most important thing in my life anymore…you are. So let’s go…take me home to North Carolina, Grant.”
Grant shook his head reluctantly. “No,” he gulped, falling more in love with her with every passing second. “I won’t let you give up your dream for me…”
“What about your dream?” Hailey insisted.
Grant leaned back in the swing. “Hailey, you grew up here,” he began. “You’ve wanted to play basketball for the University of Tennessee since you were a little girl. You’ve worked for it; you’ve dreamed about it. I, on the other hand, spent my childhood in Germany and Japan. Basketball was never my passion…it was just my one constant…my safe place, I guess you could say. The only reason I ever wanted to play basketball in North Carolina was because I longed to be home…for once in my life. North Carolina has always been the closest thing to home I’ve had here in the states, but now…well, this is really sort of starting to feel like home. I know it’s crazy, but somehow I feel like I have finally found the one place where I belong.”
“You know you don’t mean that,” Hailey gulped. “You hate Hope Hull.”
Grant shook his head. “I don’t know if I can ever truly fit in here, but I’d have to be a pretty stupid guy not to realize and acknowledge what Hope Hull has done for me.”
“It’s so strange to think about how different we are,” Hailey smiled. “I’ve never moved…not once. I was born in this house, and eighteen years later…here I am.”
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be…moving all the time,” Grant sighed. “You end up with a lot of stories but not a whole lot of roots.”
“That could be sort of nice I guess,” Hailey thought. “Not being tied to anything …learning not to be terrified of uncertainty or horrified by the thought of starting over.”
“Nah,” Grant smiled sincerely. “It’s good to be tied to a town…to people. Accountability is good. Moving around so much got me into a lot of trouble.”
“No,” Hailey laughed. “You got you into a lot of trouble.”
Grant threw the blanket off of them, and he grabbed Hailey’s arm. “Come-on,” he smiled as they ran out into the snow.
Jessica and Emily sat in the window seat with their hot chocolate in hand, watching the movie playing on the big screen in front of them.
“This is so romantic,” Emily sighed. “The falling snow …the moonlight.”
“Kiss her already,” Jessica tapped on the window, and the girls giggled.
Hailey pelted Grant with a snowball; he retaliated, and Hailey giggled as he eased her to the ground. The snow fell down into her curly hair as she laughed. “You’re so beautiful,” Grant smiled.
“I feel beautiful,” Hailey smiled back. “And happy…and loved…” she laughed, “and cold.”
“Do you want to go inside?” Grant asked.
“No,” Hailey smiled as she put her arms around his neck. “I want you to kiss me.”
The two began to kiss, and they kissed for what the girls watching from the window thought must have been forever; then they both laid over in the snow, cuddled close, staring up at the moon.
Emily turned to Jessica, a curious thought registering on her face. “Jess,” she grinned, “do you want to go basketball camp this summer?” Jessica and Emily laughed out loud as they scurried back across the cozy living room to resume their game.
“Grant, do you know why I want to go to college at the University of Tennessee?” Hailey gulped. “I want to go to Tennessee because I’m scared…I’m scared of change…I’m scared of getting out into the world. I’ve never left the state of Tennessee, Grant…I’ve never been on an airplane…I’ve never been on a real road trip. I haven’t traveled the world…I don’t know that I can survive anywhere except right here close to the life I know. For me, even just going to Knoxville instead of the University of Memphis right here close to home is a huge leap of faith.”
“We can fix that you know,” Grant nodded. “I mean we can get in the truck right now and be across the Arkansas state line in like…”
“Grant,” Hailey laughed, “I’m being serious.”
“It’s okay to be scared,” Grant nodded.
“That’s just it,” Hailey smiled. “I just realized that I’m not scared anymore…not as long as you’re with me…because when I’m with you, I know I can be naïve and inexperienced in the ways of the world…I can be shy, or I can be crazy…I can be clueless and uncertain or bold and confident…and, no matter what, you’ll protect me.”
“What if I’m scared?” Grant gulped.
“What are you scared of?” Hailey asked softly.
Grant shrugged. “I’m scared of a girl who is beautiful inside and out…I’m scared she’ll go out into that real world, and she’ll realize that she can do a whole lot better than me…and she won’t need me to protect her anymore.”
“That’ll never happen,” Hailey smiled. “There may eventually come a day when I feel comfortable away from the security blanket of Hope Hull, but there will never come a day when I stop needing you.”
