Hailey thought for a moment. “I don’t know. I saw him; he saw me, and it just sort of happened.”
“Okay, let me get this straight,” Jessica shook her head. “You were walking around in those totally unflattering, knee-length, mesh shorts you’re so fond of; your hair was, no doubt, tied back into some hideous knot; you were probably all sweaty and gross, and what little there is of your nonexistent cleavage was undoubtedly flattened by a fashion disaster of a sports bra…and Mr. Abercrombie model out there just walked up to you and was all like, ‘hey, Baby!’”
Hailey groaned. “See, this is why I don’t talk to you. You’re ridiculous! No one said, ‘hey, Baby!’ or anything of the sort! If he had, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. Give me details. Where were you when you first saw him?” Jessica begged.
To Hailey’s surprise she began telling her story. “The guys had their camp going on at the same time as ours, and we were all the time passing by them in the gym or between buildings. They were always in the cafeteria when we went in to eat.”
“Yeah,” Jessica nodded. “And…”
“And I was walking back to my table, holding a tray of breakfast food, and I passed by this guy who just stood out.”
“Because he was so hot?” Jessica nodded.
“No,” Hailey shrugged. “I don’t think so. I think it was more about the way he carried himself. He wasn’t like the other boys there. He seemed older and more confident, not silly like the knuckleheads throwing food across the room and not nervous or flirty like the dweebs who constantly tried using ridiculous pickup lines on the pretty girls who somehow managed to find time to come down to breakfast in full makeup.”
“Okay, so you noticed him, and he noticed you. What happened from there?” Jessica begged for more.
Hailey shrugged. “He was sitting alone like he was there strictly for the food and totally uninterested in socializing with anyone around him. He didn’t look lonely, just ready to get on with his day. I have no idea what possessed me to do it, but I went and sat down straight across from him.”
“What did he say?” Jessica exclaimed, much too excitedly.
“I think he was probably a little peeved at first,” Hailey laughed, “but he hid it with a little smirk.”
“What did he say, Hailey?” Jessica blurted. “Gosh, why am I having to pull this out of you? Can you please just tell me how the guy who has it all managed to fall for you?”
“Listen,” Hailey said, irritated. “We met; we got close. I totally embarrassed myself by sneaking over to his dorm after curfew; then, when we got caught breaking the rules, he hurled me under the bus and played innocent…an act he pulls off much too easily. I got in trouble for something that was totally out of character for me; then we left, went our separate ways and never spoke again until the day he showed up here.”
“So you were mad at him when you left?” Jessica frowned.
“Furious but lovesick at the same time,” Hailey confessed. “It was an odd emotion.”
“I think you’re still hot for him, if you ask me,” Jessica declared.
“Well, I didn’t,” Hailey shook her head.
Jessica frowned before letting out a loud sigh. “So he kissed you; he made you fall in love with him, and then he tossed you aside and moved on? He sounds like a player to me…”
Hailey shook her head, surprised by the shiver that ran down her spine as she heard her sister’s words. “He hurt me, Jessica, but I don’t want you to change your entire opinion of him. All of two seconds ago you were convinced that Grant Cohen is everything other guys ought to be.”
“You know how fickle I can be,” Jessica admitted. “One week I’m all about Justin Timberlake and by the next week it’s back to my main man Toby Keith. All I’m saying is, if you ask me, the guy sounds like a player.”
“I admire your loyalty and Misty’s,” Hailey smiled, “but the two of you seem to forget that both of you liked the guy when you met him. Nothing has changed; the past is still the past.”
“I like him fine,” Jessica insisted. “I’m just not sure you realize what I have come to realize in the last few minutes. Namely…you’re crazy about him, Hails! You would give him a second chance to make up for breaking your heart this summer! Wouldn’t you? You’re dreaming of a future with Grant, and all he can seem to think about is how fast he can get out of town. That sounds like a perfect recipe for heartbreak if you ask me.”
“Again…I didn’t,” Hailey shook her head.
“He’s not the sticking around type, Hails,” Jessica sighed. “You need to make peace with that fact right now before you set yourself up to get hurt all over again.”
Hailey thought for a long moment before softly declaring, “still, there is just something about me and him together that seems so right. I just wish I could get a sign or something.”
Jessica wrinkled her nose. “More like…here’s your sign, girl! You got your second chance; all the two of you have done is fight, and now he’s planning to leave. How could you possibly think he’s interested in you, or that the blast from the past you’re holding onto is worth the risks?”
“I thought you were supposed to be some sort of hopeless romantic?” Hailey frowned.
“This isn’t a movie, Hails,” Jessica sighed. “There is no scripted happy ending, and I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Hailey smiled sweetly at her sister, her eyes so full of hopeful innocence. “Ever since I was a little girl, Daddy always instilled in me how important it is to pray, so last summer when my heart was breaking, I did the only thing I knew how to do. I spent time talking to God. My intention when I started praying was to ask God, beg Him really, to miraculously make Grant mine, but, when I started talking, my feelings all just sort of came out and set me on a completely different track than I had intended. Daddy has always told us that just because we don’t get what we ask for when we pray, that doesn’t mean that God wasn’t listening…it might just mean that the answer was no…or no for now.”
Jessica listened.
“I took Dad’s words to heart, and, so instead of begging for something I wanted so badly, I just asked God to do His will in my life. I told Him that I only want what He wants for me. I only want the one person that He has prepared especially for me. I told Him how I felt about Grant, and I asked that if Grant was not part of His course for my life that He take him off my heart. Time went by, and, though the heartache of the summer healed with time, I never stopped thinking about him, Jess. Silly things made him cross my mind out of the blue. On bad days I thought about him, and something that he had said would make me smile. On great days, I wondered how in the world it was possible that someone I cared so much about wasn’t around to share in my happiness.”
“That’s sweet,” Jessica gulped.
“I said all that to say this,” Hailey shook her head. “He never left my mind, and, more importantly, he never left my heart. Then, when I least expected it, when I thought that I had finally moved on, when I had accepted the fact that he would be nothing more than a sweet memory I always carried with me…well, there he was standing in my living room! So, you asked me how I could possibly think this could be right? I guess I just believe that everything happens for a reason.”
“But he wants to leave,” Jessica sighed.
“He has big goals,” Hailey shrugged. “His dreams are too big for this town, and my life is here.”
“Why is it that around here things seem to follow an expectant path that is never discussed, just followed?” Jessica blurted. “Everyone just sort of follows the same pattern. Most just finish high school but even those who do venture off to the University of Memphis or the University of Tennessee for four years come back to Hope Hull to take over work on the farm, get married and raise children who will inevitably follow the same pattern.”
“That’s just the kind of town this is I guess,” Hailey shrugged.
“And you’re okay with that?” Jessica asked.
