“That’s probably just because I don’t know how to put in any other way,” Hailey shrugged, “but, if you ask me, sometimes all the fancy words just get in the way.”
Grant pulled Hailey into an affectionate embrace. “I think you might just be an angel, you know that?” he whispered.
“Then how come I get the feeling that you might be the one to fly away?” Hailey gulped.
“Maybe…one day,” Grant nodded, “but when I do, I plan to take you with me.”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean, Grant,” Hailey gulped.
Grant brushed a strand of Hailey’s hair away from her face.
“Enough standing around and talking,” Hailey smiled. “I don’t know how much longer this roller coaster ride is going to last before it throws me off; I’m not even sure what next month or next week holds for us, but, we do have tonight. Let’s make the most of it.”
Grant glanced over at the four-wheeler. “How fast will this thing go?”
“Hop on, and I’ll show you!” Hailey laughed as she straddled the seat.
Grant joined her, wrapping his arms around her stomach as they puttered along. “In case I get scared,” he grinned.
Hailey rolled her eyes as she mashed the gas and took off across the field. The kids screamed with delight as their hair blew in the night air. The fall air was crisp and refreshing; the pasture was bumpy, and their hearts were on a collision course.
Jessica poked her head in from the back porch to find Hailey and Emily watching television on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. “Hails, have you been outside lately?” she called.
“No, why?” Hailey shrugged.
Jessica’s smile stretched the width of her face as she skipped inside the door. “Grant is outside helping Dad do some repairs on the side of the house.”
“Yeah, so?” Hailey nodded. “He has to do yard work as punishment for that fight at school.”
“Well, picture this,” Jessica smiled, spreading her hands like a canvas. “One perfectly-fitting pair of blue jeans, no shirt and, here’s the kicker… a tool belt.” Jessica fanned herself with her hand.
Hailey turned off the television. “And you told me that story because?”
Jessica and Emily looked at each other and shared a knowing laugh. “I swear, you are the most confusing girl I have ever met in my life,” Jessica groaned. “It’s no secret you’re in love with that boy!”
Hailey shook her head as she stood to walk away. “Ours is a love/hate relationship. Today, given that he was chatting it up with a collegiate coach who might as well be a trillion miles away from Tennessee, it’s heavy on the hate, hold the love.”
As Hailey left the room, Jessica turned to Emily. “I don’t buy it,” she rolled her eyes. “Bessie Harper swears she saw them holding hands, but I just wish we had more proof.”
“Hailey taking a shot at Paul Mason wasn’t proof enough for you?” Emily laughed.
“I chalk that up to Hailey being a brute,” Jessica sighed. “I’m not sure it really meant anything.”
“Somewhere, underneath all those guys’ clothes, Hailey is a knockout,” Emily shook her head.
“Yet she is more likely to literally knock you out,” Jessica groaned. She stomped her foot. “There is just so much untapped potential there…if only she would embrace it.”
“Lately she has been taking much longer in the shower in the mornings,” Emily recalled. “I think she’s shaving her legs everyday!”
Jessica’s face lit up.
“Do you think they’ve kissed since camp?” Emily asked excitedly.
“How could she resist?” Jessica insisted. “Grant is smokin’ hot! You have got to go outside and behold the sight I was referring to!”
“It doesn’t really do as much for me as it seems to do for you,” Emily shook her head. “I think it’s the whole being related thing and all.”
Both girls cackled as Jessica flopped onto the couch next to Emily.
“I do think they’re falling for each other,” Jessica declared. “Let them say whatever they want, but I consider myself a student of this sort of thing, and it’s the inadvertent touching and the subtle looks that are a dead giveaway. They are so crazy about each other!”
“They do seem to have a great natural chemistry,” Emily agreed. She curled the end of her hair around her finger. “Besides, all the proof I need that something is going on between them is that Grant is still here. Let’s just say, I don’t think he’s sticking around for the basketball!”
Later that same Saturday night, Hailey rushed into the kitchen, almost mowing Jack over as she turned the corner.
“What’s your hurry?” Jack laughed as Hailey barely slowed down to notice him.
“I have to go check on the animals and get back before Grant gets the remote, or we’ll spend all night flipping back and forth between Fox News and MSNBC, only to hear him complain about the supposedly ignorant comments made by the guest commentators,” Hailey managed breathlessly.
Jack shook his head as he watched her rush out the back door, slamming it behind her.
Moments later, Jessica hurried into the kitchen, flinging the refrigerator open and quickly gathering the ingredients for a turkey sandwich.
Jack closed the refrigerator door behind her. “Nora is going to be fixin’ supper soon.”
