Operation: Married by Christmas (9 page)

W
hy
had she said all that to him? She sounded like a crybaby. That had all happened so long ago. How could it even matter…

She wasn't that woman anymore. What was wrong with her?

She started reading her Bible the night before; she even prayed. She felt so good this morning…but that Will Sutton.

Ohhh,
the man! He was just irritating.

And to think they'd actually been getting along. Of course, they'd both been careful to stay away from anything remotely personal. But still, they'd been starting to renew their friendship. Okay, that was stretching it. But there had been moments when she'd looked at him and let herself think about what her life would be like today if she'd chosen not to leave Mule Hollow.

If she'd stayed and married Will.

Stomping on the brake, Haley slung rocks as she brought her Beamer to a halt at the end of Will's drive. Distraught, she dropped her forehead to her hands, which were clutching the steering wheel as if it were a life preserver and she was sinking in choppy waters. Of all the ways she'd wanted him to see her, a whining, weak woman…a bitter woman was not one of them. Oh, how could she have let her guard down like that?

Sucking in deep breaths, Haley asked God to calm her. Of course, she knew good and well she'd messed up and that God was probably disgusted with her.

She rested her chin on her hands and stared blankly through the windshield as she fought the urge to go back and tell Will she was sorry for her outburst. But she couldn't seem to wrap her mind around that idea.

So she just sat there, motor running, with her entire life in limbo. Her gaze settled on the abandoned home across the street in front of her. It looked as lost and forlorn as she felt.

Haley had been born interested in real estate. She always thought it was funny to think back to kindergarten when the teacher had asked each of her classmates what they wanted to be when they grew up. Haley had sat in a typical group of aspiring teachers, lawyers, firefighters and doctors. Then it had been Haley's turn. Haley, who'd blurted out without hesitation that she was going to sell houses. Big houses. That had gotten her an uproarious laugh. One of many she would hear over the years.

But here she was all these years later doing exactly what she'd planned. It wasn't rocket science, but it was fun…most of the time. There were those who still thought her chosen profession wasn't what you might call a worthwhile vocation, but it was something that gave Haley joy and she saw it differently. God had given her a good eye for the market and a genuine interest in matching the right property to the right client. Trivial to some, but a house was not trivial. The right house turned into a home, and a home made a connection with its occupants. Like a heartbeat, the right home had a pulse that helped draw families together. Haley had always taken her job very seriously. Although, she'd found the higher the price tag, the less appeal it had for her…and that might have been part of her problem of late.

Now, staring at the abandoned home, forlornly staring back at her from across the street with its overgrown yard and crooked shutters, Haley couldn't stop herself. She needed a boost, and looking at property was a distraction that drew her and helped soothe her wounded spirit. Pushing thoughts of Will and her problems away, she pressed the gas, drove across the street and up the short drive. She parked her car, then opened the door and got out, her shoes crunching on grass-encrusted gravel. Even after all these years she still got a thrill when she first looked at property.

There were just so many possibilities. She loved shows on TV about flipping houses. It was great to see something old that had been made new again.

Haley wondered what that would feel like. But of course you'd have to have a market for something like that. You'd also have to have the time. And proximity to the property. Haley pulled her coat close and walked toward the run-down house. She didn't have any of those things, but she could still look. It was much better than thinking about Will Sutton.

 

Haley had decided to put aside all thoughts of the embarrassing confession she'd made to Will and focus on spending quality time with Applegate. It had taken an afternoon driving around the county exploring property to get her thoughts and emotions back in line. By the time she finished taking some time for herself, she'd felt calmer. She prayed also. She'd been trying to learn to lean on Him more. To ask Him to help her and to guide her. And she'd asked the Lord to help her put everything into perspective. To help her see life through new eyes. Now she was feeling as though maybe God was listening to her.

Finally up to facing Applegate, she arrived home around five and fixed a nice dinner for her granddad. He kept her in stitches the entire time, telling stories about him and Stanley. Haley couldn't help but feel sheepish, really. If a person couldn't laugh at themselves, they were in trouble. Haley could laugh at herself. She could.

Really, she could.

When dinner was done they headed to town to start working on the props for the play.

As they were driving into town she listened to her grandfather talk. It quickly dawned on her that he didn't enjoy being at home all that much. He liked being in town, seeing people and, of course, stirring things up. Though she'd spoken with him on the phone over the years, there was nothing that could replace actually visiting in person. He got so animated talking about the new life that was being breathed into Mule Hollow ever since Adela, Norma Sue and Esther Mae had come up with their “Revive the Town” campaign that Haley couldn't help but feel it herself. And she was fascinated to realize that beneath the droopy, perpetual frown Applegate wore like a banner, there was the heart of a romantic.

Her gramps a romantic—the thought was mind-blowing. Why, the man had never in all the fifty years he and Birdie had been married brought her a single rose, but it was obvious that he'd done something right. Still, he wasn't your poster boy for the romance department.

However, learning that he'd actually helped get Adela and Sam together was endearing to Haley. Of course he had his own way, hounding poor Sam night and day until Sam had practically had no other recourse
but
to ask Adela to be his wife…something the restaurateur had wanted to do for so long but had feared. Haley just found it endearing that her gramps was a matchmaker. Who'd have ever thought it was possible?

As they entered the full community center, she felt a sense of excitement that she hadn't had up until this moment. She was more relaxed than she'd been since her arrival in town and part of that was due to her earlier embarrassing outburst. Though she'd despised speaking her heart to Will and letting him glimpse the anger that she'd felt about being the laughingstock of Mule Hollow and his part in it, somehow, now that she'd voiced it, she felt free from it. All afternoon as she'd explored abandoned houses, she'd calmed down and felt as if something inside her had shifted. She didn't really know what it was or how to explain it, but it was as if hearing the words spoken out loud had enabled her to look at them objectively. As if maybe God had given her new eyes to see through.

She knew she wasn't the laughingstock of Mule Hollow…. Why, the whole idea was ridiculous. But people had irrational ideas that took hold sometimes and wouldn't let go. The Bible reminded Haley that Satan was a deceiver and a liar. Opening up about it seemed to help flush the irrationality of it all to the surface. All in all, the day had been an eye-opener that Haley recognized she'd needed for some time.

She walked into the building feeling excited about being there and saw that some of the men had helped Will bring their plywood sketches to town, and she was grateful. Not having to face Will alone anymore was a good thing.

“Haley, just the woman I'm looking for. Help!” Lacy called from the front stage. “We need you.”

Haley told Applegate that she'd meet him in the back where the props production had been set up. She could see Will already there helping set up the plywood that she'd drawn the scenes on, and there were a few other cowboys opening up paint. It looked as if everything was under control as she weaved her way through the chairs toward Lacy. She might be feeling better, but seeing Will immediately brought back a sense of dread. Still, she had to face him sometime.

“What's up?” she asked, looking up onto the small stage at Lacy.

“Here,” Lacy said, handing her a script. “Lilly is playing this role, but her baby, Joshua, came down with a cold and she didn't want to get him out tonight. So I need a stand-in.”

Haley took a step backward. “Isn't there someone else you could get?”

“Sure, but I haven't gotten to spend much time with you, therefore I'm picking you. This way we can get to know each other better.”

Haley could have listed a lot of different ways they could spend time together getting acquainted that didn't include exposing her total lack of acting ability. However, Lacy had a way about her that made a person not want to turn her down. Staring at Lacy now, her almost-white hair splashed about her head in erratic curls and her eyes full of such complete enthusiasm for the project she was leading, Haley could find nothing to say except “Where do you need me?”

Okay, so she couldn't act…really. But she didn't have time to get out of it now. And besides, it delayed having to face Will.

Lacy grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her up onto the stage and pushed her over to a spot beside Bob, Molly's husband. Haley's expression must have been an open book because he took one look at her and chuckled.

“Don't look so shocked. She has that effect on everyone,” he said, still chuckling.

Haley smiled faintly, feeling sick. She didn't like being up in front of everyone. Looking around, she swallowed the lump in her throat as she saw people pause what they were doing to watch the action on the stage. Her gaze met Will's and the lump in her throat turned into a knot in her stomach. She forced a smile.

“Relax, Haley,” Lacy whispered, dropping her hands from Haley's shoulders, having positioned her where she wanted her.

Haley stood rigidly beside Bob, her smile plastered across her face, and stared at Lacy. “Sure, easy for you to say.”

Lacy's eyes twinkled and she winked. “You'll do great. Believe me, I know. All you have to do is read the part of Mary. Come on, relax. We're all friends here.”

Haley pushed aside her trepidation, her fake smile relaxing into a real one. Not a big one but a real one. She could do this.

“Haley, did you get that?” Lacy asked.

Haley snapped to at the appeal from Lacy and found that while her mind had wandered, her gaze had settled on Will. He was standing at the back of the room, tool belt slung low on his hips, hands crossed, watching her with an unreadable expression. Probably wondering why she was staring at him.

Shaken, Haley yanked her gaze away from his and focused on Lacy, who was grinning at her as if she could read her mind.

“Sure,” Haley mumbled, then gave up the ghost and admitted she hadn't been listening. “Could you repeat that, please?”

“Love to,” Lacy quipped, winking. “Just read the part—don't worry about acting. You're just here for Bob to play his role off of.” She paused, waiting for Haley to acknowledge that she got it, and as soon as Haley nodded that she did, Lacy grinned like sunshine, spun around and clapped her hands. “Okay, folks, from the top,” she shouted.

Haley's palms were damp and she rubbed them against her jeans, then focused on the words on the page.

“You look good up there, Haley!” Esther Mae exclaimed, halting at the foot of the stage. She was holding a pile of material, had a pincushion wrist-band on, and a tape measure swung from her neck as she gazed up at Haley. Norma Sue was following her, and she stopped to add her two cents.

“But don't let 'em keep you up there too long,” she said, jerking her head in the direction of the props. She couldn't motion with her arms since they were also piled high with material. “All those men back there need a woman to tell 'em what colors to paint what.”

“Don't worry,” Lacy called. “I'm not going to keep her all night.”

Haley saw Lacy wink at them, but since Lacy had already winked at her, she figured that was just part of Lacy's personality. It wasn't until she saw Norma Sue turn sideways, trying to hide her lifted eyebrow from Haley's view, that she knew something else was going on.

They were, after all, the matchmaking force of Mule Hollow. Did they really think there was any matching that needed to be done between her and…Will?

Yeah, right. Haley went back to the script, choosing to ignore their folly. What else could she do? Denial would only dig a hole that would be hard to climb out of. Besides, the way Haley saw it, if they wanted to entertain themselves with thoughts of somehow linking her and Will up again, then who was it going to hurt?

As a matter of fact, it could be interesting. It might even be fun.

Hey, it had been a long roller coaster of a day. She'd come here tonight feeling as though she'd crossed a hurdle that she'd been stumbling over for a decade. And, well, she refused to go backward. She was now on a quest. She was looking for God's plan for her life…and she was also ready to have some fun.