CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Peter closed the file on Hilda, a sweet woman originally from Germany and a patient for the last two months, and moved it into the Deceased folder on his screen. It was becoming too common to move files into this folder, and each time it made Peter remind himself that this was why he needed to remain detached, or at least try to. Working with elderly people was particularly difficult at times because they passed away often. Sometimes he wondered if he’d be better off helping children. But then he thought back to his grandma, Pearl, and how she’d struggled to regain her speech after her stroke.

Another therapist, Pam Shirley, stopped at his door. “Peter, I’ve had a family emergency come up. I don’t think I’ll be back until Tuesday. Could you fit in a few appointments on Monday so I don’t have to reschedule all of them?” she asked.

“I can have Joyce check my schedule, but I’m sure we can make it work.”

“Thanks, Peter. I appreciate it.” She rubbed her eyes.

Peter could see her obvious emotional state. “I hope it isn’t anything too serious.”

“My brother had a car accident and is going in for surgery. I want to be there for my sister-in-law and my nieces,” Pam said, running her fingers through her short blonde hair.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” His heart felt heavy for her. “Whatever I can do to help out.”

“I should be back Monday night.” Pam exhaled. “I’m still in shock. I talked to him on the phone a few days ago. I guess he was driving through an intersection and another car ran a red light and T-boned his car. It was nasty, but he should make a full recovery. I feel like I need to be there.” She shook her head. “Life can change in an instant.”

“Don’t worry about anything here.” Peter tried to think of something else he could do to help.

“I knew I could count on you. Thanks.” Pam turned and left.

***

Peter parked his car in the elementary school lot and made his way to the entrance of the white brick building.

“Hi, I’m here to pick up Benji Reynolds,” Peter said to the unfamiliar woman with short gray hair at the front desk.

After she looked through some papers, she asked, “What’s your name?”

“Peter Stafford.”

“You’re his father?” she asked, looking over the top of her thick, black-rimmed glasses.

“No. His uncle.” He set his hand on the counter.

She pinched her eyebrows together. “I don’t think we have permission for you to pick him up.”

Trying to remain patient, Peter said, “I’ve picked him up before.”

“That may be true, but without the right paperwork I can’t let you take him,” she said in her nasal voice.

Peter drummed his fingers on the counter. “I’m sure it’s here. Laura said she was sending an additional note in his backpack.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t see anything.” She shrugged.

Maybe if he explained the situation the woman would allow him to take Benji. “My sister, Laura Reynolds, won’t be picking him up because she has a meeting. I’m the one who is supposed to get him today.”

The woman stared at him without saying anything.

“So I need to be able to take him with me. We’re meeting her at Smitty’s because it’s a spirit night tonight.” That should convince her I know what I’m talking about.

The woman still said nothing.

Trying to push the rising frustration down, Peter calmly said, “Can you ask Benji if I’m his uncle?”

She quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”

What is this, a prison? This woman is being so difficult. Is it in her job description to be a pain in the neck? Peter wanted to tell her how ridiculous this was, but opted to try another approach. “Is there someone else I can talk to?”

“I’m the only one here,” she said with overstated authority.

“In the building?” There must be someone with some common sense in here somewhere.

“Of course not. But I can’t leave this spot to go find anyone, and I can’t let you inside the building.”

Peter ran his fingers through his hair. He understood the reasoning behind the policy, but it was infuriating. “So where does that leave us?”

She shrugged.

“Can you call someone to come up here?” He was losing his patience with this woman.

“I don’t know. I’m new.”

Peter nodded, the irritation bubbling up inside. “We need to do something because I’m going to have an upset nephew and an angry sister if we don’t resolve this.”

“I can check his file again.”

“Thank you.”

After a couple of minutes clicking on the keyboard, she said. “I still didn’t find anything.”

“Could the permission slip be in a file cabinet instead of on the computer?” Peter needed to solve this problem now.

“I don’t think so. Everything we have is on the computer.”

Another, younger woman wearing a Richardson Elementary T-shirt and black pants, walked into the front office. “Is there a problem here?”

Feeling a sense of relief and hope, Peter said, “I need to pick up my nephew, Benji Reynolds. I’ve picked him up before, but she can’t find the permission document from my sister.”

The woman clicked through a few screens on the computer. “Here it is.”

Peter let out a breath, grateful for this second woman. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t know I had to go to that screen,” the other woman said.

“Check his driver’s license against the one that is listed.”

Peter handed over his license.

“You can go back and get your nephew,” the irritating woman said sheepishly.

Peter found Benji in the back room working on an art project. He had blue and yellow paint on his hands and a spot of white on his cheek. “Uncle Peter. Look at my painting. It’s when we went to the beach last summer.”

Peter leaned down to get a better look. “It’s great. I think maybe you’ll be a famous painter someday.”

“Really?” Benji’s blue eyes twinkled.

“Sure. If that’s what you want. The sky’s the limit.” He wanted to encourage Benji to be free to do whatever he wanted.

Benji hoisted his large camouflage backpack on his shoulder, and they walked out to the car. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

“I’m excited to try this barbecue place.” Peter pulled the backpack from his nephew’s shoulder and put it in the trunk of the car.

“We need to sign in so my class gets credit for us eating there.” Benji’s excitement was endearing.

“I’ll make sure I have my driver’s license ready,” Peter said under his breath.

Benji scrunched up his nose. “Huh?”

“Never mind.” He told himself to forget about the run-in with the aggravating woman and focus on his nephew.

Once they arrived at the restaurant, they sat in a booth toward the back. Country music played in the background, and the walls were covered in old wood that made the space look and feel like a barn. Spurs hung on the wall next to a shelf with two pairs of old cowboy boots.

“What’s good here?” Peter asked as he looked over the menu, the sweet and spicy scent of barbecue sauce making his stomach demand nourishment.

Benji shrugged.

Peter checked his watch. “Your mom should be here pretty soon. Do you want to wait for her before we order?”

“Sure.”

“I was afraid you’d say that.”

Benji gave him a perplexed expression.

“I skipped lunch today.” As if on cue, his stomach let out a loud growl.

Benji started laughing.

Peter patted his tummy and said in a Yoda voice, “Behave you must, Mr. Stomach. Feed you soon, I will.”

“You’re funny,” Benji said with a grin.

“Mostly, I’m starving. I hope your mom hurries.” He glanced at his watch.

They continued to talk about karate, swimming, and taking a trip to the beach while they waited forever for Laura to arrive.

***

Hailey finished her makeup and finger-styled her hair. “This is as good as it gets,” she said to herself in the mirror.

She walked out into the living room where Regina was sprawled on the couch. “Hey, hey. Look at you. Where you off to?”

“She has a date,” Gran said as she sat on the chair thumbing through a Knit Simply magazine.

Regina whistled. “Maybe you’ll get lucky.”

“Regina!” Gran said, shaking her head. “Mind your manners, please.”

Hailey brushed off Regina’s crude remark. She and Regina had nothing in common. Part of her regretted leaving Gran and Gramps with her aunt. She was an adult, but she acted more like an irresponsible, hormonal teenager.

“Aw, come on, Momma.” Regina laughed, but it sounded more like a cackle.

“I hope you have a nice dinner tonight. You look so pretty. I’m glad you decided on that outfit. The lavender blouse looks so nice with your skin tone,” Gran said, looking over the top of her magazine. “Did he say which restaurant?”

“I think some barbecue place.” Hailey brushed at her white skirt. “I can’t remember.”

A knock sounded at the door, so Hailey turned and answered it. Darren stood on the porch in plaid shorts and a yellow polo shirt that complemented his olive skin and highlighted his toned body. He was handsome all right. “Hi, Hailey. Are you ready to go?”

Hailey stepped outside in the heat because she didn’t want to expose Darren to her rough-and-tumble aunt. Who knows what might come out of her mouth?

“Nice to see you,” she said as they started walking toward the white Toyota Corolla.

On the drive over to the restaurant, they chatted easily about music and movies while the air conditioner blew cool air over her warm skin.

“I’ve never been to this restaurant,” Darren said.

“What’s the name of it again?”

Darren pointed to the sign as they drove into the parking lot. “Smitty’s Down Home Barbecue.”

“Sounds like a good place.”

They pulled up to a faded, wood-sided building with some sheet metal accents and an iron statue of a horse in front. “Looks authentic,” Darren said. “Must mean they have good barbecue.”

They walked inside and waited to be seated. The restaurant was noisy and the scent of roasted meat, onions, and tangy barbecue sauce sifted through the air. It reminded Hailey of backyard cookouts with her family.

A woman with short, bleach-blonde hair and a tattoo of a sunflower on her wrist guided them through the crowded dining room to a booth and they both sat.

“Seems to be a popular place,” Hailey said, glancing over the menu. She decided to order the smoked turkey platter with a salad bar.

A tall, thin man with receding brown hair took their orders and then said, “You can get your salad whenever you’re ready.”

“Thanks,” Hailey said. “I’ll go get my salad and be right back.”

Darren smiled and gave her a nod.

Hailey began loading up her plate with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, and cucumbers, then added a generous helping of salad dressing. She had the plate in her hand when she turned quickly without looking and accidentally hit someone, spilling some of her salad down the front of the person.

“Oh, no. I’m so, so sorry,” she said trying to steady the plate. “I don’t know how—” Her sentence cut short and her heart clenched tight when she saw who stood before her. “Peter?”

“Hi,” Peter said, wiping at his black dress shirt.

Hailey stood there mortified, suffering from shame-induced paralysis. She’d just spilled vegetables coated in Thousand Island dressing all over the front of Peter Stafford, of all people.

He gazed at her. “Usually, I’m not a big fan of salad. Maybe it’s because I’ve been trying to eat it all these years instead of wearing it.” He laughed.

Her mouth gaped open. “I am so sorry. I should’ve looked before I turned.” What else could she say?

“It’s no big deal, really,” he said. “It’s only a shirt. I mean, it is my favorite one that I wear all the time and was planning to wear it tomorrow to an important meeting.”

“Oh, no. I’ll pay to have it cleaned. Or buy you a new one.” She grabbed some napkins and wiped at his shirt.

He laughed again, and she could see the glint in his eyes—he was teasing her.

A woman that resembled Reese Witherspoon walked up to them. Hailey thought it was the same woman she’d seen with Peter before. She quickly stopped wiping at Peter’s shirt front. I hope she doesn’t think I was flirting with her husband.

“What happened to you?” the woman asked, eyeing them.

“I said something to this woman, and she responded by throwing her salad at me,” Peter said with feigned innocence.

“You probably deserved it,” the woman said, slugging him in the arm.

Peter shrugged, then said, “Laura, I’d like you to meet Hailey. Her grandfather is one of my newest recruits.”

“Hi. Nice to meet you,” Laura said politely. But underneath her manners, she seemed to be scrutinizing Hailey, making Hailey want to duck under a table. Does she somehow know that I think—thought—Peter was attractive? Before I knew he was married, of course. But still.

“Nice to meet you too,” Hailey said so she wasn’t rude. Can I evaporate now?

A boy came running up to them. “Can I get an ice cream now?” he asked Peter.

“You need to ask your mom.” Peter pointed at Laura. “Not me. Remember?”

“But she says no.” The young boy made a face. “You always say yes.”

“Go ahead and get an ice cream,” Laura said and he ran off.

They seemed to be a typical family. It would be sweet if it didn’t make Hailey feel a little disappointed somehow.

The woman looked at Hailey. “My brother loves to spoil Benji.”

“Your brother?” It came out a little strangled.

“Benji is my nephew,” Peter said matter-of-factly, obviously not realizing the revelation he’d shared.

Hailey let out a nervous laugh. They aren’t a couple. I had it all wrong. Completely wrong.

“What’s so funny?” Peter asked with his brows knit together.

Hailey wasn’t sure what to say. Oh, yeah. I was attracted to you, but saw you with a woman and a boy and assumed you were married. Yeah, that sounds terrible. “Oh, sorry. Nothing,” she said, the pitch of her voice higher than normal.

Peter studied her, making her cheeks feel like the sun sat atop them. “Are you here with Harry?”

“Uh, no.” She cleared her throat. “I’m on a . . . date.” Hailey tapped the underside of her almost-empty plate with her fingers.

“Oh.” Peter took a step back. A quick something flashed across his face, but it was too fast for her to interpret it.

“Again. I am so sorry for spilling on you. I guess I should get, you know, back. To my date.” Hailey took a few steps backward and ran into the end of the salad bar, making her stumble. Thankfully, she caught herself before falling to the ground and adding even more humiliation to the evening. “I don’t know why I’m so clumsy tonight.” She wanted to escape as fast as possible.

“I’ll see you later.” Peter smiled, seemingly clueless about the reason for her clumsiness.

Hailey nodded, then quickly retreated to her table.

***

Laura stared at her brother, and Peter couldn’t take it anymore. “What?” he said with an air of indifference.

“What’s with her?” Laura inclined her head in Hailey’s direction.

“Who?” Maybe if he played dumb Laura would stop asking questions. He cast his gaze to his plate.

“The woman at the salad bar?”

“I don’t know.” He averted eye contact with Laura. “Is there something with her?”

“Don’t play coy with me, Petie.”

“You know I hate it when you call me that.” He sat back. His sister was annoying at times, but never more so than when she inserted herself in his love life.

Laura slapped the table with both palms. “It all makes sense now.”

“Okay, I give up.” He peered at her. “What makes sense now?”

Laura smiled and nodded.

Peter pushed out a breath. “Am I supposed to read your mind or something?” This conversation was grating on his nerves.

Laura widened her eyes and said, “You’re interested in her.”

“I’m what?” He said it as if there weren’t a grain of truth in it.

“No wonder you weren’t into Fiona. I didn’t understand it at the time, but now I do.”

She grabbed a French fry from Peter’s plate and shoved it in her mouth. “Are you going to ask her out?”

“Fiona?” Peter said, hoping to throw his sister off. “I’m thinking about it.”

“Give me a break,” Laura said.

Peter blew out a breath of exasperation. “No. I’m not going to ask Hailey out.”

“First name basis, is it?” She gave him a smug look. “And why not? She’s obviously interested in you.”

“She is?” He said it too enthusiastically.

“Totally.” Laura popped another fry into her mouth.

Peter reminded himself to be calm and nonchalant. “Even if she were, it’d be inappropriate. Her grandfather is under my care.”

“There’s a rule against dating a patient’s family member?”

Now his sister was truly annoying him. “Laura, please stay out of it.”

She wagged a fry at him. “I’m only pointing out the obvious.”

“I think we’re done here.” He pushed his plate away, then stood. “I’m going to get Benji, so we can go home.”

“Fine.” She tossed a napkin on the table. “But I’m right.”

Peter walked over to the ice cream area and snuck a glance around the restaurant. He spotted her. Over in the far corner. He didn’t want to stare, so he looked away. Knowing she was with another man made him feel . . . something.

“Hey, Benji, are you done getting ice cream?”

“This is my second one.” Benji took a long lick of the chocolate treat.

“Uh, huh.” Peter glanced back in Hailey’s direction. To his embarrassment, his gaze met hers. He quickly took a step back. He hadn’t felt this awkward since middle school when a girl five inches taller than him asked him to dance.

He reached his hand out for Benji. “We’re ready to go now.”

“Are we going to see a movie?”

“I don’t know, bud. It’s getting late and I have a full schedule tomorrow.” He hoped Harry wasn’t one of the patients because, after tonight, he wasn’t ready to see Hailey. He needed to process his feelings and reactions first.

They walked out to the car. Peter forced himself not to look back at the restaurant. For whatever reason, this woman had some kind of pull on him, but he didn’t know why. What were the odds that they’d both end up at the same restaurant?

***

When Hailey returned to the table, Darren gazed at her plate with a puzzled expression. “What happened to your salad?”

“Oh, yeah.” She glanced at the mess in front of her, trying to think of something to say.

“Looks like you really did toss your salad.” He laughed at his joke.

Hailey gave him a courtesy laugh. “I kind of dropped it.” She pushed the plate away because she was no longer interested in eating the salad. Seeing Peter had made her feel discombobulated.

“I think our meals will be here shortly.”

After a few minutes of small talk, the waiter brought them their meals.

“My favorite Mission Impossible movie is Ghost Protocol. How cool to scale a building on the outside like that,” Darren said, then took a bite of his potato salad.

Hailey’s gaze kept being tugged in a different direction. Peter had been with his sister. Not a wife. Not a girlfriend. Of course, after the salad incident and her hyena-laughing reaction he must’ve thought she was a nut job. And maybe she was.

“Hailey?” Darren said.

“Oh, yeah. I love all the Mission Impossible movies. Peter Cruise is great.”

Darren gave her a confused look. “Peter Cruise? Is that Tom’s code name?”

“Oh.” She laughed uncomfortably. “Did I say Peter Cruise? That’s ridiculous. I meant Tom. I don’t know why I said that.” But she knew. Because her mind was on a speech therapist across the room. And why? What was wrong with her? Darren was great looking, easy to talk to, and fun. Why would she be thinking about Peter? Focus on Darren.

“Maybe we could watch a Mission Impossible marathon?” he said, breaking into her thoughts.

“That sounds fun.” Hailey felt pulled to see if Peter was still in the restaurant, but she resisted.

“Except I’m not sure where.” He sat back. “I don’t know if Nana even owns a DVD player. She’s never been fond of electronics. We watch cable.”

“Gran and Gramps have a DVD player, but they also have a Regina.”

“Huh?”

“My aunt.” Hailey refrained from making a sour face. “She’s camping out at their place right now, and I guarantee we don’t want to spend the evening with her.”

“We could try to find a movie tonight. If you’re up for going to a theater.”

“Honestly, I’m pretty tired.” It was the truth. At least most of it. More than anything, she needed some thinking time to straighten out her befuddled thoughts.

“Okay.” Darren didn’t hide his disappointment.

“This is a great barbecue place. I’d like to come back sometime.” Hailey wanted to let Darren know she’d enjoyed the date, even if seeing Peter rocked her a bit—a tiny bit.

“You would?” He perked up.

“Yeah. And let’s do the movie marathon.” It was much safer to spend time with Darren. He was leaving in a week, after all.

“All right.”

They left the restaurant and Darren took her home.

“Thanks again for dinner. It was yummy. And the company was the best part,” she said with emphasis.

Darren smiled.

Hailey got out of the car and went inside where her grandparents were watching TV.

“Come watch this with us,” Gran said. “It’s one of those talent shows.”

Gramps pointed at the television. “S-s-sin-g-g-ger.”

Hailey gazed at him.

“Harry likes this singer,” Gran said. “Only because she’s a beautiful blonde with nice assets, if you know what I mean. She really has no talent whatsoever.” She went back to her knitting.

Gramps waved his hand, then nodded at Hailey, who took a seat next to Gran. “He’s saying more and more words,” Hailey said. A warm feeling enveloped her. Gramps was on his way to recovery for sure.

Gran agreed.

“This is exciting.” Every word meant progress. Hailey couldn’t wait to tell Peter—er, rather, his speech therapist—she mentally corrected herself.

“How was your date? He’s a good-looking young man, isn’t he?” Gran asked as she flipped blue yarn around her fingers.

“It was fun. We went to a barbecue place. Darren is a really nice guy.”

Gran gazed at her. “Uh oh.”

“What?”

“That sounds like you aren’t interested.” Gran picked up her glass to take a drink, but it was empty.

“Not true, Gran.” Hailey grabbed the ball of yarn that had slipped to the ground and handed it back to her grandmother. “I am as interested as I’m ever going to be while I’m here in Florida.” Although things had changed now that she knew Peter wasn’t attached, it still didn’t alter the fact that she’d be heading back to Colorado as soon as Gramps was healthy enough.

Gran quirked her eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.

“So is Regina home?” Not that she cared much, but Hailey wanted to divert the conversation away from her dating life.

Gran’s mouth tightened.

“She didn’t go back out with that guy, did she?”

“I didn’t ask where she was going. It’s better I don’t know.” Gran’s needles clicked together.

Poor Gran. She had such a hard time dealing with her rebellious and ungrateful daughter. Hailey wished she could knock some sense into her aunt and make Regina see how she was hurting Gran and Gramps.

Hailey’s phone vibrated. She grabbed it from her pocket. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hey, honey. Brit had the baby.”

“She did?”

“Yes. He’s beautiful.” Hailey could hear the delight in her mom’s voice. “They named him Thomas.”

“Aw, after daddy?” Her throat thickened. “That’s so sweet. How are they doing?”

“The baby is fine, but . . .,” her mom paused. “Brit started hemorrhaging.”

“Oh no.” Hailey touched her cheek. “What does that mean?”

“They had to give her some blood and they’re watching her closely. She’ll be fine, but she’ll need some extra time at the hospital. Which means I’ll need to stay here longer.”

Hailey felt torn between taking care of her grandparents and going to see her sister. “What should I do?”

“Tell me how Harry is doing,” her mom said.

“Much better.” Gratitude surged through Hailey.

“Is he talking again?”

“A little.” Hailey wished he were saying more, but she was willing to be patient for his full recovery.

“I think you need to stay there. Maybe after Brit goes home and gets settled, you can come see her.”

“Tell her congratulations. I can’t wait to hold my nephew.”

Hailey ended the call.

“Brit had the baby?” Gran asked with bright eyes.

“Yeah. They named him Thomas.”

Gran’s eyes moistened. “That makes me happy.” She turned to her husband. “Did you hear that, Harry? We have a new great-grandson. And his name is Thomas.”

Hailey considered telling her grandparents about Brit’s complication but decided against it. She didn’t want to worry them, especially because her mom said Brit would be fine.

Gramps stood, walked over to Gran, and kissed her on the cheek. He patted her on the shoulder and then slowly walked into the kitchen. He returned with a glass of lemonade for Gran and one for Hailey.

“You read my mind,” Gran said. “Thank you, dear.”

“Thanks, Gramps,” Hailey said. “You’re the best.”

Gramps sat back in his recliner.

Hailey spent the next hour sitting next to Gran on the couch. As much as she wanted to see her nephew, she knew that she was where she needed to be. Once Gramps had recuperated enough, she’d go back to Colorado to see her sister and the new baby.