Page 48 of Her Cowboy Baby Daddy
“That’s sad, Hayley.” He hadn’t meant to say that. The words simply slipped out.
“Not for me. I like friendship, Spence. Much more manageable and comfortable and—”
“Are we friends?” Her muscles stiffened beneath his hands, then a smile curved her lips. A smile that had him wondering if she honestly felt like smiling, or if she was gaining control of the situation. Using techniques she’d learned in counseling.
“It feels like it.”
Her voice was low and husky, her expression surprisingly open, considering the fact that she apparently found the topic of happy endings somewhat threatening.
“It does,” he agreed, giving her knees a gentle pat before stepping back. He felt like kissing his friend, so putting some distance between them seemed a wise move.
Hayley eased off the tailgate, dropping a few inches to the ground. “Well, old buddy, I have stuff to do to get ready for the Farmer’s Market tomorrow.”
“Then we should head back to the ranch, old pal.”
Their gazes held for a moment, then they broke into grins at the same time, bringing relief to the moment, but not erasing the underlying tension. Spence wondered what it would take to do that. Probably a couple of miles of distance, but then he’d still be thinking about her.
Hayley shook her head and started loading tools. Spence did the same, focusing on the job at hand in an effort to keep his eyes off the woman who was starting to drive him crazy.
What was it about human nature that made you want what you couldn’t have?
*
“No basil?” CarolBingley, Marietta’s resident gossip, gave Hayley a stern look. Hayley had no reason to feel nervous around the woman, except that she seemed to know everything, and people suspected that what she didn’t know, she made up.
“The plants were just a little too small to bring this week,” Hayley said. “Next week, for sure.”
“Fine.” Carol gave a small sniff. “I’ll take these pansies.” She set down two seedling six-packs, then opened her wallet and handed Hayley her fifth twenty-dollar bill of the morning. She was going to have to find change soon if someone didn’t stop by and pay with ones and fives.
She smiled at Carol after she counted out four precious one-dollar bills, then carefully set the plants in a paper bag. “Thank you.”
“I’ll be back for basil next week,” Carol said.
“I’ll set aside a couple plants for you.” And she’d make sure she had a lot more change. Last week and the week before had been no problem, but this week...
Hayley blew out a breath as Carol turned away, then the woman abruptly turned back, effectively blocking the young couple approaching her table with a flat of tomato plants.
“You certainly have ruffled Carter Hunt’s feathers,” she said with a satisfied smile.
Hayley managed to stop herself from asking for details—no easy task in the face of Carol’s I-know-secrets expression. This was not the time or place to delve into such matters. The young couple who’d been waiting to pay for their tomatoes moved past Carol and set the flat on the table, giving Hayley an excuse not to answer. A few seconds later, Carol drifted on to the next booth to see what kind of trouble she could stir up there, and Hayley made an effort to relax. So what if she’d stirred up Carter Hunt? He was the guy causing trouble. She was merely helping a neighbor. A friend.
Yes. She was helping a friend and his family.
And, honestly, she had ruffled the man’s feathers, which felt kind of good, given his behavior.
Hayley enjoyed brisk sales for the remainder of the day, and by the time one o’clock rolled around and the vendors began breaking down their booths, she had only two bouquets of cut flowers, which she gave to the jewelry maker next to her, and a few assorted six-packs of veggie starts left.
With the exception of Carol’s unsettling remark, she’d had a good day. Andie stopped by to fill her in on the new job, which was going well, and she’d gotten to chat with several old classmates and one of her former teachers. Coach Michaels, who appeared to be a fixture at the market, stopped by and purchased flowers for his wife, and Hayley wondered for the zillionth time if he was aware that she was responsible for the biggest trophy in the case at Marietta High School.
No. Of course not, but Hayley had never been one to need accolades.
She just wanted to feel good about life, good about herself. She wanted to have a baby, raise that child to the best of her ability, and pass the ranch along to the next generation. She would make a family of two, as she and her dad had been. Maybe, if she was lucky, she’d have another child and it’d be a family of three. Regardless of family size, at the end of the day, she wanted the satisfaction of knowing that she’d built a good life and that she’d done it by not taking chances that didn’t need to be taken.
Other people were free to take those chances. People who didn’t know the push-pull of welcoming in, then ultimately ushering out, a new stepfather every couple of years. Hayley might not have lived with her mom full time, but Reba’s lifestyle had left a mark on her only daughter.
Hayley’s phone rang as she turned onto the Lone Tree driveway and bumped over the cattle guard, and she felt a little flush of guilt when she saw her mom’s name on the screen.
Talk about timing. She pulled over and answered.
