Page 3 of An Inconvenient Plan
He jogged back, got the car, and drove alongside her. “I’ll pay you five hundred dollars to get in this car.” That was the shoebox money.
She stopped walking.
He stopped the car.
She walked over to the passenger door and kicked it. “Hey!” he said at the same time as she said “Ouch!”
“Stop beating up my car and get in!” he barked.
She kept walking, limping a little, chin raised. He wanted to grab her and shove her in the car, but he knew she’d fight him tooth and claw. Damn, this woman was a lot of work. She drove him bat-shit crazy, and he was only going to see more of her now that their parents were living together. FUBAR and NWGBFU! (Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition and Now We’re Gonna Be Family, Ugh!). Why had he thought it would be an easy thing to right the wrong? Nothing with this woman was easy.
Her limp was more pronounced now, but she never slowed her pace. He had to admire her gumption. She was a trooper with a real fighting spirit, though not a rational one.
“Did you break your toe?” he asked, driving at a snail’s pace.
“No.”
“What can I say?”
She stared straight ahead. “Nothing.”
“I’m sorry.”
She held up a palm likeshut it.
“Hailey, come on.”
“Good day, sir!” She sped up.
He bit back a laugh. Swear to God, where did she get this stuff from? He followed her all the way back to her place, an old colonial in Clover Park, much closer to Garner’s. He’d passed the old house before, but never knew she lived there. Despite all their fighting, usually at Garner’s, the bar he worked at and managed, he didn’t actually know her that well. What he did know about her was through his sister, Mad, who was close with Hailey. He watched her go around to the back of the house, probably to get in through a back entrance.
He drove off, parked in the lot behind Garner’s, and then just sat there for a few minutes, trying to come up with a game plan for when he walked back into ladies’ night and all of Hailey’s friends saw him alone. There would be questions. They’d left together and everyone knew it was to settle their dispute over the money. He finally decided to keep his mouth shut. He’d let Hailey tell the story any way she wanted to, even if it sounded like he was in the wrong. He wasn’t the one who’d stripped down…don’t think about it.
He went inside and slipped behind the bar. It didn’t take long before her friends let him know they were mad at him, even his own sister.
And he still had Hailey’s shoebox of money.
He refused to comment on the situation no matter how much her friends harassed him. One thing was clear—he’d been right to resist temptation. The two of them together were a disaster; even when he tried to make up with her they fought. And there were way too many people—family and friends—ready to butt in on their weird contentious relationship.
He’d let her cool off and they’d put this entire thing behind them. Hopefully soon. Otherwise, Hailey as part of his family would haunt him forever.
2
Six weeks later…
Josh had looked death in the eye more than once as a paratrooper, but nothing had prepared him for this—Hailey, a blubbering mess in his office. Her long strawberry blond hair hung in her face, matching her blotchy skin.
It was like her fighting spirit just broke. And in its place were tears and snot. Damn, she was an ugly crier. He’d had to hide her back here in his office at Garner’s before she ruined their parents’ engagement party.
He offered her a box of tissues. She grabbed one, blew, and then sobbed some more, the crumpled tissues piling up in her lap.
This was not the Hailey he knew. He wasn’t even sure why she was crying. He only knew he was the straw that broke the beauty queen’s back. He’d been working behind the bar and she’d been about to have a drink when he’d informed her, “I’m best man, so I’ll be your wedding escort again.” (She was maid of honor for their parents’ wedding.)
She’d looked at him for one horrified moment and burst into tears.
He’d never seen her cry before. She was usually so put together, more prone to anger than a breakdown. His sympathy pain was so great he almost wanted to cry along with her, but he couldn’t. He’d been dry-eyed since he was eight years old and his mom had walked out the door never to return. In some ways he’d grown up that day. As the oldest with his identical twin, Jake, he took care of his younger siblings. Still did. And now that Hailey would soon be his “little sister,” it was his responsibility to take care of her too.
Hailey shook a crumpled tissue in the air. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t stop crying. What’s wrong with me?”
