Page 71 of An Inconvenient Plan
He groaned and set her on the sofa next to him. She grabbed her phone. The screen showed her mom’s number. “Mom! Where are you? Are you okay?”
“It’s Joe. I’m with your mom. She’s okay. She’s just out of surgery.”
“Surgery! Oh my God. What happened?”
Josh’s brows drew together in concern. She mouthedit’s your dad.
Joe went on. “She broke her leg and they had to go in to fix it so it’d set right. We’ll be on our way home tomorrow. We’re in Maine.” That was where her mom grew up. Her mom’s parents had died years ago in a car accident off a narrow winding road in Maine, both of them gone at once. She hadn’t even considered her mom would return there with the reminder of her parents. It suddenly occurred to her she didn’t understand her mom at all, but Joe did.
Hailey’s eyes filled. What if Joe hadn’t found her mom? How long was her mom all alone, suffering with a broken leg? “I’m so glad you were with her. I’m so sorry all of this happened. I was afraid to say anything about her going off on her own. I didn’t want everyone to hate her. And me.” She slapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a sob.
“Sweetheart, it’s okay. We worked things out.”
“You did?” she managed, her throat painfully tight. She wiped the tears away.
“She had some wild notion that when she got older, her looks would fade and my love would fade too. Real love isn’t like that. I’m here to stay. I’ve waited a long time for her, and I’m not letting her go that easily.”
“She’s always missed her modeling days. That was the golden time in her life, and I guess she feared losing what she had then.”
“Ah, Hailey, she’s so much more than a beautiful woman. She’s caring in all the little ways that count, and she has such a strong spirit, always with a zest for life despite all she’s been through losing her parents, your dad, and doing the single-mom thing. She’s been on her own for the most part since she was sixteen. I have a lot of respect for her.” Her mom had started her modeling career at sixteen, travelling the world, shortly after her parents died. She hadn’t known her mom was mourning Hailey’s dad. She’d said very little about him.
Hailey let out a shaky breath. “I was so sure I was going to lose you guys just when I finally got a great family.”
Josh rubbed her back.
“Hailey,” Joe said, his voice warm, “even if something had gone haywire between me and your mom, I’d still want you in my family.”
“Oh.” She looked to Josh and blurted, “I’m with Josh and it’s serious and I know you didn’t want him to be with me—”
“Whoa, that is not true at all.”
“But Josh said you told him to keep his distance.”
“And I knew he’d do the exact opposite. Josh can’t back down from a challenge. I knew he’d try even harder to make the relationship work if he thought I’d come down on him for disrupting family harmony. I know my boy.”
She nearly collapsed with relief. She’d been so worried all this time about being on the outs with Joe and his wonderful family. It was a devious calculation he’d pulled, which reminded her of a certain someone. “You know your son because he’s just like you.”
Joe chuckled. “Not exactly, but pretty close. See what you’re getting into with us Campbells? And once you’re in, there’s no getting out. TerribleGodfatherimpression there, but you get my meaning. Seriously, though, Mad brought you in way back when, and we all love you.”
“I love you too,” she choked out. She looked to the ceiling, trying to hold off the tears. “How did my mom break her leg?”
“She tripped in the woods on the way to her grandparents’ old cabin. I only found her by asking around town about her family. I would’ve called sooner, but I didn’t have my charger. There wasn’t any cell service where she was either, so she couldn’t call for help. Anyway, I got her to the hospital and she’ll make a full recovery. Can you let Josh know all is well? He’ll tell the others.”
“Sure, he’s with me now. Thanks again, Joe.”
She disconnected and turned to Josh. “Your dad tracked down my mom. She broke her leg and just came out of surgery to set it.”
He nodded. “My dad was a damn good cop. He can track down anyone.”
“She’s so lucky to have him. She has no clue.”
Josh raised his brows and then pulled out his phone. “I’m texting Mad the good news and telling her to pass it on.”
Hailey took a few deep breaths, calming down from her scare. Then she shared the astonishing news that his dad actually did want them to be together.
Josh shook his head and put his phone away. “I should’ve known.” He barked out a laugh. “I was so crazy over you I didn’t put it together.”
She beamed, loving hearing him say he was crazy over her because she was crazy for him too.
