Page 95 of That Reilly Boy
She twitches, as if my question startled her. “Never mind.”
Hayden left Sumac Falls right after he graduated, and my dad passed away five years ago. That means the most likely time for Hayden to have shown up on our porch was back when we were in high school. Even during fundraisers with cool prizes—like the year the person who sold the most wrapping paper won a scooter—the Reillys going door-to-door did not include our door, and vice versa. It doesn’t make sense. There’s only one reason I can come up with for Hayden to have knocked on our door.
So no, I am not going to never mind.
“When was it?” I ask again, because I still can’t bring myself to ask the important question—the question with an answer that could mean everything I’ve thought about Hayden was a lie.
Was it the night of the homecoming dance?
“It was years ago. I don’t remember and really, what does it matter?”
“It matters to me, Mom.” I set the last box on the floor, not caring about the neat stacks anymore. “Did Hayden come to take me to the homecoming dance?”
“That’s what he said he was there for,” she says, and my stomach knots. For a few seconds, I’m afraid I might actually be sick. “But a Reilly? You knew better than that, so your father got rid of him. And we didn’t want to fight with you about it, so it was easier to let you believe he never showed up.”
My entire body is cold, and it takes an effort to make words form. “What did Dad tell him?”
“I don’t know what Marcus said to him. All he told me was that we didn’t need to worry about a filthy Reilly sniffing around our daughter ever again.” She shrugs as if it’s no big deal. “He’d said he’d taken care of it and that was the end of it.”
“All this time you let me believe he stood me up?” The anger warms me, and I start walking toward my car. “I have to go.”
“Carolina, it was for your own good,” she calls after me.
I spin around, so angry I’m afraid to get close to her. “I don’t want to talk to you right now. I’m leaving.”
I tune out whatever it is she’s saying in a futile effort to convince me she didn’t do anything wrong. All the way home, I turn the information over and over in my head, trying to figure out why Hayden didn’t tell me he showed up. I’m dismayed, but not surprised, by my parents’ actions. But it makes no sense for Hayden to have let me believe he stood me up. Especially now.
I’m not sure if I’m pleased or even more angry that his car is in the driveway when I pull in. I could probably use a little time to process this new information, but I’m not going to get it.
Penny meets me at the door, and I pick her up to give her a cuddle. I miss her so much when she’s gone, and the fact she’s not going to be a part of my life much longer gets the tears flowing again.
Hayden comes down the stairs, stopping short when he sees my face. “What’s wrong. What happened?”
I kiss the top of Penny’s head and then carefully set her down. By the time I straighten, Hayden is halfway across the room, but I hold up my hand. “My mother accidentally told me you showed up at my house to take me to the homecoming dance.”
The change is instantaneous. His body tenses, straightening his spine, and his jaw clenches. He’s silent for so long I’m starting to think he’s just not going to say anything, but then he nods once in a sharp gesture. “I did.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“It wouldn’t have made a difference.”
I hold up my hands, unable to believe the words coming out of his mouth. “You didn’t think there would be a difference between my parents being awful and me thinking the boy I loved stood me up for what was going to be the most amazing night of my teenage life?”
“They were never going to let me see you, Cara.”
“What did my dad say to you?”
More jaw clenching. Silence. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I repeat, sadness blending with my anger. “It doesn’t matter anymore because you got payback. That’s why you dragged me into this, right? He threw you off our porch, so now you own the porch?”
The way his chin lifts slightly gives me my answer. “You knew right from the start I wanted this house.”
“Yes, the house. But I thought it was just because you loved the house and wanted to restore it. And me getting out from under it would be an added bonus.”
“That part’s true.”
“But you really wanted to buy it because my father told you that you weren’t good enough to even stand on the porch. So you bought it.”
