Scoop (43 page)

Hugo observed Chad’s office. The lights were off. Chad had slithered out some time during the newscast, when everyone was distracted, reportedly carrying a couple boxes. He was never so glad to see anyone go in his life, and the fact that he had to go shamefully was all the better. The DA’s office had called Hugo the minute the newscast was over, and a criminal investigation had already been launched.

“Hi, Mr. Talley,” Hayden said as she approached.

“Great job tonight,” Hugo said, embracing her with a hug. “You really held your own. This was not an easy night to cover. Especially by yourself.”

“Thank you, sir. How are you doing?”

“I’m…okay,” Hugo said. He couldn’t feign a smile. And he knew he didn’t have to for Hayden. “I booted the Blue Pills.”

“That’s good news!”

“Yeah. It’s nice to get some feeling back in my soul.”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, sir. The prophets in the Bible, they were some of the saddest people you ever saw. It’s okay to feel deep pain. It makes joy that much nicer.”

Hugo patted her on the back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Hugo decided to go to Chad’s office and see if he’d left anything behind. Turning the light on, he was surprised to see the desktop emptied of all of Chad’s beloved bragging pieces and the bookcases cleaned out. The office felt cold, like nobody had opened the door in years. Dust rings
marked where memorabilia used to sit. Hugo eyed the leather chair. He’d have to swap his out. He’d always coveted that chair.

A stapled stack of paper caught Hugo’s eye. It sat in the center of Chad’s desk like it was something important. Hugo glanced around and then nonchalantly made his way around the huge desk. He put a finger on top of the stack and drew it near the edge of the desk. Sitting down, he read the top page. There were a lot of fancy words, but the one that caught Hugo’s eye was “Evaluation.”

“The report!” Hugo said to himself. He flipped through the pages, which contained a lot of graphs, numbers, and charts, until he came to the last page which simply read: “Summary.” And to his disbelief, the summary was only few, small sentences long.

“Programming?” Hugo laughed.
Programming?
The reason they were last in the ratings was because their network had bad programming?

Hugo could hardly believe it!
That
was the problem? Bad television dramas?

“That sounded like you’ve had a heavy day.”

Hugo looked up.

“Hi,” Jane said, standing in the doorway. She was holding two boxes of Chinese food. “Thought you might be hungry.”

“I’m starving,” Hugo said, though barely, because he thought he might start crying. He stood and motioned for her to come in. “Pull up a chair.”

“We can eat in here?” she asked.

“It’s presently unoccupied,” Hugo said with a smile. He reached out for the Chinese box but instead grabbed her hand. She looked up at him. “You got my e-mail?”

“Me and about thirty other ladies.” She grinned. “It was the nicest thing I’d ever read. I had to share it with the girls.” She set down her food. “I moved back in tonight. I’m sorry I moved out. That was a stupid thing to do.”

“We have a lot to talk about.”

She nodded. “There’s going to have to be some changes. From both of us.”

“I’m thinking about taking an eight-to-five job,” Hugo said. He looked around the vacant office. “In fact, there’s a nine-to-six here that just became available.”

She smiled and opened up the Chinese box for him. “I ordered your favorite. Happy Family.”

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” Ray said as Hayden came out the back door of the station. He’d left Roarke to visit with Gilda, and things looked like they were going well.

“Hi.” She grinned.

“Where’s your sister?”

“She’s exhausted. I sent her home a couple hours ago. You would think she was the chief of police or something around here. I had to remind her she’s on
vacation.”

“You two probably have plans tomorrow.”

“Nothing that can’t include you.”

Against his better judgment, Ray took her hand. She looked up at him, surprised but also, if his radar was working correctly, delighted. “I guess it’s no surprise anymore. I kind of like you.”

“Kind of?” she teased. Good, she could tease. That was a relief. He hadn’t quite found her complete range. He was pretty sure she wasn’t capable of sarcasm, but that was fine. The world could use fewer sarcastic people.

“I’ve never met anyone like you,” Ray said. “You’re extraordinary in every way. Assistant one day, superstar anchor the next. How do you do it?”

Hayden laughed. “Well, I do come from a long line of people who’ve had very colorful occupations.”

At that moment, with her hair lit by the moon and her eyes shining from the gleam that must’ve been bouncing off of what he hoped was a million-watt smile, Ray wanted to kiss her. But considering the home-schooling background and her sister’s occupation, he decided it could wait. Instead, he held her hand and watched Sam and Jill making out in the far corner of the parking lot.

Things had a way of working out.

T
here,” Hayden said, pointing to the two-story home where she’d spent most of her life. It still looked warm and inviting, with pristine white paint and a dark red door. After their parents’ death, Mitch and Claire had moved into the old house and renovated it. So much of the inside looked different. The room Hayden had shared with Mack was now their four-year-old niece’s bedroom, and it was decorated with Disney characters. But the outside was the same, with that red door she loved so much. The four old rocking chairs that her grandfather had made lined the long front porch, and dark green ivy still climbed the outside walls.

“This is a beautiful house,” Ray said as he pulled behind the crowd of cars in the driveway.

Hayden couldn’t stop smiling. So much had changed in her life. Coming home for Christmas made everything seem right. She looked at Ray, and he was staring at the large bay window that framed the crowd inside.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Ray glanced at her. “Just a little nervous. I want to make a good impression.” He paused. “And I have to say I’m curious about meeting the rest of the Hazard clan.”

“Well, looks like we’re the last ones to arrive, so you’ll get to meet everyone at once.” She patted his hand. “They’re eager to meet you. I’ve told them all about you.”

She’d been dating Ray for about a month, but things had turned serious pretty quickly. When he’d suggested he wanted to spend the holidays with her, Hayden didn’t hesitate. There was something special and unique about Ray Duffey. She saw him as her flashlight, lighting a path for her
in a dark world she didn’t always understand. He reminded her of her father, a sensitive man but with direction and instinct. He made her feel safe.

Ray turned off the ignition of the rental car and looked at her. “Here we are.”

Hayden pointed to the window, where all her siblings peered out and waved.

“Oh my,” he said, timidly waving back.

“I promise they won’t eat you alive.” Hayden laughed. “Come on!” She jumped out of the car. The day had clouded over, and light snowflakes had begun to fall. Mitch had put up Christmas lights on the house, and Claire had hung Moms favorite wreath on the front door. Hayden took Ray’s hand and guided him toward the front door, which Mitch opened before they were even at the porch.

Every year that passed, Mitch looked more and more mature. He stuck his hands in his pockets casually, and though he was smiling, Hayden could tell he was sizing Ray up. She caught his eyes and gave him a reassuring nod.

Mitch held out his hand to Ray. “Mitch Hazard.”

“Ray Duffey.”

Mitch turned to Hayden and grabbed her, pulling her into a bear hug. “Come in, come in!” he said, nearly pushing them both through the door. “Everyone’s here!”

Hayden hugged each of her siblings and her two nieces. Then she introduced Ray. “Everyone, this is Ray. Ray, these are…the Hazards.”

She watched Ray smile and blush a little, giving a short wave. “I’m sure I’ll get all your names down before the end of the day!”

Everyone laughed and Hayden let out a little sigh. She watched as Cassie and Claire ushered Ray into the kitchen, both declaring he was, indeed, hungry and that they had plenty of food to go around. Ray glanced back once and smiled, then he disappeared through the doorway.

Hank stood nearby and Hayden walked over to him. “How are you doing?”

“Fine,” he said softly and smiled, his two small dimples piercing his skin. “He seems nice.”

“Yeah,” Hayden said. “He’s terrific.”

“Mack’s been showing us your tapes.”

“What tapes?”

“Of your news show.”

“What? She taped it?”

“When she was in town visiting you, I guess. You’re really good. Wish Mom and Dad could see it.”

“Thanks, Hank,” she said, touching his arm. In his eyes, she could see that a lot of sadness lingered there. Christmases were hard, even with them all together. “I don’t know what God has me doing there, but I guess I’ll just have to trust him.”

“I’m sure he has his reasons,” Hank said.

Mack walked out of the kitchen and made a beeline toward Hayden. “Hey, sis,” she said, pulling her into a hug and slapping her back like one of the guys.

“Tell her your news,” Hank said.

“What news?” Hayden asked.

Mack smiled a little. “I got the call. They want me to go into the undercover program.”

Hayden felt her heart thump.

“You don’t look happy,” Mack said.

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I’ll be fine.” Mack elbowed her. “It’s got to be easier than the dating scene.” She looked toward the kitchen. “Ray’s one great guy. Just be cautious. Dont rush into anything.”

“You’re one to lecture me on caution,” Hayden said, swinging her arm around Mack’s neck.

Mitch announced above the noise, “Time to eat!”

They all made their way into the dining room. The long table that had been handed down through four generations of Hazards was decorated with candles and garland, and their moms china was set at each place, looking as new as the day their dad had bought it for her.

“Wow,” Ray said, walking up beside her. “This is some kind of setup!”

“Claire did all this. She’s a really good hostess.”

Claire, pregnant to the point of looking like she was carrying a turkey inside her, walked out with a final platter. Mitch took the seat at the head of the table and everyone quieted.

“And now we will thank God for all the blessings he has given each of us throughout the year. Let’s bow our heads.”

Hayden closed her eyes and reached to her side. This year she had one extra blessing for which to be thankful.