Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set (18 page)

Chapter Three

Didn’t it go against some primal law of nature to talk about putting your father in a nursing home on Christmas Day?

Hailey wished they didn
’t need to have this conversation, but knew it was necessary.

Once the extended family had left, the three siblings gathered in the kitchen. Kelly
’s husband gave Jake’s family a ride home, and Jake would return the favor, dropping his sister off as soon as they’d come to a final decision.

Hailey was glad her father had gone on to bed. She had questions that would be more difficult to ask in front of him and believed his absence would make it easier for her siblings to be candid.

Kelly sat at the head of the kitchen table. Her elbows on the oak surface and her forehead resting against her hands. Her words were drenched with the same sorrow that picked at Hailey’s heart. “If you’re so against this, are you going to move home to take care of Dad?”

“
It’s not that I’m against it,” Hailey tried to explain. “I just want to be sure it’s needed. If moving home would help delay the need, maybe I could. At least for the short term.”

Hailey knew a return to Caseville would be viewed by everyone as a step down the corporate ladder, but family was more important than the small town
’s perception that she’d failed. Even if she kind of, sort of, had. Being unemployed for six weeks wasn’t exactly a success story.

“
How would that even work?” Jake asked. “You have a job in New York. Besides, I really believe Dad’s illness has progressed too far for any of us to manage—even as a team.”

“
I care about Dad more than any job.” Especially a job she didn’t have any more. She asked herself if she’d be offering to do this if she still worked for Cooper, Smith and Bradley. She liked to think the answer would be yes.

“
I know you care. We all care. It doesn’t change the fact that he really needs around the clock medical attention.”

Hailey still wanted to be told of specific incidents that indicated the need.
“I know he’s getting older and his health is on the decline. But a nursing home? I just don’t see how he’s reached that point.”

Kelly twisted in the chair.
“Some days are better than others, and he’s strung together a couple of good ones since you’ve been home. Unfortunately, he’s had some bad moments that could have become disastrous if not for well-timed interventions.”

Jake paced back and forth in front of the counter.
“You’re just not seeing a clear picture with your twice a month calls and seasonal trips home. Kelly and I are with him every single day.”

“
Both of you have homes big enough to take him in.”

“
And we both have full time jobs,” Kelly said. “Besides, my house isn’t accessible to him. All my bedrooms are on the second floor.”

“
You can’t turn the kids’ play room into a bedroom?”

“
He has a hard enough time climbing the two steps into this house, how’s he going to manage the broken down stone ones out at my place. I have to think about my kids. He left the stove on last week, you know. He could have burnt the house down.”

Hailey moved to the table, sitting next to her sister. She fiddled with the quilted placemat the two of them had made as a Christmas gift for her mother when they were in junior high school. It had adorned the table ever since.

What she’d give for a little of her mother’s guidance right now.

“
Does that mean he has diminished capacity? You’ve never started to cook something and got busy? I burnt a grilled cheese sandwich last week. Maybe I should be put in a nursing home too.”

Jake bent his knee slightly and leaned back against the refrigerator.
“None of us want this.”

She turned to her brother.
“Then why can’t he live with you? Courtney stays home with your kids.”

He shook his head.
“We talked about that, but with these episodes he’s had…I won’t put her or the kids in danger.”

Hailey narrowed her focus on her brother. She knew her siblings were well intentioned, but couldn
’t help but wonder if they were exaggerating the truth. “Dad wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“
You’re right. Not the father we grew up with, but a few times now he’s become violent when he doesn’t remember Mom is gone. I really believe Pioneer Senior Care is the best answer.”

As hard as she tried, Hailey couldn
’t reconcile her siblings’ account of the last few months with her memories of the man she idolized. “Maybe I’ll take him home with me. I can hire a nurse to care for him while I’m at work.”

But can I?
It was one thing to stand up for what she believed in, but six weeks without a paycheck was taking a toll. Her severance package was running out too.

Jake crossed his arms in front of his chest and shook his head.
“You live on the fourteenth floor of a high rise in a city he knows nothing about. Do you really think Dad would be happier there? I can’t see him wandering around a city he doesn’t know. No, it’s not a good option.”

Hailey closed her eyes, hoping to keep back the tears that now pressed against her lids.
“You think a nursing home is better than living with family?”

Jake sat next to his sister and patted her hand.
“Yes. I do. Pioneer is small. He knows a lot of the staff and we can monitor his care.”

“
It’s still a nursing home.”

“
He’ll be with friends he knows when his mind is firing correctly, and people who will be compassionate when it’s not.”

“
I’m not saying they’re bad people but family should care for their own. Isn’t that how we were raised? I keep wondering what Mom would say about all of this.”

Jake softened.
“I hate it too, but I’m sure it’s the right decision.”

“
We’re not going to put him there and abandon him,” Kelly said. “Larry and I will take the kids to visit. Jake will take his family too.”

“
Still, I haven’t seen any evidence that he’s as bad as you say.”

Kelly narrowed her gaze.
“You think we’re lying?”

“
I didn’t say that. I’m just having trouble processing it all.”

Jake squeezed her hand a little tighter.
“Like Kelly said, he’s had a nice string of good days. I’m sure you’ll witness a bad one before long. Trust us, please. Pack up your old room. Let me know what you want sent to your apartment and what you want me to put in storage. The rest we’ll give to the Salvation Army.”

Hailey looked away from her siblings. Her left knee bounced venting the pent up frustration she was having a hard time communicating.
“I’m going on the record as being against selling the farm too.”

Kelly stood and walked away from the table.
“We’re not selling it. Leasing it, for now. The added income will help pay for Dad’s care.”

“
I can pay for it.” The moment the words passed her lips, she wanted to reach out and pull them back. She was used to having plenty to live on, but that didn’t reflect her current status. Her bank account had nearly disintegrated over the last six weeks, but they didn’t know that and now wasn’t the time to tell them.

Besides, she
’d find work right after the holidays and rebuild her bank account without dipping into her savings too much.

Jake shook his head and took a sudden interest in his shoes.
“That’s not right. We’ll split it among the three of us. Besides, I’d rather have someone here, keeping up the property. It’s better than it sitting empty.”

The image of strangers living in her house ran through Hailey
’s mind and she bristled. “But it’s our house.”

“
A house you rarely visit,” Jake said.

“
Do you think any of this is easier just because I’m not here day in and day out?”

“
Yes, I do. You’ve already made a break from here,” Kelly said.

She
’d had goals and done what was necessary to achieve them.

The family didn
’t need to know she was beginning to regret some of the things that ambition had cost her. “You’re wrong, you know. This is tearing me apart.”

Jake pushed the chair back and found his feet.
“Just do me a favor. Really watch Dad the next few days and keep in mind what we’ve said. We can talk again tomorrow.”

Chapter Four

Hailey stood at the back door watching until her brother’s SUV reached the end of the driveway and made the left turn onto the road.

Even though she knew it wasn
’t in either Kelly or Jake’s characters to exaggerate or abandon family, she still had a hard time coming to terms with the picture they painted for her.

Jake was right, though. At the very least, she was here for the week. They could take a day or two for Hailey to really observe her father for herself.

She traversed up the steps and down the hall to her bedroom, nearly tripping over three new totes. Jake—or maybe Kelly’s husband Larry—must have brought them down from the attic while she was out in the barn with Rhonda.

Dropping down to the bed, she cursed aloud. Jake had said he
’d give her time to come to terms, but his actions still screamed that the decision had been made, whether she liked it or not.

Hailey pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to fend off the building stress headache. Was it too much to ask to not have to pack up her father
’s house during the holidays?

Living alone, so far away from the people she loved had left a hollow pit inside her. The emptiness had forced her to examine her life with a magnifying glass: why wasn
’t she happy? How had her choices brought her here? Where had she gone wrong?

She had been good at her job; only lost it because she
’d stood up to her bosses in defense of a client. A client they had told her to drop because there was no money to be had.

Looking back, she realized the work she
’d done in the firm just hadn’t fulfilled her as she’d thought it would.

It was far too early and she was much too conflicted to go to sleep. She retrieved the rubber tote from the top of the stack, took it back toward the bed, and placed it on the floor before making herself comfortable on the patchwork quilt that covered the twin mattress. As she pulled off the lid, the smell of mothballs hit her senses and she turned her face away, closing her eyes. No wonder moths avoided the clothes packed up with them, any one or thing with a sense of smell would.

Her stomach twisted into a knot. Funny how something that smelled so awful could make her miss her mother so much. Every season, the clothes that wouldn’t be needed for several months were packed up and put in the attic. When they were brought back down, they’d need to be washed twice to get rid of the smell.

Her cheerleading uniform was draped on the top. She pulled it aside, finding her track uniform. Memories flooded over her and a smile lifted the corners of her mouth.

Accolades for academic achievement and a handful of debate trophies—the small ones, third place or lower—filled the rest of the tote. The big ones were probably still displayed in the glass cabinet in Mr. Tucker’s classroom. He’d been the first one to label her a star. A true mentor, he’d put the bug in her ear about the bigger world that lay beyond the boundaries of town.

She made a mental note to look him up before she went home, and reached for her old backpack. Bright and bold in her high school
’s colors of red and black with the eagle mascot screened on the back, it was a memory of high school she hadn’t wanted to take with her to college. She opened the zipper to the main pouch, frowning when there was no forgotten treasure to rediscover.

I
’ll give it to one of Kelly’s kids.

She tossed it aside, and it made a funny crunchy noise when it hit the tote lid.

Hailey picked it back up, examining the front pocket. She pulled out a greeting card size envelope. Once white, now yellowed by time, it bore a name written in blue balloon letters.

Nate Jenkins.

He was never really too far out of her mind or heart, but since crossing the city limits the day before, he’d been all she could think about.

She opened the envelope and dumped the contents on the bed: about two dozen newspaper clippings recording Nate
’s high school basketball career, and a handful of photographs.

There was one from the putt-putt course across from the beach taken spring break of their junior year. Another was during the karaoke contest, part of the Cheeseburger Festival events that summer between junior and senior year. After that, the group of friends had all come back to her house—including Nate—and had a large bonfire, somewhat of an annual tradition among the Lambert kids.

She carefully flipped through the frail pieces of paper, now remembering how she’d shoved the envelope into her backpack and then hid it in the closet before leaving.

Her mother must have later packed everything into the totes and moved it to the attic.

After that night in the back of Nate’s truck, she’d spent the next day avoiding his calls and convincing her mother to let her go spend the last month of her summer vacation with Rhonda in Saginaw before heading on to college in New York City.

It
’ll be easier to shop for school in the city.

I won
’t get another chance to see Rhonda for a long time.

I just want to go.

She’d used those arguments and dozens more, never once admitting the truth to her parents. How could she tell them that if she spent the next four weeks as she had the evening before—in Nate’s arms—leaving the small town would become impossible?

Everyone was so proud of her for getting the full ride scholarship to New York University. Teachers had written letters of recommendation. Her parents had scraped together the money to pay for housing. Even newly married Jake had contributed some cash so she could buy the Ford Escort that had carried her out of town.

Each of them had such big expectations for her future but none loftier than the goals she’d set for herself.

Giving it all up for Nate would have disappointed so many, and when she entertained the thought of doing just that, Hailey knew she had to take action before the desires of her heart let down everyone around her.

Her eyes locked on her favorite picture. One of her, Nate, and two of his friends all sitting on the tailgate of his truck. Looking at his easy smile and the way he leaned back on his elbows with his head tipped toward hers made her question those choices again.

She slid off the bed and walked toward the door, sliding the picture into the corner of the mirror. Letting her fingers graze over his face, she remembered the way his cheek felt against her hand, the scent of the beach and his Axe cologne clouded her senses.

If she could click her heels together and go back to that moment in time, would she make different choices?

A loud slamming door pulled Hailey back from the recent past. She went into the hallway, calling her father
’s name.

“
Diane!” he called out.

Her mother. Panic froze Hailey
’s feet to the floor for a split second. Was this one of those moments?

She hit the bottom of the staircase as her father came around the corner from the kitchen. She touched his shoulders and looked into his eyes.
“Are you okay?”

He squinted at her like a lost child before despair took over his features.

“Hailey! Where’s your mother? I don’t know where she’s at.”

She swallowed hard and reached out, taking his hand.
“She’s gone, Dad. Remember?”

He tipped his chin. Confusion clouded his eyes.
“Gone where? It’s the middle of the night.”

“
Dad,” Hailey whispered, then took a deep breath and focused. She needed to do this without emotion. “She died. Last summer. Remember?”

He shook his head and took a step back. The shock on his face was like a knife to her chest.
“Of course I remember.” He spit his words before turning back toward the kitchen.

She followed him, wanting to find a way to ease the tension and his confusion.
“What do you say? Why don’t I make us some hot chocolate?”

“
Don’t go to the trouble.” Still belligerent. So foreign from the dad of her youth.

“
It’s not.”

“
I’d rather have you sit with me.” He took his regular seat at the head of the table. She answered his request and joined him. “I miss your mother.”

“
Me too.”

“
Never get old. It isn’t much fun.”

She twisted her body toward him and painted on a smile, hoping she could lighten the mood.
“It’s better than the alternative, don’t you think?”

He chuckled.
“Yeah, yeah, I guess you’re right.”

It felt awkward to be silent in the same room with her father. Still, finding the right words proved impossible.

Thankfully, he found words to fill the void. “I was looking at the old barn this afternoon. From the hayloft, I noticed a soft spot in the roof. I’m going to have to see if I can get your brother up there to have a look.”

Trying to ignore the fact her elderly father had climbed up into the hayloft, she forced herself to concentrate on his concern. The barn hadn
’t held animals since Hailey’s last 4-H project. Two of her uncles still farmed the land, but they used their own buildings for storage. The haven of her youth was now deserted and showing its age.

“
I was out there with Rhonda tonight. I didn’t notice a problem with the roof.”

“
I figured that’s where the two of you ran off to. Could never keep you girls out of there when you were young.”

“
We could have been doing a lot worse than playing in the hay or riding the gate.”

“
You’re absolutely right about that. That’s why we have to keep it up. Yes. I’m going have to climb up there tomorrow and see what I need to fix it.”

Reaching across the table, she squeezed his hand.
“Please. Promise me you won’t do that. I’ll talk to Jake. And we’ll make sure we get it fixed. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“
All these years, I’ve always maintained the property on my own.” Sadness replaced the pride that had shown in his eyes. “It really stinks that I’ve gotten so damn old I can’t take care of things anymore.”

“
You shouldn’t have to. We kids are old enough now. Let us pick up the slack.”

He leveled his hard gaze on her.
“No matter what happens to me, I want that barn maintained. There’s too much development going on around here. Too much change.”

The plea in her father
’s voice nipped at her heart, but didn’t resemble the frail and forgetful father Jake and Kelly had warned her about. He wasn’t even the same man who stood before her like a confused child five minutes ago.

Sure, he
’d been looking for her mother, but she’d lost count of the number of times she’d reached for her phone and dialed home before remembering her mom was gone.

Seeing the desperation in her father
’s eyes, she knew any extra day she could give her father in this house would be worth it.

“
I promise, Dad.” She eased back into the chair. “Remember Polly?”

Her father laughed.
“Remember her? That stupid pony nipped at me last week. I swear the ol’ girl is more mule than horse.”

“
Aunt Iva and Uncle Ray still have her?”

Bill nodded.
“She carried you around the ring for how many years, and then your cousins, now Ray’s grandkids are showing her.”

Her jaw dropped.
“Really? Showing her?”

“
Absolutely. She shows her age, of course. We all do. They can’t jump her over fences anymore, but she still shines like a diamond in the showmanship classes.”

“
Amazing!” She leaned back in the chair, twisting a lock of hair around her finger. This moment had been repeated so many times over the years. Heart to hearts with her dad at the kitchen table had helped her through many a problem—both big and small. The idea that everything was going to change—that it might be someone else’s family sitting at this table next Christmas nipped at her heart like her pony used to bite at her hand.

She
’d always felt comfort in the knowledge that she could come home.

Pioneer Senior Care wasn
’t home.