Besides, she’d done minimal online research here and there over the years—not stalking, just… checking in. She knew that Ransom and his family also lived in Trinity Falls. So she was just going to have to put on her big-girl pants and deal with the fact that she would probably bump into them from time to time.
Ransom being here had nothing to do with her decision to move back home, and nothing to do with the reason it felt like home in the first place. And it certainly hadn’t factored into her choosing to buy his parents’ old house. It just happened to be perfect for her big project. That was all.
“It’s fine,” Hailey said firmly. “I know all about his situation. It’s not a problem.”
“Oh, good,” Sloane said, visibly relieved. “I just didn’t want you to be surprised when you saw him.”
“Nope,” Hailey said. “I’m prepared.”
They said their goodbyes and she headed out, pulling her scarf back up against the cold.
The crisp night air reminded her that she was ravenous. Warm, inviting light spilled out of the big plate-glass window of the Co-op Grocer’s across the street. But after the long drive from the city, she wasn’t sure she could handle any awkward reunions with people she’d known as a kid, or heaven forbid anyone wanting to talk about the TV show.
Hailey decided that the grocery shopping could wait until tomorrow.
She had skipped plenty of meals over the years when she had to answer to the wardrobe department andviewer preferencesabout her body type. One more hungry night wouldn’t kill her.
She headed back to her car, grateful that between her fluffy scarf and the hat she had pulled down low onto her forehead, it was unlikely anyone would recognize her.
At least now she wouldn’t be breaking her contract by talking to them if they did.
Ever since the director, Van Hogarth, had decided to kill off her character onRidley Hospital,Hailey had been forbidden to leave Manhattan or discuss her future. She wasn’t even allowed to let her agent submit her for other projects, not until her death episode aired.
That awful man…
But resentment over the actions of the self-importantdirector wouldn’t get her anywhere, and Hailey wasn’t going to waste time licking her wounds.
She’d spent the month of downtime in her apartment, making plans, buying a farm sight-unseen, and preparing for today.
When the episode finally aired last night, she had watched herself die on screen, along with the rest of theRidley Hospitalaudience, and then turned off the set and forced herself to get some sleep without checking her phone to see the reactions.
All she had really wanted to do was get right in the car and head for Trinity Falls. But she’d had to stay one more night in the city so she could turn in her apartment keys to the management office.
“Sorry about your… you know, your loss,” the rusty-voiced lady at the front desk had said this morning, shaking her head. “I was really rooting for you and Dr. Silverman.”
“Me too,” Hailey told her. “But things happen for a reason.”
She wasn’t sure she really believed that, but it seemed to help the people she said it to feel better about her character being killed off, instead of getting the romance plot line with dreamy Dr. Silverman that the show had been setting up all season.
But whatever the reason, she was here now, and that was all that really mattered.
Arriving at her trusty station wagon, she hopped in and turned the key. The engine rumbled cheerfully to life. It was an older car, but Hailey took good care of it,and now that she was back in the countryside, she thought it would serve her well.
Right now, it was full of all her earthly possessions. But when she pictured herself heading home with a big haul from the farmer’s market, or with a Cassidy Farm Christmas tree tied to the rack, she couldn’t help but smile.
She pulled carefully out of her parking spot and headed down the street to make a right on Princeton and another on Ambler—the directions coming to her instinctively, like she had never left.
After years in the city, Trinity Falls felt so spread out and beautiful, like you could really take a breath here. Even in the village the buildings were only two or three stories tall, and trees had been planted along the sandstone sidewalks since the last time she was home.
She headed north on Ambler, the light snowflakes reflecting in the headlights as she drove, first past the community college fields and forest, and then the sprawling stone houses on the north side of town, before the little suburb melted into miles of farmland.
One of those farms belongs to me now,she thought to herself, still unable to believe it.
And it wasn’t just any farm. She hadn’t thought the day would arrive so soon, but when she made her plans for what she wanted to do after acting, she had always known she wanted to create a beautiful destination for parties and weddings. And it was always the Wrights’ farm that she pictured in her mind for that project.
From the open fields to the historic farmhouse to the picturesque red barn, she knew it would be the perfectspot to transform into a dreamy haven for making memories. The place was just naturally romantic.
It has nothing to do with Ransom, or that kiss…
