He’d been game for all of it. Because of that, I’d grown more comfortable with him. Weirdly, I’d grown more comfortable with myself too. I was no longer the woman who covered for her embarrassment at that first author event by making somebody else feel bad. I knew better now.
You didn’t have to direct negative attention at somebody else. You just needed to lift yourself up. It was one of those things I always should have known. I felt like an idiot for only discovering it now.
Better late than never.
I smiled and exhaled heavily. “I love him,” I admitted then held my breath to see if there would be an explosion. There wasn’t.
“We already knew,” Hayley said. “Nathan and I have a bet. I figured it would take you another month to realize it. This is his time period in the bet. I don’t suppose you could wait to tell Brody for another month, could you?”
I made a face. “You’re betting on us?”
She laughed as if I’d said the funniest thing in the world. “We’ve been betting on you since the golf cart incident.” She turned to Paisley with a conspiratorial smile. “There was a definite spark.”
Paisley laughed as I scowled. “So you’ve mentioned.”
“You guys suck,” I said, my eyes drifting to the window again. My mother was really active as she paced out there.Should I check on her?I was still considering my options when Hayley spoke again.
“You bring up a good point about Nathan and the book launch,” she mused. “I don’t suppose you would be willing to loan me Paisley for that month, would you?”
I jerked my eyes back to her, surprised. “You want to take Paisley with you and Nathan?” It didn’t seem like a good idea. Nathan was a pervert when he wanted to be, and Paisley was younger and impressionable.
“She can help me with the stuff that needs to be done,” Hayley said. “I’m between assistants right now. Plus, when Nathan inevitably hooks up with a different woman in every city, she and I can have nice dinners and drinks before turning in at a reasonable hour.”
I had to press my lips together to keep from laughing as I glanced over at Paisley. She would be polite and agree to go with Hayley whether she wanted to or not, because that was her way. But her big smile told me she liked the idea.
“It’s up to Paisley,” I said. “I think it’s a good idea, though. It will ease my guilt?—”
“You mean because you only care about boning Brody now and not your friends,” Paisley teased.
“I never want to bone my friends,” I shot back.
“You know what I mean.”
I ignored her. “I plan on taking a break around the holidays this year. Brody and I want to do all the holiday stuff together.” I didn’t cringe, as I’d assumed I would, when I said it. I meant it, and I was happy.
“Oh, so cute,” Hayley cooed. “I guess things are working out for all of us.” Her eyes flicked to the window to my left. “Except for your mother. Seriously, what is going on out there?”
Sighing, I pushed myself to a standing position. “She does seem more worked up than normal. Just let me check on her. She’s probably preening like a peacock for whoever lives across the road. I’m pretty sure that’s a single guy.”
“The male peacocks preen,” Paisley said. “The females don’t.”
“Well, thanks for that unnecessary tidbit.” I headed toward the foyer. The big storm door was open, leaving only the screen door closed, and I could hear voices filtering in once I got closer to the porch.
“She’s not here,” Mom insisted, her voice higher pitched than normal. “It’s just me. You should go.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
The second voice took me a moment to place. Unfortunately, I’d heard it more than necessary over the past few months. I ultimately recognized it even though the owner of that voice had no reason to be here. I thought about it, angled myself to get a view through the screen door without being seen, then forced myself to remain calm.
“Call the police,” I instructed in a low voice. “Call Brody too.”
Hayley’s expression was blank. “I don’t understand.”
“Call them.” I couldn’t dillydally. For once, this wasn’t my mother’s mess to clean up.
“What’s going on?” Paisley asked, alarm rippling through her voice.
“We have a guest,” I replied, my mind whirling. My tires had been slashed. Brody’s yard had been vandalized. Brody had shown me the video of our hearse tour, and we’d both been uneasy.
