“Doing a little studying there?” I ask her as I continue to focus on the road.
“I highlighted a few possible stops, and using my phone for everything isn’t good for my eyes.” She sounds very serious, and it’s adorable.
I can’t help but smile to myself. This road trip will be anything but boring.
She takes a sip from her coffee that we picked up at a gas station twenty minutes in and sets it back in the cup holder. “When was the last time you traveled somewhere like this and not on a fancy private plane for work?” she wonders aloud.
Thinking about it a few ticks, I search my memory. “Probably a while back when my brother and I did the whole upper Great Lakes.”
“That sounds cool. My most exciting trips lately are school field trips. Don’t get me wrong, it should be fun. It’s just, middle school kids are too busy whispering about who is into whom and the latest drama.”
I cringe. “You couldn’t pay me to go back to those times”
“I know, right? Yet I do it on a daily basis.”
“You observe them. There is a difference.”
Hailey shrugs.
“So, what isreallystopping you from starting your whole preschool idea?”
She sputters a sound. “As you are aware, the owners have the ridiculous marriage clause. Plus, I doubt they would want to sell to someone on a teacher’s salary. Even with a private school salary. I’ll need money to invest in renovations and supplies. I don’t want to take a loan from Liam. The bank would give me the loan only if I have a higher income on file. I’m halfway there, just not enough.”
It disappoints me just as much as it does her, and it doesn’t surprise me that she would want to be self-sufficient and do it all on her own.
“And if there weren’t a clause and you had the money?”
“I guess, it would take a little while to really set up the place and find students. I mean, there are a group of moms who hang out at Foxy Rox for coffee sometimes and I heard them mention that they wish there was a preschool closer to Everhope. The one that was here never reopened after it was flooded a few years ago. Also, they would love if the preschool serves healthy snacks and maybe even teaches a few Spanish words so kids can become bilingual.”
Lines crease my forehead. “Do you even speak Spanish?”
“Barely. I would have a native speaker come in.” Watching as the faint joy on her face falls is heartbreaking. “Sorry, I’m talking your ear off for a silly idea.”
“It’s not silly.”
“Easy for you to say. You are exactly where you want to be.”
“Sure, job wise, house wise, fitness wise… apparently road-trip wise.” But life is missing someone to share it with. “The league headquarters in New York has been offering me aposition on several occasions. Still, there are just a few more things in life that I could be satisfied with.”
Her head whips in my direction and her lips part. Yeah, because it’s us then that’s where her mind has just gone.
“Let’s just leave it at that.” I’m not going to deny that we probably just shared the same wavelength of thought, and we need to move on to something neutral, so I switch topics. “My brother wants me to get a dog,” I say while I overtake a truck.
“Ilovedogs,” she coos. “Actually, I would love a Labrador and to get him qualified as a therapy dog, then one day he could be with kids and listen while they read. It really calms them, especially kids who need a little extra help with reading.”
Everything warms inside of me, not because I want her but because of her kind heart. She’s selfless and wants only the best for people. “One day you’ll have all of that.”
She sinks back into her seat and sighs. “I would love it if my dog is one of those dogs that walk down the wedding aisle carrying the rings. He would have on a little bow tie.”
Right. Marriage, dogs, a future. Probably, shouldn’t let my mind wander, I need to focus up ahead anyhow.
“Hey, is your brother really going to run for mayor? The rumor is spreading like wildfire on the street.”
I want to rub my head due to exhaustion from the crazy scenario. “Well, he is the golden child, and I think he might actually really want to do it, but since we both enjoy defying our parents, then he might tell my parents no just to keep them on their toes.”
“Golden child? That’s what you think?”
I hiss a little whistle. “Oh, I know so. They are for sure proud of me and happy I’m a lawyer… but it’s the wrong kind of law. They would be a lot happier if I didn’t involve sports in the equation. I should settle down, too. Family dinner normallyinvolves them mentioning so-and-so’s daughter. They probably have a whole book of options.”
