Bailey wouldn’t have suggested the idea if she didn’t think that Hattie would end up loving it. “It’s very on brand for Hattie. The tavern. The Vegas bells and whistles. All the people she loves in attendance.”
Landon’s voice rose with excitement. “I think it can work. If we all put our heads together. It could also be a lot of fun for all of us.”
“Hey, what’s all the noise in here? You two sound as if you’re celebrating something,” Caleb said, looking at them curiously. He let out a chuckle. “Wait, don’t tell me you’re engaged. Are congratulations in order?”
Landon shook his head at him.
“No engagement over here,” Bailey said, looking a bit taken aback.
Just then Sophia entered the room. With long auburn hair and a curvy figure, Caleb’s fiancée was stunning. At her side was a little girl, her daughter, standing beside Sophia. With big brown eyes and curly dark hair, she was precious. She almost looked like she could be Bailey’s own daughter. The thoughtcaused her heart to squeeze painfully in her chest. Now why had she thought something like that out of the blue? More and more she was starting to dream of things she had never imagined before—babies, the whole white picket fence and a long-term partner or husband.
“Hi, Bailey,” Sophia said. “Nice to see you again.” She looked down at her daughter. “I’m not sure you’ve met my daughter, Lily. Lily, this is Bailey. Why don’t you say hello?”
Lily stuck out her hand and looked up at Bailey with a sweet look on her face.This little girl couldn’t be more adorable, Bailey thought.
“Nice to meet you. You’re pretty,” Lily said.
Everyone chuckled at the little girl’s openness.
“So are you,” Bailey said. “How old are you?”
“I’m four,” she said, holding up three fingers. Caleb leaned over and put up another finger for her. The way he was gazing at her with adoration shimmering in his eyes said so much about their close bond. Clearly Moose Falls had done wonders for him. Once known as a reality star heel, Caleb’s claim to fame was now being a loving fiancé and spokesman for Yukon Cider. Likewise, Xavier had met True and fallen madly in love with the tavern owner after suffering painful romantic missteps in his past. It was almost as if Moose Falls had worked its magic on the both of them.
No wonder Landon felt the pressure to create a faux relationship. Just another piece in the puzzle. She was certain that everyone had been waiting for him to pair up with the love of his life.Humph.As if that could happen on command.
Xavier entered the room with True and her little brother, Jaylen.
“Hey, Jaylen,” Caleb greeted him. “How would you like to make twenty bucks?”
Jaylen’s eyes widened. “What do I have to do?”
“How about you watch Lily for an hour? Easiest job you’ll ever have. She’s in herBlueyphase!”
“Sign me up,” Jaylen said. “Lily is my little buddy.” He went over and patted her on the shoulder.
“There’s some Goldfish in the kitchen and her sippy cup,” Sophia told him. “She totally looks up to you, Jaylen, so you’re not going to have any problems with her.”
“And I’ll be twenty bucks richer,” he said, rubbing his hands together. Jaylen and Lily left the room holding hands. Bailey sensed that Xavier was trying to get rid of the kids so that they could talk freely about the Hattie situation.
“Now that the little listening ears are gone, I can tell you about what just went down upstairs. Hattie pulled out her suitcase and began tossing clothes in there like some sort of cyclone whirling around. She claimed she already ordered a private plane to take her to Vegas.”
“That is wild,” Caleb said, his eyes looking like saucers. “There’s no way she can pull this off on her own.” He looked around the room. “Is there?”
“We can’t let her do that. Her doctors already weighed in saying that it’s just not feasible. She could really get into a crisis mid-flight. Her oxygen levels are already questionable,” Landon told them.
“Letbeing the operative word,” Sophia said, making a face.
“We might have to pull out the big guns,” Xavier said, looking over at True. Bailey didn’t know the oldest Stonebrother very well, but the look on Xavier’s face hinted at something going on beneath the surface.
“I guess we got to do what we got to do,” True said, flashing him a little smile.
“Mind clueing us in?” Caleb asked. “It’s so obvious the two of you are talking in code right in front of us.”
“Hush, baby,” Sophia admonished. “We do the same thing. It’s a couples thing.”
Just watching the banter and the connection between the two couples made Bailey want to have the same thing. The gestures and the nuances were beautiful. Her feelings for Landon were growing by leaps and bounds every day, yet she couldn’t tell him. How could she put more pressure on him when he was already in a pressure cooker? It would just be one more thing for him to deal with, one more issue for him to feel guilty about.
But what if he feels the same way I do?Kisses didn’t lie, and she’d felt something all the way down to her toes when they’d kissed. She needed to stop being a wuss and put herself out there the way she always had in her life. Wasn’t that her strong suit? All her life she’d chosen to live life out loud and not shrink away from the hard things. Wasn’t that part of why she got so frustrated with her family? For not facing her father’s death head-on?
