A Forever Kind of Guy: The Braddock Brotherhood, Book 2 (14 page)

“She was a kindergarten teacher. Man, she loved those little kids. She went to a training seminar in Jacksonville one weekend. Supposed to be back Sunday afternoon. I decided it was about time for me to forgive and forget and stop sulking around. I called her cell and left her a message. Thought we could go to dinner, get things back on track, you know?”

Hayley nodded.

“Except she never made it home.” Ray coughed. He set the beer bottle on the table and leaned forward, elbows on knees, hands clasped, his gaze focused on nothing in particular. “She had something like a heart attack while she was driving. Pregnancy puts a strain on a woman’s heart. A weak aorta, which might go undetected otherwise, becomes even weaker until it can’t handle the strain. That’s what happened to Caroline. She veered off the road. Didn’t crash or anything. Didn’t hurt anyone else. By the time the cops got there, it was too late.”

Hayley touched Ray’s arm. “Ray, I’m so sorry.”

He glanced at her. “Yeah, well.” He lifted his shoulders and let them fall. “Sucks that I was ready to move past it and stop being pissed about what she’d done, and it was too little too late.”

“I guess you’ve been told it wouldn’t have changed anything. If you’d been over the moon about the pregnancy, she probably still would have gone to the meeting. Nothing would have changed.”

“Yeah. I heard that a few times from people who knew what was going on. I’ve been told not to blame myself more times than I can count. And I don’t blame myself for her death. I blame myself for not being the man I should have been. Telling myself I wasn’t ready, and it wasn’t what I’d planned. Resenting the responsibility of my child instead of embracing it. Looking forward to it.

“After she died, I was pissed at the world, so mad at myself, I couldn’t stand being here one more day. So I left. Bummed around. Stayed with a couple different friends out west. Worked construction when I felt like it. Hung out in one place for a while before I moved on. Even ended up in Alaska for about six months. Which is why I missed Rick and Kaylee’s wedding. Found out you can’t run away from yourself.”

“I guess that explains why your mother was hugging you like she’d never let go.”

Ray ducked his head. “Probably.”

“She worries about you. She’s afraid you’ll get hurt again.”

“Maybe. She fussed the same way over Rick after his divorce. That’s what moms do, I guess.”

Not my mom
, Hayley thought. Time to get off the subject of how mothers behaved. “Did it help, do you think? Getting away?”

“I don’t know. Gave me some perspective, maybe. There are still days when I get up and want to kick myself. But they’re less often.”

“Good.” Hayley smiled at him. She got to her feet and he followed suit. Without letting herself think too much about it, she hugged him. He probably needed a hug every once in a while, and if she didn’t do it, who would? He could have ten women begging to hug him, but she hadn’t seen any coming around.

He dwarfed her, and she felt like she was in a cocoon, snuggled up against his warmth, his arms around her, hers encircling his waist. They stood like that for a long time. She felt his lips against her temple. A ripple zapped through her. He brushed a kiss against her hair.

He cleared his throat. “I gotta go.” He gave her a little squeeze and released her.

“’Bye,” she said to the screen door when it closed behind him.

Now she understood why Lena had warned her not to hurt Ray. Ray was not a player, not the kind of guy who loved and left. If he gave a woman his heart, it was for keeps.

She went inside and locked the door and turned off the lights on her way to the bathroom. What she and Ray had joked about that night he’d kissed her didn’t seem so funny now. He was a forever kind of guy. And she had no intention of sticking around forever.

Chapter Twelve

While Hayley unloaded dishes from the dishwasher the following day, she noticed Fletcher staring out the sliding glass door facing the backyard. He’d cupped his hands around his face and inched as far as he could to the left so he could see to his right through the glass.

Curious, Hayley moved behind him to see what he was looking at. Ah. The male Braddocks were gathered on the concrete pad behind Ray’s side of the duplex. He’d added a new umbrella table and four chairs to the space. Smoke rose in a gray cloud from the grill and Ray, Rick and Ken were seated around the table having a beer.

Hayley couldn’t stop staring at the obvious male camaraderie any more than Fletcher could, apparently. It all looked perfectly normal. Like a picture postcard of small-town life with the caption “Sunday Afternoon Family Cookout”.

Rick’s wife appeared and spoke to him. After he answered her, she draped her arms around his neck from behind and kissed him before disappearing inside again.

Hayley stepped away. “Fletch, why don’t you come and help me change the sheets on your bed?” she asked.

Fletcher didn’t move a muscle. Hayley didn’t feel like dragging him away from the door. He wasn’t hurting anything by watching Ray and his family. She went into his bedroom and pulled the sheets off his bed.

She’d thought again about Lena’s warning yesterday. Not that she had any intention of hurting Ray. She wasn’t even involved with him. They were friends. Nothing more. Except for that interlude the other evening. Which she had no intention of repeating. She envied Ray. What if she’d had a mother like Lena? A protective lioness kind of mother who only wanted what was best for her children? One who wanted to see them happy and made sure they were loved?

Even if Ray’s mother was out of line—after all, Ray was an adult and able to take care of himself—Lena made it clear she was still there for him. She didn’t want him to suffer if she could do anything to prevent it. Love made you do stuff like that, Hayley supposed.

She made up Fletcher’s twin bed and bundled the dirty sheets along with the towels from the bathroom into a laundry basket. As she crossed the living area, Ray knocked on the sliding door. Molly was at his side. Fletcher stared up at Ray. Hayley crossed to unlock the door and open it.

“Hi.” Ray grinned at her.

“Hello. Hello, Molly.”

“We’re having a cookout,” Molly informed them. “You guys are invited. Come on, Fletcher.”

She grabbed Fletcher’s hand and pulled him out the door with her.

“Wait. What—”

Perplexed, she stared at Ray. She set the laundry basket down as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Evidently her acceptance of the invitation was a foregone conclusion. But she hadn’t been invited in advance, which meant including her and Fletcher was an afterthought. She’d been treated as an afterthought a few too many times not to know what it felt like.

“Sorry,” Ray said. “We sort of decided to throw this together before Mom and Dad leave tomorrow. Molly’s bored. She asked if Fletcher could come over.”

“Oh, well. That’s fine, I guess, if Fletcher stays to keep Molly company.”

“You have to come over too, though.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do. Who’s going to save me from exposure to my brother and his lovey-dovey wife?”

Hayley chuckled. “Aww, what’s the matter? Can’t take the heat?”

“Are you kidding? I probably didn’t even need to fire up the grill. I could cook ribs on the sparks between the two of them.”

“Poor baby,” Hayley told him in mock sympathy. “But you don’t want me horning in on your family time.”

“You’re not horning in, believe me. We’ve got enough food for a small army.”

“Ray, you don’t have to include me just because of Fletcher.”

Ray looked taken aback. “Is that what you think?”

“Sometimes with you, I don’t know what to think.”

“Come on. Be a good neighbor and save me from my family.”

“Stop it. Your family’s great.”

“Yeah, but they keep looking at me weird. Like they think I’ll fall apart any minute. If my mother asks me one more time how things are going and how I’m doing, I think I’m going to snap. You can distract her.”

“Ah, so you’re using me.”

“Yes. But, I’m also going to feed you dinner. What do you say? Fair trade?”

“I’ll be the fifth wheel.”

“Nope.
I’m
the fifth wheel at the moment. You’ll be the sixth wheel that balances everything.”

Hayley couldn’t forget Lena Braddock’s parting words of yesterday.
Hurt my son and you’ll have to deal with me.
Was that her way of warning Hayley to stay away from Ray? If so, Lena would be none too happy to have her in the midst of today’s family gathering.

“Did I say ‘please’ yet?” Ray’s inquiry broke into her thoughts. “If not, I’m saying it now. Please come.”

“Does your mother know you’re inviting me?”

“By now, she probably does. Why? What difference does it make?”

Hayley glanced away for a moment, still unsure what to do. Keep her mouth shut about his mother’s warning? Stay home? Accept Ray’s invitation and damn the consequences?

Her stomach gurgled. It had probably overheard that ribs were on the menu and a ton of food was available next door. Fletcher was already over there. Ray was offering her a meal she wouldn’t have to plan or cook. What was she waiting for?

“I guess it doesn’t make any difference to me,” she decided. “And since you did say please, I’ll come.”

“Great!” Ray took her hand and started to open the sliding door.

“Hey, wait.” She withdrew her hand from his and looked down at herself. “Do I look okay? Do I need to change?”

Ray’s gaze ran over her from the top of her head to her feet. She certainly wasn’t dressed up, since she hadn’t planned to go anywhere. She had on white shorts and a navy blue cotton top covered with tiny white flowers. She hadn’t clipped her hair up or put on much makeup.

It would have been hard to miss the appreciation in Ray’s eyes. “You look fantastic. You always do.”

Hayley smiled. She thought back to her horrendous appearance the day she’d had a migraine. “We both know that isn’t true, but thanks for saying it anyway.”

As if he’d read her mind, he amended his earlier statement. “Okay. You’re right. But on an average day, you’re gorgeous.”

“Okay, now you’re laying it on a little too thick. Let’s go. I’m starving.”

He reached for her hand again, and Hayley thought about pulling it away. They weren’t a couple. It wouldn’t do to let his family start thinking they were. But she left her hand in his.

Ken and Rick had vacated the patio during Ray’s absence. The grill no longer smoked, though the lingering scent of barbequed meat hung in the air. Ray opened the slider and let her step in ahead of him.

Kaylee and Lena were setting bowls of potato salad and coleslaw on the table, where a massive tray of ribs covered with foil already sat. There were thick slices of garlic bread in a napkin-lined basket along with a macaroni casserole covered with melted cheese as well as an array of condiments. Hayley sniffed appreciatively. Rick and Ken were on the couch watching baseball. Molly and Fletcher were playing Chutes and Ladders on the coffee table.

Once the greetings were completed, they sat down to eat. They’d set places for the kids at the coffee table. Fletcher seemed okay with that setup. Rick put in a
My Little Pony
DVD for them to watch.

Ray must have added a leaf to his dining table, because there was plenty of room for the six adults.

Food was passed and conversation started, most of which went over Hayley’s head since it was about friends and family she didn’t know. She didn’t care, though, because she was too busy enjoying the feast before her and absorbing the warmth of Ray’s family. Trey’s had been the same way. During every visit, the entire Christopher clan convened to share food and conversation. For a little while she let herself pretend it was her family too.

As the meal wound down, Ray pushed back a little from the table and casually draped his arm over the back of her chair. Hayley happened to glance Lena’s way at that moment and caught the slight raising of her eyebrows at the gesture.

Surreptitiously, she glanced at the others. Rick and Kaylee gave no indication they’d noticed anything out of the ordinary. But a look passed between Lena and Ken. Lena’s head tilted slightly in Ray’s direction as if to silently ask her husband,
Did you see that?

Hayley thought about taking Lena aside later and telling her she had nothing to worry about. She wasn’t after Ray. They were neighbors. Friends. Maybe a little bit more than friends. But if she went on the defensive, that would probably make Lena even more suspicious of her motives. Probably better not to say anything.

When the meal ended, the guys made an effort to help clear the table until Kaylee shooed them away. Molly and Fletcher resumed their game of Chutes and Ladders, while the men sprawled in the living room and put the baseball game back on.

There was barely enough room in the small kitchen area for three people, so Hayley concentrated on straightening the table, putting away the unused utensils and shaking crumbs from the placemats.

“Hayley, you wouldn’t let me experiment on you, would you?” Kaylee asked as she scraped plates and loaded them into the dishwasher while Lena covered the leftovers and stowed them in the refrigerator. “I’m dying to try out a new line of color. If you’d let me do your highlights with it, I’ll throw in a cut for free.”

“Wow. That’d be great.” She’d let her hair go longer than usual, simply because getting it done wasn’t in her current hand-to-mouth budget.

“I’m usually closed on Mondays, but we could do it tomorrow night, if you want. After you’re off work.”

“Oh, uh, hmm. I’ll have Fletcher, though. I don’t have a sitter.” Nor could she afford one. That’s why Fletcher went everywhere with her.

“Rick,” Kaylee called over to him. “Do you mind watching Fletcher tomorrow night so I can do Hayley’s hair?”

“Fine by me.”

“Goodie,” Molly chimed in. “We can play dolls. And I got
Mario Party
for my birthday,” she informed Fletcher. “We can play it.”

Ray said something to Rick, but Hayley didn’t catch it. She was still marveling over the fact that she was going to get her hair done for free, and that Kaylee hadn’t had to stand on her head and repeat her question twice for Rick to respond.