Like it was destined to be.
Would Haley see him on this trip? She had to be ready for it. Cool. Casual. Indifferent, if she could manage it.
She might not.
“That’s different from living with Mom,” she said, because Brad was waiting for her reply. They passed the high school and Haley noticed that it looked much the same.
“Once she fills your house with her stuff, it’ll be like you never left home.”
Haley shuddered. “And I’ll never be able to have sex again.”
Brad laughed hard then. “Might be worth getting married, rather than being celibate forever.”
“I’m not going to live that long, but if I was celibate...”
“...it would sure feel like forever,” they said together and grinned at each other.
Haley felt the weight of her family’s expectation and didn’t much like it. “Look, I haven’t decided to move home yet,” she protested. “It’s just a job interview.”
Brad gave her a look. “There is no ‘just’ in Mom’s world when it comes to all her chicks being close to the coop again.” He exhaled. “Let alone her stuff being rehomed. She’d probably offer the down payment for the house you two could share—unless, of course, you do plan to get married, too.”
Haley felt cornered that her acceptance of a job was being considered a done deal, even before she was offered the job. She really disliked that her marital status was up for discussion again. “Let me guess. You and Mom have a list of eligible bachelors drawn up and one is coming for dinner tonight.”
“Not tonight,” Brad acknowledged.
“You didn’t.”
“I didn’t do anything.” He sighed. “I might as well be the first to tell you that Garrett’s divorced.”
Haley’s heart skipped in that wild way she always associated with Garrett’s appearance. Divorced? She swallowed and deliberately didn’t reply to Brad’s earlier comment. She really hoped they hadn’t decided to invite Garrett for dinner. She didn’t need an audience for that meeting. “Really? That’s a shame.”
“Is it?”
“Divorce always is. Did they have kids?”
“I think so.”
“So, it’ll be hard for them.” Haley kept her tone light. “Anyway, I’m not sure I want to leave New York.”
“Even for your dream job?”
“I don’t know that it is, not yet. It just sounds interesting.”
“You’re going to a lot of trouble for something interesting.”
Haley sighed. “I don’t think that exploring opportunities is going to a lot of trouble.”
“Uh oh,” Brad said. “There you go, sounding stubborn again. Tell me that you’re not just teasing Mom, that there’s at least a possibility that you’ll accept the job if it’s offered to you.”
“You’re being protective of her.”
“Damn straight. Someone has to be.”
Haley felt keenly aware of her father’s absence and wondered if Brad did, as well. They never talked about it and she wasn’t sure she wanted to now. She felt agitated and self-conscious, exactly the way she didn’t want to feel for a job interview.
“There are a lot of variables,” she said instead. She counted them on her fingers. “The job needs to be what I hope it is; the pay has to be as good as advertised; the authority has to match the responsibility; I have to be offered the job in the first place...”
“All right, all right!” Brad grinned. “I know enough to recognize when you’ve dug in your heels.”
Haley didn’t say anything. She hadn’t dug in her heels. She was exploring. She hadn’t made a decision yet. It wasn’t nearly time to make a decision.
But she felt that her brother was deciding for her all the same.
Garrett was divorced... Her heart fluttered and she halfway wished Brad hadn’t told her.
No. It was better to be warned.
Haley hadn’t had the jitters about the interview, but this news had fixed that. There was a whole fleet of butterflies in her stomach.
Brad turned down the street to the house. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had no intention of taking a job here,” he said. “Which makes no sense since it’s supposedly the job you’ve always wanted.” He gave her another of those intent looks as he pulled into the driveway. “Unless of course there’s a specific reason you want to stay in New York.”
“I like my job. That’s a pretty good reason.”
“Besides your job,” Brad said and Haley felt as if he’d caught her in the middle of something one more time. Her big brother had always been too perceptive. “Like a guy.”
He didn’t wait for her answer, but got out of the truck and grabbed her bag, heading for the door as he flicked through his keys. It was one of his favorite moves, to drop a verbal bomb then walk away, leaving the other person to run after him and explain.
“No guy,” Haley said when she caught up to him. She sounded breathless, as if she was lying, and she knew it.
So did Brad. He smiled at her. “I knew it. It’s about time, Haley. He could move here with you, you know. You would be the first one to tell me that the guy’s job doesn’t decide everything.”
“No, that wouldn’t work. He’s a partner in a business...” Haley bit her tongue and fell silent.
“No guy officially, but a guy all the same.” Brad shook his head. “You’re not the kind to play games, Haley, not with Mom and not with this guy. Decide what you really want and don’t screw with anyone else’s expectations. It doesn’t suit you.”
“That’s not my intention,” she said, meaning every word and hearing her own vehemence. “I just don’t know about this job yet.”
Brad studied her for a long moment, then nodded. “And maybe you don’t know about him. Fair enough. At least I know you won’t take long to decide. It’s just not in you to dither.” He bumped her shoulder companionably. “And I’m glad to hear the news that isn’t news. Mom will be talking up Garrett, but between you and me, I never thought he deserved you.”
Haley blinked, because she was sure that everyone thought Garrett was amazing—and that she’d made a big mistake letting him ‘slip away.’ She eyed Brad. “Really?”
“Really. You like to do things for people. You’re nice. He likes to be the center of the world. I wasn’t sure who was going to take care of you in that relationship.” Brad nodded then opened the door, raising his voice to a shout. “Anybody home? Haley’s here!”
There was a squeal of excitement and Haley was surrounded by her excited nieces and nephew before she could even get past the foyer. She glimpsed Brad and Katie in their features and her heart twisted in a strange new way.
She’d never thought much about having kids. Motherhood had never been her objective even with Garrett. A career was something she could count on. But as she was swept into what Brad cheerfully called domestic chaos, Haley felt a yearning for something absent from her life.
Maybe a good job and an ornery cat wasn’t enough.