Finding Hayes: A Small Town, Marriage of Convenience Romance (Magnolia Falls Series Book 5)

There was a knock on my bedroom door. I hadn’t slept much, as a million thoughts were going through my mind. What if Sheana had a fair legal argument? I’d started the renovations on the farmhouse, and most importantly, my father’s health was dependent on this money. I also had a lot of anxiety about the fact that I’d pulled Hayes into this mess. What if we got caught? How would that affect him?

I pulled the door open, and he stood there wearing a pair of navy joggers and a white hoodie. “Did you get any sleep?”

“Not really.” I shook my head. “What if she digs into our marriage? I’m so sorry for dragging you into this. I promise you I will take full responsibility.”

“Hey, hey.” He pulled me into a hug. “I’m not worried about that. We’re allowed to get married. We have a history; we don’t have to explain anything. River, Nash, and Emerson are on their way over now. We need to get ahead of this.”

“How do we do that?” I asked.

The knock on the front door had us both walking toward the entryway, and River walked in first, with Nash and Emerson behind him. They’d brought coffee and muffins, and it still caught me off guard the way they all supported one another.

The way they were supporting me because I was Hayes’s wife.

In theory, at least.

“Thanks for being here,” I said, as we made our way to the kitchen.

“Ride or die, you know how this works,” River said, and the three guys all gave one another a fist bump. “So, this area of expertise is not my specialty, and we need to bring in someone better suited to handle this. There’s a lot of money at stake, and this needs to be handled correctly.”

“What does that mean?” Hayes asked as I sat beside him at the large kitchen table. “Who do we know that can represent her?”

“You’ve met my brother,” Emerson said, looking at Hayes first and then turning her attention to me. “I told you that I have a twin brother, Easton. He’s an attorney, and he’s handled cases like this. I phoned him this morning, and he’s meeting us here in a little bit,” Emerson said.

“He’s coming here?” I asked, shaking my head in disbelief, as I knew her family lived in Rosewood River.

“Yeah. Emerson also has a brother who has access to a helicopter, so Easton will be here shortly. He’s a brilliant trial attorney, and he’ll be able to handle Sheana just fine.” Nash took a sip of his coffee.

“I’m sure she’s just trying to cash in one last time, but she doesn’t have a leg to stand on. But I’ve never been involved in an inheritance lawsuit, and I want to make sure you get the best representation possible,” River said. “Bert is a probate lawyer, so he reads the will, but he doesn’t handle disputes. That’s where Easton will come in.”

Emerson glanced down at her phone and pushed to stand. “He’s here. Let me go get him. I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you so much for doing this. It means the world to me,” I said, feeling a lump form in my throat. It had been a very long time since I’d depended on anyone other than myself.

She smiled before heading toward the front door.

“It’s going to be fine. I’ve heard Easton is a badass,” Hayes said, his hand covering mine where it rested on the table.

“Hey,” the man I assumed was Emerson’s brother, Easton, said as he walked into the room. “I’m Easton Chadwick. Nice to meet you.”

Nash made introductions, and Emerson handed her brother a coffee as he took the seat across from me. He was wearing a button-up and a pair of jeans, and he seemed like a casual guy until he spoke.

“I’ve got to be back in Rosewood River by noon, so let’s get down to business. Did you bring me those copies of the will?” He directed his question to River now, who handed him a stack of papers. Easton glanced over the papers and then looked up at me and Hayes. “All right, River has filled me in on the basics. I’m going to give it to you straight, but what I need to know right now is if you would like to speak alone.”

Hayes glanced over at me before looking back at Easton. “It’s fine to speak freely. We’re all family here.”

“Sounds good.” He took a sip of his coffee and then shot a look at Emerson. “Seriously? It’s unsweetened?”

She smiled. “No. It has two pumps of sweetener instead of four. Mom said that Dr. Plume said your blood sugar is high.”

He rolled his eyes and set his cup down. “Ignore her. I had my blood work done after a late night out with a lot of cocktails. It had nothing to do with the coffee.”

We all chuckled, and Nash reminded Emerson how much sugar she put in her unicorn Krispies, which got a few more laughs.

“So, let’s talk about this lawsuit.” He cleared his throat, quickly scanned the contract again, and then set the papers down. “She’s after the money. I looked into it, and I know the attorney that she hired. Mike Hardman, he’s a slick attorney out of Los Angeles. The good news for you… I’m better at this whole law thing than he is.”

“If you don’t say so yourself,” Emerson said, using her hand to cover her laughter. “There’s a reason everyone in the legal world calls him a shark.”

“A shark?” I asked.

“Yeah. He looks all casual in his jeans and cowboy boots, but the dude is a cutthroat attorney.” Nash smirked.

“All right. Thanks for the ego boost. Anyway, back to the facts. She’s going for the cash grab. He left you a lot of money, and you’re the only thing standing in her way. She’s Abe’s ex-wife, and she’s claiming that Abe made a verbal promise to her that he was going to leave everything to her.”

“They never spoke again after they were divorced, and he was angry that he had to give her the money that he did to get her to leave,” I said.

“I’m sure you’re right, but that isn’t going to stop her from shooting her shot. Obviously, she and her attorney think they have a case.”

“Do they?” I asked.

“Well, that depends on a few things. If everything in that will is followed correctly, she can’t do a damn thing about it. But my guess is that Sheana heard about Abe’s passing from someone in town, and she found out that everything was left to you. It’s a small town. I’m sure people talk, and she probably got wind that you got married shortly after you arrived back in Magnolia Falls. Maybe she was in contact with the probate attorney, and he filled her in on the stipulation regarding the inheritance.”

“The stipulation?” Nash asked.

“The stipulation that Savannah had to be married within thirty days, which you pulled off just under the wire,” he said, holding up his hands when Hayes started to argue. “I’m on your side. There is no judgment here. I’m pointing out the obvious. She wouldn’t have filed a suit if she didn’t think there was room to get in there and rock the boat.”

“What kind of room?” I asked.

“Like I said, she’s claiming that there was a verbal promise made to her by Abe that everything would be left to her, which clearly makes no sense, seeing as his will was recently updated within the last three months.” Easton reached for his coffee.

“And if any of that were true, wouldn’t she have attended his funeral? She didn’t keep in touch with him, nor did she care about him at all,” I said, my words shaking a bit as I spoke.

“Listen, her case is weak at best. The verbal agreement won’t stand up in court, and her not attending his funeral looks bad for her. But she’ll most likely try to prove that you only got married in order to get the inheritance and then push that she had a verbal agreement,” he said, as if we were discussing the weather and not the fact that we’d broken the law. Emerson stared down at the table, and Nash shot Hayes a knowing look. They were clearly suspicious, too, now that they were hearing all the details—or maybe they already knew and they just weren’t saying anything. “Savannah, Hayes, I don’t need to know anything more than the fact that you’re in love and married. I’m here to help you prepare for what might be coming. It may not be anything. She might just shoot her shot and try to get a cut of your money, which we will not let happen. She doesn’t have a leg to stand on.”

“Unless she proves that we’re frauds?” Hayes hissed, as if he were completely offended at the idea.

We are frauds. It isn’t that offensive.

“Correct. If she were to have a case there and have any proof of any wrongdoing, then the contract would be void, and she could technically go after the money with her verbal agreement defense. If I were a betting man, I’d say that’s what they are doing. She had you served with the papers, so she’s coming after you. But I have never seen a verbal agreement win in a courtroom over a signed legal document. She’s definitely reaching here. But you still need to be prepared for what’s coming.”

“What do I do?” I asked, trying hard to hide the tremble from my voice.

“Let’s just say that if she was onto something, you would need to do everything in your power to prove her wrong. They are most likely going to bring in people to investigate your lives. So, for example, if you are not sleeping in the same bedroom,” he said, raising a brow before continuing. “This is real talk. We’re on the same team. If you ran off to get married because you reunited and there were old feelings there—fan-fucking-tastic. But if it’s anything else, and I don’t want or need to know that, I’m not here to judge. But we need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. It’s always better to be prepared.”

“And what does that look like?” Hayes asked.

“They will hire people. They will contact people in your lives behind your backs. They’ll offer money and try to catch you in a lie. Let’s start with the basics. Do you have a cleaning woman?” he asked, looking between us.

“Yes. She’s back tomorrow. She’s been on vacation for the last two weeks,” Hayes said, and I sucked in a breath because I didn’t even know we had a cleaning woman.

“Perfect example. They’ll try to get to her. They’ll ask if you’re sleeping in the same room. If you’re affectionate in front of her. For all I know, they’ll have people looking in your windows. Snooping around your workplace. Landscapers. Employees. They’ll try everything.” He cracked his knuckles, his gaze moving from Hayes to me. “You just make sure you are sleeping in the same room and there is not a single reason for them to doubt that this is real. There should not be clothing hidden in a guest room closet. The only bed that looks slept in is in your bedroom. That you share. Trust me, people get crazy over money, and they will snoop around and try to find things you wouldn’t even think of.”

“That’s not a problem,” Hayes said. “But I’m gone three nights a week when I have my shifts at the firehouse.”

“It’s your job; they can’t argue that. Savannah should be seen at the firehouse, and you need to be seen out around town often, as well,” Easton said. “If you don’t give them any reason to question you, they can’t do a damn thing. I’m here to tell you what to do to protect yourself. If you listen to me, you’ll be fine.”

I nodded. There was a huge knot in my stomach, and my hands were sweating.

“They’ll go to your parents, as well, so just make sure everyone is thrilled about the marriage.” He glanced at his sister, who’d just reached for a muffin, and she chuckled before handing it to him.

“Oh, I haven’t told my parents.” I needed to be straight with him in case he was right.

The room fell silent, aside from Hayes, who spoke up immediately. “We got married fast, and she was afraid her parents wouldn’t approve of us tying the knot without them. We were planning a trip to see them for the weekend and tell them in person soon.” He squeezed my hand because we both knew we had no intention of going to tell them in person.

“My dad has cancer.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I didn’t want him to have to travel here. And we didn’t want to wait to get married.”

Something crossed Easton’s gaze, and I couldn’t quite read it. But there was an understanding there, and he nodded. “Tell your parents today or by the end of the weekend. You can get on FaceTime or Zoom and do it face-to-face. If you want to plan a trip there soon, that’s fine. But they need to know as soon as possible, or it will look suspicious. They could reach out to them; we just don’t know. So, let’s get ahead of this and get that taken care of immediately. How about your parents, Hayes?”

“My father and I haven’t spoken in years, so there would be no reason to tell him. My mother knows, and she is thrilled about me and Sav getting married, as is my sister. Our friends are also happy about it,” Hayes said.

“Good. So, Savannah calls her parents sooner rather than later and checks that off the list. You—er, continue staying in the same bedroom, even if you have an argument. There is no room for openings here. And absolutely no room for any indiscretions.” He gathered all the papers and slipped them into his briefcase. “I’m going to read over these later today, and I’ll be in touch with any questions.”

“You don’t have to worry about either of us having indiscretions. We’re ridiculously happy,” Hayes hissed, and everyone chuckled.

“Thanks for helping us,” I said, my voice quiet.

“Hey, Savannah, listen… Abe wanted you to have the money and the house. I have no idea why he put in such a ridiculous clause, but I’m happy that you two found your way back to one another.” Easton smirked. “If he wanted Sheana to have the money, he would have left it to her. So don’t worry. It’ll all be fine.”

I nodded, and Hayes squeezed my hand the slightest bit. Most wouldn’t have noticed, but I did. He could tell that I was spiraling. He wanted me to believe that everything would be okay.

But would it?

Hayes had agreed to help me. He wasn’t having sex with other women in an effort to protect this secret, and now he’d be under a magnifying glass even more. And I’d have to move into his bedroom.

This was a complete mess.

We exchanged phone numbers with Easton, and he explained more about what to expect and continued to tell us how important it was to make sure everyone we interacted with knew that we were blissfully in love.

Hayes assured him that there was nothing to worry about because my fake husband was going to do whatever he could to protect this secret.

My secret.

“All right, I’ve got a client to meet in an hour, so I need to get out of here. I’ll be in touch.”

We said our goodbyes, and he was out the door.

“Don’t worry. He’s the best. You’re in good hands,” Nash said.

“I—er, I’m sorry for complicating everyone’s life, especially yours,” I said, shaking my head as I looked at Hayes. It was obvious that Nash and Emerson were suspicious that something was up, as I’m sure all of Hayes’s close friends were.

The man didn’t even do relationships.

Did we really think they wouldn’t find it odd that he’d gotten married in a couple of weeks?

This was all supposed to be simple, but now it all felt very complicated.

“Savvy,” Emerson said, and I turned to look at her. “We aren’t here to judge. We support you both, no matter what.”

“Agreed.” Nash nodded.

“We’re married. We’re happy. That’s all anyone needs to know. That’s all that fucking matters.” Hayes pushed to his feet and tossed his empty coffee cup into the garbage can. “And you’re getting that money. And your dad is going to get into that trial, and he’s going to be okay. Because you deserve that, Sav. You’re the best person I know. You’re my wife, and you fucking deserve everything good.”

Everyone gaped at the man who was usually short on words.

“I’ll be damned. Our boy is a sap for his wife, and I’m here for it.” River pushed to his feet. “Now, let’s get out of their hair. They’re newlyweds, after all.”

Emerson whispered in my ear that she’d do some research about the trial for my father after I gave the short version about his illness. We all hugged goodbye, and then it was just me and Hayes standing in the entryway of his home.

Of our home.

I looked up at him, unsure of what to do next.

“Let’s get your things moved out of the guest room. Tonight, you’re sleeping in my bed. Our bed. Don’t even try to argue with me, because we’re doing this.”

And he wouldn’t get one argument from me.

My husband was calling the shots now.