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

“Why are we having my mother over for dinner?” I asked, as I wrapped my arms around Savannah’s waist, her back to my chest. I kissed her neck and nipped at her earlobe as she continued stirring the pasta sauce.

This house was no longer just a bachelor pad where I crashed when I was home. She’d changed everything about it. It smelled good. There were colorful pillows on the couch and curtains on the windows.

It was a home now.

The transformation reminded me a little of myself. I was no longer a shell of a man. I was different in a way, too, as if she’d put colorful pillows and curtains on my soul.

Savannah Woodson had a gift for bringing everyone around her to life.

“Because I went over to see her with Saylor, and she mentioned that she hadn’t seen you in a while,” she said, as she turned in my arms and held the spoon up over her palm to let me sample it.

I groaned as the warm sauce hit my tongue. “Damn, baby. That’s delicious.”

“Right? It’s Lily’s recipe,” she said, waggling her brows. “She taught me how to make this sauce my freshman year in high school.”

“It’s damn good. But I liked it better when I came home a few days ago and found you cooking in this same apron with nothing beneath it.” I ran the pad of my thumb over her bottom lip.

“Hey, every day can’t be Christmas,” she said with a sexy-ass smirk on her face. “Your mom’s coming over, and I think she might find it startling to find me in an apron with nothing underneath.”

“She’d be fine with it.” I smirked.

“She misses you. She’s not with Barry anymore, and he’s been gone for a few months. She made mistakes, but it’s not too late to have a relationship with her. You can choose what that looks like, but she deserves a chance, doesn’t she?”

“This is because of those damn letters, isn’t it?” I grumped.

She’d been reading a few letters every day, and then we’d talk about them. About the year from hell that I’d had all those years ago.

The worst time of my life. A time when I’d invited Kate into my world even more because… she was there. And I was a dumbass teenager who was struggling.

“It’s because life is about healing, Hayes. And you and me, together, we’re healing.”

How did she do that? Every fucking time? I couldn’t even be mad around this woman because she made too much fucking sense. And she was good to her core, so it was hard to fault her for trying to make my life better.

“I’m healed as long as I have you. That’s all that matters to me.” It was the fucking truth.

“Hayes.”

“Sav.” I mimicked her serious tone.

“It’s dinner. It’s family. You make an effort because sometimes people are worth making an effort for.”

I sighed. “I’ll do it for you.”

“I’m fine with that.” She chuckled and turned back around to stir the sauce.

The doorbell rang, and she shot me a look without speaking a word.

Lose the attitude and answer the door.

My wife and I didn’t need words. Never had.

I walked toward the entryway and pulled the door open. There was no more snow on the ground in Magnolia Falls, but the evenings were still chilly.

“There’s my handsome son,” my mother said with a big smile on her face, like we were the best of friends. She held up a pie, and I took it before opening the door wider and inviting her in.

“Hey, Mom. Thanks for coming.” I cleared my throat.

“Wow. Look at this place. Savannah has done wonders to warm it up. And it smells so good.” She rubbed her hands together and followed me into the kitchen.

“Stella, it’s so nice to see you,” Savannah said, as she came around the island and wrapped her arms around my mother like she was her favorite person on the planet.

“Thank you so much for the invite.”

“Of course. Would you like a glass of wine?”

“I’d love one,” Mom said, and I grabbed the bottle of chardonnay that Savannah had set out before handing her a glass.

Savannah was sticking to her sun tea, and I opened a beer. I needed to take the edge off.

We made some small talk before heading to the table. There were place mats and plates and napkins and flowers all set out. I didn’t know when my girl did half the shit that she did. She was always going. Working at the farmhouse, on the phone with doctors about her father’s treatment, getting things set up for her new business, cooking for the guys at the firehouse, spending time with the girls, and fixing up our home.

I’d never known anyone who worked as hard as she did. She gave a lot of herself to the people that she loved, and here I was being annoyed that I had to have dinner with my mother.

“So, Hayes, you’re taking over as captain soon, right?”

“Yep. In two weeks.”

“That’s incredible. Did you ever think you’d be captain of a firehouse? And you’re still so young.”

I thought it over as I twirled the pasta noodles around my fork. “Not really. I never thought I’d be a firefighter, honestly.”

She paused, and her gaze locked with mine. “You always wanted to be a veterinarian when you were young, didn’t you?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. I liked animals more than people back then.”

Savannah laughed. “You really did. That’s why I was surprised you didn’t have any animals of your own by now.”

“I agree. You used to beg me to get a dog. It went on for years. But your dad was allergic to most animals, and then Barry just refused to consider bringing in another mouth to feed.”

I cleared my throat and bit my tongue because the topic still pissed me off. It was a small request. Saylor and I had begged her for a dog, and she’d always had an excuse.

Dad is allergic.

They cost too much money.

They’re too much work.

Barry won’t allow it.

You can get one when you’re older.

“Yep. I remember.”

“Well, seeing as you don’t have a dog now, you’ve probably realized that they aren’t worth the work. It’s so much responsibility to have a dog.”

Was she for fucking real? This is why I couldn’t talk to this woman. She didn’t have a clue about responsibilities.

My gaze locked with Savannah’s. Her honey-brown eyes were filled with empathy, urging me not to shut down.

Talk to her.

“That’s not the reason I don’t have a dog, Mom.” I cleared my throat. “I don’t have a dog because I’m a firefighter, and I’m gone three to four nights a week, so it wouldn’t be fair to the dog. Being responsible has never been my problem. I’m sure you can agree with that.”

The table grew quiet, but when I looked up, I found my wife smiling at me. Her eyes were wet with emotion. She wanted me to open up. She’d felt like I’d done that in the letters I’d written, but the past was in the past, and I had no need to talk about what happened back then. I’d moved on. We all had.

“I know you’re a responsible man, Hayes. I know that I fell apart when your father left us when you were young. I know that marrying Barry was a huge mistake. I was not there for you and Saylor when you needed me. And I’m really sorry about that.” She took a sip of her wine, and I wanted the conversation to end. I didn’t want to go there. I didn’t want to dig shit up that couldn’t be changed. But she wasn’t done. “You didn’t want to be a firefighter right out of high school. But you did it for our family.”

“I did it for my sister,” I said, my tone harsh. “You had us in a home that wasn’t safe, Mom. I couldn’t leave and go to college, knowing that Saylor wasn’t safe. So I did what I needed to do because you didn’t step up. You were our mother. It was your job.”

Her head tilted to the side, eyes softer than normal, but she didn’t look offended. “Yes. It was my job. And I failed. I failed you. I failed Saylor. And honestly, I failed myself. But I’ve made changes now, and all I can do is move forward. I can’t change the past, Hayes. But I can change what I do moving forward, and that’s why I’m here.”

We’d never talked about what happened all those years ago. Not in all this time. So hearing her say that she’d failed us, failed herself, meant something.

“I appreciate that.”

“Do you wish you could go back to college now?” she asked, and she seemed genuinely interested.

“No. I would have hated college.” I chuckled, and Savannah covered her smile with her hand. “I actually think being a firefighter was my calling. I love what I do, Mom. I don’t love how I got here. I don’t love that I had to grow up so fast. But it’s made me who I am, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

She nodded. “I understand that. And according to John Cook, you’re an amazing firefighter. He told me that you see things before anyone else does. Almost like you can predict where the fire is going before it even moves.”

I finished chewing my food and quirked a brow. “Where’d you see John?”

“He and Clara came by the bookstore when I was working the other day. She was grabbing a few books, and he and I chatted.”

My mother was working for my sister, and they’d been trying to repair their relationship, as well.

“That was nice of him to say.” I shrugged.

“It’s not surprising. You’ve always been a leader. That’s one thing I was always drawn to from the first time I met you when we were kids.” Savannah forked some salad and popped it into her mouth.

“Oh, yeah? You liked that I always had an opinion, huh?”

“I liked that you knew who you were, and you never wavered,” she said, and my mom looked between us.

“I always thought you two would end up together. You had a connection even when you were little kids. Like you spoke your own language.” My mother smiled and shook her head.

“It’s what I missed most when we were apart,” Savannah said. “That I just had someone who understood me. Who had my back.”

“Yeah, Hayes spiraled after you left.” My mother’s words had me turning to look at her like she had three heads.

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t even living with you.”

“I know. But you changed. You lost your safe place, I guess. It wasn’t because you were staying with Nash and his father. It wasn’t because you were separated from Saylor. It wasn’t because Romeo and River were sent away. It was because Savvy was your person, and she was gone.”

“I think it was a mix of everything,” I said.

“I don’t think so.” My mother reached for her wine. “Because you came back home eventually. Saylor came back home with you. Romeo and River came home. But you were never the same, Hayes. And I think it’s because you two were one another’s person, and you lost that. So, you spent time with that evil woman, Kate. Even agreeing to marry her, which was shocking. And I was just happy that she showed her true colors before you made that mistake.”

I took a long pull from my beer. I didn’t think my mother had even been paying attention back then. It surprised me to hear how observant she’d been. “You never liked Kate, that much I knew.”

“No one liked Kate,” Savannah said, shaking her head in disgust, and the table erupted in laughter.

“I didn’t like Kate because I recognized the pattern.” My mother folded her hands together, and her gaze locked with mine. “I’d been with two horrible men in my life because I thought I didn’t deserve better. That’s why I let you take custody of Saylor and get your own apartment when you were just eighteen.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. I’d been surprised all those years ago that she hadn’t fought me on taking my sister out of that house.

“I knew you were making sacrifices, but I allowed it because I was in too deep. But I didn’t want that for Saylor, and I knew you would provide a better home for her. A safer home for her. And I believe that you were with Kate because it’s all you knew. You only knew ugliness and instability when it came to relationships. And Savannah had been the one person who’d always been a light in your life. And after she left, I worried so much about you.”

Fuck me.

I glanced over at my wife. Her eyes were wet with emotion. She just smiled at me and then held up her wrist. “Peas and carrots, baby.”

I chuckled. “How about we update these tattoos and call it what it is?”

“You two really were peas and carrots.”

“What would you call it now?” Savannah asked me.

“Something I never thought I believed in. But it’s the truth. We’re soul mates. It didn’t matter if we were living near or far. We belonged together.”

“Soul mates does sound slightly more romantic than peas and carrots.” She chuckled.

My mother sighed. “Life is a journey. And the road is bumpy. But if you’re willing to go through the rough spots, you can come out okay on the other side.”

I looked over at her. “Is that what you did? You came out on the other side?”

“I hope so. I know it took me a long time to get here, but I’m trying. And I’d like to have a relationship with my son and my daughter-in-law, so I’m going to just keep trying.” She shrugged.

I thought over her words. I never thought I would want to work on things with my mother. I was used to being let down by people. Used to putting up my walls.

But maybe Savannah was right.

Maybe some people deserved a second chance.

“Keep trying, Mom. It’s nice to see this side of you.”

Savannah clapped her hands together in celebration.

My mother laughed, and I rolled my eyes.

But I was happy, even if I pretended to be annoyed.

I never planned on being happy.

But here I was.

Living it.