They spent the rest of the afternoon sorting through yarn, and Mimi found more to donate. Most of the skeins and yarn hanks were pretty, and whoever was the recipient would be pleased. Riley also noticed that Mimi had kept the purple-and-pink yarn.
When they got home later, Mimi settled in her recliner for the evening news with a bowl of SpaghettiOs, which had always been one of her favorite meals. Riley changed into her one pair of clean shorts and a fresh T-shirt. She ate a protein bar on the way to the trail Hayden had mentioned and remembered it was more of a hiking trail than a running one, although Riley had jogged on it when she was younger. When she pulled into the vacant lot by the woods, Hayden was already there, dressed in red shorts and a plain white T-shirt.
Riley’s nerves kicked up as she got out of the car, but then she reminded herself of what Mimi had said.Enjoy yourself.Still, she wanted to give Hayden another warning.
“Remember, I’m slow.”
“You keep saying that, and I’m going to keep telling you that I don’t care.” He grinned and walked over to her. “Nice evening for a run. What do you think?”
I think you’re sexy.Yikes, she almost said that out loud. It was bad enough she was trying not to be obvious about checking him out. She didn’t need to enjoy herself that much.
“It’s very nice,” she managed to say, tucking her thoughts back in her brain.
They started to jog at a slow pace, neither saying anything. The canopy of trees provided good shade as they jogged. She could feel herself getting breathless, but it felt good. She missed running in beautiful places like this.
Soon Hayden spoke. “Aren’t you interested in what I wanted to talk to you about?”
She nodded, ducking under a low tree branch. “I am, but I was waiting for you to start.”
“You really aren’t pushy, are you?”
“Nope.” She glanced at him. “Sorry to disappoint.”
“Hardly. That’s one of the things I like about you. You give me space. Lately I think I’m the one who’s been kinda smothering.” Before she could ask him what he meant by that, he said, “This morning I told my parents I want to buy the store.”
Riley halted, her chest heaving slightly. “You really went through with it. What did they say?”
“At first they were surprised, of course. Then they told me about their other buyer, which I already knew about. Dad said he and Mom would talk it over.” He frowned. “It wasn’t the answer I was hoping for. How about we walk the rest of the way?”
Riley smirked. “Don’t tell me you’re wimping out now. We’re only halfway through the trail.”
He flashed a grin and dashed off. She laughed and headed after him. It didn’t take long to catch up to him, mostly because he wasn’t running that fast, and she was running at close to her top speed. Then they were even and started to match pace again.
“I’m surprised your parents even have to think about it,” Riley said as they fell into a rhythm.
“See it from their side. All three of their sons had established careers. No one expected me to come back to Maple Falls, much less want to buy the store. They had been making plans for a couple of years now, working slowly toward retiring. Once my brothers and I had decided on our own paths, they knew the store would eventually have to be sold. I’m still not crazy about them not telling me, but I understand.”
A thought occurred to her. “I know you said last night that you want to buy the store, but are you sure it’s not because you’re feeling pressured to?”
“Because of the other buyer?” She nodded, and he said, “Not even a smidge. I’m fully committed to doing this.”
The woods led to a small meadow, and the trail wound around the edge of it. When they hit the clearing, Riley looked at the horizon and halted. Some of the clouds that covered the sky earlier in the day were spread around the sunset, and the view was stunning, the warm rays lighting up the wild, green meadow grass. Tiny wildflowers carpeted the field, and the beauty of the scene reached into her soul.
Hayden stood beside her and didn’t say anything for a moment. “What are you thinking about?”
“My grandparents. Wildflowers. The sunset.” She sighed and whispered to herself, “Good things.”
He took her hand, and it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. They both remained silent, taking in the sunset together.
“We’d probably better head back,” he said after a few minutes. “I ran on this trail in the dark once and nearly broke an ankle when I tripped over a tree root.” He let go of her hand and moved away.
That was a first. Usually she was the one leaving him. But she didn’t mind. She glanced at the meadow one more time before following him.
They finished their run, and when they reached their cars, Hayden opened the back passenger-side door and pulled two water bottles out of a small insulated cooler. Riley had her own water bottle, but she accepted his. After they took a long drink, she said, “I’m not sure why you wanted to tell me about the hardware store tonight and not when I saw you this afternoon. It didn’t take you that long to explain what happened.”
He tugged on his collar. “I, uh, wanted to see you again.”
Riley huffed, then moved closer to him. “Sneaky, Hayden Price.”
