Page 7 of Blue Jean Summer

I slumped in the chair and loosened my tie as I stared at the empty seat where Walt Wilder used to sit. “I need to find a wife.”

Chapter 3

Catherine

Being rejected by a reality TV dating show while attending a funeral is definitely rock bottom. They had been the ones to contact me first, for crying out loud! I had agreed to go through the casting process after a producer reached out, and I was fully aware that they might portray me as a ditzy pageant princess or the unhinged loose cannon.

I was fine with that.

I could make it work. I just needed a freaking win.

I hid in the shadow of the gargantuan house and stared out at the hazy blue peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the looming Allegheny Mountains to the west. The valley felt like it was cut off from the outside world in the best way.

I loved coming to the Wilder Estate. It was the one place where it felt like nothing could touch me. I was at home among the mountains, concealed within their majesty.

Voices carried from the rose garden as people milled about, waiting for lunch to be served. I pressed my back to the side of the house and closed my eyes, letting out a slow exhale.

I would figure this out. I have to figure this out.

The patronizing voice of the casting associate who had been tasked with calling me today played in a loop in my head.

“We’ve decided to go in a different direction” is the worst thing to tell someone. It’s equivalent to “It’s not us; it’s you.”

I had media training! I was outgoing! Sure, I came in third for the national title, but I was Miss Virginia, dammit! I even had a tragic backstory! I was a shoo-in for being reality TV gold.

Different direction, my ass.

Of course that lovely call came in the middle of Walt’s funeral. Hayes’s searing gaze had felt like a brand.

Then we spoke, and I saw those captivating eyes of his again.

I had always harbored an innocent little crush on Hayes Wilder. He was ten years older than me, so even though we knew each other, we never ran in the same circles or crossed paths, apart from when I came to the estate.

Still, my seven-year-old heart had done little pitter pats whenever I saw seventeen-year-old Hayes around the property. He had been my very first crush, and apparently those innocent feelings hadn’t gone away.

The man was fine.

My god, it should have been criminal to look that attractive at a family member’s funeral. It was like being attractive in your passport photo or while standing in line at the DMV.

His driver’s license was probably magazine-worthy.

But there he was in a tailored suit, designer shades, and shoes that probably cost more than my car. His jawline was as sharp as his gaze.

“Hiding?”

I jumped at the sound of Hallie’s voice and clasped my hand to my chest. “Jeez. You scared me.”

Hallie slipped out the side door that led in and out of the kitchen and stood beside me. She closed her eyes and let out a heavy breath. “I’m ready for today to be over.”

“That makes two of us.”

We stood in silence, hiding from the mayhem. I looked down at my feet and realized I was standing on a cluster of small blue flowers.

Great. Walt loved his flowers, and I was trampling all over them on the day of his funeral.

“Where’s Zach?” I asked.

“Hiding in his room,” Hallie said. “He refuses to come out when people are over.” She sighed. “Hell, he refuses to come out when the house is empty.”