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I was just pleased we’d kept his attention as long as we had.
We hadn’t lost power with the storm, but we’d never turned the lights on. So, the fire illuminated the cards on the table. I sat back on the couch, my arm slung over the back.
Hailey tucked her legs underneath her, not making a move to clean up the game. “That was surprisingly fun.”
Corey’s footsteps sounded down the wooden floor of the hallway until he closed the door to his bedroom.
“I was surprised Corey stayed.”
Hailey’s eyes widened. “Me too. I half-expected him to say how stupid it was and stomp out of the room.”
I barked out a laugh. “That’s usually what happens.”
She settled into my side and rested a hand on my chest. “I’m glad he liked it. It was fun to play together.”
I kissed her temple. “Thank you for coming.”
“I’m just happy to be here with you guys.”
Could this be our life if Tiffany didn’t succeed in getting custody of Corey? Could we take these weekend trips and vacations together? Could we be a family?
It didn’t matter what we were doing as long as we were together.
I knew Hailey had reservations about intruding on my time with Corey, but I didn’t think I would have felt complete without Hailey here.
“What should we do now?” Hailey asked me.
“Corey is probably down for the night. His room is on the opposite side of the house from mine.” Ryan waggled his brows.
“I put my stuff into one of the spare rooms.” Was he saying that we could sleep together?
“I think we’re okay if you head back to your room before he wakes up, and let’s be honest, he won’t be up until at least ten.”
Her eyes widened comically. “He sleeps that late?”
“Uh-huh,” I said, then stood and held out my hand to her.
I pulled her down the hall, closing the door that separated my room from the rest of the house. “This used to be the garage, and there’s a smaller master on the other side of the house.”
“The one Corey took.”
“Yeah.”
It felt private. There was a bathroom, a large closet, and then the bedroom.
There was a couch in front of the windows open to the backyard and a view of the water. The rain from earlier had slowed.
“Take a look at this.” I tugged Hailey to the foot of the bed where there was a large, wooden chest.
“What am I looking at?”
I ran a hand over the chest before I lifted the lid, revealing yet another one. Under the second, there were neatly stacked blankets. “It used to be an ice chest.”
“What?”
I pointed at the black stamped writing under the lid. It listed the manufacturer and stated it was an ice box.
Hailey leaned over me to read it, her hair tickling my arm. “Wow. That’s so cool.”
