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Hailey held a finger to her lips. “Keep it down. Yes, there’s really nothing going on. Except that I really enjoy having him around. I don’t know. I guess I just feel not quite so…” she let her words drift off.
“Lonely?” Jackie finished for her.
Hailey sighed. “Yeah, I guess so. Plus, he’s great with the kids. They think he’s funny and entertaining and just the coolest thing ever.”
“And what about you?”
Hailey looked away but knew she had to admit it. “I think he’s pretty funny and entertaining. But it’s more than that. I didn’t want to open up to him, but we started talking. At first it was about Kyle. He was our common bond. And no one wants to talk to me about Kyle. Most people think it’s too sad, or that it will upset me. Not Landon. He has so many great memories with him that we can talk about and laugh and share. It doesn’t feel as painful because I know he misses him too. That led to talking about other things, and now I don’t know. It’s like when something happens, and you just want to tell somebody about it. Now that’s Landon.”
“That sounds like more than nothing.”
Hailey shook her head. “It has to be nothing or maybe just friendship. He was there when I really needed someone, and I’m grateful. It’s nice to have him in our lives. But I’m not ready for more, and the kids aren’t either. They like having fun, cool Landon around, but it’s not a relationship.”
“But it could be one day?”
Hailey shook her head. “I’m not even thinking about that.”
Jackie shrugged as she stood up. “Maybe you should.”
Hailey watched her go and considered her words. No, she wasn’t ready for that. Landon was good company, and she was grateful for everything he was doing, but she couldn’t think about anything more. What would people think if she started dating him?
She shook her head and told herself to focus on her work.
Landon was a good friend, and maybe she even liked him a little. But that was all it could ever be.
Anything else was just impossible.
14
Saturday night, Landon knocked on the door for the second time and stood waiting. He furrowed his eyebrows and wondered if he should be worried. The kids always came running right away when he knocked, unless they were already opening the door before he got to it. Just when he reached for his phone in his back pocket to call Hailey, the door opened.
“Hey,” Hailey said. “Sorry, it just took me a minute to get here.”
“Is everything okay,” he asked, stepping inside. Still no sign of the kids, and it was quieter than normal.
“Well, yeah, it’s fine, but I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to text you.”
His heart thudded in his chest. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s okay, but Carter isn’t feeling well. I think he just has a little bug. He has a fever, so he’s in bed. The girls have been begging to spend the night at my parents’ house, and Mom just picked them up a few minutes ago.”
“Oh,” Landon said, stopping in his tracks. “So no kids?”
“Well, Carter is here, but I don’t know if he feels like eating or watching the game.”
“So, um,” Landon rubbed the back of his head, uncertain of his next move.
“I, um, I made soup in the crockpot this afternoon. It’s ready, but I didn’t know if…” she shrugged as if she couldn’t say the words.
“If I would stay without the kids?” Landon filled in.
She bit her lip. “Yeah, I guess. I was going to text you before you came, but I was getting the girls’ stuff together and checking on Carter.”
“Do you want me to leave?” he asked, silently hoping that she would say no.
“I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable. But I don’t want you to go hungry either.”
Landon smiled. “Soup sounds great.”
