Son of a soldier, p.21
Son Of A Soldier, page 21
Misty recalled how she had spent hours listening as Hailey excitedly replayed every detail of her summer. “You thought he was the one…”
Hailey smiled. “We spent two perfect weeks sneaking off to see each other every free second we got. I naturally assumed that he was feeling everything I was feeling…”
Misty cut Hailey off. “Hails, I’m a girl; I get it. There is something irresistibly charming about the guy, but please promise me you’ll stay away from him…”
Hailey rolled her eyes. “He’s on my basketball team; he lives in my house. How exactly am I supposed to manage that?”
Misty exhaled, knowing that her warnings would go unheeded. “Just guard your heart, Hailey, that’s all I’m really asking. He broke it once, and guys like him will do it again.”
“That’s just it,” Hailey gulped. “You say guys like him…and, all I can think is, I don’t think there is another guy like him.”
Misty groaned, realizing all at once that she was too late. “Just promise me something, Hailey,” she sighed as the girls walked along the dirt road. “Promise me that you won’t let Grant hurt you again?”
“I promise,” Hailey nodded slowly, wondering if anyone can ever really make any promises at all when it comes to matters of the heart.
When Hailey got home, the house was quiet, and she was surprised to see Grant sitting on the couch. He glanced toward the door when she walked in, and, though he quickly glanced away, Hailey was sure she detected a hint of a smile. Hailey moved slowly, sitting down on the couch and resting one hand on Grant’s knee as she gently ran the fingers of her other hand through his hair. “Does it still hurt?” she gulped.
Grant looked into Hailey’s eyes, then, his eyes moving toward the ground, he put his arm around her and eased her over to rest against him. “It doesn’t hurt nearly as badly as watching you walk to his side of the court,” he said softly.
Hailey backed away and stared at Grant. “But you said…”
“I know what I said, Hailey,” Grant replied. “And I don’t blame you for making the choice you made, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit there was a little part of me that was hoping you would tell Paul and the misfits to stick it.”
“They’re my friends,” Hailey said softly.
Then, she sat frozen as she felt Grant’s lips against the side of her cheek. “And what are we?” he asked in a whisper that made her tremble.
Hailey reached over and weaved her fingers between Grant’s, and, though she wasn’t sure that was exactly how she wanted to respond, she felt powerless to stop it.
They sat that way for a lingering moment, both contemplating Grant’s question; neither of them daring to answer it.
“Just because I went and stood with the rest of the team doesn’t mean I wasn’t secretly hoping you’d kick his butt,” Hailey said finally, snatching her hand away from Grant’s.
Grant grinned. “So, I was doing a little research on your kind via country radio,” he nodded, “and isn’t it written somewhere in some sacred manual that you’re supposed to stand by your man?”
“No, see you were listening to the wrong song,” Hailey laughed as she sank easily back into Grant’s arms. “If you had been listening to the right song, you’d know that any man of mine better walk the line.”
The team was gathered in the locker room after another spirited, for lack of a better term, practice when Jack opened the storage closet and pulled out a dusty, cardboard box full of game jerseys.
“Grant, what jersey number do you wear?” Coach Nelson asked as he grabbed the jersey on top of the pile, and, recognizing the number, tossed it over to Paul.
“I always wear number three,” Grant replied.
“Oh no you don’t! Not here!” Hailey exclaimed.
“Hailey, give him a break,” Jack sighed.
“Let me guess?” Grant laughed.
“That’s right,” Hailey nodded, “number three belongs to me.” She stood, so that she was taller than Grant, who sat on the bench next to her.
“Okay,” Grant gulped. “That’s fine.” He hung his head and stared down at Hailey’s shoes. “She can have it; it’s just that number three has always been a little special to me because my brother wore that number before he died, and, ever since, I’ve worn it in his memory. It’s just a sentimental thing, you know? Probably silly.”
“Come-on, Hails,” Jack sighed.
“I don’t buy it!” Hailey insisted.
“Are you calling me a liar?” Grant gulped.
“Yes,” Hailey said boldly. “You’re a liar, a good one, but a liar none the less, and I can prove it.”
“Have a little compassion, Hailey,” Jack scolded.
“Oh right,” Hailey nodded, put off that her father was apparently taking Grant’s side. “He’s new here; he doesn’t have any friends, and, with a personality like his, it’s highly unlikely he’ll ever make any, so why don’t I just give him my jersey number to appease him, right?”
“Well,” Jack frowned, “I’m not going to get in the middle of this, but, as your coach, who would like to finish handing out these jerseys sometime prior to our first game, I suggest the two of you settle this in a timely manner.”
“It’s settled,” Hailey blurted. “Number three is mine! It’s always been mine, and it will continue to be mine! End of discussion!”
“I’ll play you for it,” Grant suggested.
“Is that your answer to everything?” Hailey exclaimed. “There is nothing to play for…the jersey is taken!”
“Well, alright,” Grant shrugged. “If you’re too scared of a little game of one-on-one…that’s fine…you can have it.”
Hailey laughed. “Do you really think you can shame me into actually playing you for it?”
“You’re right,” Grant nodded, “that would be a stupid move. I mean the jersey is yours…why would you give it up?”
Hailey raised her eyebrow. “And if we played for it, it’s a given that I would lose? That’s what you mean?”
“Duh,” Grant replied.
“How uncharacteristically inarticulate,” Hailey rolled her eyes.
“Some things are just too obvious for words, Babe,” Grant shrugged. “I mean…come-on, Darlin’…you’re a girl.”
“Okay, you’re on!” Hailey exclaimed.
“Imagine that,” Grant mused as he picked up a basketball and spun it on his finger.
Hailey snatched the ball. “Let’s play!”
Hailey tried not to sulk as she and Grant walked toward her truck, but, when she looked down at the jersey in her hand, she kicked a clump of dirt. “Thirty-three?” she grumbled. “Thirty-stupid-three?”
Grant opened the passenger’s side door, and Hailey stared at him.
“What?” Grant smiled.
“I suggest you get used to walking home,” Hailey pointed.
“Oh, come-on,” Grant grinned. “You’re not going to be a bad sport about this are you? The great Larry Bird made that number famous in Boston, you know?”
Hailey got into the truck and started the engine. “You know what, Grant. You’ve moved into my old room. You’ve got my dad taking your side over mine. You’ve taken over the position on the team that used to be mine. And now you have my jersey number. I think it is safe to say that you win!”
“I didn’t realize it was a competition,” Grant frowned.
Hailey cut her eyes toward Grant. “This little arrangement isn’t working for me anymore. One day you’re kissing my cheek out of the blue and the next thing I know you’re stealing something that means more to me than it does to you. I just don’t get you! Maybe you should consider going to stay over at your granny’s…or going back to North Carolina for that matter. You hate it here, right? You hate everything about it?”
Grant rolled his eyes. “I’ll be gone soon enough…”
“Well, if you’re planning on leaving before the season gets started real good, why does it matter what jersey number you wear?” Hailey pondered.
“I like the number three,” Grant shrugged.
Hailey plastered her jersey against her chest. “Well, then I would think you would like this jersey doubly good. Interested?”
Grant was quiet as Hailey tossed the jersey aside.
“Do you really wear number three for your brother?” Hailey asked finally.
“My brother didn’t really like basketball,” Grant shook his head. “I guess when you’re used to always being the new kid, you come up with clever ways of getting your way. You bring up the dead brother and people usually become pretty generous.”
“I knew you were lying,” Hailey sighed.
“Yep, you called me on that one,” Grant shrugged.
“How did your brother die?” Hailey gulped.
Grant looked away, pained. “He had the misfortune of being one of the people standing at the base of Mount Saint Cleopatra when it erupted after being dormant for nearly one hundred years.”
“Are you serious?” Hailey gasped.
“Yeah,” Grant smiled. “He’s a statue of molten lava. We keep him in a glass case back home.”
Hailey slapped Grant hard across the chest. “My goodness! You’re awful!”
“Car accident,” Grant admitted.
“I’m sorry,” Hailey nodded.
“It’s okay,” Grant shrugged. “I don’t remember him at all.”
Hailey swallowed. “Then I’m really sorry,” she nodded.
Grant looked out the back window toward the barn. Hailey had been sitting on the ground by the fence for nearly half an hour, and it was almost time for supper.
“Kids!” Nora called from the kitchen. “Wash up. I made chicken casseroles.”
“What is chicken casserole?” Jessica asked as she and Emily walked down the hallway toward the kitchen. “It sounds delicious!”
“Just think Heaven in a Pyrex dish,” Emily replied, and the two girls giggled.
“Hey, Grant, you coming?” Jessica asked.
“Yeah,” Grant smiled, “I’ll be there in a second.”
“Grant loves when Mama makes her chicken casserole,” Emily nodded, sticking her tongue out at Grant. “That way, if he fails his weekly drug test, he can blame it on the poppy seed!”
Grant plastered on his biggest fake smile as he facetiously patted the top of Emily’s head. “While I would love to stay and play this game, which, as you know, I thoroughly enjoy, I have to go call and check in with my probation officer.”
The girls cackled as they skipped into the kitchen.
“Hurry, or I can’t promise we’ll save you any,” Jessica called behind her.
Grant walked down the hall to his room and emerged quickly, holding a Nike shoe box.
“Hailey?” he said softly, trying not to startle her as he approached the barn.
Hailey turned her head slowly, and that’s when Grant noticed she was crying. He looked down at the headstone in the ground in front of her, and he wasn’t sure what to say.
Hailey patted the ground beside her. “Sit,” she nodded.
Grant sat down, sitting the box to the side.
Hailey wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “When Mama got sick, she asked Daddy to bury her here when she died,” she said, without looking at Grant. “She loved her animals; they used to have an entire farm; she loved this place…it was her haven, her retreat. She was simple and warm just like this little town.” Hailey turned to Grant. “At least that’s what Daddy tells me.”
“You don’t remember her?” Grant asked.
“No,” Hailey sighed. “I don’t remember her at all…not the way she looked at me, not the way she smelled, not the way she sounded when she cooed my name. She didn’t live long at all after Jessica was born, so all I have of her are pictures. I don’t even really miss her because I don’t know what it is I’m supposed to miss.”
Grant reached for Hailey’s hand, and she let him take it. They sat in silence for a moment, Grant rubbing her hand with his thumb.
“I don’t know what it’s like to lose a parent,” Grant gulped, “so I won’t say that I know how you feel, but I do know what it’s like to not remember someone who is supposed to be really special to you. I was only two when my brother died; they say he was crazy about me, but sometimes I think they just make that up because they know I don’t know any different. I try so hard to remember…one look, one touch, one smile…but I can’t, and it hurts.”
“Yeah, it does,” Hailey agreed.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to know your mom,” Grant said softly.
Hailey put her arms around Grant and, closing his eyes, he hugged her tight. He held her in his arms for a long moment, their silence speaking more than anything they could say in that moment.
“Why are you carrying a shoe box around?” Hailey blurted all of a sudden, and both of them laughed.
“I brought a peace offering,” Grant said, reaching for the box and placing it in Hailey’s hands.
“You brought me shoes?” Hailey asked, raising her eyebrow.
“Just open it,” Grant smiled.
Hailey opened the lid and pulled out a green basketball jersey. She smiled, touched as she traced the white number three with her finger.
“I want you to have it,” Grant nodded.
“But, I lost the game fair and square,” Hailey shook her head.
“I know,” Grant smiled, “but I got to thinking. You’re right. I probably won’t even be around for the majority of the season, so the least I can do is let you keep this, which, you’re right, probably means more to you than it does to me. Besides…green and white, thirty-three, Boston, Larry Bird…come-on…”
Hailey smiled broadly, and it wasn’t lost on Grant how beautiful her eyes looked under the moonlight. “You do have a heart, Grant Cohen, and, all this time, I was under the impression that you were devoid of such a thing,” she quipped.
Grant nodded. “Well, I have been…since the summer when you stole it.”
Hailey laughed, and Grant responded by putting his arm around her.
Hailey smiled, but her smile quickly faded. “Isn’t it about time that we tackle the subject of the summer that was?”
“We will,” Grant promised. “Right now let’s just go inside and try to have a civilized dinner.”
“I see. Baby steps,” Hailey nodded.
Grant nodded back, a grin stretching across his face.
They stood and headed toward the house.
“Thank you for this,” Hailey said gripping her jersey in her hand. “It was a really sweet gesture. It means a lot.”
“Don’t get all sentimental about it,” Grant grinned. “I assure you I’m still a jerk at heart.”
CHAPTER FOUR
It was a clear, breezy night in Hope Hull. Jack had taken Nora to Memphis for the evening, and the kids didn’t expect them back until late. Hailey walked in from the back porch holding a spiral notebook in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.
Jessica was sitting on the living room couch with one knee pulled to her chest as she painted her toenails while watching a muted VHS of The Bodyguard and singing I Will Always Love You as tears lined the bottom of her eyes.
“Are you crying?” Hailey inquired as she sat down next to her sister. “Who watches a movie with the volume turned down anyway?”
Jessica finished belting out the classic ballad before turning the television off and glancing over at Hailey. “I’m a hopeless romantic; what can I say?” she smiled as she went back to focusing on the task of coating her toes in chic black nail polish.
“Have you seen, Grant?” Hailey asked, flipping purposefully through her notebook. “I need to ask him a question about this homework assignment. I promise you I don’t even know how I managed to get through school before he came to town.”
“He’s outside on the front porch talking on the phone,” Jessica said without looking up.
“It’s probably his sister Joanna again,” Hailey said, glancing over at the window. “Yesterday, I overheard him telling her about his plans to get out of dodge after his birthday.”
“He said that?” Jessica asked curiously.
“Well, maybe not in those exact words,” Hailey shrugged.
“I’d go with him if I could,” Jessica said, stars in her eyes. “We would rent a convertible and drive with the top down and the radio blaring, just us and the open road, and I’d have him drop me off in Nashville before he got on to wherever it is he’s getting to.”
“Not me,” Hailey shook her head. “I mean, I couldn’t imagine ever leaving here. I can’t believe that in only a matter of a few months I’m going to have to pack up and move to Knoxville. I know it’s just for college, but it’s a big step.”
“There is always the University of Memphis,” Jessica shrugged. “It’s closer to home!”
“I’ve spent my whole life dreaming about playing basketball at the University of Tennessee,” Hailey shook her head. “I want to be a Lady Vol more than anything in the world; it’s just that it’s always been a dream; now it’s getting close to becoming a reality, and I’m not sure I’m ready for the change.”
“It will definitely be a big change,” Jessica agreed.
Hailey smiled at her sister, but her smile quickly faded into a frown. “This year you rode on an airplane for the first time. You ventured out and saw things that I’ve never seen and did things I’ve never done. I might not have told you, but I was proud of you for doing that.”
“It’s not like I even left the state, Hails,” Jessica gulped. “But I really think I could do it,” she added with determination. “I think I could chase after my dreams…and know that this place would always be here if I needed it.”
