A Christmas Duet

Chapter Seventeen

Sure enough, just as Hailey suspected, Zach Gibson stood on her front porch, his arms loaded with beautifully wrapped presents.

“Merry Christmas,” he called out, as if he were Santa himself and had dropped by on his way from the North Pole.

Stepping aside, Hailey reluctantly let him into the cabin. Her mother stood to one side, looking uncomfortable and apologetic. Both her father and Daisy completely ignored his arrival.

“Ho, ho, ho,” Zach called out, and went directly to the Christmas tree and set down the gifts. “Hailey.” He turned to her, his eyes bright and smiling. “You’re even more beautiful than I remember.”

“Hello, Zach,” she mumbled without enthusiasm. Whether he was incapable of reading the room or he chose to ignore her complete lack of welcome, Hailey couldn’t say.

“Oh—you’re…here,” her mother said, as she nervously rubbed her palms together. “And in time for Christmas.”

“Perfect. Just perfect,” Hailey mumbled under her breath. Her entire holiday had gone from bad to worse in a matter of only an hour. All she needed now was for the raccoon to break through the hole under the sink and for bats to tangle in her hair.

“And you brought gifts with you.” Her mother continued to make the best of an uncomfortable situation. “I imagine you’re hungry after your long drive. I’ll get you a cup of tea and a snack.”

“Zach doesn’t drink tea,” Hailey said, speaking from experience.

“I will today,” he said, winking at Hailey.

Although tempting, Hailey resisted rolling her eyes.

“Coffee, then,” her mother said. “I’ll make myself another cup of tea. Although I shouldn’t. When I drink tea this late in the evening, I don’t sleep a wink.”

Daisy joined their mother in the kitchen and their father escaped by heading upstairs. That left Hailey alone with Zach and she was thankful. She planned to send him on his way at the earliest convenience.

“Listen, Zach, I think it would be best if you—”

“Hailey, I’d hoped—”

They both spoke at once. Zach still didn’t get the picture. She hated to be blunt but felt she had no choice. It appeared that was the only way to get the message through to him.

“Can I go first?” he asked, grabbing hold of her hand, his gaze imploring.

He would take the lead whether she wanted him to or not. “If you insist,” she said, and jerked her hand free of his hold.

“You have no idea how much it means to me to finally see you in person. For us to talk face-to-face.” His gaze bore into hers until she forced herself to look away. He still didn’t take the hint. “I wasn’t exaggerating when I said you’re even more beautiful than ever.”

“Stop.” She raised her hand as if swearing before a court. “You aren’t going to win me over with flattery.” Or anything else, for that matter.

His face folded into a pout of disappointment as they sat next to each other on the couch. “Everything I have to say is the God’s honest truth,” he insisted. “Can we talk, really talk, and clear the air? Just the two of us?”

Hailey hesitated and gestured toward the kitchen, where her mother and sister were no doubt listening.

His gaze followed hers. “I realize your entire family is here and that might make you a bit uneasy,” Zach said. “I’ll explain that you and I need a few minutes alone.”

“Don’t, please. There’s nothing you can say that is going to change the way I feel. We were over three years ago.”

The hurt-little-boy look was back. Despite her resolve, it went against her nature to be cruel. “Zach, you aren’t hearing me. We. Are. Over. I can’t be any more direct than that. I know you don’t want to hear that, and I’m sorry you’re disappointed, but we can’t go back.”

“Is there someone else?”

She nodded. She wasn’t sure where her relationship with Jay would land beyond Christmas. She wanted to believe the times they’d shared were as meaningful to him as they’d been to her. He’d hinted that they were, but nothing had been definite.

Zach sat up, straightening his shoulders as if this was the best news he’d heard in a decade. “Despite that, I have to believe there’s hope.”

Her shoulders sagged in defeat. She had no idea Zach could be so dense. It was as if he hadn’t heard a word she’d said.

“What if we connect later…say, after the New Year, sometime in January. That will give you time to think about the fun times we shared and how good we were together.” His gaze pleaded with her.

Briefly closing her eyes, Hailey wanted nothing more than for this to be over. She longed to bury her face in her pillow and scream with frustration.

Her lack of response seemed to encourage Zach. “Say you will. Give me something to hang on to through the holidays.”

“Zach, please, don’t. It’s over.”

As if he hadn’t heard, he continued. His face lit up with a smile. “I saw the video of you singing at that town festival,” he rushed to tell her, “and you were simply wonderful, and before you think I want back in your life because of that, then you need to remember that I reached out long before you became an overnight sensation.”

“My feelings, or lack of, have nothing to do with that video,” she said. Her mistake, she realized, was answering that first text message and every one that followed. He seemed to take her polite but abrupt responses as encouragement. Even now it felt as if he’d convinced himself he would eventually wear her down, despite everything she’d said.

“You sounded really good, Hailey.”

“But I don’t have the talent to make it big, right?” She couldn’t resist, although it was petty of her. Still, it felt good to remind him of the things he’d said. Zach had never understood that a singing career wasn’t her passion. The only thing she’d ever wanted was to create music for others to enjoy.

“I was wrong, Hailey, so wrong,” Zach admitted, his gaze locking with hers as if to show his sincerity. “I’d hoped you’d be able to find it in your heart to forgive me for the horrible things I said. I don’t know what came over me. I was afraid of what it would mean for us as a couple, I guess, and selfish, too.”

“I forgave you a long time ago.” And she had, she sincerely had. Even though she’d struggled to put his caustic words out of her mind.

Her mother appeared then with a mug of coffee. “I brought the sugar bowl,” she said, handing it to Zach.

“Thank you,” he said, accepting the coffee. He set it down on the side table next to the couch and refused the sugar. “I gave up sugar in my coffee a while ago,” he said, and patted his flat stomach. “I need to watch those extra calories.”

Zach had always been overly proud of his physique. He’d spent more time in the gym than he did in the classroom while in college.

Before Julia could leave, Zach felt the need to brag. “I still work out five days a week.”

“Yes, well, it shows. I’ll leave you two to talk now.”

Her mother returned to the kitchen, but Hailey had no doubt she was intent on listening to every word of Hailey and Zach’s conversation. It must have required hard restraint on her part not to race into the room and act as a verbal referee.

“Getting back to you and me,” Zach said after he sipped the coffee.

Her mother’s face appeared from around the kitchen corner. “You should tell Hailey what you told me.”

“Mom!” Hailey cried.

“Sorry, sorry,” her mother said, and disappeared out of sight.

Apparently, her father had been eavesdropping on their conversation as well, and had heard enough, appearing at the top of the stairs. “Julia, we’ve had a long day and a long drive. It’s time we went to bed.”

“Bed, this early?” her mother protested, clearly not interested. “It’s barely nine.”

“Bed,” Hailey’s father returned with conviction. It was the same voice he’d used when Hailey was a teen more eager to play her guitar than call it a night. From experience, she knew it would do her mother no good to argue.

Moving slowly, as if resenting his dictatorial attitude, her mother stepped out of the kitchen and headed toward the stairs.

“Good night, everyone,” she said, dragging her feet up the first step and then the next.

“Daisy,” her father called out. “Don’t you have something to do in your room?”

Her sister left the kitchen and looked at Hailey, seeking confirmation.

If anyone was to remain, Hailey wanted it to be Daisy. “She can work on the puzzle if she’d like,” Hailey inserted, happy to have her sister close at hand.

Her father nodded and then took her mother by the elbow as they disappeared upstairs.

Zach waited until both of her parents were out of sight before he spoke again. He turned to face Hailey, focusing solely on her. He leaned forward as if to emphasize his point. “You have to believe me when I say that ever since we parted, I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”

“Really?” Interesting, since she hadn’t heard a single word from him in all that time. Yup, she’d been foremost in his mind. Not. Hailey knew every word he said was a bunch of bull.

That left her to wonder about his sudden change of heart. Something must have happened. Mulling this over, she nibbled on her lower lip, mentally seeking an explanation.

“Why now?” she asked, hoping he’d be honest, especially after all this time.

He ignored the question and crooned, “I regret every minute away from you.”

That was when she figured it out. She smiled and gave a soft laugh. Someone had dumped him. Zach had been on the receiving end of a painful rejection.

Her smile appeared to encourage him. Nearly doubling over, he leaned even closer to her and said, “I made a huge mistake when I ended our relationship. All I want is to ask for a second chance.”

“Zach,” she said, holding his look.

“Yes, my love,” he all but purred.

“I’m not your love.” She needed to set the record straight for the umpteenth time. She had no idea Zach could be so obtuse.

“Yes, I realize that. I’m hoping you will give me a chance to make up for the terrible things I said so we can start again.”

“There’s something you should know.”

He sat back and reached for her hand. She waved it away, preferring that he not touch her.

“Yes? You can share anything,” he assured her, as if she was about to make some deep, dark confession.

She looked him straight in the eyes and said, “I could always tell when you were lying.”

“You think I’m lying?” he asked, as though affronted.

“No doubt in my mind. It’s validating to know you have regrets. Something’s happened for you to experience this sudden change of heart, and I’m fairly certain I know what. If you want me to say it, I will. However, I’d rather you owned up to the truth now and give up on all this less-than-heartfelt remorse.”

“You’re wrong,” he insisted. “I couldn’t be more sincere if I tried.”

“Zach?” she said, and arched her brows. “I think I see your nose growing.”

He leaned back against the sofa and exhaled loudly. “All right, if you must know, I recently broke up with someone after nearly three years.”

Wait a minute…

“Three years,” she repeated slowly. That meant Zach had lost no time in going from breaking her heart to dating someone else. “Anyone I might know?” she asked, her suspicions escalating.

“No,” he said, far too fast to be believable.

Hailey took a few seconds to think about who his recent ex-girlfriend might be. She was enjoying this. “Come on, Zach, confess. Was it Janey White?”

He scoffed. “Hardly.”

“Lilly Wilson.”

“No, stop. You don’t know her.”

“Another lie.” She waved her index finger at him. “Come on, own up and tell me who she is.”

“Stop it,” he snapped. “All right, if you insist on knowing, it was Kate Mulligan.”

“Kate?” Now, that was a shock. Kate had been a friend of Hailey’s. Zach had adamantly disliked her. Because of his attitude, in the last year of college the two friends had grown apart. “When did you two get together?” Highly amused, she couldn’t keep the grin off her face.

Zach’s mouth narrowed. “Why do you find this entertaining?” he demanded.

“Seriously, Zach, you claimed Kate was a drama queen and completely self-absorbed.” Now that Hailey thought about it, they were a perfect match.

“She is,” he huffed. “Nothing’s changed. After being with her I realized what a mistake I made when I called it off with you. I came here to make things right. That’s all I want.”

“Zach, listen,” she said, growing serious now. “I’m sorry about you and Kate. It’s difficult to lose someone you assumed was your soulmate.” She should know. When they broke up, she hadn’t been herself for months.

He lowered his eyes, bowed his head, and exhaled slowly. Clearly, Kate had deeply hurt him. Hailey didn’t need to read his body language to see that he was in a lot of emotional pain.

Because she felt bad for him, her words were filled with warmth and kindness when she continued. “I’m sorry this happened to you. It hurts. But looking to recapture what we once shared is a lost cause.” She didn’t feel the need to say anything more.

Zach released a long sigh and seemed to accept her decision. “You’ve found someone else,” he said. “Is it the guy who was in the video with you? I should have known from the way you looked at each other that there was something brewing between you two.” He released a slow breath. “Tell me about him.”

Hailey shook her head. “We’ve only just begun seeing each other. There’s not much to tell.”

“All right,” he said, although he sounded disappointed. It was as though if he had more information about Jay, he could figure out his competition in case the relationship fell through. He reached for his coffee and stared into it for a long moment, as if seeking how best to proceed now. “I’ve made a fool of myself, haven’tI?”

“Not entirely. It was good for us to clear the air.”

He snickered softly, as if he found it difficult to believe her. “I’ll leave in the morning to spend Christmas with my parents. Did you know Jazmine is married now and pregnant?” he told her, mentioning his sister.

Hailey had always liked Zach’s younger sister. “You’ll make a wonderful uncle.”

“I plan on it,” he said, grinning sheepishly.

Arriving as he did, Hailey wondered if he’d found accommodations. “Do you have somewhere to stay for the night?”

“Not yet. After I spoke to your mother, I headed out first thing and didn’t stop until I got here.”

“There’s an extra bedroom upstairs if you don’t mind sleeping in what must have been the grandkids’ room.”

“Bunk beds?”

“You got it.” Grandma Stockton would be pleased to learn how well utilized the cabin had been over the holidays.

He chuckled. “As they say, any port in a storm.”

Hailey went upstairs with him and made sure he was comfortable before heading back to join her sister.

Daisy waited for her. “You handled that a lot better than I would have,” she told Hailey.

Her mother silently crept down the stairs. “Hailey,” she whispered, glancing behind her shoulder, as if afraid she was being heard. “I apologize. When I saw the video, I was excited, and then Zach phoned and before I could stop myself, I mentioned you were in Podunk. I had no idea he would head this way himself.”

“It’s fine, Mom. I understand. Zach is leaving first thing in the morning.”

Her mother nodded. “That’s for the best. I muddled in where I didn’t belong. Your father set me straight, and he’s right. I hope you can look past my interfering ways.”

“Of course, Mom. All you wanted was for me to be happy.”

“And supply her with grandchildren,” Daisy added.

Their mother reddened with the truth. “Maybe one day one of you will give me grandchildren to spoil. No pressure, though.”

Hailey and Daisy exchanged looks. No pregnancies were in either of their foreseeable futures.

Julia shook her head. “I don’t understand young people these days. When I was your age, I was married and pregnant. I should be a grandmother several times over by now. But no, neither one of my daughters seems to care about having children.”

“Sorry to be such a disappointment, Mom.” Hailey shared a smile with her sister.

“Me, too,” Daisy added.

With her hand on the railing, their mother paused halfway up the staircase. “A lot of women don’t bother getting married these days. Maybe one of you should consider becoming a baby mama.”

Hailey and Daisy waited until their mother had disappeared before they turned to face each other.

“A baby mama?” Daisy repeated, aghast.

“I guess that tells you how desperate she is for grandchildren,” Hailey said.