Page 51 of Kept in the Dark

“Your father told me you didn’t want to see anyone, and you were going off to college like you originally planned. I begged him to let me see you, Hailey. Begged. But he refused and told me you never wanted to see me again.”

Hailey had all but fallen apart during the month following her mother’s death. She could hardly eat or sleep. She refused to see anyone or take phone calls or condolences. She almost didn’t go to the funeral but somehow managed to make herself go even though she felt like she'd throw up the entire time.

But her father never mentioned Trey coming to see her. If he had, she would have talked to him. She still would have agreed to run away with him. But he never came and so she moved on with her life.

Grief tore through her body at what she lost by her father’s manipulation and lies. He destroyed so much of her life.

Irritated, she said, “I never knew you came to see me. And why did you all of a sudden start listening to my father, anyway? We spent so many nights sneaking out, never caring what he thought. But all of a sudden, you couldn’t climb up my balcony like you’d done plenty of times before?”

Her voice wavered, “I needed you, but you were nowhere to be found. I had to learn to be a mother at eighteen all while grieving over everything I'd lost. And I had to do it alone because you left me.”

Trey rubbed his hand over his face. “I was twenty, Hailey! I was a kid. I hardly knew what being in love meant. I was terrified of ruining you. And then when shit hit the fan, I didn't know how to be there for you through all of that. I thought I should give you your space, but you never came back.”

“I never came back because I thought you didn’t love me anymore!” Hailey wanted to pick a fight and make him angry, but she quickly clamped her mouth shut and, instead, inhaled deeply. “I lost everything that summer. I had nothing left for me here except you. And I thought I didn’t even have that anymore.”

He shook his head. “I loved you so much I let you go. Maybe it wasn’t right, but it felt right at the time.” He stepped closer to her. Heat crept through her body, and she wasn’t sure if it was because she was angry or because she wanted to make love to him.

“I still love you, Hailey. I always have and I always will.” He looked down at her and stared into the depths of her soul. He gently cradled her face as he thumbed her lips, much like he'd done all those years ago.

When she didn’t pull away, he kissed her softly, his hands caressing her cheeks. She returned the kiss, wanting more. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he traced her spine. She let herself get lost in his kiss, in his touch. It was as if they were young again, loving each other for the first time.

He broke their kiss but kept his lips on hers as he whispered, “I want nothing more than to take you to bed right now, but Trinity is waiting for you.”

Hailey smiled as her fingertips traced his jaw and then his lips. He kissed her fingers.

She wanted Trey in her life. She wanted them to be the family they never got the chance to be. After all these years, he still held her heart and she didn’t want it back.

She kissed him again. “I want to see where this goes. I want us to try to make things work. I don't know what that looks like, but I want to at least try.”

Trey put his forehead on hers and took her hands. “So, are you taking the locket back?”

She pulled away and placed it back in his hand. Then, Hailey smiled as she winked at him and walked out the door.

June 28, 2011

11:05 am

Trey hated when he had to wear a button down and tie. But despite his hatred of the politics of his job, he was good at it. He knew how to make others feel at ease, how to get them to open up to him, how to make them feel seen and heard. Part of that was dressing the part. And today he was dressed as a distinguished Police Chief instead of a rugged cowboy who couldn’t submit to authority and refused to wear anything but jeans and a t-shirt to work even though he should be wearing his uniform.

He still donned his jeans, but they were his good jeans…or so he told himself.

Not that Daniel Whitaker would care. He had seen Trey in tattered, oil-stained t-shirts and didn’t think much of it. But, since he was visiting D.A. Whitaker at the office, today’s attire called for a nice shirt and tie.

Though Daniel was an older man, he and Trey had a respectable friendship. Daniel hadn’t liked Trey all that much when Trey became Chief. But when Daniel’s wife, Lyn, found out Trey didn’t have family around, she cooed over him as if he was one of their own children. It drove Daniel crazy, and Trey initially obliged just to irritate the man. But, over time, the two found they quite enjoyed each other’s company.

Trey walked into the office as Daniel was finishing a phone call with someone Trey couldn’t name. While he waited for the conversation to end, Trey walked across the room to the window that overlooked the city. He watched as people hustled the streets trying to get to where they needed to go on their lunch hour. A couple stopped to kiss and then walk their separate ways. A car honked at the man as he didn’t pay attention to oncoming traffic, still euphoric from the woman’s touch.

It reminded him of the day he met Hailey.

He smiled to himself. She had been in a hurry as she walked downtown, accidently dropping her keys. He happened to be exiting a store when he had first noticed her; her beauty breathtaking, even at sixteen. He had smiled at her and she ignored him, which intrigued him even more.

Hailey had been so focused on looking at her watch, that she hadn’t noticed the car that sped around the corner. She had taken a step into the road and, without thinking, he had grabbed her arm and pulled her to safety. She had spun around, her face in a scowl.

She had ripped her arm from his grip. “Let go of me. I saw the car.”

He had smirked. “Clearly you didn’t. I just saved your life, Princess. You should be thanking me.”

Hailey had rolled her eyes but couldn’t quite hide the smile that had tugged at her lips. “Don’t call me that.”

---