Page 44 of The Art Of Starting Over

“Please don’t,” Hayden said with a bit of laughter. “No one needs to remember that night, especially me. Actually, I take that back. There are a few things from that night that I want to remember.” Hayden winked and Devy blushed. “I’ve never looked at a swing the same since.”

“Hey.”

Hayden jumped at the sound of her voice. He hadn’t expected that she’d want to see him. He turned in the swing as Devorah came toward him, still in her cheerleading outfit.

“Hey.”

She stood in front of him until he had no choice but to look up at her. She sat on his lap, facing him. Being tall gave Hayden a lot of advantages. This was one of them.

“I’m sorry.”

“Do they all hate me?” he asked, of the football team. He’d fucked up royally tonight and cost the team a championship.

Devorah shrugged. “Coach says the rain and field conditions hindered everyone’s game.”

“You can say that again.”

“I would, but I don’t like repeating myself, and I honestly don’t understand any of it.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

She shook her head. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, you are.” He pulled her close and helped her put her legs on either side of his hips. Hayden was in love with her but couldn’t tell her, afraid of what her brother would say or do. The two-year difference in their age had never bothered him until now. He wanted her to come to college with him, where they could be open and free about how they felt about each other.

Hayden’s hand trailed up her back, bringing her forward until their lips met. Gently, he pushed his foot into the rain-soaked ground, swaying them back and forth.

“We all have our moments,” she said, smiling at him. “It was high school. Who cares?”

Yes, they’d definitely had their moments, and he was having an easy time remembering them. Most of his memories were good. Great even. The only bad one was when he saw her kissing Chad. If Hayden could go back in time and tell her then how he felt ...

Nope, he wasn’t going there. He and Sofia had had a good life together. They had been happy, in love, and thriving. Hayden couldn’tchange the past, but he’d be damn sure to show Devorah that she deserved better than the likes of Chad “Full of Shit” Campbell.

Hayden pulled into the parking lot of the park. “Those guys care,” he said as he pointed to a group of dads, most of them former classmates.

“This is why small towns suck,” Devorah said. “People remember everything.”

“Especially when you leave and then come back.”

Before Hayden and Devy could move a muscle to get out of the car, Maren and Conor had opened the back doors and bolted for the group.

“They don’t have any cares in the world,” Devy said. “Maren should, though. I tried to talk her out of this, but she’s insistent.”

“If it makes you feel any better, Conor is happy she’s here.”

“A little, but I fear—” Devorah paused and shook her head. “I shouldn’t have come back here, but I couldn’t stay in Chicago. This place was the lesser of two evils.”

Hayden placed his hand on top of hers. “You have friends here who will protect you.”

Devy scoffed. “I can’t even get my father to sit down and talk to me, let alone anyone else. I’m the town pariah.”

“Nah, something will happen next week, and everyone will have moved on. You didn’t do anything wrong. Remember that,” Hayden said. “Come on, I see my dad sitting at the registration table. The sooner we get this started, the faster it’ll be over.”

Hayden and Devy made their way to the registration table, where several parents were registering their players. They both went to Lee to make things easier.

“It’s good to see you, Devorah,” Lee said. “I had coffee with your dad yesterday.”

“Well, hopefully Crow did his part to keep up the conversation.”

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