Page 63 of A Christmas Duet

“Of course.” His tone softened.

She inhaled. “Have you ever heard of Daniel Stamper?”

His response was immediate. “He’s a major L.A. producer. He’s one of the biggest in the business. Why?”

Hailey bit her lower lip. “He sought me out. His family is spending Christmas in Bend and he came to Podunk to find me.”

“Did he offer to sign you?”

She nodded, even knowing Jay wouldn’t be able to see her.

“Hailey?”

“Yes.”

“Then take him up on his offer. This is big, Hailey. You should accept and count your blessings.”

“But I thought…I’d hoped.”

“I know what you’re thinking, and that’s no longer feasible. Stamper is better able to take you much further than I can, especially now.”

“I don’t care, it’s you—”

“Don’t be naïve,” Jay charged, cutting her off. “This is your dream. Your future. Don’t throw away this opportunity on some misguided sense of loyalty to me. Do it, Hailey, or regret it for the rest of your life. I’m sorry, but it needs to be this way.”

The phone clicked before she could protest, and Hailey was left standing in the middle of the sidewalk in Podunk, Oregon, feeling as if she’d lost something more precious than a wildly successful career in music.

Chapter Twenty

It took several minutes for Hailey to compose herself enough to return to the diner and collect Charles.

The minute she walked in the door, he was on his feet and ready for the opportunity to convince Daisy to come back to him.

Despite all that had taken place in her own crazy, mixed-up life, Hailey knew this was the one thing she could do for her sister. She was convinced that once Daisy saw Charles, she wouldn’t be able to continue with the lie that she didn’t love him.

As if he couldn’t get to Daisy fast enough, Charles practically rode Hailey’s bumper as she drove back to the cabin. When they arrived, he seemed ready to storm straight into the house like the leader of a SWAT team.

“Hold on,” she said, stopping him at the top of the steps by tossing out both arms.

He halted abruptly, as if he had no idea what she was doing.

“We were going to give Daisy the chance to make the decision to see you or not, remember?”

He answered with a reluctant nod of his head. “Okay, I’ll wait here. You should know that if Daisy claims she doesn’t want to see me, I intend to remain outside until she agrees, even if it means I freeze to death. If I can’t have her in my life, then I…” He paused, and his shoulders sagged. “She lied. I know she did. She loves me as much as I love her. Please convince her to give me another chance.”

The poor guy had it bad. “I’ll go inside and talk to her. You stay here, understand?” He had that lost-puppy look before he agreed with a brief nod. Hailey saw how difficult it was for him to wait, and loved him for his devotion to Daisy. “I understand. I’ll do whatever you think is best.”

He stepped away from the door and kept out of sight, nervously pacing on the porch, whispering to himself. He seemed to have prepared a speech he planned on giving Daisy.

Hailey entered the house and found her sister busy in the kitchen, putting together the ingredients for homemade pasta fagioli, one of Hailey’s favorite soups.

It was a good thing her parents were occupied upstairs, as they were sure to be curious about this unknown visitor.

Hailey walked into the kitchen. “I ran into someone while in town. A friend of yours who has been desperate to find you. It’s Charles, and he’s here.”

Daisy stilled, her spoon poised over the soup pot. “Charles is here? In Podunk?”

“He’s outside on the porch. I told him you had to agree to see him before he could come into the house.” Her sister slowly set down the spoon, and tears immediately flooded her eyes. Then, without a pause, she demanded, “Send him away.”

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