The Art of Starting Over

On the night before the Oyster Festival officially kicked off, Hayden called and asked Maren and Devorah to meet him at his new house. There was something he wanted to show them.

Due to parking restrictions in place because of the festival, Dev and Maren walked to Hayden’s property. It wasn’t far, but far enough that driving would’ve been easier. But like he had with Crow’s funeral, Hayden had offered his land for parking.

As soon as Devorah and Maren stepped onto the property, Hayden turned on all the lights and sat down next to Conor. Dev had picked out a bench for the front porch on one of their many trips to the “city.”

“Hey, we’re glad you ladies could come over,” Hayden said as he stood and reached for Devy’s hand. She climbed the couple of stairs and linked her fingers with his. Over the past week, they had decided to give their relationship the green light but had yet to tell the kids. The progression seemed natural, and both were happy with their lives.

“What’s going on?”

“Conor and I want to show you something.”

Hayden had spent every free moment he had working on his house, on top of the normal crew during the day. He’d also been offered a job with Link Blackburn, doing construction, which Hayden absolutely loved.

He had yet to accept.

After Crow passed, the obvious choice to replace him as sheriff was Miller Farnsworth. When the town council approached him, he’d passed, saying he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to fill Crow’s shoes.

The council planned to open a state- and nationwide search for a sheriff. That was until someone from the CC Club casually mentioned that Hayden had been a deputy in Wyoming, and Oyster Bay wouldn’t want an outsider.

Without even asking if he was interested, the council had offered him the job.

Now, he was faced with a conundrum. While he loved working with his hands, being the new guy meant he’d be laid off first once the season slowed down. But taking over as sheriff had its pros and cons.

The pros were easy. Hayden had loved being a deputy and serving the community he lived in.

The con was simple: Crow. The man had been a well-respected member of society. Everyone revered him. If Miller couldn’t do it, could Hayden?

The council had given him until the end of the Oyster Festival to decide.

He escorted Devorah into the house, with Maren and Conor behind them. The kids chatted among themselves.

“Whoa,” Devy said when she entered. “When did you paint?”

“The past two days,” he told her. “Link has these amazing paint machines that take very little time. I did most of it last night.”

Devorah walked around the living room, nodding. She had suggested Hayden keep things light in color, and while he’d agreed, he’d wanted an accent wall and had opted for navy blue.

“Did you do anything in the kitchen?”

Hayden’s somewhat stoic expression turned into a grin. Devorah didn’t wait for him to take her there. She’d given her two cents when Hayden had taken her shopping for countertops, appliances, and cabinets. She walked in and gasped.

“Oh, Hayden, it’s gorgeous.”

The back wall of the kitchen faced the backyard, where apple trees still grew. The hole for the pool had been dug, but not until next year would Hayden have it installed. The farmer’s sink was on the back wall, surrounded by marble countertops and a glass backsplash. All the appliances were stainless steel, and the flooring was wide-plank bamboo. The kitchen was designed for someone who liked to cook.

Like Devorah.

Next, they toured the upstairs. Only one of the four bedrooms still needed to be painted, and the primary suite—bathroom and closet—hadn’t been finished yet.

“Everything is so perfect, Hayden. How does it feel knowing you built this with your own hands?”

“Honestly? Pretty damn good. I look around and think, ‘Wow. This is mine and Conor’s.’ It doesn’t belong to the bank. Sofia was able to do this for us with her life insurance and the trust her parents set up for his college education. I’d like to think she’d love this place.”

“Mom wouldn’t like it here,” Conor said.

“No? Why do you say that?” Hayden asked his son.

“Not enough wood,” Conor said. “She wanted wood all over the house. Remember?”

Hayden nodded. “Ah yes. I do remember.”

“She would’ve loved it because you built it,” Devorah said.

“Thanks.”

They went back downstairs and into the dining room. In the middle of the floor sat three pizza boxes. Devorah looked at Hayden suspiciously.

“Those weren’t there when we went into the kitchen.”

“Nope,” he said as he sat down. The kids did the same, leaving Devorah no choice but to sit.

“Is there a mysterious pizza person living in town?”

“Yes, your brother,” Hayden said as he put two slices of cheese pizza on a plate and handed it to Maren, and then did the same for Conor. “I asked him to bring the pizzas over so we could have our first meal here, together.” Hayden looked at Devorah and smiled.

She opened one of the boxes and took a slice of mushroom and sausage out, forgoing a plate. Devorah took a bite and watched Hayden the entire time, wondering what he was up to.

“So, tomorrow is the big day,” he said, and everyone nodded. “Aside from our beautiful Devorah marking her first Oyster Festival as cochair, my time has expired on whether I want to be the next sheriff or not.”

“Have you decided?” Dev asked as she took another bite. They had discussed, in detail, what it would mean to become sheriff. Not only to her and Colt but also to Conor and the McKennas. The Crowleys were in full support of whatever Hayden decided to do.

“I think it’ll be cool,” Conor added.

Hayden caught Devy’s expression and kept his thoughts to himself. To her, it was, in fact, not cool when you were a teen and your father was the sheriff.

“I think Grandpa would be proud if you took the job,” Maren said, seeming to catch Hayden off guard.

“Thank you for saying that, Maren.”

Hayden inhaled and looked at Dev. He gave her a slight nod. “Well, you’re looking at the new sheriff of Oyster Bay.”

“Woo-hoo!” Conor cheered.

“You say that now,” Devorah said to him. “Someday, I’ll tell you all the stories.”

Hayden laughed as Conor’s face drained of excitement.

“Well, now that decision is made. As far as tomorrow goes, I’m going to get up early, way before the sun is up, and go get us our spot for the parade.”

“Do I have to go with you tomorrow, Mommy?” Maren asked.

Devorah shook her head. “I was thinking Hayden and Conor could spend the night tonight. I’ll sleep in your bed, and they’ll sleep in mine. This way, when Hayden and I have to leave in the morning, Uncle Colt will be there with you.”

“Why not just say we’re having a sleepover?” Maren asked, eyeing her mother suspiciously.

“Yes, okay.”

Maren narrowed her eyes and then went back to eating her pizza. Hayden stared at Devorah until she looked at him, and he, too, narrowed his eyes at her. In return, she rolled hers. Hayden wanted her to come clean to Maren about the dating, which was the whole point of them eating dinner together at the new house.

“Maren, I thought I should tell you, before you hear from anyone else, Hayden and I are dating.”

She continued to eat her pizza. “That’s like old news, Mom.”

“What do you mean?”

Maren rolled her eyes this time. “Remember when we moved here, and you said everyone knows everything in a small town?”

“Yes.”

“Well, duh! Everyone except for you knows you’re dating Hayden. I think the town is tired of waiting for you to catch up.”

Devorah opened her mouth to say something back to her daughter, but she couldn’t think of anything. Instead, she looked at Hayden. “This has your mother written all over it.”

Hayden choked on a bite but agreed. Darcy McKenna was a blabbermouth.

“Hayden?”

He looked over at Maren and smiled. “What’s up?”

“Do you think I can paint my room pink?”

“Mine is going to be green,” Conor said. “I’m thinking I want a baseball diamond on the wall.”

“Oh, that sounds fun,” Maren said.

“What’s going on?” Devorah asked them.

Hayden shrugged as he dug in his pocket. He pulled out a key and handed it to her.

“Will you move in with us?” Conor asked before Hayden could say the words himself.

Dev opened her mouth to say something but closed it quickly when she met Maren’s gaze. “Do you want to live with Hayden and Conor?”

Maren nodded excitedly. “I really like them. Hayden treats me like his daughter.”

Hayden coughed to clear the lump forming in his throat at what Maren had said. He hadn’t told Devorah about the conversation he’d had with a former classmate of theirs when the person had asked how many kids he had. Hayden had answered two without even thinking. He couldn’t pinpoint when he’d begun to think of Maren as his daughter, but he was grateful for it happening.

“And you treat me like I’m your son,” Conor said to Dev. “Ever since the day we went shopping and you did the thumb test.”

Devorah wiped at her cheeks. “Wow, this is so . . .”

“Perfect,” Maren said, shrugging.

“I like that,” Hayden said. “So, what do you think? Would you and Maren like to live with the McKenna men?”

Devy nodded. “Yeah, I think we would.”

“One condition,” Conor blurted out.

“What’s that?” Dev asked.

“Cordelia moves in too.”

“Duh,” Maren said, as if this was a no-brainer.

Conor fist pumped. “Finally, I get a dog!”

Devorah and Hayden ambled toward the Oyster Festival headquarters under the cloak of darkness. It wasn’t even right to be up this early and have to work before the sun had even thought about peeking over the horizon. Dev sighed as she sipped the hot coffee Hayden had brewed and kindly put in a thermos for her. This caffeine jolt wouldn’t last long, and she was thankful a local coffee house was sponsoring the festival. In a couple of hours, she’d need an IV of the black tar to survive.

Soft white lights illuminated the tent where the festival committee would be for most of the weekend. Laila was there with her headset on, holding her own cup of coffee.

“Morning,” Devorah mumbled. “Remind me to send you my letter of resignation on Monday.” Although joking, Devorah wanted to quit. It had been years since she’d been up this early and functioning.

Laila set her cup down and gripped both of Devy’s hands. “I won’t accept it,” she told her pointedly. “Without you, I’d be stressed, and I’m not stressed. You saved me this year, Dev. You’ll never know how grateful I am to have you here. To have you back in my life.”

If Devorah wasn’t so tired, she’d weep a bit.

Hayden kissed her temple. “I’m with Laila. Our lives are so much better with you in it, here in Oyster Bay.”

Dev closed her eyes and leaned into Hayden. “I appreciate you both. So much.”

Laila clapped her hands and looked at Hayden. “Hey, I hear congratulations are in order!”noveldrama

Hayden’s eyes widened in shock as Devorah shook her head. “The CC Club must have speakers buried everywhere. He literally decided last night while we were eating dinner.”

“I didn’t even tell my mom,” Hayden said, laughing.

“Huh, well, Link knew. He told me.” Laila shrugged. “Are you the new sheriff?”

Hayden nodded. “I start on Monday, once this festival is over. The only part I want in this is to support you ladies.”

“He’s a keeper, Devorah,” Laila said.

“Wait, I thought I was the funny guy?”

The three of them laughed.

“Let’s get to work,” she said as she handed Devorah a headset. “Parade participants will start arriving shortly, and we have an issue with the Pearl of the Ocean float.”

“Anything I can help with?” Hayden asked.

“I’ll let Link know you’re available, but for right now, I think he has it covered.”

“All right then. I’m going back to head over to my property and open the gate for parking, and then I’ll be back at Crow’s to set our chairs out and make breakfast for the kids.” He leaned down and kissed Devorah. She was extremely happy their relationship was out in the open now.

“Call me if you need anything,” he told her.

“I will.”

She watched him jog toward his property and didn’t take her eyes off him until he’d rounded the corner.

“When’s the wedding?”

Devorah turned sharply to face her friend. “Uh . . .”

Laila laughed and took a sip of her coffee. “He’s got it bad. You’ve got it bad. By the way, in case you’ve forgotten, my favorite color is lavender, which is the perfect color for a late-spring, early-summer wedding.”

Devy stepped toward Laila and put her hand to her forehead. “Do you have a fever? Did you fall and bump your head last night? Should I call Link?”

Laila batted her hand away. “We all see it. You’re just blinded by the crap Chad did to you. Hayden doesn’t care that your divorce was final weeks ago. He wants to be with you.”

“You forget, he’s a widower.”

“No one’s forgotten,” Laila said. “When you find your soulmate, nothing else matters.”

“And you think he’s my soulmate?”

Laila nodded. “I know he is. It’s time for you to see it.”

Devorah turned back to where Hayden had been. Did she believe in soulmates? She wasn’t sure, but she knew Chad wasn’t the one she was meant to be with. He’d been convenient, a means to an end to get out of town and piss her father off. She never wanted to say she regretted Chad because of Maren, but part of her wondered what her life would be like if she hadn’t left Oyster Bay. Chad had convinced her that nothing good came of the people who stayed.

He was wrong.

She looked at her best friend and smiled. Later, after the festival was over, she’d tell Laila about how Hayden and Conor had asked her and Maren to move in with them. Right now, she wanted to hold on to the news a bit longer because she wanted it to be their news and not Oyster Bay’s.

By the time the parade was over, Devorah was exhausted. She wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and sleep until the next morning, but she couldn’t. She had promised two kids and a grown man they could go to the carnival. It was the last place she wanted to be.

Hayden, Conor, and Maren came toward the Oyster Festival headquarters, looking as cheery as the day was bright. The kids said hi, while Hayden kissed her good and proper for all to see. Everyone in their booth hooted and hollered, while Conor and Maren made gagging noises.

Perfect.

“Did you kids enjoy the parade?” Laila asked them.

Maren nodded. “I’m going to be Pearl of the Ocean when I’m old enough to enter.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Laila said. “Your mom will teach you everything she knows. What about you, Conor?”

“All the fire trucks were cool, and the candy. I don’t want to be Pearl of anything, though.”

Laila looked at Devorah and smiled. “I think it’s about time we have something for the guys. Clam of the Ocean.”

Everyone laughed, while Conor grimaced.

“The name needs work, but I think we should do it,” Devorah said.

“I’m not wearing a crown, ever,” Conor added with a shake of his head. “No, sir.”

“Come on,” Hayden said, giving his hand a tug. “The rides are screaming our names.” Hayden walked away with both kids, leaving Devorah to finish with business. When she was done, she told everyone she’d see them tomorrow, bright and early.

When she caught up with the kids and Hayden, she stayed back for a second and watched them. Conor walked next to Hayden, while Maren and Hayden held hands. Every few seconds, Hayden would stop and point to something, or he’d look at what the kids were gesturing to.

The sight of him with her daughter, treating her as his own, made her fall hard for him. She’d been on the cusp for a long time but was now fully over the edge. He was there too. She just didn’t know what they were waiting for. If he asked, she’d marry him tomorrow.

In the time since they’d returned to Oyster Bay, Hayden McKenna had been a constant in her life. Someone out there knew they needed each other.

“Hayden!” Devorah yelled loudly to get his attention. He turned and smiled.

She ran to him and, when the timing was right, jumped into his waiting arms. “I thought you should know before we move in together,” she said as her hand caressed his face, “I’m in love with you.”

His smile was brighter than the lights from the carnival rides. “It’s about time,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for you to catch up ever since we played seven minutes in heaven back in middle school.”

Devorah laughed. “Yeah, well . . . I’m ready for the sequel.”

Hayden tightened his hold on her and pressed his lips to hers. The timing of their kiss was perfect and magical as fireworks shot into the night sky.