Page 82 of My Three Hometown Hard Hats

Austin

As I setthe last plate down on the table, Conrad walks in through the front door carrying a pink box of baked goods in one hand and a drink carrier in the other.

“They were slammed,” he groans, setting everything down on the table. “I guess no one else wanted to cook breakfast after the gala either.”

A very sleepy Hadley makes her way down the stairs and over to us. With her eyes half closed, she leans into Conrad.

Brooks’ hoodie hangs to mid-thigh, and a pair of his socks is bunched around her calves. Her hair is a wild mess between last night’s fucking and sleeping with it down last night.

She slept in Brooks’ bed with him. As much as we all wanted to share a bed with her, we didn’t want to all crash in my room again.

Nova walks over to the back door, whining quietly. I slide it open, letting her into the backyard.

When I face Hadley again, she’s looking right at me. The softness in her eyes makes my heart beat wildly in my chest.

As gorgeous as she was last night in that dress and heels, I’d take this version of her any day. Well, every day, if I had anything to say about it.

Brooks saunters down the stairs and toward all of us. He groans, seeing the coffee on the table. “Please tell me one of those is for me.”

“Emery was working, so our names are on the cups,” Conrad says, still holding Hadley to his side.

I pull Hadley and Conrad’s drinks from the holder, handing them over. I press a kiss to her forehead. “Morning, angel.”

“Morning,” she says, looking up into my eyes.

When we sit down to eat, I pull her onto my lap before she can sit in her own seat. I eat with my right hand while I keep my left one securely wrapped around her.

“When is Evelyn coming back home?” she asks.

I know she didn’t mean to lump herself into the meaning of the word “home,” but the way she said that makes my mind conjure up all kinds of fantasies.

“I’m going to go get her in a couple of hours from my parents’ house. I guess they need to finish watching a movie they started last night.”

She nods, taking another bite of her muffin. She leans from side to side, looking out the sliding glass door.

“I wish I had my camera with me. The way the sun is hitting the grass with the dew is so pretty.”

I don’t really see what she’s seeing, but the spark in her eyes tells me her vision is real.

I always wondered why she went to school for business when she grew up with a camera in her hand. Through middle school and the part of high school I was here for, she continually had one attached to her.

Setting my cup back on the table, I see her nervously tugging at the too-long sleeves of the hoodie. “I kind of had an idea,” she says.

“What’s that?” Brooks asks around a mouthful of his pastry. “Did you think of a new position you want to try?”

Hadley snorts out a laugh, adjusting herself on my lap. “No, I’ve actually been thinking that I might want to start up my own photography business.”

Conrad and Brooks both speak up, but I can’t really hear any of it. My brain suddenly feels like it’s trapped underwater.

She deserves to make her dreams a reality. I want that so much for her.

I just know I’m not going to be a part of it because there’s no way she’s doing that here in this tiny town.

A city will give her so many more opportunities. Opportunities she deserves.

Conrad coughs, his eyes urging me to react to what she just said. But what do I say when I feel like my whole body is numb?

“I think you’d be a great photographer. You always have been.”