Finding Hayes (Magnolia Falls #5)

by Laura Pavlov

To anyone who has ever felt judged, misunderstood, alone or not seen. This one is for you. I see you. XO

This afternoon, we’d gone over to the elementary school because, of course, I’d volunteered to talk about fire safety for my godson Cutler’s second-grade class. He was my best friend’s son and my boy in every way imaginable, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do for him, even if it meant calling him by his favorite handle, Beefcake, in public.

I’d hated the attention at the time, but it had been worth it to be able to place that little girl in her mama’s arms. Priscilla Larson was a thirteen-year-old teenager now, and she still brought me cookies every single year on the anniversary of that fire. These were the things that I loved about my job.

Savannah Abbott was in town. I knew she’d come. She’d loved Abe Wilson like he was her own grandfather. But I was surprised to hear that she was hanging out at Whiskey Falls bar, because the few times she’d ever come back to town, she’d only gone to see Abe. She’d avoided me, or at least it felt that way.

Lenny Davis did not lead by example. He was good at playing the game. And I’d always hated that part of my job. The politics. I wasn’t any good at it. I was all about putting out fires, helping people in distress, and making sure our guys all got home safely.

when Whiskey Falls bar came into view, something had me turning the wheel and pulling into the parking lot. I hadn’t seen Savannah in years, and I was curious to see how she was doing. Hell, the truth was, I’d never understood the way she’d cut me out of her life so abruptly all those years ago.

Savannah Abbott had the best laugh. Always had. She was the one person who could bring it out of me because she was funny as hell. At least, she used to be. She also used to be a scrawny little thing, with her hair tied back in a ponytail. But today, long caramel-brown waves ran down her back, and she didn’t look like the sixteen-year-old teenager who’d left town in a hurry. Who’d left me.

I dropped onto the stool beside Savannah. Damn, she was pretty. Always had been, but she looked different now. She was gorgeous and sexy and all grown up. But I’d be cautious where this woman was concerned. She was probably going to be gone as quickly as she came.

“You look good, Shortcake.” I was surprised at how easily her nickname rolled off my tongue. Like no time had passed at all.

Forgetting about Hayes while I’d been away was a lot easier than seeing him after all these years. He was even sexier than I’d remembered.

Hayes Woodson, aka my best friend from as early as I could remember. We’d been neighbors, classmates, pals, buds, besties, and all that good stuff. We’d both had a lot of drama in the homes we’d grown up in, and we’d always been there for one another. Until we weren’t. Until he showed me his true colors. And when people showed me who they were, I believed them.

I’d remain irrationally positive and upbeat and happy, but I wouldn’t let my guard down. Definitely not around this man. Even if he was ridiculously good-looking. I sighed, remembering how many fantasies I’d had about my best friend back when we were teenagers. Even when he’d started dating the ice queen from hell, Hayes was the only boy I’d ever fantasized about back then. He’d managed to break my heart and crush me—yet we’d never even had a romantic relationship.

Hayes barked out a laugh. I’d always loved the sound of his laugh. This gruff, foreign sound from a guy who didn’t let himself go there often. I had a hunch not much had changed, just by the grumpy disposition he still carried himself with now.

We don’t even know each other anymore.” His shoulders stiffened, and I didn’t know why he’d be offended, because it was the truth. He’d betrayed me. Hurt me when I was at my lowest. We’d obviously grown apart, and I hadn’t been able to see it when it was happening.

being around Hayes felt… comfortable. Easy. I wanted to hate him, but so much time had passed it was hard to tap into all that anger I used to carry. I’d be cautious, but having a conversation with Hayes felt like a gift I could allow myself. We had a history, after all.

I’m just stunned, seeing as you made zero effort to keep in touch with me.” “Well, I had my reasons, right? I don’t know why you’re surprised that I didn’t make an effort to keep in touch with you.” “I just assumed you left everyone from your past behind. Apparently, I was wrong.”

My life was a mess right now, and Abe had just thrown a giant wrench into the middle of my shit show. But Hayes gaping at me lightened my mood.

I loved the way his heated gaze moved down my body as the words left his mouth. I couldn’t help myself. Even if the man had caused me a lot of heartache, I could still find him attractive.

His voice was all tease, and I hated that I found him so charming. I was long over my crush on Hayes Woodson. Long. Over.

“I have thirty days to find a husband.” Hayes narrowed his gaze. “You’re joking.” “Nope. That’s what the will said.” “That can’t be right.” “Oh, it’s definitely right.

I’m sure you can get out of it,” he said, his tongue dipping out and sliding along his bottom lip. Was he intentionally messing with me? Or was he literally just that sexy and didn’t even realize what he was doing? His dark hair was still cut short, just like it was when we were young. His mossy green eyes had a gold ring around them with pops of amber. He wore a gray hoodie and a pair of jeans, and he managed to look like he’d just stepped off of a modeling photo shoot.

This trip down memory lane had been fun, but I needed to remember that there’d been a reason we hadn’t spoken in all these years. Hayes Woodson was not my best friend anymore. He hadn’t been for a very long time.

I cried because I was back in a place that held a lot of memories for me. Both good and bad. I cried for the loss of both Abe and Lily. Two people who had been a constant in my life. Two people who had treated me like family when I’d needed it most. I cried for the loss of my best friend. A man I still felt a connection to but desperately wanted to hate. Wanted to forget.

I cried because I was tired of being failed by everyone and everything, and I still woke up every day and put a smile on my face and tried to live my best life.

Savannah Abbott was crying. I could count on one hand how many times she’d cried in all the years I’d known her. She was always a bright light, even when shit was raining down on her. That’s why I’d been so surprised that she’d walked away from me so easily. I hadn’t expected it. Not in a million years. Maybe I didn’t know her at all.

I don’t want to talk about everything that has gone wrong in my life with a man I barely know anymore. Thank you for the ride.” Shots fired. I wasn’t going to remind her that she’d been the one to walk away from me. I’d tried to reach out to her many times after she’d left—an embarrassing number of times. She’d clearly wanted nothing to do with me.

That was Sav. She’d just lost it in the car, and her world was crumbling around her, but she was cracking jokes now and making the best of the fact that she was staying in this scary-as-fuck house alone. Some people were glass-half-full people. Others were glass half empty. Savannah Abbott’s glass had always been overflowing. But I didn’t know her anymore, and I’d seen cracks in that exterior already tonight. She was trying to hold it together. And she didn’t need to do that on my account.

“I’m fairly certain you’re still blocked.” She smirked. “But if someone tries to murder me during the night, I’ll unblock you if I’m desperate.” She fucking blocked me? “Good to know that you’re willing to unblock me if you’re being murdered.” I walked toward the front door, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she’d really wanted to be done with me when she left all those years ago.

King The one who got away is all grown up now. And she’s hot. Our boy doesn’t know what to do with himself. Your boy is going to kick your ass the next time he sees you.

She may not want to see me, but I was fairly certain she didn’t have the money to fix that piece-of-shit car of hers right now. We had a history. She was going through a hard time. The least I could do was help her out with her car. We were friends once, after all. And that’s what friends do.

They say friendship breakups can be as tough as romantic breakups. I’m here to say, the ending of my friendship with Hayes Woodson was the greatest loss of my life—as far as a person who was still living. I’d grieved, and I’d hurt, and it had taken a long time to get over the betrayal.

yes, it was nice that he’d had my car fixed. The problem was, I didn’t want Hayes Woodson to do me any favors. That hadn’t been helpful to me in the past. And I’d learned that lesson the hard way.

I’d gotten a call from Warner letting me know she wasn’t happy that I’d had her car fixed and delivered to her. I figured as much. I just didn’t care. She needed a car to live out there by herself. She could be pissed if she wanted to. She wasn’t speaking to me anyway, so this wouldn’t really change anything.

There was a peace that came over me, knowing that Savannah was here. Home. My world had always been better with her in it. Maybe hers was worse with me in it.

Cutler moved forward, took her hand, and led her inside. Just like that. He walked her straight toward the family room, where the fire was blazing, and motioned for her to sit down. Which she did. This kid was everybody’s kryptonite.

“Let’s get you warmed up. How about some hot cocoa for our girl, Uncle Hayes?” Was he for real?

always so charming

my uncle does lots of medical stuff, too, just like my Sunny. She’s a doctor. Uncle Hayes has to take care of sick people, too. When I grow up, I want to be like all my uncles.”

he's so cute

“How come you seemed mad at Uncle Hayes when you got here? Did he do something to your car?” he asked, and I just sat back, enjoying the show. I’d let Cutler speak for me all day long. She didn’t seem to get as annoyed with him as she did with me.

Cutler’s head fell back in laughter after he set his bowl down on the coffee table. “I love that my uncle calls you Shortcake.” “I’m not even short. He just happens to be a freaking giant.” Savannah covered her mouth and stared at me with wide eyes. “Oh, wait, can I say freaking around him?” I barked out a laugh. “Yes. Freaking isn’t a bad word. Relax, Sav.” “I say freaking all the freaking time!” Cutler shouted, and they both burst out into hysterical laughter.

“Are you curious about my life now, Woody?” I’d always been honest with this girl. I wouldn’t start lying now. “Yeah. Of course, I am. Just because you moved away doesn’t mean I don’t care what happens to you.”

Savannah didn’t want my help, and she’d made that clear. What I couldn’t figure out was why I couldn’t just stay the fuck out of her business. That was my specialty. I didn’t get involved. I kept to myself. I liked it that way. But now that she was back in town, I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her. Maybe it was just our history or the shitty way things had ended. Maybe it was the fact that I’d missed my best friend. I’d definitely missed her.

“This ends here.” “What ends here?” I said, my breaths coming hard now because I was fuming. “This. This anger. I don’t know what the fuck I did to you, Sav. But you left me and cut me out of your life. So stop acting like I’m the enemy and let me drive you to your goddamn appointment.” He grabbed my purse, opened it up, and pulled out my phone. Of course, he didn’t ask first, because Hayes just did whatever the hell he wanted to do. He typed something into it and then turned the screen, holding it right in front of my face. “I have unblocked my number from your phone. Do not block me while you’re here. You roll into a ditch, you call me, and I’ll come. Do you understand?”

He cleared his throat, but it sounded like he was covering a chuckle, which made me laugh. I didn’t know how it was possible to know someone the way I knew this man and then find out you didn’t know him at all. Why was he so familiar? So easy? This connection was something that was just a part of us.

River was a smart fucking dude, and I knew he’d do what he could to help Savannah. Whether or not she believed me, she meant a lot to me. There were very few people that fell into that category, but she’d always been one of them. Even though her leaving hurt like hell, I’d still walk through fire for her.

Savannah had always enjoyed fixing broken things. Nothing about this surprised me. But she was too smart for her own damn good, and once she got people on their feet, she moved on. That’s what she’d done with me. But I hadn’t been standing on my own two feet at the time. I’d been at my lowest point.

She’d always been that girl who showed up for everyone. Until I needed her most. And I was fine with it, because needing people had never paid off for me. We’d been too close. I preferred keeping most people at a distance. Life was easier that way.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I hissed. “I’m talking about something that’s easy to believe. Two old friends who everyone in town knew were inseparable back in the day. They haven’t seen one another in years, and now Savvy’s back in town, and they reconnect. They pick up right where they left off. Things progress. A few weeks later, they realize they can’t live without one another, and they tie the knot.” “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, as a sarcastic laugh left my mouth. “I can barely get her to let me help her out of a snowbank. There’s no reconnecting going on here.” “Hey!” She whipped around to look at me. “You have shit taste in women. I’d be a freaking score for you. You should be so lucky to marry me, you grumpy bastard.”

you get to hear my whole messed-up story, but I get—nothing. Typical, Woody. You give nothing.” She may as well have slapped me across the face. I’d never shared half the shit that I’d shared with her with anyone else. It was our shtick. Sharing and confiding in the other. I’d trusted her.

There were little moments where she put her guard down and let me see her. Vulnerable moments that she didn’t want me to see. But when she did, it was so familiar that all I wanted to do was pull her onto my lap and wrap my arms around her and keep her here with me. My father had left me and my sister when we were young. My mother had failed us time and time again, as well. My fiancée had faked a pregnancy and fucked my coworker. And none of those losses compared to the loss of Savannah Abbott in my life.

“If I don’t get the job, then I don’t get the job.” “But then you’d be working for Lenny, which we both know won’t work. So what you’re not saying, that we all know to be true, is that you’ll leave. You won’t stay here and work for a man that you despise. I know it, and you know it. So play the fucking game,” River hissed. He was right. Working for Lenny would never be an option for me. One of us would be leaving that station, and that meant leaving Magnolia Falls. I was at peace with it. Saylor was with Kingston now, and she’d be fine if I left. I wouldn’t go far, and I could come home often to visit. Everyone would get over it.