Hayden barely knew her aunt Dee. When big shot lawyer Warren Williams called to say she had been left an inheritance Hayden thought it would be a piece of jewelry or a small sum of cash. Nothing prepared her for owning and running a beach resort...
Hayden watched Austin as he navigated the roads while talking on the phone. He was all business, straight back, voice an octave lower than normal and a crinkle appeared at he top of his brow.
She felt a fluttering in her gut like she imagined she would feel if she were going to jump from a plane. It was scary and exciting and she liked seeing him in action. For the moment he seemed unaware that anything else existed and it was a bit of a rush to be so close to the action and not have any of it on her shoulders.
They pulled up to a flat square house made out of old shipping boxes. Hayden was fascinated with how it was constructed. She'd read articles on this, upcycling materials and saving the environment - they used materials designated for landfills and made them beautiful and useful places for people who weren't afraid to be original.
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She was just about to turn to Austin and ask him about the construction when he fled from the car and started grabbing bags out of the trunk.
Hayden quickly stepped in line behind him rushing toward the house when the front door opened and out stepped a woman wringing her hands and waving them in. Austin handed Hayden a bag and she kept up the pace while throwing it over her shoulder.
"Tad is in the back with Supper. Follow the sound."
Austin rushed through the house and Hayden slowed her steps involuntarily finally tuning in to the reality of what was going on. Screaming pierced through the hallway and when Hayden finally got to the room where it sounded like torture was happening, a giant pig lay in the middle of the floor in a pile of blankets with a hipster type man kneeling beside it trying to hold the back legs up. When he saw Austin his face turned from tortured to relief and he quickly dropped the pigs legs and stepped back.
Austin got to work throwing on an apron and gloves and talking to the pig in a sweet woo thing voice.
"Hey girl, hey there Supper. Looks like it's go time girl. You ready to be a momma?"
Hayden swooned as he rubbed little circles around her ears with one hand as the other started poking and prodding. Before Hayden knew what was happening he had one of his hands up inside the pig which temporarily stopped the screaming of the pig but started Hayden's internal screaming simultaneously.
"Hayden. Bring me the bag on your shoulder. I need you to unroll the instruments and hand me what I need. Tad, you're going to have to hold up the legs. The first piglet is sideways and it's blocking the canal. We've gotta move quickly and change the position."
Hayden went into work mode and before long Austin brought out a wiggling blood covered piglet and she was rubbing it with towels and placing it in a basket.
It took almost an hour and all eight piglets were squirming and screeching while Austin sutured up the pig. Hayden held the first piglet again, it wiggled and rooted close to her looking for warmth and food. She found she self both laughing and crying at the same time.
An hour after that all four of them were sitting on the deck eating a pizza reliving the moments of Supper's ability to give birth and get right into the groove of feeding and caring for her piglets without missing a beat.
Hayden looked at Austin laughing and eating a piece of pizza like nothing world changing had occurred. He was relaxed and laughing and Hayden was sure he was blushing as Tad and Meg gushed about him saving their family.
After the pizza Hayden found herself yawning and Austin quickly grabbed her hand. "Not quite the date you imagined, or I planned. I'm sorry. Again."
Hayden couldn't contain her smile. "It was eye opening. And I can honestly say I've ever seen anything like that before. I can't believe it's just a normal day on the job for you."
Austin laughed as he clunked his beer back down on the table. "There's no such thing as normal. Just like you, I jump in, do my best, and hope things come together."
To Hayden it was a lightbulb. Austin wasn't in control of the universe any more than she was. It was freeing and Hayden felt herself relax and start to just enjoy the company. When Tad and Meg went in to do a "baby check" Austin put his arm around Hayden and kissed her softly on the cheek.
"What was that for?" She asked.
"It just felt right. You and me tackling pig babies and eating pizza under the stars. There's only own thing that could make it better!"
Hayden was afraid to ask the question of what that was. With his arm draped heavy around her shoulders, and his breath was warm on her cheek, it was a perfect moment. She didn't want to fall into the trap of wondering what she felt or what he felt. She just wanted things to stay the way they were, light hearted and uncomplicated.
When they crawled back into the car happy that all the piglets were healthy and happy Hayden couldn't believe how tired she was. The road and it's bumps lulled her and she found her eyes closing no matter how hard she worked to keep them open. It had been s stressful day between the interviews and the worry over Angie and the new hire.
The next thing Hayden knew Austin was standing beside her car seat giving her shoulders a shake. She jumped up and got out of the car and he wrapped her in an embrace.
"I didn't think you wanted to come over, from the looks of it you've had a long day. Get some sleep. Tomorrow we can go down to the south side and help birth some goats!"
Hayden opened her mouth to protest and Austin leaned forward and kissed her. Her exhausted body felt a jolt and immediately she felt herself leaning forward like a moth to the flame.
Austin backed up after a moment leaving her breathless and with knees that felt weak. It felt amazing to be admired, and kissed and she brushed her stray hair behind her ear whispering "would you like to come up?"
Immediately after the words left her mouth she cringed, wishing she could reel them back in. It wasn't a date! He wasn't her boyfriend. And she was supposed to be getting herself together.
Austin watched her with an amused expression. "Go to bed Hayden. It's late. But for the record, yes. I'd very much like to come up, when you can say it without immediately looking like you stepped on a land mine."
Without waiting for a response he walked back to the drivers side and got into the car. Hayden thought about tapping on the window and delivering a witty comeback but nothing came to mind. Instead, she turned around and headed into the resort.
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Sorry for the quick chapter. I wanted to get this out before Christmas and since I haven't started shopping tomorrow may be busy!!
Elvis released "Number Eight" in 1959. It wasn't a hugely popular song and is a bit cheeky, but it matched the number of piglets!
