Love, Inherited

Ch. 33 - "Happy Ending"

The house was warm inside, not pretentious despite the large open rooms and windows facing the water that opened to the side to allow the warm salted breeze to flow through. Hayden imagined filling it with furniture mismatched and colorful all looking out of place and perfect at the same time.

The kitchen was light and spacious and would no doubt be her favorite room in the house, it was designed as the center, and for Hayden that was exactly the way a kitchen should be, cooking would be family time as much as eating. She saw children at the counters on stools, cleaning veggies and snapping sweet peas. It was such a strong and captivating moment that she trembled.

She wasn't ready for children, but when she was, this was where she wanted them crawling around. This perfect open space with breezes and sunshine. Spending mornings in sand and learning the wonders of the ocean. Tears slipped from her eyes as Warren rambled on about the houses history and highlights.

"You're crying?  You hate it! Hayden I'm sorry, I never imagined you couldn't like this. We can find something else. Something smaller. Or live at the resort."

He wrapped his arms around her and she quickly pulled away.

"I helped Austin with pig births."  It wasn't at all what she intended to say but it flew out of her mouth anyway. Warren's brows slowly knit together and his mouth crinkled as he tried to understand.

"It's not that, I mean, it is that, but it isn't. I went to his house and had dinner. I also went out to a volleyball game with him, but that was accidental. What I'm failing at saying is that I spent time with Austin while you were gone. Like dates. And we kissed."

Hayden hung her head in shame. Warren was off tying to make his life fit around hers and she had been selfish and deceitful and like the rest of her life she had been impulsive and created the perfect scenario for an implosion.

Warren put his hand behind his neck and rubbed. He lifted her chin and stared into her eyes. "Hayden. I'm not sure what you're saying here. Are you saying you want to date Austin?"

She couldn't believe he wasn't getting it. She had been so blunt!  Maybe he was torturing her making her say it again.   She deserved it, no doubt. Breaking his heart shouldn't be easy.

"I'm saying I dated him, you were gone, he asked and I said yes. And we went on dates. He's a perfect gentleman and a really nice guy and I enjoyed it. I don't want to be with him though. I want you. Here, or in a shack, or in the resort, it's you. But you need to know that he and I went out. And kissed. We kissed, and I'm so sorry."

Warren wiped the river of tears with his palms and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Sometimes I forget how young you are Hayden. We weren't married. I don't believe in paying for the past. The only thing I need to be sure about is now, and tomorrow. If you have feelings for him tell me now."

Hayden didn't have to thing. "I do like Austin, he's a great guy and will make someone very happy, but not me, I love you." 

A million words were dammed up inside her and churning around, but Warren put his lips to hers and none of them mattered. It was a fairy tale moment, the kind Hayden didn't believe existed. She was waiting for the bomb to drop, that's how things worked.

"That's it?  No fight?  No long period of freaking out and tying to decide if you can handle it?  This isn't how it usually happens in books and the movies!" 

Warren laughed and grabbed her hand walking her to the big window.

"I'm not a millennial Hayden. Or a Prince Charming. I'm just a lawyer turned resort manager who just happen to find the girl of his dreams and wants to be happy. Is that enough for you?  Keep in mind, there will be no pig births with me. Just plain old life."

She twisted the crank and deeply inhaled the smell of the sand and water.

"It's more than enough. It's more than I could have imagined. I love you Warren, and you are a Prince Charming, the very one I've been waiting for."

As they got back into the car heading for the rest of the workday at the resort, she glanced at Austin's house. Somehow, she knew he would be alright with it. It might sting, but the fear of talking to him had vanished. She could be kind, and thankful and with no doubt in her mind whatsoever about spending her life with Warren, it would be an amazing life.

Somehow the resort looked brighter as they pulled up, the sun shone and the tacky shining paint glared like a spotlight. Tye was outside helping a carful of college kids with bags and giving them the excitement he brought to everything.

Warren held her hand as they walked hand in hand to the office, where Angie, Star, and Mike were waiting with a bottle of champagne. Star squealed and attacked the couple with hugs and everyone looked like they'd just won the lotto as Warren draped his arm around her.

Angie lifted her glass and made a toast. "To Hayden and Warren for finding love in a crazy way. To the Sand Dollar resort, may we all stay sane and make it all it can be, to family, which is always best when it's picked."

Before they could put the glass to their lips Hayden added to the speech. "To Dee, who gave me everything a girl could ever want, the love of a family, the love of my life, and the best damn resort on the strip, and to Elvis, who inspired it all!"

They drank the champagne and started spouting plans of weddings. Even Mike couldn't help throwing in his opinion about the best place to get married on the island.

Hayden held up her hand to squash the conversation. She already knew the best place on the island.

"This wedding will be a location wedding, and it will be here. On the beach, with all of you, my family. I don't think there was ever a question, was there Warren?"

He kissed her forehead and smiled. "Not in my mind!"

Hayden took her chair at the desk and looked around the room. She couldn't imagine ever having a more perfect day. The clock said 11:30, only a few hours into the day and her whole life had changed.   It was amazing how much Dee had changed her life, and what a life it was!

#############################
And they lived happily ever after. Right?  Yep. Exactly!! I'll miss this little rag tag crew so much.  There's no denying chick lit isn't my favorite genre to write and I know that there are probably a million things I should have or could have done. But thank you all so much for the love you showed these characters!  They truly inspired me, just like you do.

Happy Ending was released by Elvis in 1963.  And there's really no better feeling in the world when one happens.  The video above is bound to make you feel it, that perfect happy ending!