Page 233 of The Way I Hate Him
Celebrate the triumphs.
And above all else, know that you are the most genuine, loving, intelligent human I know. You will do great things in this life, Hattie.
I have to believe her, because she knew me like no one else in this world. So I’m going to trust in those words.I was her rock. Her person.
And I’m going to do great things in this life.
Ryland’s truck pulls in front of the house, and the minute I notice he’s not alone, I feel all the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention.
“What the hell is he doing?” I whisper just as Hayes steps out of the car.
“Oh dear God,” Maggie says. “It’s so hard to hate him when he looks like that.”
“Maggie,” I whisper yell at her.
“What?” she shrugs as if she didn’t say the wrong thing. “It’s true.”
“Hey, Hattie,” Hayes says, stepping up on the porch, his hands classically stuffed in his pockets. It’s his signature position. “Think we could talk?”
I glance over at Ryland, who gently nods his head. What did my brother do?
“Uh . . . sure,” I say.
Hayes nods toward the potato fields. “Come take a walk with me.”
I stand from my chair and then look down at my feet. “I need shoes.”
“I can wait.”
“Okay, yeah,” I say while robotically turning and heading toward the house. Thankfully, Maggie follows me inside.
We huddle toward the side where my shoes are located, and I whisper, “What the hell is he doing here?”
Whispering back, she says, “I think he’s here to confess his undying love for you.”
“You don’t know that,” I say as I pick up a shoe, but Maggie swipes it from my hand and gets down on her knees to put it on for me. “I can put my shoe on.”
She shakes her head. “Not in this sort of distress. And why else would he be here?”
“I don’t know,” I say as I slip my foot in, and she ties it. “To fire me . . . we never really finalized job things. And I haven’t reported to work in a while, so it could be a firing.”
Maggie pauses and raises her brow at me in disagreement. “Please, would your brother bring Hayes here so he could fire you?”
“Maybe . . .”
She swats at my leg. “Stop it. You know he wants to tell you sorry and that he loves you.”
“What if he does? What if he says he wants me back? What do I say?”
She slips on my other shoe. “You have two choices. You can either kick him in the crotch and leave him in the potato fields, seeking vengeance for the way he hurt you. Or you could listen, understand, and give him another try.” She stands after tying my shoe. “Kicking him in the crotch is a gut reaction to seek temporary satisfaction, but I think that forgiving him is a way to guarantee an amazing life. If he’s your person, and he’s come to make sure you end up together, take it. If you trust him, leap.”
When I glance to the side, unsure, she grips my shoulders and forces me to look at her.
“You want him. Be happy. You have everything lining up. You have the shop, you have the closure, now get the guy.”
I nibble on the corner of my lip as I wince. “I really love him.”
“Then let him grovel to get you back.” She kisses my cheek and then slaps me on the ass. “Go get him.”
