“We’ll leave the windows open until some of this hot air blows out, then I’ll turn on the air conditioner. It’s not really practical for a jeep to have an air conditioner, but I was spoiled.” Hailey smiled down into the face that was looking up at her adoringly.
“I think it’s terrific, but why did you get a jeep?” Faith asked with the unrestrained curiosity of a child.
Hailey laughed. “You’ll see why on the way home.”
Gatlinburg was a small tourist town dedicated to preserving its quaintness, and the streets were narrow and congested with traffic. She avoided Parkway, which was the main thoroughfare through the center of town, and took the road that ran beside the fast flowing Little Pigeon River. She turned right onto one of the roads leading up the side of the mountain. The jeep took the intricate twists and turns of the winding road with ease. Hailey was disgruntled to see that the large, powerful Lincoln, which had actually beaten them to the exit gate of the parking lot, did almost as well.
Her duplex was literally perched on the side of the mountain. Faith scrambled out of the jeep when Hailey pulled it to a stop on her small expanse of driveway. “Be careful,” Hailey cautioned as she followed at a more sedate pace. She didn’t even look to see if Tyler was behind them. She assumed correctly that he was.
“I will. Oh, gee, this is super. Which part do you live in?”
“The upper story.”
“Is anyone in the lower one?”
“Not now, no.”
The structure was a study of wood shingles, glass, and odd angles. The roof was drastically pitched. Redwood decking provided Hailey with a front porch that seemed suspended in midair with no visible means of support. It provided a spectacular view of Gatlinburg nestled in the floor of the valley far below.
She unlocked the front door, and Faith dashed uninhibitedly inside. Hailey bent down to pick up the evening paper lying near the front door.
“Very nice.” The voice was low, intimate, and stirring.
She straightened and turned around to face Tyler. He wasn’t looking at the view, or even her house. He had been looking at her as she bent over to retrieve her paper. “Thank you,” she said with barely contained anger.
“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”
“Disgusted is a more appropriate word.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t think even a man like you would use his own daughter for procurement.”
The insult did what she hoped it would. It destroyed the insolent triumphant expression on his tanned face and changed it to one of anger. Before he had a chance to either defend himself or counterattack, Faith demanded from the doorway, “Aren?
??t you two coming in?”
“Right now!” Hailey said with false gaiety, whirling so that her skirt swung out saucily. “Make yourself at home, Mr. Scott. There are cold drinks in the refrigerator for you and Faith.”
“I’d rather come with you,” Faith said. She had already peeked into Hailey’s bedroom and apparently found it completely intriguing.
“Okay, you can pick out something for me to wear.”
“Really?” Faith asked before charging toward the bedroom.
By the time Hailey got to the room, Faith was already rifling through the contents of her closet. “This,” she said, taking out a sundress that still had the price tag hanging from it.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Hailey demurred. She had bought the dress on impulse at the beginning of the summer and had yet to wear it. The right occasion had never arisen, and the dress showed more skin than she usually felt comfortable displaying. Ellen had begged her for the dress, but she had refused to give it to her. Why, she didn’t know. For some reason having such a dress in her closet made it seem possible that something exciting might happen in her otherwise dreary life.
“It’s beautiful,” Faith said.
“Chic” was a more suitable adjective than beautiful. Made of denim and trimmed in white eyelet lace, its dropped waistline permitted the full skirt to flare at just the right spot on the hips. A border of eyelet petticoat peeked from beneath a deep ruffle on the bottom of the midcalf-length skirt. The bodice was fitted tightly, and since it was held up only by spaghetti-thin straps, it required either a strapless bra or none at all. Hailey didn’t have a strapless bra.
“Well …”
“Come on, Hailey. Please wear it.”
Fearing that she would hurt Faith’s feelings if she didn’t, she conceded. It was silly not to wear it, after all. The season was almost over, and if she didn’t wear it now, she might not get a chance. Next summer, it would probably be out of style. Even though it was bare and she wouldn’t be wearing all that much underneath it, she wasn’t wearing it to enchant Mr. Scott, she told herself. If he misinterpreted her motives, he’d find out just how wrong he was.