Death of a Wicked Witch. Lee Hollis
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be coming.
“I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I didn’t want to move ahead with anything until I had your blessing . . .”
Hayley didn’t respond. She was thoroughly confused. But then he just came out with it.
“I want to marry your daughter.”
The shock of his words caused Hayley to drop the leash and Leroy bolted ahead of them, the tags on his collar jangling in the night breeze.
“Leroy, get back here!” Hayley cried.
Leroy ignored her and kept running.
“Leroy!”
Finally, Leroy stopped and sniffed some grass on a lawn, allowing them to catch up to him and get a hold of the leash that he had been dragging along behind him.
“I take it you didn’t expect that,” Conner said with a wry smile.
“To be honest, no, I didn’t.”
“Do you think it’s too soon?”
Hayley shook her head, still stunned. “No... I...”
“I’ve already spoken with her father.”
“You called Danny?”
“Yes, to formerly ask for her hand in marriage.”
Hayley had not realized just how old-fashioned Conner was. Asking permission from both parents before proposing seemed like a throwback to another era.
“Luckily he got on board right away and granted me his permission. But he also strongly suggested I run it past you as well.”
“Wise advice,” Hayley said, chuckling.
They walked in silence for a few more seconds. Hayley’s mind was reeling. How could Gemma and Conner be on such different pages? How could he not on some level suspect Gemma’s general dissatisfaction with the relationship? How could one person be on the verge of ending it while the other one was on the verge of making it official?
Conner winced, his shoulder causing him some pain and discomfort. Then he scratched his chin nervously, furtively looking at Hayley, trying to judge her feelings about this major decision.
For Hayley’s part, she was just trying to stay calm and not do or say anything that would break her daughter’s confidence and upset the situation.
“So... ?” Conner finally asked.
Hayley thought long and hard before finally responding. “If Gemma wants to marry you, then you have my full support.”
Not exactly a glowing endorsement, but it would have to do in a pinch.
Conner breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Great. Now I just hope she says yes.”
Hayley tried giving him an encouraging smile, but it was hardly genuine since she was now full of dread. Gemma was going to be blindsided by a marriage proposal, and Hayley was now in the uncomfortable position of having to decide whether or not she should at least warn her daughter that one was coming her way at breakneck speed.
Chapter 11
“Bruce, are you awake?” Hayley whispered, poking her husband lightly on his bare arm. He was lying on his side, facing away from her in their bed.
Hayley waited a few seconds, and when she didn’t get an answer, she asked again, this time a bit louder. “Bruce, are you awake?”
Still no response.
Frustrated, she shook him and he snorted and tried rolling away from her. “Bruce!”
“What?” Bruce mumbled into his pillow.
“Are you awake?”
Bruce sighed, turned over, and yawned. “Uh, yeah, I am now. What time is it?”
“A little after two,” Hayley said, glancing at the digital clock on her nightstand.
“Does the dog have to go out?”
“No, I took care of that earlier when I got home from the hospital, but that’s what I want to talk to you about. I’ve been sitting here, wide-awake, thinking and worrying about what I should do.”
“About the dog?”
“No! Conner! He told me he is going to ask Gemma to marry him!”
This finally stirred some interest in Bruce. He rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed. “Oh... damn...”
“Gemma told me shortly after she got here that she is thinking of breaking up with him, but he is completely oblivious to her true feelings because the poor guy just told me he is on the verge of proposing!”
“I’ll say,” Bruce said. “Are you going to give her a heads-up?”
“I don’t know, that’s what I’ve been up all night trying to decide. What do you think?”
Bruce leaned back on the headboard, scratched his chest hair, mulled it over for a few seconds, and then said matter-of-factly, “I think you should stay out of it. Good night.” And then he dropped back down on his side and yanked the covers over his head.
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