Read Online Winter Hopes (Seasons of Love) by Jennifer Gracen - Free Book Online

Wants to get together again.” In all the time Sam had known Hailey, he had told only two people about her and their ongoing arrangement. Both were sitting at the table with him.
    “What’s wrong with that?” John asked. “Hailey’s hot.”
    “I wasn’t sure if you still saw her,” Everett said. “You haven’t mentioned her in a long time.”
    “Yeah, once in a while we still meet up,” Sam said. He put his phone down on the table and rubbed his jaw forcefully. “I called her a few days after I got back from the weekend, after I met Lydia. I was all… pent up, shall we say. So I called Hailey, and we got together. Okay, fine. But then again a few days after that. Usually it’s once or twice a month, not once or twice a week . Now she’s asking if I want to get together again, and, well… it doesn’t feel right. Not when I’m talking to Lydia almost every night now… we’re really getting to know each other, I like her a lot, she’s starting to trust me, and I don’t feel… right… seeing Hailey now. I feel like I made a misstep the first time I called her, as it was. I was already into Lydia.”
    “So just tell her that,” Everett said. “Tell Hailey thanks but no thanks, I’m busy, talk to you soon. That’s all. The way you two are, it’s a no strings deal, so she’ll be fine.”
    Sam glanced at John, who was oddly quiet. “You don't agree. Go on. Say what you’re thinking.”
    John raised an eyebrow and ran his hands through his thinning blonde hair. “I don’t know if you should cut Hailey off just yet,” he said slowly. “I mean, I get that you like Lydia, and you’re trying to start something, but what if it doesn’t work out? Hailey is here, and available, and has never made any demands on you. It's been perfect. It’s not like she’s your girlfriend, and it’s not like Lydia is either. I just think you still might want to keep your options open. Don't get rid of her just yet.”
    Sam exhaled deeply, the air whooshing out of him. He rubbed his jaw in his typical gesture of apprehension. “I know, it just… wow, I admit it, it doesn’t feel right. It really doesn't.” He grabbed his bottle with a jerk of frustration and took another hard swig.
    “Alright, here—devil’s advocate,” Everett said, leaning in on his elbows. He fixed Sam with a penetrating gaze. “Turn it around. If you found out tomorrow that Lydia has been seeing another guy and didn’t tell you. Said she has no emotional attachment, no commitment, was just sleeping with someone and that's it. When you found out, would you think, ‘Hey, that’s fair, she had a life before she met me, I can’t say anything.’ Or would you be pissed off and bent because she hadn’t mentioned it? Would you be okay with her seeing someone else right now?”
    Sam’s expression grew contrite as he admitted, “I know what I should say—the first choice. But it’s not true. I’d be really bent. I’d hate it, actually. I’d feel played. And to think of her with someone else… no. Just no.”
    “Wow,” John marveled. “You’re in it deep, brother.”
    “I think you just answered your own question,” Everett said, leaning back in his chair.
    Sam nodded slowly. “Yeah. Thanks.”
    ***
    “You are just the sweetest little man ever!” Jane cooed, kneeling down in front of her nephew to kiss his cheek. “I love your costume, you look so great!”
    Andy smiled up at his aunt. “Yah yah.”
    “Turn around, hon, I’ll take a picture,” Tyler told his wife. Jane did as he said and coaxed Andy, “Smile at Uncle Tyler! Say cheese!”
    “Eeeeee,” Andy said, smiling widely.
    “Mooooom,” Sophie called from her room, “I can’t find my waaand!!”
    “Check the playroom,” Jane yelled back as she stood.
    Lydia came in with Ethan. “Costume nightmare averted. The wings are fixed.”
    Ethan, dressed as Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story , ran to his younger cousin. Andy was dressed as Woody, his counterpart. They