It had taken months for Matthew to rebuild his frayed relationship with his daughter, the hurt he'd felt at her betrayal long lasting and not easy to forget. Sasha had insisted on giving him time alone with Hayley the first few times they had seen each other, not wanting to push the girl too hard. Gradually, the ice had begun to thaw between father and daughter, to a point where Matthew had felt comfortable enough to include Sasha in their outings.
Sasha had been surprised at the changes in Hayley from the last time they'd met. Hayley had actually been polite, and responded to Sasha's attempts at conversation. The two women still had a ways to go before Sasha would term their relationship friendly, but the hostility and rudeness Hayley had always demonstrated in the past was no longer an issue.
Of course, part of the reason for her change in attitude could be credited to Katya. At Christmas dinner - the first big event that Matthew and Sasha had hosted in their new home in San Francisco - Katya hadn't bothered to hide her displeasure with Hayley's bouts of moodiness and continued obsession with texting and emailing. Katya's admittedly short fuse had reached the end of its rope, and she'd rather loudly reprimanded Hayley right at the dinner table. And while Hayley had been visibly startled at the rebuke, she had rather meekly put her phone aside for the rest of the evening.
Katya had taken Hayley under her wing after that, and it seemed that her particular brand of tough love was exactly what the moody teen needed. By the end of the holiday week, Katya had Hayley enthralled with stories about all the celebrities she'd met on Beyond Ballroom over the years, and Hayley had begged Sasha to take her along the next time she visited Katya in L.A. And while Sasha still considered her relationship with Hayley to be a work in progress, it continued to improve on a regular basis.
It had helped, of course, when Sasha had urged Matthew to take his daughter on a tour of college campuses during Spring Break, insisting that the two of them needed some alone time. And when they had moved into the charming Queen Anne Victorian home a scant three blocks from the Gregsons' place, Sasha had encouraged Hayley to pick out the décor and furnishings for the bedroom that would be hers whenever she visited. It had been particularly important to Sasha that Hayley considered the new house her home, especially since Lindsey had already declared her intention to sell the Hillsborough mansion once Hayley went off to college. According to Hayley, her mother then planned to move somewhere "more exciting", like Los Angeles or New York. Matthew had muttered "good riddance" under his breath at learning the news, though he had long ago cut off any contact with his ex-wife.
Sasha loved their place in San Francisco, even though it was very different than the rustic beach house here in Kauai. The Victorian in the city's Pacific Heights neighborhood featured numerous windows that let in a ton of natural light, original hardwood floors, beautifully detailed crown molding, and the house felt cozy and charming despite its three levels and numerous rooms. The house in the city had also felt like home the instant she'd walked across the threshold, and she'd known immediately that this was the place for them.
Casey was thriving at his new school, had made lots of new friends, and had just wrapped up a very successful baseball season. He was over the moon at the idea of spending almost the entire summer here in Kauai, and had already persuaded Matthew to let him take surfing lessons. Hayley would be joining them at some point during the summer, along with Matthew's parents and siblings for a week or two at a time.
One of the main selling features of the beach house had been the two separate guest cottages on the property. Owning a vacation home in one of the most beautiful places on earth had quickly made Matthew and Sasha extremely popular with their family and friends, and they were expecting visitors almost every week this summer – Chad and Julio, Serge and Morgana, Elena and her two sons, in addition to Matthew's family members. Sasha just hoped that her parents wouldn't end up trashing the cottage they were occupying for the next ten days if they started fighting with each other as they so often did.
"Speaking of guests," drawled Matthew. "Things have been pretty quiet with your folks so far. Then again, I might have removed most of the breakable items in their cottage."
She laughed softly. "That's never stopped my mother before. If she's angry enough at my father she'll throw most anything in reach at him - an apple, her shoe, a book. But you're right - so far, so good. I think it would be hard to get upset about anything in a place as beautiful and peaceful as this. My mother seems as relaxed as I've ever seen her, while my dad is either swimming or drinking, just like I predicted."