Chapter Fifteen

Haley smiled in amusement as Brooke checked the time again. She groaned in frustration as her friend looked at her. "Brooke, you need to relax. I don't know why you're so nervous. I thought you aren't close with Rachel."

"I'm not, but she always brings drama with her," Brooke said as she sat down next to her. "And I don't want that bitch to ruin my wedding."

"Nobody is going to ruin your wedding," Haley assured her. "Or your bachelorette party. I'm an expert in dealing with stepfamilies. So if she causes trouble, I will have no problem kicking her out of your party."

"I don't know. Rachel can kick ass if she wants to," Peyton said, coming into the room. Millie and Quinn were right behind her. They all had glasses in their hands. "She certainly has proved it in high school. She and Brooke almost ruined a basketball game because of their fighting."

"Hey, we weren't the only ones fighting," Brooke defended as she took a sip of her drink. "Lucas and Nathan were fighting too. Coach Whitey was not happy. That was one crazy night. What about you, Haley? Do you have any crazy high school stories?"

Haley laughed nervously. "Oh, you don't want to hear about me. This is your night," she said. "It should be all about you."

Brooke's voice was gentle. "I know, but I feel like I barely know you," she said. "I know you don't want to talk about Deb, but there must have been some good memories in there."

Quinn tried not to smile. "I don't think you'll get any wild stories out of her. Even after Deb was out of the picture, Haley was pretty much of a good girl. She never was willing to take chances like Taylor."

Haley was about to respond when they heard the front door open. Both Brooke and Haley got up from the sofa as Karen and Deb arrived with Rachel. Rachel immediately approached Brooke and Brooke gave her a fake smile. Rachel returned with a fake smile of her own. "Brooke, it's so good to see you. It was so nice of you to invite me to your wedding. Richard and my mom wished they could be here, but they are in the Bahamas this weekend. They're planning to send their wedding gift as soon as they get back."

"It's okay. I understand," Brooke said. Haley could hear her trying to hide her disappointment. "I'm glad you were able to come." She introduced her guests to Rachel. "You know Peyton. And this is Millie. And this is Haley. And Haley's sister Quinn is going to be our wedding photographer."

"It's nice to meet both of you," Rachel said as she extended out her hand. Haley shook it as Brooke noticed there wasn't any luggage with her. Rachel knew what she was thinking. "Did you really think I was going to stay here? No, Cooper and I are staying in a hotel in Wilmington."

"Cooper?" Brooke asked.

Rachel just smiled in amusement. "My husband. Boy, you have been out of the loop," she said showing off her ring. "Where have you been? That's right. You were still trying to chase after Lucas when he was still with Peyton."

Brooke gave her a glare as Karen stepped in. She came in between Rachel and Brooke, doing her best to calm the situation down. "Ok. I'm sure you must be starving. Let's go in the kitchen and get you something to eat."

"Thank you. I am a little famished," Rachel said before she followed Karen into the kitchen.

Everyone watched as Brooke started sipping her wine. "I really hate her."

Haley knew it was time to change the subject. She knew what would grab her attention. "Actually, I do have a story. Once I decided to take off, I ran into Chris Keller and I went on tour with him for a little while."

Everyone looked at her surprised. Not even Millie and Peyton knew that she rode with Chris Keller on his tour bus. Brooke managed to find her voice. "Not the Chris Keller, the musician? Oh my god! What was he like?"

Haley wished that wasn't the first question she asked. "He was an interesting character. He likes to talk about himself in the third person. It was fun to see what it was like being on tour as a singer, but it wasn't the life I wanted to live. I wanted to go to California. When we ended in Savannah, Georgia, Chris was gracious enough to buy my one-way ticket to Los Angeles. It was tough, but I made a few new friends who were willing to help me out until I was able to get on my feet."

"You're braver than I am," Quinn said. "I don't think I can start over in a city where I don't know anybody."

"It wasn't easy, but I was able to take care of myself," Haley assured her as Karen and Rachel returned into the room.

"Did you know Karen and I have something in common? We're both in the restaurant business," Rachel said.

Brooke raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You own a restaurant?"

"Yes. Several. In fact, Cooper and I are planning to open a little café right here in Tree Hill," Rachel said. "In fact, it's right across from Karen's Café."

Brooke glared at her. "Seriously? You're going to open a café right across from Karen's Café? You can't do that!"

Rachel just shrugged as she took a sip from her glass of wine. "Why not? There's nothing wrong with a little competition." She looked at the rest of the guests. "If any of you are looking for a job, I'm hiring."

"We're all happy where we are," Brooke said before anyone could answer. Nobody argued with her. Her friends didn't want to get in the middle of this argument anyway. "Why don't we get this party started?"

Rachel tried not to laugh as she looked around at the small group. "You're kidding, right? This is your guest list?"

Haley couldn't believe how rude Rachel was being. She was glad when Brooke spoke up. "If you don't like it, you can always leave," she hissed. "Who were you expecting me to invite?"

Rachel shrugged. "You always did throw the best parties back in high school."

Brooke narrowed her eyes. "Actually, I think that was more you than me. In fact, I remember you throwing a house party the first weekend my dad and Virginia took off. And it was so loud that the neighbors complained and called the police."

Rachel decided to play her game. "Oh, you want to swap stories? What about the time you were cheating in math and you snuck into the school to get the answers? And then you got caught and made up the excuse that you were joining the Clean Teens?"

"Clean Teens?" Haley managed not to laugh. She had never head of that school club. Then again, it had been awhile since she had left high school.

"It's a club for teens who promised celibacy until marriage or something like that," Peyton explained distractedly.

Before Rachel and Brooke could argue some more, Karen spoke up again. She had a wide smile on her face. "But why don't we focus on happy memories? Brooke, I still remember the first time you came in the café. You were with Lucas and you had the biggest smile on your face. I have to admit that I wasn't sure about you and Lucas dating at first. I didn't think you were right for Lucas. I'm so glad to see I was proven wrong. And I can't wait to have you as my daughter-in-law."

Brooke embraced her in a tight hug. "Thanks Karen."

There was a flash as Quinn snapped their photo. She took another picture of them. This time, they were smiling at the camera. "Let's get a picture of all of you together," she suggested. The only one who didn't make a move was Rachel, who was now staring at her phone.

Rachel looked up from her phone for a moment. She pretended to give them an apologetic look. "You know, this has been fun and all, but I have to go. I have some business to take care of. I'll see myself out. Good night. See you tomorrow."

They all politely said good night as Rachel left the foyer. Brooke let out a relieved sigh. The energy was now better and everyone felt like they could relax and enjoy the party again. However, Haley noticed Peyton had now disappeared.

She found her in the kitchen at the sink. However, Peyton wasn't putting anything in the sink. Instead, she was staring out the window. Haley could see she was deep in thought. "Peyton, is everything okay?"

Peyton shook her head as she turned towards her friend. There was more silence before she spoke. "I think they're here."

"Who?" Haley asked, trying to understand her.

"The power couple that we're trying to get away from," Peyton replied in a whisper. She didn't want anybody else to hear them. "I think they're Rachel and her husband Cooper." Haley was about to respond when Peyton didn't let her answer. "I know it sounds crazy, but just think about it. Who else would have experience to start up a café than a couple who already had several businesses up and running?"

Haley considered the thought. Her eyes went wide as she realized she was right. She did her best to keep her voice soft. "Oh my god! Ok, let's not panic until we know for sure. I refuse to let anything ruin Lucas's and Brooke's wedding tomorrow."

"If we don't tell anybody, there might not be a wedding tomorrow," Peyton said.

They stopped their conversation as Deb came into the kitchen. She had a concerned look on her face. "Is everything okay in here?" she asked them.

"What do you know about Rachel?" Haley asked.

Deb shrugged. "I don't know anything more than you do. I came in after she left Tree Hill. I do know she's not an easy person to get along with. She gave that impression when Karen and I picked her up at the airport. Both she and her husband were a little arrogant. I'm glad he went in the rental car. Because I'm not sure we would have been able to tolerate both of them. Why do you ask?"

"We just wanted to make sure there wasn't going to be any drama between her and the Scott family," Haley replied. That was partly the truth. "Especially since it's clear she still doesn't get along with Brooke."

Deb nodded understandingly. "Oh I see. Well, I'm sure there won't be anything to worry about. Nothing is going to spoil Lucas's and Brooke's big day. I've made sure of it." She gave Haley a wink and Haley let out a relieved sigh. Deb disappeared back into the living room.

Peyton looked at her friend suspiciously. "What did she mean by that? Did you tell her what was going on?"

There was silence before Haley answered. "No, I just wanted her to teach me how to shoot a gun," she said and Peyton looked at her flabbergasted. "If we're going to go up against the Big Bad Wolf, I don't want to walk in unprepared."

Peyton let out a heavy sigh. "Maybe it's time we bring Lucas and Nathan into this. They can handle this a lot better than we can." Haley was about to protest when Peyton stopped her. "Haley, there's a strong possibility that it is Rachel and her husband. And that means they are in our backyard. I may know Rachel from high school, but this may be a completely different Rachel. One that won't go back to L.A. without you."

Haley stopped her with pleading eyes. "I know, but I don't want to tell Nathan until it's confirmed. If they are truly the ones who are after us, then we'll let Nathan and Lucas handle it, okay?"

Peyton didn't answer, but she nodded her head. "Okay."

As soon as they headed back into the living room, Haley could hear her phone vibrating in her purse. She excused herself and returned back into the kitchen, hoping it wasn't anything with Nathan or her father. She frowned when she saw it was an unrecognizable number. The area code wasn't from California, but it was from New York.

Her heart thumped as she realized who might be calling her. Could it be? She put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

A familiar, but angry voice was on the other end. "Why the hell did you hire a private investigator to come and find me?"