“She’s my wife. She’ll come around. As soon as I can make her listen, she’ll forgive me. She always forgives me.” Pushing past him with a glare, I got into my truck, made a quick call to Wyatt to report the Tommy sighting, and took off to bring Willa breakfast at her mother’s farm.
During the drive I gained control of my temper. There was no sense in acting like an angry fool and scaring her. I didn’t need to tell her to watch out for Tommy with anger clouding the message. The news should be matter of fact and logical, even if my feelings about him being in town and wanting her back were the exact opposite of logical. When it came to Tommy Ferris, I felt like punching first and asking questions later. He spoke of her so possessively that I was sure I would get the chance—the bad side of me looked forward to it.
I parked next to my Bronco with a grin and got out to go find her. With a look around I remembered how beautiful it always was up here, and today was no different. Except for the vibrant lavender, everything was colored in shades of green, from the trees blanketing the mist covered mountains to the herb gardens across the way. My mother often visited this place to shop. Sometimes I drove her, and we always had to take a moment just to stare in awe at the sight. It was something straight out of a landscape painting.
My work boots crunched over the gravel as I passed through the parking lot to the whitewashed farm stand. It looked like a small stable with bushels of lavender lining the area beneath the huge windows on either side of the entrance beneath the overhang.
“Boys, come back here!” I quickly jumped back as two blond little boys raced out of the front door followed by Willa’s sister, Sadie. None of them were watching where they were going.
“Sorry. I’m so sorry,” she yelled over her shoulder as she raced after the boys up the road to what I assumed was the family house. The sign on the fence said, “private”.
With a hand on the door I paused to listen. “She’s wasting a whole day’s pay. I warned her about this very thing. She can’t afford to mess up like she’s so prone to doing, while working for someone as prominent as Bill Monroe. Our reputation in town is bad enough after your daddy left. And let’s not forget all the crap you’ve pulled in your lifetime, missy. Someone as gullible and easily led as Sadie should have never had children. Those boys are no sicker than I am, and they should be in school. Willa Faye, I want you to refill the lavender bushels from the stock out back. Then I want you take stock of the honey and rotate it this time as you fill the shelves. Don’t mess up like you did yesterday. I had to redo everything because you were too stupid to check the dates on the bottom of the jars. I don’t have that kind of time around here. Be careful this time, you hear?”
“Yes, Momma. I won’t mess up this time.” I hated the way her voice sounded. Resigned, accepting. I opened the door and stepped inside, determined to put a stop to it.
Her mother turned to me with a huge smile. “Welcome to Lavender Hills. Willa will be glad to help you. I’m on my way out to tend the bees. Bye, now.” She flitted around me before I could say anything. My mind battled with my heart. Should I say something? Or should I let it go for now. My mind said I should maybe let it go, while my heart demanded I address the situation.
“Everett! What are you doing out here?” A quick swipe under her eyes with her hand told me to address it. My heart won. I couldn’t let it go.
“Is that how she always talks to you?”
She shrugged. “I’m used to it. It’s no big deal and I need the money. I’m so close to being able to pay my attorney off, Everett. I’ll be free of everything after that. Then I can go back to just working for Aunt Genie and quit all the other stuff. Besides, she’s my mother and she’s never going to change. Unless I want to cut her out of my life, I need to learn to handle it, right?”
“Don’t let it set you back. Promise to quit if it gets too much and it’s okay to cut her out if she won’t make an effort to change.”
“I promise. I might cry about it, but I don’t let it sink in and stay like before. It’s her problem, not mine. I’m sad for her. Nothing is going to set me back. I have goals.” Her soft smile beckoned me to her.
My bootsteps fell heavy on the wooden floor as I walked toward her behind the cash register. “What goals?”
Twinkling blue eyes smiled into mine. “You mentioned something about a date awhile back. I’m ready to let the whole pizza delivery thing go, and I’m off from Genie’s tomorrow night. So…”
“Ah, does this mean we’re back to the wooing and I can take you to the Front Porch?” I grinned.
“If you still want to—”
“I want to. Don’t doubt that, sweetheart. Since I first saw you with Sabrina in Genie’s, I’ve wanted you. But, you’re more to me now. I don’t just want you. I need you.”
“I’ve missed you, Everett, so much. Being this busy is—”
“It’s what you needed to do, and I understand. But now—”
“I’m ready for more. And I think I have something to give.”
“You’ve always had something to give. You just know it now. You’ve found you.”
“I did. I’m right here,” she breathed.
“And you’re beautiful.” I brought my hand to the nape of her neck, to rest beneath her blond curls. Smiling at the way her neck arched and her lips parted, I dropped my head low to steal a kiss. Her eyes crinkled at the corners before drifting closed as she stepped out from behind the counter and into my body.
“More,” she whispered, hands sifting into my hair, tugging, demanding.
I kissed her hard, wanting to get us back to where we were before she started working so hard. Back to before I’d missed her, her body, the taste of her mouth on mine and the way she felt in my arms. The ache in my heart eased as she melted into me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Willa
“She bides her time, waiting to reclaim her power and her throne.”
Everett
Everett’s kiss lingered on my lips for hours after he left, leaving me in a dreamy love haze. The only thing to dim it was the idea of going to the Front Porch. Fancy and Willa did not mix. In other words, I had nothing to wear. And since shopping and Willa also did not mix, I shot a quick text to Sabrina asking to borrow something. She said, yes, along with expressing her excitement, and that settled that.
Hours drifted by as I rang up customers and tidied the farm stand while at the same time trying to tune out my mother’s harsh words whenever she popped in to check on things. Sadie was here as well, but she had her hands full with Flynn and Rider who pretended to be sick this morning in order to stay home from school.
Finally, the hour was nigh. Lunchtime meant I was off for the day. At least at this job. As the clock slowly drifted toward noon, I swept the farm stand and tried to push all the mean shit my mother said out of my head.
It meant nothing.
It couldn’t hurt me.
Except that it did and it would never stop as long as I kept in contact with her.
It was clear I couldn’t work for my mother anymore. I was so close to paying off my attorney, but this wasn’t worth it. Every day I left with Momma’s words ringing in my ears. The more I was around her the longer it took to let them go. Those two years of silence on the road taught me that I needed peace, quiet, and kindness. Working here was the opposite.
“Hey, Willa. I took Flynn and Rider to school, the little boogers. I can take over for you. Momma’s still out with the bees, probably yelling at them and criticizing their honey, as she does.”
“Sadie, how do you do it? How do you live with her and not lose your mind?”
“I have no other choice at the moment, unfortunately. I don’t get child support since I don’t know where my loser husband is to even serve him with papers. I’m married to a dead-beat, and I can’t even afford a divorce. I didn’t even know we were broke until the foreclosure sign went up in the front yard.” She plopped onto the wicker couch in the corner and stared at the wall.
“I’m so sorry,” I commiserated.
“I want to be like you, Willa,” she said.
I laughed, so hard that I had to flop down next to her. “That’s crazy,” I finally said.
“It’s not. You’re straightening out your life. One step at a time. I envy you. I’m a hot mess—living up here with Momma, trying to save up first and last month’s rent just to get into a shitty apartment in town. Bill Monroe pays well, but I have two growing boys so I’m stuck working here too. I can’t quit. I had to buy new shoes and jeans yesterday because they’ve already grown out of the stuff I got at the beginning of the school year.” Her head drifted back to lean against the wall.
“Is Momma mean to the boys?” I had to ask. Maybe I could keep coming around until Sadie was able to move out, to support her and the kids. That would fit in with my whole not-running-away thing. Plus, I loved my sister and I wanted her to be happy.
She shook her head and a tear slid down her cheek from beneath her closed eyes. “No,” she whispered. “She loves the boys. She’s great with them. It makes me—I’m jealous of my own kids, Willa.”
“I’m so sorry.” I let my head fall against her shoulder.
She gave my hand a squeeze. “It is what it is. I’ll be okay. I’m always okay, one way or another. This won’t last forever.”
“Well, I’m not going anywhere. I’m back for good and always here to talk.”
“Except right now, since it’s noon and you’re off.” With a grin, she stood up to go behind the counter. “Go home and take a nap. You look tired. Your dark circles have dark circles.”
“That’s a good idea. I’m out of the pizza delivery business, so I have time for a nap before Genie’s tonight.”
“If you have time, swing by Everett’s shop when school is out. Check out what’s going on over there with Gracie. Little miss has some secrets. The good kind for a change.” Sadie waggled her thumb and pinky near her ear for me to call her later.
“I’ve just added that to my list for the day. I’ll call you.”
As I drove home, the idea of taking a nap infiltrated my thoughts until it was the only thing left in my head. I had been working at least ninety hours a week lately and I was beyond exhausted. Everett’s house loomed in the distance up the road as my eyesight blurred around the edges. I was about to take a nap so hard. No more pizzas, no more lawn mowing, or old people grocery shopping. I was burnt out. From now on I would stick to my job at Genie’s, no more side gigs. My bed called to me and I could not wait to climb inside and shut my eyes.
With a frown, I maneuvered around a huge potted rose bush sitting smack dab in the middle of the driveway. Everett wouldn’t have left something in the way like that. I hopped out of his Bronco for a closer look. The tiny buds on the bush were white. My heart dropped to my stomach and I spun around to peer up and down the street. White roses—were these from Tommy? A card fluttered to the driveway as a light breeze kicked up. I bent to retrieve it.
I’m sorry.
Willa, I love you. Give me a chance to make it up to you.
Please call me.
Tommy
Balling the note up in my fist, I threw it toward the street with a low scream. Then I ran around to the side of the garage to wheel the huge green garbage tote down the driveway and with a grunting heave, I chucked the pot into the trash. With a huge sigh I stomped down to the street to collect the note and throw that away too, because litterbugs were the worst. Tommy was the worst. I hadn’t heard from him in so long that, stupidly, I’d thought he’d given up and moved on. This day had turned into the worst. Boo. Hiss.
A smile crossed my face once I realized I was more angry than scared. Sure, it was a rose bush and a stupid note I was handling, and not the actual Tommy. But I still counted it as progress. A call to the Sheriff Department was in order instead of a nap. I was too wound up for a nap now anyway, thanks to Tommy and his freaking roses
“Willa!” Dammit.
“Momma?” I spun away from my door to find my mother headed up the driveway. Her old Ford pick-up truck was idling on the curb. I guess she wasn’t planning on staying…
“I have something to tell you and I don’t have your number. Tommy was just up at the house, asking about you.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him to leave you be. That boy is trash, Willa. I tried so hard to get you to leave him alone back then. You have a restraining order, dontcha? Gracie told me you did. Do you want to come get one of your daddy’s old shotguns to use in case the sheriff department doesn’t arrive in time to get him?”
I collapsed to the porch, head in my hands. “Yeah, but I don’t want a shotgun. I have Gracie’s stun gun though.”
Momma sat next to me and patted my leg. “That will work, I guess. Do you want to come and stay with me? I’m not afraid to just shoot him,” she offered.
“No thanks. Everett installed an alarm system. And see the fence? He slides it closed and locks it at night, my front door is behind it. And I’m not convinced that he’d actually do anything to hurt me anyway. Maybe I just need to tell him to leave me alone. You know, be firm about it.”
Her eyes were full of doubt as she looked at me. “Maybe. Well, I’m leaving. Get in the house. I won’t leave until your door locks. Go on now, don’t sit outside on the porch like an idiot.”
I stood up to go inside, marveling at the fact that she was almost nice to me. But almost was not good enough. Not anymore. I hesitated before spinning away from the door. “Momma!” She turned at the sound of my voice.
“What is it?”
“I won’t be working at the farm anymore.”
An annoyed sigh huffed out as she rolled her eyes. “I didn’t expect you’d stick around for long anyway. Now, go on inside.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Gracie will stay here with me.”
“Fine. I can’t say I’m surprised. She’s a lot like you were back then—a pain in my behind. Now, go on inside so I can leave. I have work to do up at the farm.”
“Bye, Momma.” This was more than a see you later kind of goodbye. This was a forever kind of goodbye. She watched me go into the apartment. I heard her truck start not long after I turned the lock on the door.
My mother’s words were still ringing in my ears as I called Wyatt and told him about the roses. I’d made the right decision; she would never change, and it was best to just keep her out my life.
I took a quick shower, dressed in my Genie’s work clothes, and left. Being here by myself hurt, but the hurt was making me mad instead of making me want to run away. All this getting mad was making me hungry. I needed something gross from a drive through and a huge Diet Coke to help me process my feelings.
By the time I finally made it to Everett’s shop, the dice were rolling on the tables and Gracie was behind the counter flirting her ass off with Sabrina’s nephew, Weston. I backed out before they saw me and hopped in the Bronco, parked at the curb, to call Sadie.
“She likes Weston?” I hissed into the phone. I wanted to yell it, but I also didn’t want Gracie to hear.
“Yes!” Sadie shrieked into the phone. “Isn’t it awesome! He’s a good boy! Everyone in town always says it—Weston Adams is a good boy! One of us finally has a decent picker! I mean, you like Everett now, but not until after years of being with a total fucking dick. You had to learn the hard way like me and Clara. Momma too, for that matter. Gracie is breaking the cycle, Willa. No more high school heartache with sexy, asshole bad boys for the Hill women!”
Her enthusiasm was infectious. My mood improved, and a huge smile filled my face. “Maybe it’s all the therapy?”
“I don’t know! I just know I’m happy. It gives me hope, which is kind of sad, but I still feel it.”
“It’s not sad. I kind of want to be more like her,” I confessed.
“Girl, don’t we all. Shit, I have to go. The boys are fighting upstairs. Last time I left them unsupervised this long they had
a water balloon fight with a box of condoms they found in Clara’s old room. Boys—!” Her phone clattered to the floor, or a table. Either way, she was no longer there.
“Willa, come here.” Gracie had her head popped out of the shop’s doorway as she beckoned me inside. Hurrying out of the Bronco, I ran to the door. I spied Weston driving away in his Jeep, so I felt free to squee, and hug Gracie with obnoxious glee.
“Ew, Willa, stop it! Gracie doesn’t squee, okay?” She backed away, brushing off the front of her shirt as if I gave her squee cooties or something.
“Well, Willa does and she’s happy for you. Weston is a good boy!”
“God, you sound just like Sadie. She told you to come here and spy on me, didn’t she?”
I shrugged. “Maybe she did. So what?”
“Ugh, fine. Get it out of your system. Ask me one question.”
“Only one?”
Gracie shook her head at me in disappointment before a slow smile crossed her face. “Yes. Only one. Asked and answered. We’re moving on now.”
“Crap! Dammit. You tricked me!”
“Yeah, and it was sadly easy,” she teased.
“Whatever. Rudy McRuderson.”
“Move on, Willard. I already have. You should come inside. Everett will be here during his dinner break to balance the drawer and check on everything. Maybe you can make out with him in the corner.”
“Again, I say, whatever.” She turned around to laugh in my face, the little stinker. I decided to move on. “Do you like working here?” I asked as I followed her inside.
Carpentry and Cocktails: A Heartfelt Small Town Romance (Green Valley Library Book 5) Page 17