“You’re not just putting on a brave face? You don’t have to pretend with me.”
“I’m really okay. And I love you for making sure. I just love you, Everett.” The bucket fell to the driveway as he yanked me into his arms.
“I love you too, Willa,” his deep voice sounded in my ear as he kissed a hot trail down my neck and back up. “I waited a long time to say your name like this.” Pulling me closer, he took my mouth in a hot kiss. He turned to back us up into the garage where he pressed me up against the wall, grinding himself against me. I breathed him in and let some of the anger out. Everett consumed me in the best way. With one arm he caged me against the wall, pulling back with a sexy, lip biting man pout as he caught my gaze and held it.
“We should stop before we get carried away,” I whispered. “We’ll be late to open the shop. Everyone will be waiting for us.”
He shook his head and kissed me again, groaning against my lips in protest. “It’s hard to let you go, sweetness.”
“You never have to let me go,” I promised, sliding out of his arms to pick up the bucket.
“My mother is here,” Everett said with a grimace, as we pulled up to the curb.
“Why does that bother you? She’s always been nice to me.”
“Oh, she’ll be nice to you. Don’t worry about that, Willa. She’s going to smother the crap out of you.” His eyes slid to mine as he shut off the engine. “I’m surprised Sabrina hasn’t mentioned anything—”
“Yoo hoo! I see one of my favorite boys in that truck! Come out here and hug your mother, Everett. You too, sugar pie.” Her smile was huge as she waved me over. I looked back at Everett with a sideways grin.
“I told you. She has a sixth sense about shit like this. Prepare yourself, she probably has dinner planned for tonight and already knows we’re officially together—”
“That’s crazy!” I scoffed and hopped out of the truck. Only to turn around and step into one of the warmest hugs I’d ever received.
“Eeeeeep! I’m so happy!” Mrs. Monroe gave me a squeeze then stepped back to pat my cheeks with a huge smile on her face.
“Oh!” Was all I could think of to say. I’d met her a few times and she was always friendly, but this was on another level. There were expectations and, I swear I could see plans in her eyes.
“No more of that Mrs. Monroe nonsense. You call me Becky Lee now, honey. Later, after y’all get married, we can move to Mom, or Momma, whatever you prefer. Just—don’t call me ‘Ma.’ Garrett insists upon addressing me as such, and it drives me batty.”
“Oh-kay…” I jumped, startled when Everett slipped his arm around my waist.
“Dial it down a notch, Mom. You’ll scare her off,” he warned her with a smile. My eyes were huge as I looked up at him. I wasn’t scared, just kind of overwhelmed. And, how in the heck did she already know? I barely even knew, for goodness sake.
“Oh, hush, you. Don’t tell your momma what to do,” she admonished him with a sparkling smile. Her rings glittered in the early morning sunlight as she reached up to pat his cheek. The gentleness of her touch and tone of her voice belied her words, and I gulped back a sob. In my experience being told to hush was never this pleasant. The beautiful burn of this moment settled into my soul like a balm as I snuggled into Everett’s side.
“Yes, ma’am,” Everett grinned. “So, who was it? Who told you?”
“Well, I really wouldn’t know what you are talking about,” she huffed with a dainty giggle. Her eyes landed on mine with a conspiratorial glimmer and I couldn’t help but grin at her, even though I did not know what we were conspiring about. “Us girls stick together,” she announced and took my hand, pulling me from Everett and into her side. “Sabrina told me she loaned you the dress I bought her,” she whispered in my ear as my eyes grew huge. She bought that slinky, sexy, barely-even-a-dress dress? Holy crap. “I knew that could only mean one thing, and I was right. Look at you two! Finally! I called it when I first set eyes on you last Halloween. I said, ‘Becky Lee, that girl is the one for your Everett. She’s sweet, she’s funny, the kids love her, and she’s pretty as a picture.’ Of course, I was right. I am always right about my boys! Yay!”
“Yay!” I repeated as she gathered me into another hug. She smelled like chocolate chip cookies and rosewater, her sprayed blond bob tickled me beneath my chin, and I got the sense that when Becky Lee Monroe gave a hug, she meant it. She patted my cheek, then returned to her car to grab two large cooler bags out of the trunk.
Gracie was standing in front of the counter, hand in hand with Weston, when we finally made it to the door. “When are you going to make me the manager, Everett?” she yelled once she spotted us.
“Never,” he teased with a laugh. “Or maybe after you graduate high school. Being the manager is a lot of work.”
“That’s fair. And probably a sound business decision. Ruby is on her way. Is Garrett going to be here for the game?”
“Yup. Wyatt and Sabrina should be here any minute too,” he answered.
“What’s going on?” Holding a finger up to Gracie and Weston, I tugged Everett aside. “I thought it would be me and you here today. Maybe a customer or two.” I whispered to him while Becky Lee winked at me with a knowing look as she passed us to head inside.
“I brought munchies for your tournament!” she announced, bustling around the tables to distribute little wrapped trays to each one.
“It’s tournament day. I thought you could play your rogue. You know, show me what you got, Ceto.” He winked.
“Or I could play the mermaid queen instead,” I suggested with a wink of my own.
“You could be the mermaid queen tonight. I have a huge bathtub you haven’t seen yet.” He nipped at my ear after whispering that tantalizing possibility into it. And with that, images whirred through the dirty projector screen in my mind. Everett was a D&D roleplay nerd, which meant our sex life had limitless potential and I was set for life.
“Don’t gross me out. We’re all still here, you know.” Gracie’s eyebrows were in her hairline, while Weston chuckled to his Converse, refusing to look up.
With a wicked grin, Everett swept me up and carried me through the doorway. Giggles flew out of my mouth as I wrapped my arms around his neck with visions of the future running through my mind as he kissed me.
“Oh, barf. You’re going to be one of those couples, aren’t you?” Gracie snarked.
“What’s wrong with that?” Weston slid his arm around her shoulders. I laughed as she blushed. Maybe she would be part of one of those couples too someday.
“Get your hands off my wife!” Tommy shouted, slamming the door of his truck and stalking up the sidewalk. “Put her down.” Everett set me down inside the shop, stepping in front of me to block the entrance with his body.
I shook my head side to side to side while bursts of panic edged into my thoughts, coloring the periphery of my vision white. Fighting the panic, gasping for breath, I remembered how I’d felt in the driveway: angry, strong. I remembered what Gracie’s therapist taught me and counted backward from ten in my mind as I recalled how I felt over the two years I spent away from him. I’d found peace on the road and I wanted my freaking peace back, dammit. “I’m not your wife anymore,” I shouted from behind Everett. “We’re divorced. How could you forget? You spent enough time fighting it.” I took a step back, right into Gracie and Weston. She gripped my shoulders, while Weston held my hand. Was it wrong to borrow a little bit of Gracie’s strength? I whirled to the side as Becky Lee slipped her arm around my waist.
“You’ll be just fine, sugar pie. Everett won’t let him get anywhere near you,” she whispered in my ear. “Go on now, Gracie, call the police.” Gracie’s warmth left my back as she turned to make the call.
“The divorce is bullshit and you know it,” Tommy shouted. “We took vows in front of God, Willa. You will always be my wife.” He weaved side to side on tiptoes, trying to catch my eye around Everett. Perfect, wonderful Everett who
stood like an unmovable sentry in front of me.
“We were in Las Vegas, Tommy. God had nothing to do with it. We took our vows in front of Elvis, and he’d probably agree with me that you’re an asshole,” I yelled over Everett’s shoulder.
“I’ll let that slide, honey. I’m still willing to forgive you for going out with this loser last night. I’ll still take you back. I love you.”
“But I don’t want you back, Tommy. And I don’t love you anymore. In fact, I don’t think I ever really loved you. You were nothing but empty promises and lies. A pretty face and a nice body, but you’re dead inside. You’re selfish and cruel and I’m finished putting up with you.”
Becky Lee’s arm around my waist tightened as she shouted at Tommy. “Willa is right. You are nothing but a bad seed, Tommy Ferris. I’ve been calling your momma every day to make sure she and your daddy keep you busy and out of Green Valley. And you can bet your bippy I’m going to call her today. You’re breaking your mother’s heart, Thomas Daniel Ferris. Shame on you.” He didn’t seem to care what we said. His eyes were wild with anger, glinting with barely leashed rage. I steeled myself. His expression told me he was about to erupt. But we were in public, not in our house in Nashville where he could punch the walls and throw things to his heart’s content. Maybe he figured he didn’t have anything else to lose.
He stopped weaving around and let his eyes land on Everett with a sly look. “Come back to me, Willa. I’ll give you the baby you always wanted.”
“Liar!” I screamed, shaking out of Becky Lee’s hold and surging forward to lean around Everett’s shoulder. From the second Tommy had stepped foot near the shop I had been teetering on a precarious edge between anger and fear. Red filled my vision as rage sent me over the side, consuming me. I rushed around Everett to shove Tommy. Fists to chest, pounding, pushing him back along the sidewalk toward his truck. I needed him gone. I wanted to hurt him like he had hurt me so many times before with his words. “You wanted me to abort our baby, Tommy. When you knew it was all I’d ever wanted.” I shrieked in his face as I pummeled his chest with my closed fists.
“Well, you did it. That proves what kind of mother you’d be now doesn’t it?” That same cold cruelty that always glinted beneath the surface shone from his eyes as he shook me off. I stumbled back into Everett. I hadn’t realized he was so close behind me. My eyes darted to the side as Everett stepped in front of me and Becky Lee gently pulled me back.
That cruel look on Tommy’s face used to make me crazy. At one time I would have done anything to make him look at me with tenderness again. I used to believe I had to earn his love. I’ve since learned that love doesn’t come at a price. Love doesn’t make you bleed inside, dying a little bit every day until you forgot who you were.
Tommy reached out to shove Everett. He sidestepped it and I broke away from Becky Lee as my temper got the best of me. “I did no such thing. I chose my baby. I left you.” My voice was an unrecognizable screech, as if it came from somewhere near the bottom of my soul. Rage and grief battled for dominance in my heart. Once more rage won, and I slapped Tommy across the face. The impact of it vibrated through my hand, stinging, and burning a throbbing trail of pain up my arm. His head whipped to the side, red blossoming over his cheek. Before I could react, he shoved me; the past flew through my mind as my body flew sideways to land hard, my hip crashing to the sidewalk as my hand skidded across the cement. I looked up to see Everett shoving Tommy toward the hood of his truck and Becky Lee leaning over to help me up. She pulled me toward the doorway of the shop. My head spun as sirens filled the air in the distance.
“You’re not worth all this trouble, you bitch! I can’t believe I wasted all this time on you.” Tommy’s voice was muffled. Everett had him pinned down with his cheek pressed to the hood of the truck.
“Good! I don’t want to hear from you. I want you out of Green Valley and I never want to see you again! Do you understand me?” My heart raced in my chest as I finally uttered the words I should have said from the beginning of this whole mess.
“You were a shit wife anyway. Always crying over something. You can have her. I’m through with this.” The more he spoke, the less I felt, until I was numb and trembling at Becky Lee’s side.
I watched blankly as Jackson James pulled up in his cruiser to arrest Tommy. Once more the past filtered through my thoughts as I recalled Wyatt arresting Tommy years ago. I couldn’t seem to hold onto a thought. The sound of Jackson’s voice reciting Tommy’s rights filtered through my mind like it was coming from underwater as I blankly watched him put cuffs on Tommy’s wrists and fold him into the back of his cruiser. The lights from Jackson’s cruiser faded into the distance as I slowly returned to reality. Would this finally be over? “My hand hurts,” was all I could think to say.
“You’ll be fine, honey. We’ll get you all taken care of,” Becky Lee whispered soothingly as she pulled me into her arms.
“You did it,” Everett said from over her shoulder. Becky Lee stepped aside, and Everett cradled my face in his palms. “You stood up for yourself,” he whispered.
“I should have done it a long time ago.”
“Bravery is bravery. It doesn’t have a timetable. I’m proud of you.” He tipped my head back for a quick kiss.
“I’m proud of you, too!” Gracie shouted from the doorway. “Weston wouldn’t let me come out. We did call the police though, so there’s that.”
“I got a Coke from the machine. Put your hand around it.” I took it from Weston. It eased the burn in my palm.
“Thank you, Weston.”
“Sabrina is going to be mad that she missed it.” Weston stated. “She hates that guy.”
“She won’t miss it.” Gracie held up her phone. “Once I saw that the Incredible Everett Hulk and Momma Bear Miss Becky Lee were glued to your side, I relaxed. I also recorded the whole thing for evidence. No one will ever be able to say he didn’t start it. Plus, check you out, Willa. You were so brave and you didn’t let him run you down.” She tugged me inside the shop and pulled me into a hug. “A baby?” she whispered. “You miscarried, right?” I nodded against her shoulder and she whispered in my ear. “I’m so sorry. You’ll be a great mother someday, Willa. Look what you’ve already done for me. I’m at least fifty percent less angry since you came back to town and let me live with you. You make me feel like I have somewhere to come home to. Just like a good mother would.”
“Listen to Gracie. You’re going to be a wonderful mother, Willa. I lost a baby—my only girl—between Wyatt and Garrett. Breaks my heart to this day. My cup runneth over with my boys, it’s true. But she’s in my heart, and I miss her.” She looked me dead in the eye. “My Everett will take care of you. He’s a good boy. But when you get that longing in your heart, you come to me. Because I know.” My shoulders shook as she wrapped her arms around Gracie and me.
“You’re making me cry,” I choked as tears fell down my cheeks, soaking into Gracie’s shirt. I stepped back to find they were both crying too.
“Come on.” Everett opened his arms and we all stepped inside. “Grab the Kleenex from the counter, Weston.”
“On it,” he called back and passed us the box.
A few minutes later, Wyatt and Sabrina rushed in with Ruby. Garrett showed up, followed close behind by Boone and Barrett. And following that, the day was spent relaxing in Everett’s shop, talking with friends, chatting with customers, and playing Dungeons and Dragons. There was a lot of hugging, some crying, and the day ended with all of us eating pizza from Pizza Hut, which Wyatt had to pick up, because unfortunately, Gracie and I were too busy to deliver today.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Everett
“To my grandson, Everett. I leave my house in town. Fix her up, son; I know you can do it. I also leave you my building on Main Street. Make your dreams come true. Seize every day, take every chance, and live without fear. Papaw loves you.”
Papaw Joe
“How were you sure you wanted t
o propose to Sabrina?” I asked Wyatt. We were fishing at Sky Lake; his stepson Harry was with us on the small aluminum fishing boat.
“I couldn’t think of any other way I wanted to spend the rest of my life, other than with her,” Wyatt answered. As if it really were that simple. Could it be?
“Yeah, I mean, how did you know it was the right time? You know, not too soon? I don’t want to rush her.”
“You think too much, Everett.” He grinned at me. “How do you know anything? How do you know when you are hungry, thirsty…? You just know. When there is no other option than to keep her with you forever, then you know.”
“I think you should marry her, Uncle Everett. If you do, then she will be my aunt. I don’t have an aunt anymore, since Riri is my mom now. And I like Willa.”
“I like her too, Harry,” I agreed.
“No, you don’t. You love her. That’s why you want to marry her.” He mumbled as he cast his line in the water.
Their words distilled all my swirling thoughts down to one simple fact. “Okay. I need a ring.”
“I knew this would happen.” Wyatt elbowed me with a chuckle.
“You’re such a romantic, Wyatt.” I couldn’t help but rib him a bit. It’s what we do.
“Nothing wrong with being a romantic.” He gestured to Harry. “Look what it’s brought me. A little fishing buddy, right Harry?”
“Yes, we are fishing buddies. Riri hates fishing. But my Pop likes to fish. Sometimes he comes with me and Wyatt. Sometimes Weston does too. Mel hates fish. They make her scream. I left one in her room one time. It had pretty eyes, but she didn’t like it.” Sabrina was “Riri” to Harry and Wyatt’s girls. Her adoption of Harry went through right before Wyatt and Sabrina married. And now plans were in the works for Wyatt and Sabrina to adopt each other’s kids and make one big, blended, legally-binding family.
Carpentry and Cocktails: A Heartfelt Small Town Romance (Green Valley Library Book 5) Page 21