Willow's Wish

by TC Rybicki

  Willow’s Wish

  Copyright © TC Rybicki

  Cover Design © Drop Dead Designs

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Proofreading and editing by Red Pen Revisions

  Cover design by Kristyn McQuiggan of Drop Dead Designs www.dropdeaddesigns.com/

  Formatting- Tami Norman from Integrity Formatting

  www.integrityformatting.wixsite.com/integrity-formatting

  The Price of Penny

  Harmony

  Destiny’s Turn

  Falling Into Love

  Virna, Hala, Alix. You know why.

  Other titles by T.C. Rybicki

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Summer 1996- Gainesville, Georgia

  Sweet, sweet summertime. That lake called to Doug like a cool refreshment. The yard kicked his butt today, but his father was clear, “Chores first, help your Momma, then you can goof off with your friends, but don’t wander off. Your Momma almost called the police last time you boys ventured into the woods.”

  Douglas Chadwyk’s father was a stern disciplinarian, but he was a good provider. At least that’s what Momma always said. He didn’t accept talking back or half-ass efforts, but he strictly performed fatherly duties at breakfast and occasional dinners. He was never available full-time.

  “Where’s Dad? He promised to be at practice today.”

  “I got first place in the science fair.”

  “Did Dad come in time for the award’s ceremony?”

  She always answered the same way. His father was busy with work. His cases were important; people’s lives were at stake. Doug couldn’t remember many days when Walter Chadwyk was not working. The family took a grand vacation every August and even though both his parents and little brother always went to these exciting places, Dad stayed distracted. He worked hard all year to give them the experiences of a lifetime, but barely lived out the adventures with his wife and sons.

  Doug pouted a lot. His mother cautioned him not to be ungrateful. She grew up without a father. He died when she was two because of a work-related accident. Her only contribution from a father was a substantial insurance payout that took care of her mother and four other siblings. They moved to a better neighborhood, with the best schools and she ended up meeting the love of her life. He heard stories like this about destiny and God’s plan many times in his twelve years, so Doug learned when to suck it up and keep his complaints to himself. He would sound like an ingrate to complain about his father being absent for most of the important stuff when his mother could counter, “at least you have a father that loves you and is alive.”

  Jeez. Doug couldn’t handle that much sap from his mother and she could turn on the waterworks for the slightest reason. Women and crying. The only thing worse than women were girls. He used to hate them, but toward the end of seventh grade, Doug had trouble taking his eyes off the girls. They were starting to look a little different to him and his buddies. He only had one more year in junior high and some eighth-grade boys said the girls would get less and less annoying once they made it to the big time.

  His feet padded across the dock. Doug wasn’t waiting on his buddies. They might be preoccupied with their families. All of them couldn’t come every day, and they knew from the day before he’d be stuck mowing, so they might have made other plans. At least his little brother wasn’t feeling well. It was sinful to wish him ill, but if Tanner knew he was going swimming in the lake, he’d be right there. Then Doug would be responsible for him all afternoon. Responsibility was tiring. He looked forward to being alone.

  Doug’s feet left the dock and he got serious air as he soared over the lake. He lifted his knees to his chest and held on tight with his hands so that he could make the biggest splash possible.

  “Cowabunga!”

  Ten out of ten was his best guess, but no one was there to rate the splash. Doug knew he had a good jump by the depth he plunged. There was force behind his leap. He was right. That cool lake water hit the spot. He kicked vigorously to break the surface and filled his lungs full of his first breath of free air all day. He had exactly two hours before he had to be inside washing up for dinner.

  He could swim awhile and then take out the boat if he wanted. At least Dad took his side about that sort of thing. His mother was what they called a worrywart. She made up every death scenario possible and never wanted Doug to be unsupervised on the lake or out on the boat, but last summer Dad put his foot down about babying him. She could baby Tanner a few more years. As far as Doug could tell, the little twerp enjoyed it.

  He swam around long enough to cool off, but quickly got bored being alone. He decided to take the boat over to Stevie’s. His father’s law firm was in Atlanta, but soon after Doug was born, Momma insisted the family find solace in a more peaceful setting. It was one more sacrifice his father made according to his mother. He had over an hour commute, but never complained. His mother’s dream was fulfilled to raise their kids in a small community and living on Lake Lanier was a bonus.

  Doug loved their place, but he hated his father spent more time in the office and the car than he ever spent out on the lake with him. Their community was tight and some of his best friends lived nearby. Stevie was the closest. A couple of the other guys were a bike ride away. His best friend, Rob, was the furthest and needed a car ride to come over. Luckily, Rob’s mom and his mom were good friends, so that never was much of an issue. Rob was on his family vacation for two weeks. They’d barely have a week together before Doug left for Italy. He’d never been to Italy, but his parents insisted on a foreign location every other year, so Doug and Tanner could gain some culture, whatever that was.

  He climbed out of the water, shook off like Molly the dog because he didn’t have a towel, and headed to the rowboat. They had a real boat with a motor which he wasn’t allowed to touch until he was older. The boat was rarely taken on the lake which was a waste in Doug’s opinion. His father owned a lot of things he never took time to enjoy.

  For a second, he thought about going back inside for a snack, but Stevie’s mom was a way better cook than Momma even if he’d never admit that out loud. Stevie’s mother always had food, even on regular days. Doug would see what the McNiels had to eat instead. The closer he got to the boat, the more something felt off. It was like he sensed a presence. Doug spun around. One of the guys might be waiting for the chance to jump out of the woods and scare him. They were alway
s pulling pranks on each other.

  “Come on out, you, lousy sacks of shit. I know you’re there.”

  Doug took up cursing the year before. It made him feel tougher and older except for the day he tried it out inside the house and Momma heard. Talk about embarrassing. His friends were all there when he called Rob an asshole. Dawn Chadwyk grabbed her son by the ear and dragged him to the kitchen sink where she thoroughly washed his mouth out with actual Dawn dishwashing soap. Oh, the irony. Damn, the taste. Doug couldn’t do the dishes now without getting a bubbly feeling on his tongue. Never again. He learned a lesson. He saved all the cussing for outside with his buddies. Momma didn’t play.

  There wasn’t a single noise or hint of movement in any direction. Stevie would have cracked by now. He was the giggler of the bunch. Doug didn’t hear a sound over the summer breeze floating off the lake, but he couldn’t shake the feeling he wasn’t alone. They were at the edge of the private lake community. The east side of the property was thick woods. He and his friends had done a little exploring, but once, Trevor almost stepped on a snake. No one was too eager to go deeper into the woods after that.

  Turns out Doug had been looking in all the wrong directions for a prowler. No one was in the woods, but someone sure as hell was in his rowboat. He couldn’t believe it. There was a girl. At least, he assumed it was a girl because there was a lot of thick brown hair covering up the kid’s face. She wore strange clothes. A dress? A robe? A sack? Doug wasn’t sure. In fact, he wasn’t sure this it was even alive.

  Hot damn. They had a bet a couple of years ago if one of them ever found a dead body, they’d all give the finder twenty bucks a piece. He might have won a hundred bucks. Or maybe not. That one kid Greg moved away, and Roy’s family wasn’t well off like the rest of them, so he probably couldn’t score twenty dollars, but he’d at least get sixty out of the deal. Doug was the biggest of his group and he was scrappy. They all knew they’d get their asses kicked if they reneged on a bet.

  First off, he had to know for sure if this kid was truly dead. The body didn’t smell bad, so maybe she was fresh dead. Doug wasn’t touching her with his bare hand to find out though. He found a stick nearby and grabbed it off the ground. He held the stick at the very end and jabbed it forward to give a poke.

  “Ow,” came out of her mouth. Not dead and definitely a girl. Darn his luck. The wild mess of hair parted, and their eyes met for the first time. There were a few moments in a Doug’s life he’d never forget like hitting his first homer, or the first time he almost kissed a girl at a school dance, but his Mom was a chaperon and busted that up too soon, and the first time he was face-to-face with the greatest friend of his life. He didn’t know it at the time, but this strange girl that was dead to him seconds before would make an impact on his entire existence. From that moment on they’d be thick as thieves. Even Rob wouldn’t hold a candle to her. If someone would have told him before that his lifetime best friend was going to be a girl, he would have laughed his ass off. Girls were stupid and moody. The only good thing about girls was watching them get their boobs and wanting to kiss them even though he didn’t like them yet.

  Doug’s life was about to change forever, even if he had no idea why.

  Present day- Savannah, Georgia

  Willow slammed her front door. Her one and only man was waiting for her. “Come here, stud. You’re the only good thing about this shitty day.”

  Felix was on her the next second. He practically climbed her torso when she sat down her bag on the table.

  “Meow.”

  “Yes, I know. You must be so hungry. Sorry, I was late tonight. It was not worth it at all. He was a total dud, not a stud like you.”

  Willow patted her special man’s head and promised a feline delicacy. Felix followed closely to the kitchen to his special bowl. He came with the old Victorian condo she’d purchased three years prior. When Willow moved in, she was horrified to discover someone left that precious boy out in the rain on the porch. Felix looked like a drowned baby rat and was barely old enough to leave his mother, but she never could find a human or cat family he belonged to, so he was all hers. She wrapped him in a warm towel and nursed him back to health. He was her special fluffy cat covered in mostly gray fur with a little white under the neck and face. Willow spent many a night stroking that soft fur to bring her peace and relaxation from a long day in the office. That was kind of a stretch since her office was also her home and Felix was never far away. He was her closest companion these days. She was one knitting lesson away from being a crazy cat lady if these dates kept bombing.

  Her phone jingled from her purse. That would be her closest human calling like he did every time she went out on a date. “You’re too early. Damn you. I might have been getting my freak on.”

  Dutch chuckled in her ear, “The only freak you’re getting on are those God-awful cat pajama pants you wear around the house. How bad was it?”

  “The worst. I hate you by the way.”

  “Why do you hate me? I never disappoint you.”

  “True, but that’s because I wouldn’t dare date you. I thought he wasn’t too bad the first date, but this one was the pits. And I know you called to gloat, hence the hate. I’m not in the mood.”

  “What happened? Do I need to pay Marshall Peters a visit?”

  “No, that’s not necessary. I don’t even know where he lives. We met up at the restaurants both times.”

  “I do.”

  “You do what?”

  “I know where he lives.”

  “Oh my God, Dutch. You’re a psycho. Stop doing that.”

  “Watching out for you? No, I think I prefer to know you’re safe at all times.”

  Since high school, every time Willow went out with a guy, her best friend made her give him a name and one random fact about who she was seeing in case she went missing or had her heartbroken or got a random hangnail. He didn’t need a solid excuse to chase most of them away. There had been a few occurrences in Willow’s life that proved danger and misfortune followed her. There was an oath between them not to bring up what happened in college.

  No matter what, Dutch was overprotective, and Willow appreciated him more than he annoyed her. Truth was, she’d been a little too trusting more than once. Dutch trusted no one which sometimes came in handy but mostly was a huge pain in her ass. Willow never was great at making gal-pals. Her real parents weren’t in her life, but it wasn’t a bad thing; her parents weren’t exactly normal. They were bona fide hippies. She didn’t mean any average, green-living, peace-loving, organic-eating type of mainstream hippie. She was sure there were delightful people like that in all walks of life. Willow’s childhood was not pleasant and carefree.

  Her parents were extreme. They lived off-the-grid in the woods in a commune with a few other like-minded individuals. Dutch called a spade a spade. He said they were a cult. She hated that word growing up, but there wasn’t a more accurate way of describing the lifestyle. A central figure claiming to be a divine spirit in human form called the shots and everyone followed whatever he said: marriages don’t exist, children don’t need school, all attractive women should sleep with me, etc.

  That was her life until she was old enough to be one of those girls the leader of the group desired. Dutch raised all kinds of hell to get her away from that place, but one day there was only one choice: survival. If it wasn’t for the Chadwyks, Willow wouldn’t be here living her quaint life in Savannah with her dream job. She shuddered to think who she’d be. She couldn’t imagine a life without her Dutch. For all intents and purposes, he was her family, her best friend, her everything, but it wasn’t romantic between them. That would be insane despite some deep yearnings throughout the years. Their lines had been blurred, but they knew better than to take a chance with this once-in-a-lifetime friendship.

  Dutch was only committed to his career and non-committed to any woman that didn’t want more than a one-night stand or an occasional booty call. He was a cocky heart surgeon in
Atlanta, one of the best in the region. According to Dutch, the best. Period. He was even worse when he had the urge to brag about his sexual prowess. But he was also loyal, sweet and a giant teddy bear when it came to Willow. They made up special nicknames for each other that first day she crashed out inside his rowboat which weren’t used by anyone else. He had a fancy full name, Douglas Uliss Chadwyk, and Doug didn’t seem fancy at all, so she shortened it to how his initials sounded to her. He called her Wills which didn’t make sense until she finally caught on he was trying to hide the fact he’d befriended a ten-year-old girl the summer he was determined to turn cool. It didn’t take long before his close friends figured it out and tentatively accepted her into the fold. She was an unofficial kid sister to the group and that suited Willow just fine. Most of the guys that hung around Dutch were way better than any of the children in the commune.

  “Don’t leave me hanging. Why was it such a bad date?”

  “He took me for sushi.”

  “Oh, no. You hate sushi. Did you tell him you’re a vegetarian?”

  “Yes, on the first date. You know I always get that info out in the open. I’m usually good with whatever other people eat. I swear.”

  “Yep. You cook a mean steak and I’m not sure how that is. This guy rubbed his fishy crap in your face, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, so bad. I munched on a bland veggie roll while he downed every gross concoction on the menu. I swear he ate something that had eyes. It was looking at me. And get this? He asked if he could come to my place afterwards.”

  “Oh, hell no.”

  “Yep, and it’s only our second date. You know my rule.”

  “Definitely. You don’t even tongue kiss until the third date. Or is it the fourth?”

  “Shut up. I just wasn’t into him at all. I mean on paper he seemed promising and he was sorta hot, but in person he’ll always be Octopus breath to me.”

  “You did not kiss him, did you?”