“Dig in,” I say as she just looks down at the burger and then up again. “Eat.” Her eyes just look at me, and I can tell that her head is spinning, so I lean in and whisper in her ear, “You can pay me back when you cash your check.”
She tries to hide her smile as she looks down and grabs the burger in her hand and takes a bite. We eat in silence, and when I look over, she has polished the whole burger and almost all the fries. “Was it good?” I ask, and she nods her head at me and hides a smile.
I get up and hold my hand out for Willow, who slides out of the booth. “We didn’t pay the bill,” she says, looking around, and we all laugh.
“Oh, we never pay the bill,” Chelsea says. “They put it on the tab, and our parents pay it.”
“Wait?” Willow says. “What?”
“They started doing this when we were in high school, and even when we want to pay, they ignore us,” Chelsea says, sliding out of the booth and taking Mayson’s hand.
We walk out of the restaurant, and the sun is setting. “We are going to head home,” Chelsea says. “See you on Sunday.” She hugs Willow, who just looks at me, and I know she has questions.
When we pull up to the house, I get out, and she is out of the truck by the time I walk around. “Do you want to watch the sun set?” I ask. She smiles and nods.
I slip my hand in hers as though it’s a normal thing to do, and she lets me. Her small cold hand sits in my big warm one. We walk around the house as I close the gate behind us, the soft breeze blowing her hair. “It’s not hot,” she says as we walk up the step toward the swing.
I sit beside her as she looks off into the distance. “Did you have fun?” I ask her, putting my arm across the back of the swing.
“I did,” she says. “And you were right. The burger was amazing.” She looks down and then up. “What’s on Sunday?”
“Every Sunday, my grandparents have a barbecue. It started before I was born, and it has just grown into this big thing. Practically the whole town shows up.” My thumb rubs her shoulder softly, hoping she doesn’t move away from me.
“But …” She looks at me. “When I was in the hospital, you never left.”
“Okay?” I don’t know if she’s asking me or telling me.
“You didn’t go?” The wind picks up just a touch, and the hair flies in her face. My hand comes up to push the hair away from her face. “You never left me.”
My thumb moves across her cheekbones. “No,” I whisper, my head is moving closer to hers. “I never left your side.” My head dips just a touch more, and I am so close to her lips I can taste the kiss.
“Quinn, I should get to bed.” My hand falls from her face, and I just look at her.
“Let’s get inside,” I say, getting up and holding out my hand to her. She slips her hand in mine, and even though I hate myself for not taking the kiss I’ve been dreaming about, I won’t push her. She is the one who will lead where this goes. We are going to do things on her time.
I unlock the door, and she walks in before me. “Thank you,” she says and then turns around. “For today.” She wears the biggest smile I’ve seen on her face. “Even the root beer float.”
I laugh. “Anytime, Willow,” I say. She nods and heads to her bedroom. “Good night, Willow.” She looks over her shoulder at me. “Sweet dreams.”
“You, too, Quinn,” she says softly. I walk to the couch and turn the television on, but my head is on the girl sleeping in the bedroom. I doze off and open my eyes when I hear Amelia come in. I look over and see that it’s just after two in the morning. I wait for her to go to her room before I get up and walk to her bedroom.
I push open her door and see her sleeping in the middle of the room, wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Walking in, I see the two black bags side by side. Something eats me inside at seeing that. I put the cover over her and walk out before I unpack the bag for her. When I slide into bed, my eyes don’t close all night. All I can do is see the two bags in my head. Every single time I close my eyes, that’s all I see.
When the alarm rings the next day, I’m not surprised she’s already waiting for me in the kitchen. “Morning,” I say, almost grunting at her. My nerves are on edge when I see her wearing what she wore yesterday to the barn. “Ready?” I ask, and she nods and walks outside.
She gets into the golf cart beside me, and I can’t help the anger that runs through me. I open the door and saddle the horses, then we ride side by side, neither of us saying anything. I don’t trust myself to say anything to her.
When we get back two hours later, I get off the horse first, and then she slides off Hope. “Is everything okay?” she asks, holding Hope’s reins as we walk back into the barn. “You’re very quiet today.”
“Yeah,” I say and then turn to look at her.
“Are you okay?” she asks again, and I know I have to tread carefully. I know I shouldn’t say even one word, but looking at her, with the sun shining on her and seeing her so much stronger, I can’t stop the words from coming out.
“Why haven’t you unpacked?” I ask, and she just looks at me. “You haven’t unpacked. You sleep on the top of your bed. When …” I ask, throwing my hands up. “When are you going to fucking unpack?”
“I don’t …” She looks down, and I shake my head. God, how can she not see how much I want her here?
“Yeah, I know you don’t want to.” I shake my head and walk into the barn. I have to get away from her before I say things that will hurt her even more.
I listen to her put Hope in her stall as I walk into the office and close the door. I sit down behind my desk, letting the anger leave me. I put my head back and close my eyes. I hear people arrive, and I walk out of the office. I start the coffee, and only when it’s done and I’ve had a cup do I walk down to offer her a bottle of water. I poke my head into the stall and see that she isn’t there. I check all the stalls, and I can’t find her anywhere.
“Have you seen Willow?” I ask Asher, who is unloading bales of hay.
I look around and see that the golf cart is gone. “Fuck,” I say and then look at him. “I need your truck.” He must hear the panic in my voice because he closes the back of the truck as I run toward the driver’s side. I get home and see that my truck is the only one in the driveway.
I put the truck in park and get out, jogging to the front door. “Willow!” I yell her name and run to her bedroom, seeing it empty. My eyes scan the room, and I see only one black bag there. “Fuck,” I hiss, the pain in my heart coming on so strong I have to sit down on the bed. “She’s gone.”
Chapter 26
Willow
“Thank you.” I look over at Amelia sitting beside me. “For taking me.”
She shakes her head and smiles at me. “Anything for you,” she says softly, and my heart almost explodes in my chest. No one has ever said those words. Better yet, I’ve never believed them before last month.
After I left the barn, I took the golf cart to the house and walked into the house the same time that Amelia was stumbling to the coffee machine. She took one look at me and asked me what was wrong. I couldn’t really say anything to her. I didn’t trust myself not to sob. How could he think I don’t want to unpack? How can he assume such a thing? “Can you take me to see Mayson?” I ask because if anyone in the whole town knows or has seen what I’ve seen, I know it’s Mayson.
“I know you came home late this morning,” I say, and she shrugs.
“I’ll nap later,” she says. “Besides, I’m hoping that Chelsea will whip me up some biscuits and gravy.” She smiles so big as we turn into the driveway. I rub my sweaty palms on my jeans before reaching for the door handle to open the door. The sun shines so bright in the sky I have to squint to see the white door.
I walk for the front door, following Amelia, and she looks over at me. “Normally, I would just walk in, but when you come face-to-face with a naked ass even one time, you learn your lesson.” I laugh at her as she rings the bell. “If only I was kid
ding.”
The sound of the lock clicking open makes my heart speed up just a touch. Maybe this isn’t the greatest idea I’ve had. I’m about to turn to Amelia and make a run for it when the door opens. “Oh, she rings.” Chelsea stands there wearing shorts and a tank top. A coffee cup in her right hand comes up to her mouth as she tries to hide the smile that fills her face. But the crinkle by her eyes shows us that she is smiling.
“Oh, shut your pie hole,” Amelia says, pushing into the house and then halting in her tracks. “Are we all decent?”
“He’s in the shower,” Chelsea says.
“Phew,” Amelia says, walking into the house. “Did you cook yet?”
“I was just starting to,” she says, closing the door behind me. “Did you just come for food?” she asks, looking at Amelia, then at me.
“Yes for me. No for Willow.”
Chelsea looks over at me. “I was wondering if I could talk to Mayson.” I look down. “It’s fine if he doesn’t want to, or if you don’t want me to.”
“Willow,” she says my name softly. “He would love nothing more.”
I just nod as she pulls my hand to bring me into the house. I take a second to look around. Pictures of the family hang along the walls, and my eyes stop on one with a woman and a man sitting in two chairs with everyone behind them. “That was last Christmas,” Chelsea says. “Finally, everyone was in one place at the same time.” I smile over at her as my eyes find Quinn’s right away. He stands with his arm around his father.
“Can you make biscuits?” Amelia sticks her head around the corner. “And gravy.”
Chelsea shakes her head and walks ahead, and I follow her, the open concept very much like Quinn’s house. “Coffee?” Amelia says, starting the coffee. I’m about to tell her no. The last thing I need in me is coffee, not with my nerves.
“Hey.” I hear Mayson behind me and see him coming out of what I’m assuming is the bedroom. His hair is still wet as he walks closer and kisses Chelsea on the lips and then looks at me. “Good to see you.”
“I rang the bell,” Amelia says, leaning on the counter with her coffee mug in her hand. Mayson chuckles and shakes his head. “There are things you can’t erase from your mind.”
“You didn’t see shit,” he tells her.
“I saw your ass, and then I saw that one”—she points at Chelsea—“running away from you.”
“I was not running.” Chelsea looks at Mayson.
“I had my weapon exposed,” Mayson cuts in. “She was running for cover.”
I roll my lips while Amelia puts a hand to her stomach. “I’m going to be sick.”
“Why don’t I start cooking, and you show Willow the backyard,” Chelsea says, and Mayson looks over at me and nods his head.
“Right this way,” he says, turning and walking out of the house. I follow him, my heart is beating so fast in my chest, and my mouth is suddenly so dry. I should have gotten a water bottle. He walks outside, and I see the difference now. There is no pool here, just a hammock. “Do you mind sitting on the steps?” He points at the concrete steps, and I shake my head. He walks first, and I follow his lead, sitting down next to him. He must sense my nervousness because he talks first. “We come out here every morning to watch the sunrise.”
I laugh, looking down at my hands. “This family is obsessed with sunrises and sunsets.”
“I think if you grew up like them, you can see the beauty in it.” His voice goes soft. “But if you grew up like us, it’s just a sign you are going to live another day.”
I look over at him. “I …” The only word that comes out of my mouth. “I’m trying to see it.”
“It took me a while,” he admits.
“Are you okay talking about it?” I ask him. “I don’t want to make you feel weird or uncomfortable.”
“There is no one in this whole world besides me and you,” he says, “who understand what the other is going through.” Those words hit me right in the chest.
“I never thought I would ever meet someone who would know what I felt,” I say softly, the tears coming even though I have been fighting them off. “I would lie awake at night.”
“And look up, wondering what you did.” I look over at him. “It took me a long time to figure out there wasn’t anything I could have changed.”
“How did you do it?” I ask. “How did you take that leap of faith?” He doesn’t have a chance to say a word. “How did you take that chance?” I look down. “Like I want to. I want to do it all. Take the help that people give me.” He nods his head, knowing that I need to talk this out. “I want to smile and be okay with smiling and not smile, looking over my shoulder to see if someone is watching. Because you know the minute they see you smiling, they have leverage over you.”
“That was the hardest part for me, too,” he says softly to me. “To see the good in people out there. To know they weren’t taking notes to use on you later.”
“Exactly,” I say. “Quinn, he’s …”
“I know,” he says, nodding his head. “But not everyone is our parents. There are good people out there,” he says. “People who would put their lives before others. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it either.”
“Quinn, he asked me why I haven’t unpacked,” I say.
“He’s afraid,” he says, and I just look at him with my mouth hanging open. How could the strongest man in the world be scared? “He’s afraid you’ll leave him. Afraid he’ll wake up one day and you’ll be gone.”
I close my mouth and then open it again. “Yet the only thing you are afraid of is that they’ll see the bad in you. That they will see everything that Benjamin did and put you with him.”
“I am not like him or my birth mother,” I say, my voice shaking now. “I would never be them.”
“See.” He points at me. “That right there is you taking your life back.”
“I like it here,” I say and then look down. “A lot.”
“It’s a great place to settle down,” he says. “I knew that after I came to visit Ethan. I knew I wanted to live in a town where everyone knew me, but not as Braxton but as Mayson. If there is anywhere to do that, it’s here.”
I’m about to say something to him when the door opens. “We have incoming,” Amelia says. “He is fit to be tied. Chelsea went outside to see if she can calm him.” She closes the door behind her.
Mayson shakes his head. “Gotta admit,” he says, getting up. “Took him longer than I thought. I’m going to go and save my woman.” He takes a step down. “You’re going to be okay, Willow,” he says softly and then turns. “No matter what, you have me in your corner. We may not be joined by blood, but our bond goes deeper than that.”
He turns and walks down the step and around the house. I sit here looking at the sun. My head goes around and around in circles when I see him walking to me. “Hey,” he says. Stopping in front of me, he blocks the sun. I look at him, seeing the anguish on his face. “I thought you left,” he whispers, shaking his head. “I’m sorry about before.”
“It’s okay,” I say. “I’m sorry for taking off and not leaving a note.” I look down.
He comes to me and squats down on the stair in front of me. “No, I’m the one who shouldn’t have pushed you,” he says. “I’m so, so sorry,” he says and takes me in his arms. His smell is all around me. “I was so scared you had left,” he says softly, and I just breathe in his smell. It’s a scent I didn’t even know I was used to. I also didn’t realize that with his arms around me, I felt a certain peace I couldn’t explain. In his arms, I also knew that everything would be okay.
“Okay, you two, come and eat,” Amelia says, opening the back door. “Breakfast is on the table.”
She closes back the door, and he lets me go and holds out his hand for me. “Hungry?” he asks, and I just nod.
I reach my hand out to his as I get up, and I let him lead me inside, where I sit down at the table, and I smile. But I still look around, cat
ching Mayson staring at me. He just smiles back at me and leans over to me. “Feels good, doesn’t it?” I don’t have to answer him because my cheeks hurt from the smile on my face.
Breakfast is so good, and when we leave there, we go back to the barn, where I feed the girls and apologize to Hope. When I go home that night, I walk to the bedroom and don’t unpack my bag, but I do put it away under my bed. I take a shower, and for the first time ever, I slip shorts on and then a sweater. I walk out to the couch and see that he’s lying on the couch watching television. He looks over, and his mouth opens when he sees me wearing the shorts.
“I know that you bought all those clothes,” I say, pointing at the bedroom. “And I know that I probably can’t afford all of them.” I stop talking, and he sits up, and I hold up my hand. “But I want to pay you back something for them.”
“Willow,” he says my name.
“I also can’t pay you all in one shot,” I say. “And I know that you don’t want the money. I know you don’t need the money. But I need to do this. I need to pay you.” I point at my chest.
“Okay,” he says softly. “How much do you want to pay me?”
“I have no idea,” I say. “I didn’t count all of the articles.”
“Five hundred.” He gives me an amount. “Give me five hundred, and you can have all of those clothes.”
“Can I do that in five installments?” I ask.
“Yes,” he says, and I smile.
“Perfect,” I say, folding my hands into each other. “And thank you.”
“You never have to thank me, Willow,” he says my name softly. “Not ever.”
I nod at him, and all I want to do is sit with him on the couch, but I don’t want to intrude, so I turn around and take a step forward. “Willow.” I turn back around. “Want to sit and watch a movie with me?” I can’t even hide the smile that comes over me.
Southern Heat Page 15