Three Little Wishes

Chapter Sixteen

Willow’s sister hadn’t been at the beach house for more than twenty minutes before she was dragging her onto the deck. “I have to talk to my baby sis for a minute,” Sage said, smiling at Noah, Riley, and Cami before sliding the door closed.

“Sage! We’re going to be late. I promised I’d be at the farm half an hour before the event started.”

Something urgent had come up at work, and her sister hadn’t been able to make it until today. Willow had just been grateful that Riley could come to the pet rescue event with her and Noah. The past two days had been mostly drama-free when it came to Cami, but after the episode with her headache the other day, Willow didn’t feel comfortable leaving her aunt on her own. She wasn’t acting like the woman—teenager—Willow had come to know. She was pale, subdued, and a little needy.

Sage took Willow by the hand, moving her out of view of their audience on the other side of the glass doors. Then she crossed her arms and gave Willow what she thought of as her sister’s lawyerly look, which usually meant Willow had done something Sage disapproved of. Since her sister already knew about their aunt, Willow couldn’t think of anything that warranted the narrowing of Sage’s stunning green eyes or her downturned pouty lips.

“If you think staring at me is going to make me cop to whatever you think I’ve done, you’re wrong.” Sage routinely used her intimidating stare and drawn-out silences to get confessions from her clients and their exes. It had to be said that her sister was very good at her job. “You’re wasting both our time because I have no idea what your problem is.”

“Really? So you didn’t kiss Mr. Tall, Dark, and Devastatingly Handsome?”

Willow grinned. “If you think he’s devastatingly handsome now, wait until you see him when he’s all broody and ticked off.”

“You did kiss him!”

She’d given herself away so there was no sense in denying it. “I did, and his kisses are as devastating as his face.”

“Kisses? You kissed him more than once?”

“Well, yeah. I basically told you he kissed like a dream so why wouldn’t I kiss him again? Besides, Cami interrupted us the other night.” She frowned. “Now that I think about it, she interrupted us yesterday afternoon and last night too. I wonder if she’s doing it on purpose?”

The day before, on the drive home from picking up pizzas for her friends who were helping her move, Willow had been bouncing ideas off Noah. He’d been so supportive of them that by the time they’d pulled into the driveway, she was more confident than ever that they’d find a buyer for the station, and she’d thrown her arms around his neck and kissed him. They would’ve kept kissing if Cami hadn’t opened the back door of the Mercedes and started unloading the pizzas.

Then, the previous night, after they’d gotten the last of Willow’s boxes stored in the garage at the beach house and her friends had left, she’d been so happy she’d checked moving off her list that her thank-you kiss got downright steamy. It might’ve gotten steamier if her aunt hadn’t appeared to tell them she and Riley had set up the Monopoly board and were waiting for them to play.

Willow noted her sister’s expression and waved her hand. “I know what you’re going to say, and it’s not a problem. Noah’s helping us sell the station, so we’re more like colleagues now.”

“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Will.”

“Why? We’re consenting adults who enjoy spending time together.” She glanced at the door and lowered her voice. “I really like him, Sage.”

“I know you do, and that’s what I’m worried about. I don’t want you to get your heart broken.”

“I won’t. This, whatever this is between us, has an end date so it’s not like it can be anything more than a summer fling. He’s leaving in September to travel around the world for a year.”

“What if he asked you to go with him?”

Her laugh was a little forced, not because her sister’s question was ridiculous, which it was, but because her time with Noah had an expiration date. “You do know me, don’t you? The thought of traveling and long-term relationships gives me hives. Besides, I’ll be living my dream right here in Sunshine Bay. It’s going to happen, Sage. We’re going to sell the station. I can feel it, right here.” She placed a hand over her heart.

The patio door slid open, and Noah stuck his head out. “Sorry, Sage, but if your sister doesn’t leave now, she’s going to be late, and we all know if Willow Rosetti isn’t there running the show, the event is doomed to fail.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “I never said that. I don’t think I’m indispensable. Noah’s just trying to make a point. He thinks I volunteer for too many community events,” she explained to her sister as they walked into the kitchen.

“No. What I think, and what I told you, is that Don should’ve found room in the budget to pay for the forty hours a week you spend promoting Channel 5.”

“See, I’m not the only one who thinks Don’s been exploiting you,” her sister said, looking at Noah with a new level of respect.

“I told you. Don… Never mind. We’ve got to get going.” Willow grabbed her purse off the counter and turned to Cami, who was looking at Willow with a mutinous expression on her face. She hadn’t been happy to learn she was spending the day with Sage. For some reason, Cami had taken almost an instant dislike to Willow’s sister. Sage hadn’t helped her case, peppering Cami with questions about her memory almost the second she’d walked into the beach house.

“You two have fun,” Willow said with a smile.

Cami crossed her arms. “Why can’t we go with you guys?”

“Because Sage wants to spend time with you, and she’s taking you shopping.” Two towns over. “How awesome is that?”

Cami gave Sage an up-and-down look. “I don’t want to shop where she shops.”

Sage’s brow furrowed. “What’s wrong with where I shop?”

“Uh, you dress like a librarian.”

Her aunt kind of had a point. “That’s not nice, Cami,” Willow said.

“What do you mean ‘That’s not nice, Cami’? How about ‘That’s not true, Cami’?” her sister said.

Noah saved her from having to respond. “It’s just for one more day, Cami. Your family will be back tomorrow, and then the four of us can do things together without worrying about ruining the surprise.”

Cami was dressed in what she thought of as her old-lady disguise—heels, a designer sundress, floppy straw hat, and oversize sunglasses. Only this time she also wore a red wig from the time Willow had gone to a Halloween party dressed as the Little Mermaid.

“Fine,” Cami said, looking as if it was anything but fine.

Willow gave her sister a hug and whispered in her ear, “I know she can be annoying, but talk to her about Mom, Zia, and Nonna, and you’ll see what I mean. Just don’t mention Flynn. And check out those links I sent you about Jeff, her ex,” she added.

If anything would earn their aunt Sage’s sympathy, it would be how big a jerk Cami’s ex was and how badly Cami’s lawyer had messed up her divorce.

Willow pulled out her phone as soon as they got into Noah’s car and sent a quick text to the coordinator of the pet rescue event, letting her know she’d be a little late. As she did, social media alerts began pinging on her phone. She was thinking that it was a good sign the event would be a success until she got a look at the alerts.

“Oh no!” Willow cried.

“What’s wrong?” Noah asked, glancing at her as he pulled out of the driveway and onto the road.

“The Beaches! They’re harassing Megan on social media. It’s awful, and I have no idea why they’re doing it.” She’d been a little surprised when they’d shown up to help her move. She’d sensed they still weren’t over what they considered her betrayal of Megan, and it wasn’t as if she’d set them straight. “Last night, it was obvious they were still on Team Megan, wasn’t it?”

“Willow, there were at least thirty people helping you move. I have no idea who you’re talking about,” Noah said.

Not only had the Beaches shown up to help, so had Willow’s exes and half the station.

“I know who they are,” Riley piped up from the back seat. “Cami and I, um, heard them talking when they were carrying the boxes to your bedroom.”

She could tell by the way Riley hesitated that her friends had had a few things to say about the way Willow had treated Megan, none of it good, apparently. “Don’t worry about it. They’re just being protective of Megan. They don’t know the whole story.”

“And the reason they don’t is because you’re protecting Megan for some unknown reason,” Noah said, sounding unhappy about it.

Willow held up her phone. “Because I was afraid something like this would happen.”

“Um, well, they kind of know everything now,” Riley mumbled.

Willow turned in her seat to look at Riley. “What do you mean they know everything?”

“We didn’t like how they were talking about you, and I might’ve said we needed to tell them what really happened, but I chickened out. Cami didn’t, and she marched into your room and told them what Megan had said and done to you. And then she told them what she thought of them talking about you behind your back and called them a bunch of beaches. Only she didn’t use the word beaches, if you know what I mean.” Riley couldn’t hide her smile. “Cami must’ve really been the queen of the mean girls in high school. It was awesome.”

Scrolling through the comments on social while listening to Riley, Willow groaned. She had to do something.

Noah reached over, curving his warm hand around the back of her neck and giving it a squeeze. “Megan had to know there would be consequences to her actions. This is on her, not you.”

“And your friends,” Riley said. “It wasn’t nice what Megan said and did to you, but they’re not being very nice either. They should know better than to bully someone on social media.”

Willow smiled at Riley. “I told you, Noah. You don’t have to worry about your sister. She’s the smartest kid I know.”

“Of course she is. She takes after her big brother,” Noah said, smiling at Riley in the rearview mirror.

The smile Riley gave her big brother in return made Willow’s heart squeeze. It took so little of Noah’s attention to make Riley happy, and Willow felt bad about how much of his time and attention she’d taken in the past few days. She knew Riley liked having her and Cami around, but Willow vowed to put more of an effort into thinking of ways for Noah and Riley to do things on their own and develop the close brother-and-sister relationship Riley so badly wanted.

No time like the present, she thought, and held up her phone. “I have to shut this down so why don’t you two play ‘get to know you’?” Noah and Riley stared at her. “You know the car game, don’t you?”

“No, and we’re less than seven minutes from the farm,” Noah said.

She looked out the windows at the passing scenery. “That’s okay.”

“I’ll play,” Riley said.

Since neither of them knew how to play, Willow had to come up with a work-around. She smiled when an idea came to her. “I’ve got it. What’s your favorite book?”

Riley groaned. “I can’t pick one favorite.”

“You sound like your brother. He said the same thing when I asked him to name his favorite book. Yours was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Horrors, wasn’t it?” she teased.

He shook his head. “You never did get the titles right. But the Harry Potter series wasn’t one of my favorites, which I know you know, since you teased me relentlessly about it.”

“The Harry Potter series is the best,” Riley objected.

Willow hid her smile, and while Noah and Riley argued the merits of their favorite books, she texted the Beaches in their group chat, which she noticed no longer included Megan. Willow let them know she wasn’t happy about their posts on social. Told them to grow up and take them down or else she was done with them.

By the time they reached the farm, the posts were gone, and the parking lot was almost full. “Yay!” Willow cheered. “We’re going to raise so much money for the shelter today. Come on.”

She hip-checked Noah as they walked through the gate. “I promise, you’ll have fun.”

He lowered his sunglasses. “Remind me how you talked me into this.”

“It was too far for me to ride my scooter, and you wouldn’t let me drive your car or the station wagon.”

He stopped, looked around at the crowd of people congregating around the different events, and said, “I have a few calls to make. I’ll wait for you and Riley in the car.”

“The event is three hours long. You’re not sitting in the car, and you’re not going home.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”

She smiled. “Because I want you here and so does Riley.”

He blew out a breath. “Fine.”

She gave him a relieved hug. “You’re the best.”

“What I am is a sucker for your smile.”

She groaned. “Noah, you can’t say things like that to me, not when I can’t kiss you.”

His lips twitched. “We could go back to the car and make out.”

Willow was giving serious consideration to his suggestion—she was obviously a sucker for his kisses—when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. “That’s the event organizer. I’d better see what she wants.” She looked around for Riley and spotted her standing at the ring where several dogs were jumping hurdles. She pointed her out to Noah. “I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

She joined them five minutes later. “So, we have a little problem, and I need you guys to help me out.” She explained that three of their volunteers had bailed at the last minute. “I have to help the photographer, and I need you guys to help out over there.”

Noah followed her finger and then swung his head to face her. “No. Absolutely not. You can babysit two picnic tables full of children. Riley and I will help the photographer.”

Willow smiled. That’s what she’d thought he’d say. “Just so you know, you wouldn’t be babysitting the children. You’d be helping them build doghouses out of craft sticks and empty shoeboxes for their stuffed animals. But I’m happy to do it, and you guys can help dress people’s pets for the photo shoots.” She pointed at the long line of proud pet owners and their fur babies wending its way around the red barn. “You’re up to date on your hepatitis B and tetanus shots, right? If not, I could get the volunteers at the face painting to help out at the craft table, and you and Riley could take their places. I bet you’d both be great at face painting.” Willow pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at Noah’s horrified expression.

“I could do the face painting,” Riley said.

“We’re building doghouses,” Noah said to his sister, and leaned into Willow until they were nose-to-nose. “You owe me more than a smile for this.”

“I definitely do,” she agreed with a straight face. She walked with them to the picnic tables and introduced them to the other volunteer. The woman was so relieved that they were there to help that she looked as if she might kiss them.

Three hours later, as Noah and Riley walked around the barn, looking none the worse for wear, Willow decided they’d gotten off easy. She knew the same couldn’t be said for her when Noah froze five feet from where she sat on the ground and Riley gaped at her.

“What happened to your hair?” Riley asked.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Remember how you used to say you had clown hair?” Noah asked, attempting not to laugh and failing.

“Amos’s cat climbed me like a tree, and he liked my head so much, it took three of us to pull him off.” She pushed herself off the ground and then winced. “He scratched me.” She held up her arm. “I was also bitten twice.” She pointed at her hand and thigh. “So don’t even think of complaining about building doghouses with the rug rats.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. We had a great time, didn’t we, Tink?”

Riley, with her lips still pressed together in an obvious effort not to laugh, nodded.

Willow sighed. That had been the whole point of getting them to work the build-a-doghouse station together. “I’m glad.” She motioned for them to follow her to the barn. “I want to find out how much we raised, and then we can go.”

One of the veterinarians who volunteered at the shelter ran over as soon as they entered the barn and gave her a big hug. “We surpassed our goal, and it’s all thanks to you, Willow. Can you forgive us for doubting you?”

The committee had pushed back—and pushed back hard—on her ideas for pet photo shoots, the build-a-doghouse station, and the dog relay. They hadn’t thought the work involved would be worth the return.

“I’m just happy it all worked out and that so many people came out to help.” She introduced Noah and Riley. Catching the speculative gleam in the veterinarian’s eyes, Willow distracted her by asking, “Were all the rescues rehomed?”

“Almost eighty percent, and we have a few people still on the fence.”

“Lucky?” she asked hopefully about the eight-month-old black Lab/golden retriever mix.

“I’m afraid not.” The woman gestured to one of several carriers on the ground. “It’s a shame because, once he gets past the adolescent stage, he’ll make a wonderful family pet.”

“Can I give him a quick cuddle before you take him back to the shelter?”

“Of course.” She walked over to the carrier and let the dog out. Willow knelt on a bed of hay, and the puppy ran to her, nipping and licking her as he jumped up and down.

Noah crouched beside her and picked up the dog. “No biting.” Lucky cocked his head and then settled almost immediately in Noah’s arms. “Good boy,” he said, stroking the dog’s silky black coat.

Riley sat beside Noah. “Can I hold him, please?” She squealed with delight when Noah handed him over. “He’s so cute,” she cried, laughing when Lucky started eating her hair.

Noah scooped him out of Riley’s arms and once again told Lucky not to bite, waiting for him to settle in his arms before stroking him.

“What?” he asked when Willow and Riley looked at him and crossed their arms.

“You’re hogging him,” Willow said.

“I’m not hogging him. I’m calming him down. You’ve been bitten enough for one day, don’t you think?”

“He’s got baby teeth. They don’t hurt.”

“He didn’t bite me.” Riley knotted her hair at the nape of her neck and then held out her arms. When Noah handed him over, she cuddled him to her chest.

The event organizer walked over. “Willow Rosetti, when will I ever stop doubting you? You told us you’d find Lucky a home, and it looks like you did.”

Willow shot a panicked glance at Noah, afraid he’d think she’d set him up. She would never do that, not to him or to Riley, and not to Lucky. “I did. I did say that but I didn’t mean Riley and Noah. We’re just giving Lucky a cuddle before we leave. But I promise, I’ll keep trying to find him a home.”

“Can we keep him, Noah, please? We can’t let him go back to the shelter. He doesn’t have a mom. He needs a family. Everyone needs a family.” She held Lucky up to her cheek, giving her brother pleading eyes. But Noah missed them because he was glaring at Willow.

I’m sorry, she mouthed, feeling horrible for the position she’d unintentionally put Noah in. She stood up, moving away to give Noah and Riley some privacy.

The event organizer whispered an apology before walking to the other end of the barn with the veterinarian.

“Noah, please? I’ll take care of him. You won’t have to take him for walks or feed him. I’ll train him.”

He put his arm around his sister. “I’m sorry, Tink, but you know you can’t have a dog. Billy—”

“If you tell him it’s part of the deal, he’ll say yes. You know he will. All he cares about is the money. You can talk to the managers of my trust fund and make it a stipulation for me going back to LA.”

Noah looked gutted by what his sister had just revealed and he bowed his head.

“Please, Noah,” Riley pleaded again.

He kissed the top of his sister’s head. “Sure, Tink. Whatever you want.”

Riley jumped to her feet with Lucky in her arms and ran to Willow. “You really are my fairy godmother. I told you I had a dog on my wish list, and you made it happen. You’re the best, Willow.”