Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
WILLOW
It’d been a busy week, and despite what Finn and I had said that evening at the tree house, we hadn’t had much time to spend together. We were back to stolen kisses here and there, but it seemed to work for us, especially because I wasn’t trying to hide anything from anyone. Not anymore. While I wasn’t screaming it from the rooftops, I also wasn’t going to lie if asked.
Of course, that hadn’t been put to the test as of yet, because all anyone wanted to talk to me about was information on the Fourth of July parade. And now that the parade was in full swing, my love life was the last thing on anyone’s mind.
I stood under an awning against the brick exterior of a building in the Square, a brief reprieve from the battering sun, just taking a moment to absorb it all. Havenbrook had events to mark every major holiday—and even some non-major ones—but this was the largest and most grueling. And while I hated the prep for it, swore at how much time it took and all the hoops I had to jump through to make sure everything was in order, I couldn’t deny the swell of happiness at seeing my work come to fruition. I put on a damn good parade, if I did say so myself.
The small details probably went unnoticed by most of the attendees, but I was aware of every single one. The red, blue, and white flowers I’d spent hours planting that dotted the parade route. The colored lights I’d strung between the lampposts along the Square. The flag bunting on all the balconies and porches of the homes and businesses in the historic district. Uncle Sam doing balloon animals for the kids. The sight of it all coming together made me happy…content. The same feeling I got when I finished a painting. The proof of a job well done—a job well done with my own two hands.
“Nice parade, Will!” someone called out to me, owner of the voice unknown.
I just smiled and waved at the praise, thankful I was getting it at all. It’d probably been too much to hope I’d get it from my daddy.
“Hey.” Mac sidled up next to me, Rory on my other side.
“What’s up?” I asked, dividing a look between my sisters.
“You ready for the game?” Rory asked.
I groaned internally—and, okay, a little externally as well. The annual softball game wasn’t something I could skip out on, though I desperately wanted to. I’d been up since five a.m., and I was dead on my feet. But my job wasn’t anywhere near done. The parade might have been winding down, the fire truck with firemen atop it tossing out candy to the passersby signaling the end of that particular event, but I still had so much to do.
First the game, then the soft opening of the bar —which was what Finn, Drew, and Nola were still calling it, not having settled on a name yet—then cleanup. I’d be lucky if I saw my bed before two in the morning.
“Do I have to?” I whined, though I didn’t actually mean it. Of course I had to. If I didn’t, who else would?
Mac and Rory exchanged a look, then Rory said, “I take it you haven’t heard yet.”
“Heard what? Oh Lord, did those kids mess up the baseball diamond? Dammit, I told them last week to stop four-wheelin’ all over it.”
“The diamond’s fine, and the kids are the last thing you need to worry about.”
“Well, someone better tell me what I should be worrying about, because I’m findin’ I don’t have a lot of patience for y’all right this second.”
“We’ve got a new opposing team this year.”
My brow furrowed. Every year it’d been the firefighters against the Havens, which consisted of our family and a handful of town hall workers. Not even close to a fair match, considering most of the firefighters were a bunch of athletes in peak physical condition and our team consisted of a man nearing sixty who tossed back beers more than he tossed balls, a handful of people who’d played some kind of sport way back in high school but not much since, and the rest of us who were mostly artistic types without an athletic bone in our bodies.
Our saving grace every year was Mac, who’d played softball all through high school and even some college. Despite the uneven playing field, somehow we won. Every year. Imagine that.
“Somethin’ come up with the firefighters?” I asked.
“Rumor has it someone sweet-talked them into sittin’ out,” Rory said.
“Really? Who? We got a shot?”
Mac snorted. “A shot at trouble.”
I did not have the patience for my sisters today. “Would someone just spit it out already?”
“We’re up against Drew, Finn, and their old crew.” Mac smiled. “And by the looks of it, they’re out to win. Maybe I’ll finally get some competition out there.”
My mouth dropped open. “But?—”
Lord, I didn’t even want to think of the tantrum my daddy would throw if he lost the game for the first time in…well, I wasn’t sure I wanted to make such a broad sweeping statement as to say ever , but…ever.
As if reading my mind, Mac said, “Yep. Daddy’s gonna get his ass handed to him.” She hooked her arm through mine and tugged me toward the baseball field, pure glee written over every inch of her body. “I feel like we’re gonna need popcorn for this show.”
Finn
I stood in the dugout, Drew, Nola, Nash, and Ty BSing with each other. We were still waiting for a handful of people to arrive, and then we could get this show on the road. I wasn’t sure I’d ever anticipated something more, with the exception of seeing Willow again.
All week we’d been putting the finishing touches on the bar, and Drew and I had been closing out details of our life in California while looking for a place for our momma to live in Havenbrook. But during that time, I’d also sat and stewed, really contemplated how I was going to give that money back to Dick.
I hadn’t waited ten years just to mail a check back to him.
Finally, as I’d been walking home one night, a town flyer about the parade had caught my eye, and I’d remembered the annual softball game—how the Havens’ opposing team had always, without exception, thrown the game. What I wouldn’t give to see the look on Dick’s face if someone actually challenged him.
And in that moment, I’d known that was it.
I’d made a few calls, sweet-talked some people, and then we were in. My misfit crew of friends and I were taking on the mayor. And we certainly wouldn’t be throwing the game. Then, after, the cash. Shoving the money down the mayor’s throat, along with a bit of humility, would make my whole year.
“You really sure you wanna go through with this?” Ty asked.
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind everyone else was thinking the same thing—with the exception of Drew. But of course, Drew wouldn’t question it at all because he’d been there. Through every up and down, every decision made between a rock and a hard place, every day of the past ten years. No, Drew wasn’t thinking it because he knew how badly I wanted this. How it wasn’t about beating the mayor, though that was definitely the icing on the cake. This wasn’t even about a stupid game, but about so much more.
As if I’d conjured her up in my mind, Willow came strolling onto the field, slipping into the dugout on the opposite side of the baseball diamond. She stood in a tank top and shorts that left very little to the imagination, her smiling face hitting me straight in the gut.
Goddamn, did I love her.
To Ty, I said, “Abso-fucking-lutely. I’m playing for more than the game.”
I never took my eyes off Willow, and eventually, she glanced my way. She froze for just a moment, and I held my breath, waiting to see what she’d do. This was the first time we’d be seen in public together since the night at the tree house, and I couldn’t deny I was anxious as hell to see how she’d respond to me.
After what felt like a lifetime, she bit her bottom lip then lifted her hand, fluttering her fingers as her sisters looked on. I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face at her acknowledgment of me.
“Shit, man,” Drew said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “I sure hope you’re ready for what you’re starting here.”
Ready for it? I had no idea if I was or not. All I knew was I was tired of waiting.