Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
WILLOW
Sliding the last container of syrup onto the shelf, I slowly take a few steps back. After breaking some the other week, I forgot I needed to put new ones in their place until this morning when I was doing a final walk through of everything in the store.
“What do you think?” I ask, spinning on my heel to look at Mia sitting on the counter near the front door.
She hops down, walking over to me, a smile drifting across her lips. “I think it looks good.” She throws her arm over the tops of my shoulders. “Look at this place, Will. It looks amazing in here and you are so going to prove your brothers wrong.”
“Special delivery,” Natalie’s voice calls out as the bell over the door rings. She walks into the store, smiling brightly as she carries a few pastry boxes of what has to be cookies. “I’ve got the goods.”
A laugh bubbles in my throat and Mia removes her arm as I take the boxes from Natalie. “I’ll send Noah over with a few bottles of syrup for you to put on the counter for Harvest Fest. That’s what we talked about doing, right?”
Natalie nods. “Yep. I can’t wait. I just know that everyone is going to love the cookies.” Natalie pauses. She turns to Mia with a smile and holds out her hand. “Hi, I’m Natalie.”
Mia shakes her hand, returning the smile. “Mia.” A car horn echoes outside, grabbing all three of our attention. “That’s Caleb,” Mia says softly as she looks at me. “I’ll be back for Harvest Fest, okay?”
“Okay.” I pull her in for a hug. Caleb dropped Mia off here earlier this morning while he and Tella wandered around town. “Love you.”
“Love you too!”
Mia heads out of the store, stepping out into the fall air and walks over to Caleb’s SUV.
He’s already standing outside of it, pulling the door open for Mia.
He sees me through the window and lifts his hand in a friendly wave before helping her in the car.
That man loves her so much, sometimes it’s hard not to be envious of what they have.
“Do you want to grab a coffee?” Natalie asks as she walks over to me. “Aunt Maggie’s at the bakery now, so I should go relieve her soon.”
“Sure,” I say, nodding at her as I watch Caleb and Mia pulling away from the street.
“What if I grab us coffees and I’ll just meet you at the bakery?
I could use a bit of a break from staring at all the same things here.
” Laughing, I shake my head at her. “I swear, I’m going to rearrange the entire place if I keep obsessing over how it looks. ”
Natalie laughs, her lips stretching across her perfect white teeth. “That sounds perfect. I’ll see you in a few!”
She half skips out of the store, turning to head down the street toward the bakery. Sucking in a deep breath, I scan the shop once more, lingering on the rows of syrup as a memory flashes into my mind. Jace’s hands in my hair, the syrup on his pants.
My breath catches and I shake my head, pushing the memory away.
A week has passed since I left his house after our last dinner.
I’ve been busy tying up any loose ends with the shop and I’m sure he’s been just as busy.
But just to be safe, I make sure my gaze doesn’t linger on the street for too long. I want to see him, but not like that.
I want to see him because he wants to see me.
When I dropped coffee off for Natalie, she ended up swamped with some orders for the festival, so I left her there and headed back home for the day.
Not ready to be cooped up in the house yet, I sit in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch and let my mind drift while my foot keeps a steady rocking pace.
Noah comes walking through the yard with a bag hanging on his shoulder. His footsteps are heavy on the wooden steps as he makes his way up onto the porch, pulling the bag in front of his body. “Are these the ones I’m supposed to take to Natalie?”
He pulls two bottles of syrup from the bag to show me. My eyebrows tug together, the tension settling in the air between us. “I think she wanted to have a few extra there.”
Noah lifts his eyebrows, nodding. “I have five of each in the bag.” He shifts his weight on his feet, his brows returning to their normal place. “Does she know I’m coming? You told her, right?”
“Yes, I told her.”
“Okay, good,” he says, his throat bobbing as he swallows hard. He lowers himself onto the chair next to me. “We should talk.”
We haven’t spoken a single word about Jace since I found out he confronted him. It’s like a huge elephant that’s been following us around, occupying the corner of every room we’re in together.
Silence settles between us, the moment stretching before I finally break through the quiet. “I’m sorry, Noah.”
His eyebrows tug together as he whips his head to the side and looks at me. “No, no. You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”
I level my gaze on his. “I got involved with your best friend. I shouldn’t have done that.” I exhale softly, thorny vines wrapping around my heart. “I didn’t mean for it to affect your friendship.”
He purses his lips, shaking his head. “It’s not your fault. He shouldn’t have made a move on you. Years ago, he told me he’d never do something like that and I trusted him. I trusted him to not hurt you.”
“I knew what I was getting myself into, Noah,” I say softly, offering him a small smile. “I willingly signed up for the heartache and knew that was all it would end up being.”
My brother frowns, inhaling deeply. “What happened with the two of you? After I talked to him… ”
Twisting my lips, I chew on the inside of my cheek for a moment and drop my gaze down to my hands in my lap.
“I went over to his house after you talked to him and had dinner and he was acting strange. He told me about your conversation and that he needed to let me go, but I also realized that I deserve more than just fleeting moments with someone.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing at first and then as I was walking away, he decided that he suddenly knew what he wanted.” I run my tongue over my top teeth, lifting my eyes back up to meet my brother’s. “I told him he needed to take the time to really think about what he wants and if he wants something real with me.”
“I think the whole thing with you scared him,” Noah says softly, lifting his shoulders into a small shrug. “I think the two of you got too close and he wanted to push you away, to protect you both.”
“He has it in his head that he’s going to let everyone down—me, in this particular situation.”
“No one is perfect, he can’t expect for there to not be moments where it might feel as though you’ve each failed at something.” Noah tilts his head to the side. “He’s a goddamn idiot.”
Staring at my brother, I inhale deeply, my chest expanding before I release the heavy breath. “He’s not the only one who’s afraid to fail someone.” It’s time I come clean with everyone. It’s time the truth comes out. “I lied to you and Finn about vet school.”
Noah’s forehead creases. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t willingly take the year off,” I admit, my voice barely audible. “I didn’t get in.”
Noah stares at me, his eyebrows lifting, just as Finn steps out onto the porch as if he heard me say his name.
“Family meeting without me?”
I shake my head, my heart pounding in my chest. “Noah and I were talking about Jace.” I wet my lips. “And how I wasn’t accepted into vet school.”
Finn leans against the doorway. “I thought you were taking the year off?”
“No,” I admit quietly, shaking my head. “I wasn’t accepted, so I decided I would come home to regroup. I think I’d always been lying to myself. Becoming a veterinarian was a childhood dream. One I clung to. ”
“It’s not what you want to do, is it?” Noah asks.
Shaking my head, I look back and forth between my brothers. “It’s not. I’m happy here, back in the Hollow managing the store. I’m honestly happier than I’ve been in years.”
Noah stares at me thoughtfully, his head bobbing as he nods slowly. “Then that’s all that matters.”
“Yeah,” Finn adds, nodding his head. “We don’t care what you decide to do, as long as you’re happy.”
Noah’s eyes meet mine. “And that also includes who you’re with.” He lets out a sigh. “If Jace is who makes you happy, then that’s all that matters.”
Finn’s brow furrows. “Wait, what?”
“Jace and Willow have a thing for each other, but he is being a dumbass about it.”
“Want me to beat him up?” Finn asks, a smirk tugging on his lips.
A soft laugh slips from my lips and I shake my head at both of them. “No, thank you. I appreciate the sentiment, but I think it’s better if we all act like adults about this.”
“So, what happened?” Finn asks, his eyes bouncing back and forth between Noah and me. “Did things end badly?”
“It kind of came to a stand-off. Jace doesn’t think he can give me what I deserve and I am not willing to accept anything less than that.” The thorns cut into my heart. “I told him that every relationship is a gamble and it’s up to him whether or not he wants to risk it.”
Finn mulls over my words, slowly bobbing his head. “You’re right. No one can predict what will happen. You can’t expect things to be easy, you just have to be willing to put in the work and make things happen.”
“I feel like this is my fault,” Noah says quietly.
“It’s not. This would have happened eventually and I’m glad it did now, before our feelings became too intertwined.”
“He’s always loved you, Will,” Finn chimes in. “He’ll come to his senses when he realizes what he’s really losing here.”
My eyes widen as I stare back at my oldest brother. “What?”
He tilts his head to the side, a ghost of a smile dancing across his lips. “Of course you didn’t see it,” he says with a chuckle, shaking his head. “Everyone else could see it, Will. That boy has only ever had eyes for you.”
Noah grumbles at the thought, his eyes narrowing on Finn. “I asked him if he did and he hesitated.”
“Because he’s your best friend and you’re another person he doesn’t want to let down,” Finn says, rolling his eyes. “Imagine the conflicting feelings he must have been experiencing this entire time.”
Twisting my lips, I chew on the inside of my cheek, the guilt washing over me as Finn’s words settle in my chest.
“I’m not saying you have to forgive him or go running back to him,” he adds, his eyes meeting mine. “I’m just saying, maybe give him a little bit of grace.”
“Regardless of what happens, we love you, Will,” Noah says, his voice soft. “We will always support your decisions, even if we don’t agree with them.”
“And we will beat anyone’s ass who ever makes you feel like shit,” Finn adds, a grin stretching across his lips. “Even if it’s Jace Miller.”
“Especially Jace Miller,” Noah chimes in with a chuckle as he rises to his feet and drags me to mine, pulling me in for a hug. Finn lets the door fall shut as he walks over to the two of us, wrapping his arms around Noah and me.
The three of us stay like that for a few moments before we all break apart. Finn heads back inside and Noah leaves for town, taking the bottles of syrup with him to drop off with Natalie.
Sitting back on the rocking chair, my gaze roams over the yard and out to the fields where the horses graze. My life might not be exactly where I want it yet, but this is a start.
Whether or not Jace decides that we are worth the risk—I know that I will be okay.
I just hope he at least considers it…