Chapter 10
Willow
Saturday morning rolls around, and I wake up feeling refreshed.
Maybe this cabin isn’t so bad after all.
Being tucked away in the woods, with plenty of privacy, has been better than I expected.
I’ve come to terms with not having the bells and whistles here, and the simplicity of it all is calming.
The only issue is I am officially out of coffee, and that’s a must. A hot cup of coffee and a folding chair on my porch are more relaxing than one would think. So, I need to head to town.
I take the world's coldest shower, which I have yet to grow fond of, and get myself ready for the day. Jeans and a T-shirt are the most effort I’m willing to put into today.
My first stop is the coffee shop and then I'll go to the store.
My fridge needs restocking for the week, and I think I need some time off the ranch to clear my head.
Get some distance from… Well, who am I kidding, Weston.
I hop in the dusty old truck and head down the road.
I like that the road to the cabin is the same one that leads to the ranch house.
I love getting to see it and be near it all the time; it’s like a piece of me gets to still live in my golden years.
The house is new, but the feeling I have here is the same.
Jack and Mabel must’ve built this one while I was gone.
The old one was my home away from home growing up.
I really want to stop by and see Weston's parents, but I’m worried it’ll be awkward.
My memories here are filled with happiness and laughter, and I don’t want to ruin that by showing up at their home unannounced.
When I drive past Jack and Mabel’s, I see a car that’s a little too shiny for these neck of the woods. Not to mention, everything here is either Ford, Chevy, or Dodge, and there’s a BMW parked in front.
As the caring tenant of one of their cabins, I decide to investigate.
I let my foot off the pedal to slow the truck, driving slowly down the gravel road, the sound of my tires crunching over the rocks.
I’m not being nosy, I'm making sure they are safe. The first thing I see is Mabel. The urge to stop is even stronger now. I’ve been avoiding them, partially because it hurt that they cut me off when Weston walked out, and partially because I’m afraid they’ll treat me differently, and that would hurt even worse.
Oh, and she’s waving.
I can’t even roll down the damn window because this thing was made when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I take back what I said about simplicity; some things make life less simple. It’s then that I see a familiar face
Oh my God, that’s Josh, in the small town of Windy Peaks, and not New York City, where he just was two days ago when we last spoke.
My heart starts racing, and I suddenly feel nervous.
Why am I nervous? Probably because we haven’t seen each other in a month.
I have a million questions going through my head, but the one I can’t ignore is why is he here?
Speeding up, I press my foot down on the gas pedal and whip into their paved driveway up to their house, turn the truck off, and hop out.
“Willow girl.” Mabel steps around Josh when she sees me walking up and opens up her arms for a hug.
My face hurts from how wide my smile stretches at her gesture. She smells faintly of fresh cinnamon and bread. If I had to guess, she’s spent her morning cooking. I guess some things haven’t changed here at all. “I have missed you.”
“You too, sweet girl. I’ve been wanting to talk to you.
I hope you know we only distanced ourselves because we thought it would be easier for you after Weston, well, anyway, it’s great to see you.
It appears we have some catching up to do.
” She nods her head over to Josh, and I let her go and walk to him.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but after a month apart, I expected him to wrap me tight in his arms and squeeze. Instead, I get the lovely gesture of a side hug.
“Great to see you, sweetheart.” His voice sounds different, like he’s on the phone with one of his clients, he’s trying to schmooze.
I hate this persona of his, it’s like nails on a chalkboard with how unauthentic he comes across.
Besides my boss and Josh, I haven’t had to talk to anyone in corporate in a month, and it’s right now that I’m realizing I liked it better that way.
“Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” His smile is tight and doesn’t reach his eyes, almost as if he’s annoyed with me.
“Of course, this is Mabel. She’s pretty much the community mom. Mabel, this is my fiancé, Josh.”
He wraps his arm around me now and gives my upper arm a squeeze.
I don’t miss the way Mabel’s eyes are tracking everything.
Now, Josh’s smile isn’t the only one that is forced.
Mine feels borderline painful. We all stand together, and my fear that things would be weird when we reunited has officially come to fruition.
“Well, we are having family dinner tonight. We would love to have you guys.” Mabel clasps her hands together and looks at each of us with a warm smile.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to turn down the offer. Sitting in a room with Weston and Josh together is my exact definition of hell.
My fiancé loves nothing more than a good dinner party. He really shines when it comes to the way he can talk to people; it’s why he’s so good at his job. “We’d love that, wouldn’t we?” Josh prompts when I don’t respond, lost in my thoughts.
I shake my head and reinforce my now very painful phony smile, “Of course. You’re in for a real treat; no one can cook quite like Mabel.” That part isn’t a lie. Her food is to die for, and that’s something to look forward to.
“Alright, well, I need to go water the chickens out back. I’ll see you guys back here tonight around six or so.” She waves and walks around the house to the back, where I’m guessing her coop is.
Now that we’re alone, I turn to Josh. “This is such a surprise! What are you doing here?”
“Well, we’ve never been apart for this long, and I missed you,” he says before leaning down and kissing me.
“This place was kind of hard to find. I couldn’t remember the name of it, so I had to pull it up on my phone when I got into my rental car.
” He then looks over to the truck I’m driving.
“Speaking of rentals, why did your company not reserve you one?”
He looks at the truck with such disdain that I immediately feel defensive of it. This farm truck has worked harder than probably everyone on this ranch combined in its years. “My grandpa offered, but then his truck had some issues. I thought I told you this?” I vividly remember both conversations.
“No, I think you’re just imagining that.
You’re so forgetful, sweetheart,” he says with a chuckle.
I have been forgetting to call him at night, exhausted from working all day to meet the deadlines.
The nights I do remember are too late with the time change, but now that he’s here, I can finally show him my hometown.
“Well, I was just heading into town. Do you want to tag along, and I can give you the Windy Peaks tour?” The excitement in my voice isn’t forced at all. I love this place, and now that he’s finally here, I can’t wait to show him all my favorite places and people.
“I’d love to. The town looks charming.” His smile is so tight that I wonder if it’s a bit forced, but right now, I’m too excited to care. It’s nice having him here and getting to merge my two worlds together.
I turn to walk us to the truck, but he grabs my arm and stops me. “What are you doing?”
I look around, genuinely confused, because we literally just talked about this. “I was going to get in the truck and drive us to town.”
“Sweetheart, you’ve been working hard. How about I drive you around?” He starts ushering me to the shiny black BMW.
The sightseeing will be hard, but it will be nice to be a passenger princess again. “Well, okay, I guess we can take your car.”
He nods, the smile on his face is genuine, I can tell by the way it makes the small creases next to his eyes stand out.
He walks around to his side of the car and hops in.
This isn’t unusual, and before I was back, I wouldn’t think much of it, but now all I can think about is how offended Weston was every time I considered grabbing my own door.
The trip to town was useful in the fact that I got my coffee, and that Josh and my grandpa got along.
He met us down at the coffee shop. Gramps can be somewhat of a spitfire, and Josh can be a bit, well, judgmental, so I didn’t want to show him my family home just yet.
I want to ease him into this small town.
I know it can be a big adjustment, because I went through the same thing, only flip-flopped.
The sigh of relief I had when they started joking about football was probably audible around the world. Seeing my two guys get along is nice.
Josh looked genuinely interested in everything I showed him.
It was when he started oooing and ahhhing my very small high school that my suspicions started.
He’s always kind to me, but never this interested in pretty much anything I have to say unless it’s work-related.
We’re very career-driven people, so I’ve never put much thought into it, but now, I can’t stop thinking about it. Maybe he’s just missed me.
He dropped me off at my truck and is now following me as I drive to the cabin.
I did try and warn him that the cabin is more on the rustic side than the one we visited in Vermont when we got engaged.
He booked me a surprise getaway, and it’s one of my fondest moments of our relationship.
The cabin was like a five-star hotel interior meets the outdoor setting of a small-town Hallmark movie.
This cabin is so far from that in its current state, it’s practically in another galaxy.
When we come to a stop and step out of our vehicles, he takes in the property.
I try to see it through his fresh set of eyes.
The front of the cabin is very worn, and most of the wood framing will need to be restored.
The two large windows on either side of the front door also need to be replaced.
Years of condensation have weathered the panes, and the paint is cracked and peeling.
On the bright side, there’s a quaint wrap-around porch, and the cabin is surrounded by trees.
It’ll be the perfect oasis once we put a little TLC into it.
“So this is where you’re staying?” He gives the splintered wood on the porch a dirty look as I pass by him, twisting the doorknob and pushing open the door.
“Do you not lock it?” he asks, looking horrified.
“The only neighbors I have out here are wildlife, and I'm fairly certain Bambi or Yogi the Bear will not be breaking in. I know, it’s a culture shock compared to the city.” This is so different from New York, where hundreds of strangers could pass our apartment building in a day.
“I guess that’s fair. I just want to make sure you’re safe out here. I don’t really like that you’re all by yourself.” He looks around, as if scouting for danger.
Turning the doorknob, I stand in the doorway, blocking the space from his view, “There’s not a lot of space, but it has a lot of potential, so keep an open mind.
” I push the door all the way open now. “The primary room is in the back. And you’re pretty much looking at everything else.
The hot water is out, so don’t be shocked when your shower is cold.
” I fiddle with my fingers, keeping an eye on his expression.
I don’t know why I care so much if he likes this place.
Maybe because it’s become a bit of a sanctuary to me.
It’s quiet, and I feel like I can take a deep breath out here and actually feel refreshed.
“Wow, well it’s…something. What do you think your customer base is going to be?” He walks around and runs his fingers over the old faucet and then the slightly cracked wood on the cabinets.
“People like coming out here to get away from the hustle and bustle; this is a good place for it. It’ll have more amenities after construction, obviously.”
He raises his perfectly manicured eyebrows as if what I am saying is completely foreign to him, and maybe it is. The city took me a long time to get used to, maybe he just needs some time out here. The quiet feels loud when you’ve never experienced it before.
“Well, I’m going to clean up for dinner,” he says and then wipes a piece of non-existent lint off his pants.
He’s already severely overdressed; if he cleans himself up anymore, he will shine brighter than a disco ball. Maybe I should have gotten him some clothes while we were in town to help him blend in.
“This is going to be a pretty laid-back dinner; you could probably dress down.” He could probably step about two steps down from his down, and still be a little too clean, but that’s him. And I don’t want him to feel like he can’t be himself.
“Oh, is that why you’re still wearing that?” Dinners for us are usually a whole affair, so I get where he’s coming from, but the comment still stings a little.
I was planning on changing anyway, but the comment has me quick to reassure him that I’m still me. “No, I was going to change into a dress, actually.”
“Oh, great, either way you would look great.” He walks over and gives my hand a squeeze. “Who is all going to be at this dinner?”
With that the warm feeling from his caring touch fizzles away quicker than it came, “Well, you’ve met Mabel, so her and her husband will for sure be there, outside of that, it’s kind of a guess, most likely, their kids Weston and Aspen, and then the other set of kids who aren’t theirs, Rhett, Mav and his wife, Ava. ”
“Ah, so I finally get to meet the infamous Weston.” He says it like he’s going to enjoy this, which makes one of us. This is my literal worst nightmare on steroids.