Chapter twelve Willow #3
“I know that the last person we’re here to honor tonight is no stranger to most of you in this room.
If you have been around this center in the last thirty years, then you know the man we’re about to talk about was a pivotal player in the services we offer to our Marines.
Michael Sheppard dedicated time and energy into the healing process that many men and women require and need after serving in active duty, both on and off the battlefield.
He paved the way for us to offer counseling services and co-sponsors for those that faced problems with addiction.
He spent more time in this building than he probably did in his own home.
” The audience chuckles and murmurs in agreement.
“And though that man probably experienced some of the most gruesome and traumatic events during his service, he managed to come home and find a way to turn that experience into something good. Unfortunately, this year, he lost his battle with cancer and joined our Lord and Savior on the other side.” He pauses to give everyone a moment.
“It’s a shame that a man can survive a war only to lose the battle for his life at home.
” The crowd grows eerily silent as goosebumps cover my skin.
He's talking about the man who left me his house.
“It is with great honor that I recognize Sergeant Michael Sheppard tonight and his family for the service he not only gave to his country, but to this center. The entire crowd moves to their feet, and I follow their lead, clapping while my heart beats erratically and a sense of awareness creeps up my spine. “I would like to call Sergeant Sheppard’s son, Staff Sergeant Dallas Sheppard, up to the stage along with his family as we honor his memory.”
And time stands still before reality hits me, slamming into my chest like a freight train and stealing the oxygen from my lungs.
Oh my God, it can’t be.
All eyes shift in the room as Dallas, his three siblings, and his mother all rise from their seats and gather on the stage as Sergeant Lyle presents them with a plaque honoring their dad.
This has to be a dream.
No. A nightmare.
Michael Sheppard is Dallas’s dad?
His father is the mystery man who left me the Bayshore house, his dream house?
What the actual fuck?
All the noise and chatter around me fade away as the only thing I am aware of is the sound of my pulse in my ears. I feel my legs wobble beneath me as I stand in place, feigning a smile and compassion while I’m panicking on the inside.
Astrid looks over at me with tears in her eyes until she notices the change in my demeanor. “Hey. Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I manage to croak out. “It just got really hot in here” I fan my face frantically. “I think—I think I’m going to go outside for some fresh air.”
Perplexed but with no reason to question me, she just nods. “Okay. Let me know if I can get you anything.”
I put on my best smile. “I’ll be fine.”
And then I walk away as fast as my feet will carry me without drawing attention to myself.
Overwhelmed by thoughts that stir up unresolved feelings and a million questions, I find the nearest exit and barrel through it, grateful for the railing that I find in front of me as I reach for the cold metal and take a deep breath, fighting for oxygen.
Moonlight glows out against black water beneath me, the small lake off the back of the property providing a pristine backdrop for the evening, an endless abyss that looks oddly comforting right now, given the developments in the last few minutes.
I have no idea how long I’ve been out here until a voice behind me pulls me from my thoughts.
“Didn’t realize I’d have company out here.”
I spin around to see Dallas shutting the same door I just walked through behind him before joining me at the railing.
All I can think about is the name he shares with the man who was somehow connected to my parents.
Not the concern in his eyes as he approaches me.
Not the way he overwhelms me and makes my body heat up.
No.
It’s the fact that this man has no idea how connected we are and how much more fucked up this entire situation between us just became.
“Are you okay?” he asks, checking me out from head to toe as if there may be something physically wrong with me.
And then he reaches up and cups the side of my face with one of his hands, the singe from the contact of his skin against mine making my heart lunge forward and my body almost do the same.
I’ve been dying for this man to touch me again, and the sincerity of his caress is borderline overwhelming. Dallas’s eyes stare down into mine, searching for answers that I can’t give him, and some that I just don’t want to.
Luckily, he can’t see my inner turmoil or the invisible scars I carry.
The longer his hand remains on my face, the longer the world seems to be frozen around us.
“I’m fine. Just needed some air.” The smile I give him is one I’ve practiced before so I know it’s convincing enough, and with as much strength as I can, I remove myself from his grasp, turning away from him slightly and fighting to control the shaking of my hands.
“It can get pretty warm in there with all of those people.” He reaches up and pulls on the collar of his shirt while avoiding my gaze. “And I forgot how hot this uniform can get.”
Focus on the conversation, not what you just found out, Willow. Don’t blurt out something stupid and make this situation even worse.
“What are you doing out here?”
“I guess I just needed some air too.” He walks forward now, grabbing onto the railing and looking out over the water, blowing out a harsh breath.
I look over at him briefly, but long enough to capture the shadows in the lines of his face, the way he looks so powerful and commanding in the darkness with his suit of armor on, but the light is catching the pain etched into the lines around his eyes.
“I’m sorry about your dad.” Inside I slap myself in the forehead, berating myself for bringing him up, even though I know the sentiment is appropriate given the evening.
“Thank you. It was a rough year watching him whittle away. At least he’s not in pain anymore.”
“Yeah,” I say, feeling my pulse increase with each passing second.
I need to get out of here. I feel the words on the tip of my tongue, bound to come out if I stay here for one more second. But I’ll be damned if I taint this night for him or his family—for us.
I know I could share my own struggles with the loss of my parents.
I know I could apologize again for the fact that his dad isn’t here.
But all I can focus on is who his dad is and how this man has played a pivotal role in why my parents aren’t alive and why I’m in Carrington Cove to begin with.
We’re finally starting to get along. My feelings toward him are shifting.
But now?
Now everything is one big clusterfuck and I need to process it.
This information about his dad changes everything.
“So—” he starts, but I cut him off.
“I’m sorry, Dallas. I need to go.” I twist away from him, walking as quickly as my heels will allow and leaving him confused, I’m sure.
“Willow!” he calls after me.
But I don’t turn back around. I walk back through the door I came out of earlier and hunt down Astrid as quickly as I can.
“Astrid?”
She spins around from her conversation with a few other women to find me practically hyperventilating. “Willow? What’s wrong?”
“I’m—I’m just not feeling very well. I hate to do this, but I need to leave.” I twist to the side, glancing toward the stage where Dallas’s family is seated at their table, their mother wiping tears from under her eyes, and my heart crumbles once more.
“Oh. Okay. Do you want me to come with you?” She moves to reach for her purse from the table, but I stop her.
“No. I’m fine. Please stay. I just need to know that you’ll be able to get home.”
“Yeah, I’m sure Penn could give me a ride.”
“Okay. Perfect. Thank you. Again, I’m so sorry.” I grab my purse, trying to hide the tremor in my hands as I do.
“It’s okay. I hope you feel better.” She rubs my arm before I turn to walk away.
With a tight-lipped smile, I head for the front entrance, feeling Dallas’s stare on me as he comes back inside, but I don’t dare look in his direction. I just keep moving forward—out of the crowd, out to my car, and back toward my house—Dallas’s dream house that his father gave to me.
Once I’m settled inside, the walls that were starting to feel like a home now feel like they’re closing in on me, hiding secrets under the drywall and in every nail holding the place together.
Just when my heart was beginning to open up to the possibilities and people here in Carrington Cove, yet another revelation has stirred emotions that I don’t want to deal with.
However, nothing could have prepared me for the visitor I received later that night, another person tangled in this web I’d been drawn into that made the plot thicken even more.