Chapter eighteen Willow
Chapter eighteen
Willow
Dallas walks off to go check on his team, giving me a chance to compose myself.
I had every intention of just watching him compete from the sidelines, but it looks like I just got roped into playing myself—and part of me feels emotional about the idea.
“You own a house here, Willow, which makes you one of us.”
As I was driving back into town last night, my hands wouldn’t stop shaking with the anticipation of returning to this small town, of seeing Dallas, and taking the next steps to change my life.
I want this—the house, the town, the friendships, and the man.
Being back in D.C. for only two days told me everything I needed to know. That place isn’t my home. My business may be there, but I can change that if I need to. The only family I have there is Mandy, my godmother, whom I haven’t spoken to in months.
I came to the realization that there really isn’t anything holding me back except for myself, which is still an obstacle, but I’m ready to face it.
I haven’t figured out all the details yet, but after the house is done, I plan to have a conversation with Dallas and figure out where his head is at because he’s a huge reason why I want to move, of course.
His actions tell me he wants me, and every time we’re together, my body craves him even more.
But it’s not just the sex.
He sees me, knows how to calm me in a way I’ve never experienced before.
I feel protected when I’m in his arms, and this desire to share my life with him, even the mundane details, overwhelms me each time we’re together.
But the most nerve-wracking part of it all is that he makes me feel like I belong here.
I’ve never had that feeling in my life—but he’s given it to me.
And I’m taking that as a sign.
I haven’t told Shauna yet, or Mandy, or Katrina, but I don’t want to broach the subject until I know that everything is going to work out, and that won’t be possible until I talk to one other person, someone I wasn’t anticipating seeing again so soon.
Dallas jogs back over to me as the rest of the restaurant crew follows him over, Astrid and Penn included. “All right, we’re all set. We’re going against Carrington Cove Animal Hospital first, so this should be a sure thing.”
Penn rubs his hands together. “I love kicking Parker’s ass first thing in the morning. It’s going to be a great day.”
Astrid shoves him playfully. “You’re such a bully.”
He wraps his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “It’s my duty as his older brother, right, Dallas?”
Dallas nods in agreement. “Sorry, Astrid. It’s true. I do it to Penn every chance I get. Parker is a better man for taking a regular beating from both of us. He’ll be fine.”
“You three have issues,” Astrid replies while shaking her head.
I roll my eyes. “I’d hate to see what the family dinner will be like after today.”
Dallas drops his lips to my ear. “Why don’t you join us and find out?”
With wide eyes, I twist to face him. “What?”
Before he can respond, a whistle blows, signaling the start of the competition. But my mind is reeling with what he just said.
He wants me to have dinner with his family? Did I hear that right?
Suddenly, the desire to throw up grows as I follow the crew over to the setup in the sand for the human wheelbarrow race.
Everyone pairs off as partners, Dallas choosing me.
“Are you sure you want to be my partner?” I ask him, growing more nervous by the minute.
“I’m sure, Willow. Now, do you want to be the wheelbarrow, or do you want to be the one pushing?”
“Uh, my upper body strength isn’t exactly something to brag about.”
Dallas chuckles. “Well, let’s see if you can support my legs then.” He gets down on the sand, putting himself in a push-up position as I grab his feet from the ground.
Dear lord, he is not a small man.
“I’m gonna start to crawl,” he says, slowly moving his arms out in front of him. I rest his feet on my shoulders, holding his ankles steady as he moves.
“This isn’t too bad.”
“Yeah, I think we can handle this. Let go of my feet.” I do as he says and then he stands up, brushing the sand from his body. “We’ve got this, babe.”
“I’m glad you have confidence in us.”
He pulls me into his arms. “I do.” His lips meet mine. “I’m holding onto that faith enough for the both of us.”
Somehow, I feel like he’s talking about more than just the games, but I don’t have time to contemplate it.
We all line up, Penn and Astrid ahead of us, volunteering to go first, and when the whistle blows, the games begin.
***
“Oh my God!” I scream, letting the rope go from my hands so I can jump up and down to celebrate our win in Tug of War.
Grady, Astrid’s older brother, starts cursing from the other side, chastising his team after their loss.
But the Catch & Release crew is hollering and hugging one another in celebration.
“Hell yeah!” Dallas scoops me up in his arms, covering my lips with his own, kissing me deeply. “You did great, Goose!”
“I don’t know that I did that much.”
“Hey, this was a team effort, and we couldn’t have done it without you.”
Shit, I can’t start crying again.
After we won the human wheelbarrow race, I shed a few tears.
Astrid pulled me aside and asked me what was wrong, but it felt silly to tell her that I was emotional because I’d never won a wheelbarrow race before, let alone been on a team besides within my company.
So I told her that I got sand in my eyes, and I think she bought it.
But honestly, I’m not sure that she did.
I continue to hold onto Dallas, my arms wrapped around his neck as he spins me around. When he sets me on the ground, he releases me and then I find Astrid.
“We did it!” She turns and screams to her brother, “Sorry, big bro! Sucks to suck!”
My jaw falls open. “You were just giving Dallas and Penn shit earlier about ganging up on Parker, but here you are, rubbing our win in your brother’s face.”
She winks. “It’s all part of the games, Willow. Besides, my brother’s ego can stand to be taken down a peg or two.”
Dallas’s mom comes waltzing over, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up again.
I know I need to talk to her, but now is not the time or the place.
“Congratulations, Dallas!” She hugs her eldest son as I stand back and admire the love he has for her. Every time he speaks about his mother, you can tell he holds a soft spot for the woman, but it’s a totally different experience to see it in front of me.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Your sons are about to be legends, Mom.” Penn comes up to her next, scooping her up in his arms.
“Put me down, Penn!”
“Never!” He runs around the sand with her, finally depositing her back on her feet, the two of them bursting out in laughter.
“One more game, babe. And then we can go home and celebrate,” Dallas whispers in my ear from behind, wrapping his arms around me.
And for the next hour until the final game, I choose to focus on fantasizing about the celebration.
***
“I don’t think I’m going to be much help on this last one.”
Astrid stands next to me, rubbing my shoulder. “You don’t know that. They could ask us anything.”
The final game, which is always a surprise the day of, happens to be a scavenger hunt consisting of questions relating to Carrington Cove.
Everyone on the team has to hand in their cell phones so no one has access to Google, and each item you have to collect must be brought before the judges in person.
“I know, but I don’t know the town like you do.”
“You know bits and pieces. Trust me, you will be able to contribute, and be prepared to. If Dallas doesn’t win this game, he might punch a hole through the wall of the restaurant.”
“Why are men so damn competitive?”
Astrid shrugs. “Too much testosterone?” We share a laugh. “But honestly, I like to win too, so I can’t blame them.”
“This is pretty exciting. I can see why people love this tradition.” My eyes cast over the scene around us, people milling about on the edge of the beach, sitting in their chairs, waiting for the final game to start.
A few local businesses have set up booths on the boardwalk to sell food, hats and umbrellas to ward off the sun, and foam fingers and t-shirts to commemorate the event.
“It’s part of who we are,” Astrid says. “But next year, I’ll have my own team, and I’m so grateful to you for that.”
I squeeze her hand. “You deserve it.”
Friday morning, I went to the bank with Astrid to co-sign the loan for the bakery. As of next month, Astrid will be the full-time owner of the Sunshine Bakery, and I can’t wait to see what she does with the place.
“I seriously can’t thank you enough, Willow. You’ve changed my life.”
“You’ve changed mine too,” I whisper as Dallas comes over to where we’re standing.
“Everything okay?” he asks, watching me blink away tears.
“Yeah, Willow just got something in her eye again,” Astrid answers for me, winking at me discretely.
“Well, get it out because we have a cup to win.” Dallas grabs my hand, leading me over to the table where the judges sit, waiting for the paper to start the scavenger hunt. And as soon as we and the team from Franny’s Crab Shack all gather around, the final game begins.
After gathering a hammer from Hansen’s Hardware Store, a coffee from Keely’s Caffeine Kick, and a tourist guide from Cove Real Estate, we’re scurrying along the boardwalk back toward the beach for the final clue.
Most of us split up as we had to search for each object, but I see Penn and Astrid heading in our direction, as well as a few of the other employees from the restaurant.
“Did you get the bingo chips from Baron, Harold, and Thompson?” Dallas calls out to Penn as he gets closer.
Penn holds up the yellow and red markers. “Sure did. That journey to the Veteran’s Center was no joke though.”
No one is allowed to drive for this final game, which means running and walking in this heat.