Chapter nineteen Willow
Chapter nineteen
Willow
“How’s it coming along?” I shade my eyes from the sun and peer up at the roof of the house, where Dallas and Penn are standing shirtless in blue jeans with tool belts around their waists.
Damn. What a sight.
“It’s going,” Dallas calls back to me. “We’re going to finish this section and then come down for a break.”
“You guys hungry? I can make some lunch.”
“That’d be great, Goose. Thanks.”
Fighting back my smile, I make my way into the house and straight for the kitchen to whip up sandwiches for the three of us.
This is the second day they’ve been working on the roof, and the two of them are hell-bent on finishing it today so the painters can come tomorrow and they won’t be in their way. Which means, after tomorrow, the house will be done.
Between that realization and the impending dinner with Dallas’s family on Sunday, I’ve been anxious all week.
I know what I want and I’m pretty sure that Dallas feels the same, but the truth is, I have no idea how he’s going to react to the connection with his dad. My worst fear is that he won’t be able to look past the fact that I kept something like this from him, even though I was asked to.
And facing that person again in a few days is another reason why I’m restless and having trouble sleeping.
Thank God Dallas likes to fuck me almost every night, stealing energy from my body long enough for me to at least get a few hours of rest. But then by two in the morning, I’m awake and ruminating on the impending changes of my life.
As I pull six slices of bread from the loaf, a knock on the front door startles me. I make my way over to the door and am immediately thrown off guard when I open it.
“Oh. Hi, Pam.” The realtor from Cove Real Estate is standing there, along with a couple that I don’t recognize. But the woman has the most beautiful long red hair I’ve ever seen, and the man with her is tall and holding her like she’s his most prized possession.
“Hello, Willow. I hope this isn’t a bad time.”
“Um, not really. I was just making lunch for me and the boys.” I point above me to the roof.
“I heard them hammering away out there. The improvements look amazing.” Pam steps inside the house, the couple trailing her closely.
“In fact, McKenzie and Dylan here are looking for a vacation home in Carrington Cove, and I know you haven’t officially listed the house yet, but I thought they should see it.
I mean, heck, we could eliminate listing this place altogether if they fall in love with it, right? ”
Oh my God. She brought these people here to look at the house?
“Well…I, uh…”
Pam waves McKenzie and her husband toward the living room. “Take a look around, you two.”
“Uh, Pam…” I try to get her attention, but she’s too busy talking about the breathtaking views, refinished hardwood floors, and new bathroom remodels. “How did you know about everything I’ve had done?”
Pam turns to me now. “Penn told me. I ran into him at the hardware store, and he mentioned that the house will be done this week, so…”
“Uh, sorry to interrupt.” Dallas and Penn both stand in the front doorway, still shirtless, as all eyes in the living room turn to them.
“Not at all! You two must be hot and hungry. Just ignore us.” Pam leads the couple up the stairs to check out the bedrooms, leaving me, Dallas, and Penn alone.
“What is she doing here?” Dallas asks, reaching for his shirt off the back of one of the dining room chairs. Penn follows his lead. You can hear Pam showing the master bedroom as we speak.
Thank God I made the bed this morning.
“Apparently, she’s showing the house to this couple that is looking to buy a place out here.” I turn to Penn. “She said you told her I was looking to sell.”
Penn flicks his eyes between me and Dallas. “Well, aren’t you?”
“She hasn’t decided yet,” Dallas answers for me.
Oh God. Is he still hoping I will sell it to him?
Have I read this entire relationship wrong?
“This home is beautiful!” McKenzie exclaims as the three of them come back from upstairs, interrupting our conversation. “The view from the upstairs balcony is reason enough to make an offer. I could see myself writing a lot from up there.”
“You’re an author?” I ask.
She smiles proudly. “Yup. A romance author, and this house could be the setting for so many perfect stories, especially with that view.”
“I know. It’s one of my favorite parts of the place.”
Dallas pulls me into his arms, spinning me to face her. “Mine too,” he says. I can feel my cheeks flush when I think of what he did to me out on that balcony this morning.
“How did you come about owning the house?” McKenzie asks, watching us. I can feel myself tense in Dallas’s arms, but he squeezes me tighter.
“Oh, I inherited it.”
Her eyebrows rise. “Wow. What a nice gift.”
“Yeah. It’s pretty beautiful.” I look around the first floor, knowing that I can’t leave this place like I thought I’d want to two months ago.
“It’s going to be even more stunning when it’s done.” Dallas plants a kiss on my cheek, releases me, and then nods at McKenzie and her husband. “We’ll wait outside.” Penn follows him back out front.
My eyes trail him as the two of them engage in conversation about the house as Dallas points to the eaves.
But all I can hear in the back of my mind is that I’m not being honest with him about everything, and now this sudden visit isn’t making me feel any more confident about our future.
“And why are you selling?”
“Huh?” I spin back to face her. “Sorry. I was distracted.”
McKenzie chuckles, and then licks her lips, fighting a knowing grin. “Oh, never mind. We’d better keep looking, babe.” She taps her husband’s shoulder.
Dylan turns to her from the kitchen where he was scoping out the storage in the cabinets. “What? Why?”
“This place isn’t really for sale.” She looks at me, arching her brow. “And I just got a book idea, so I need to grab my notebook and jot it down before I forget.”
“Is that true, Willow?” Pam asks me, stepping closer to me now.
“Honestly, Pam, I haven’t made up my mind, but I know I wouldn’t feel comfortable accepting an offer without knowing one hundred percent that’s what I want.”
Pam grins and then clutches her clipboard to her chest. “Well, that’s a shame because I know this place would sell easily, but I can’t blame you.
Carrington Cove will suck you in and bury itself in your heart.
” Her eyes dart out the front window for a moment and then back to me.
“And so will handsome restaurant owners.”
I lower my eyes to the floor, not needing her to read me even more.
“Sorry to waste your time, you two,” she says to Dylan and McKenzie as they head for the front door.
“Not a waste of time at all. Like I said, I just got an idea for a book. You never know where inspiration will strike.” Then she turns back to me and says, “I hope you figure out what you want, Willow. And when you do, trust your gut and your heart. The two together will very rarely steer you wrong.”
***
“It’s been a while. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.” Shauna stares through the screen on our video call, holding Hudson to her chest.
“No, it’s just been a busy few weeks. But right now, I really need your words of encouragement.”
“Why? What’s happening?”
“I’m having dinner with Dallas’s family tonight.”
Her eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah. I’m freaking out, Shauna.”
“Why? You’re good with people, Willow.”
“I’m good with clients, not people that are related to the man I’m sleeping with. I’ve never met a boyfriend’s parents before. You know that.”
It’s sad to admit as a thirty-four-year-old woman, but it’s the truth. Work has been my focus for the past ten years, not love.
“Does that mean Dallas is your boyfriend?” She nearly leaps off her couch. “Dear God, Willow. What the heck has been happening down there and why haven’t you told me any of this?”
“Because I’m falling for this man and it’s scaring the shit out of me,” I admit on a whisper, clutching my robe around my chest. My hair and makeup are done, I’m just waiting to get dressed before Dallas picks me up.
“Jesus, Willow,” Shauna breathes, patting Hudson on the back. “This is huge.”
“I know, and I want a life with him, but…”
“He still doesn’t know about his dad,” she finishes for me.
“Or his mom.”
“What? Something happened with his mom?”
“That’s what I wanted to tell you the last time we talked. She was my unexpected visitor the night of the veterans’ dinner!”
God, it feels good to finally get that off my chest.
She blinks at me several times. “And you didn’t think to call me back and try again? Holy shit!”
“Shauna, my life has been crazy these past few weeks, okay? I’m sorry, but now I’m at a crossroads and I need your advice.”
She nods. “You’re right. I can yell at you about that later.”
“Thank you.”
“So why did his mother visit you?”
“She knew about the house, about Dallas’s dad leaving it to me. She knew the entire time. And she asked me not to tell him myself because she wants to be the one to do that.”
“This is some daytime soap opera shit.”
“No, this is my life and my future hanging on by a thin string. I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him, Shauna, but I’m afraid once he finds out, he’s going to be so angry with me.”
“Oh my God.” She looks like she’s about to cry. “You’re in love? Willow, that’s…”
I stare out the sliding glass door at the ocean. “I know, Shauna. But his mom…”
“That’s not on you, though. His mother asked you not to say anything, right? All you were doing was following her wishes.”
“I’m just not sure that will be enough for him to understand why I kept this from him.”
I stare at the letter next to me on the bedspread, reading over the words his father wrote to me all those months ago. And right now, I’m cursing them even more because, even though Michael Sheppard brought Dallas and me together, he may also be the reason we fall apart.
“And Dallas doesn’t know any of this yet?”