Chapter 7 – Leo
SEVEN
LEO
If you had told me two months ago that I’d be standing on my property in the woods in the small town of Holly Ridge, watching two grown men—brothers, no less—argue about the best way to carry a plank of wood, I’d tell you that you needed to be checked out.
But here I am.
“I can’t help that you’re a fucking idiot, Madden,” Jesse says, a stack of five long planks of wood in his hands, his brother holding the other side as they unload the extra wood that we didn’t end up needing to my garage, which is currently holding all of my projects and tools.
“Me? You’re the one who thought Hallie and I were into each other for a year,” Madden says, a smile on his lips.
Jesse’s phone lets out a bing, and he lets go of the large piece of wood, letting it drop to the ground and making Madden’s body lurch as he takes on the bulk of the weight. “What the fuck, man?”
“Sorry,” he says, the smile on his lips conveying the exact opposite. “Could be an emergency.”
“Oh, fuck off,” Madden groans, rubbing at his shoulder dramatically. I continue running the pieces of half-rotted wood through the table saw to cut it into smaller chunks for easier disposal.
It’s been like this all day. Even though the family dynamic is incredibly strange, and the constant bickering is almost alarming, I feel oddly at home here.
Being around Atlas Oaks for so many years and watching four grown men act like bickering siblings all day long, it’s almost like I’m used to this back-and-forth.
I had almost forgotten about Hallie’s little intervention until a truck rolled up to my house at eight a.m. on Thursday morning, and Jesse and Madden King hopped out with wide, nearly identical smiles on their faces.
Even though I told them they didn’t really need to be doing this, they shook their heads and asked what other projects I might need supplies for.
With a reluctant sigh, I moved around my property, showing them the back deck and the boards that needed replacing.
I’d managed to take out the weak and rotting ones while salvaging most of the structure on my own, but without a truck, I couldn’t get the boards needed to replace them.
Soon after, we made our way into town, bought boards, bags of leveling sand, and pavers to start replacing the broken slabs out front.
Then we spent the morning and afternoon replacing the boards and staining it.
In less than a day, I have a fully functional back porch, and even though it’s a small project compared to all the work needed here, it’s nice to have something completed.
Quietly, I’m looking forward to coming out here tomorrow morning with my coffee and relaxing in my own yard.
Though that relaxation won’t last long, not with Madden and Jesse planning to come back here on Friday to help me out with the front walkway.
As much as I insisted that I don’t need their help, they won’t take no for an answer, and I know that on Friday morning, I’ll see Jesse’s truck in my front drive early.
I plan to take my car into town tomorrow to buy a propane grill and barbecue stuff.
If they’re going to be helping here, I might as well feed them.
This is what I’m thinking about, lost in my own thoughts, when Jesse groans loudly, drawing my attention.
As I look over at him, his eyes leave his phone screen, and his head tips toward the sky, irritation written all over his face, lips moving as if praying for a solution.
After a moment, his head tips back down, and he shoots me an apologetic look.
“I gotta go. Hallie just asked me if I have a dolly somewhere and if she can use it to move a bed.”
“A bed? She’s trying to move a bed?” Madden asks with disbelief in his voice, but his face has a knowing smirk on it. I don’t understand these two in the least, but Jesse seems to. “And how does she expect to load an entire bed onto a dolly?”
Jesse shrugs, then slides his phone into his pocket.
“It’s more of a threat than an actual question,” he says, moving to his things and sliding items back into his toolbox.
“She’s threatening to move a bed?” I ask, not understanding their relationship at all.
“No, she’s threatening to do it herself and probably hurt herself in the process if I don’t come over to her old place to move it myself.
” An irritated look flits across Jesse’s face, but there’s also an amused smile on his lips at the thought, as if he finds her threats endearing rather than annoying, like a normal person would.
Before I can say anything, though, Madden speaks.
“Are they moving Willa in already?” Madden asks, and with his words, every part of my body stills. The King brothers don’t register my shock at all, though. Jesse reaches up to pull his hat off, flipping it so the brim faces forward once more.
“Yeah. She stayed at Wren’s yesterday, but since Nat is off today, they’re all hands on deck moving her in.”
I force myself out of my shock and ask a clarifying question, trying to fight back the irritation.
“Willa?” I set my hammer down and straighten. Don’t panic.
Both brothers look at me, a hint of confusion on their faces.
“Yeah, she came in yesterday to see Adam. Apparently, she’s planning to stay here for a while, write her next album with Adam.” My chest tightens further as I see my peaceful retreat melting away.
“Willa’s here? Like, Willa Stone, Willa?” It’s an incredibly common name, after all. It could refer to anyone. I’m sure there are at least four different Willas in Holly Ridge alone.
It’s a lie, of course. I’ve only ever met a single person named Willa. Still, I believe it for a blissful three seconds before Madden turns to face me and take in my face, which I’m sure is stricken with pure and utter alarm.
“Yeah. I thought you knew. Aren’t you her publicist? I would have thought they would have updated you on that.”
“Yeah, but…” I start, but don’t finish, because how would I finish that sentence?
But she is supposed to be home for the next three months?
But she’s supposed to be far, far away from me for three months?
I don’t finish my sentence. Instead, I shake my head and take a deep breath, trying to calm the pounding in my chest, but it does nothing to soothe my panic.
Then I speak. “Mind if I come with?”
Even though my place is right next to the Three Kings property, it takes about ten minutes to get there since you have to drive down my winding drive, then back up the farm’s entryway.
We pass the tree lots and a few closed-down Christmas-themed buildings, drive just beyond what Madden points out to be Jesse and Hallie’s place, then park out front of a small cabin-looking home with four cars parked out front.
One is a brand new all-black G-wagon that makes my stomach twist once more, and three other much older-model cars.
The front door of the house is wide open, and when the tires crunch on the gravel drive, a familiar redhead looks out the door, a wide grin spreading on her face before she steps out.
“She’s such a brat,” Jesse grumbles, but there’s no real irritation on his face. I’ve noticed that even when he’s full-out complaining about his fiancée, Jesse never actually looks mad or irritated or even inconvenienced.
He looks entertained.
The man is clearly out of his mind.
He puts the truck into park, kills the engine, then opens his door and slides out.
Hallie is already halfway to us, and when they meet in the middle, Jesse pulls her in close, a hand sliding up into her hair to angle her head and press a kiss to her lips.
I look away, an uncomfortable pit in my stomach that I don’t enjoy.
It’s there every time I see them or Adam and Wren together. When I felt it around Stella and Riggins, or Wes and Harper, I had chalked it up to irritation, knowing they were bound to make my job more difficult, since both of their relationships have been in the spotlight in one way or another.
But now, with people who barely, if at all, impact my job and surely don’t add more to my already full plate, I wonder if it’s something different. Something worse.
Something closer to jealousy, an emptiness I’ve been ignoring for years now.
Being around so many happy couples has made me wonder whether that’s what’s missing from my life.
But that feeling is long forgotten when an all too familiar, tall blonde steps out of the house behind Nat and Wren, a hesitant smile on her lips.
White teeth come out to press into a full, pink bottom lip, something I don’t think I’ve ever seen the meticulously put-together woman do.
She scans the area for a moment, taking in the new arrivals, then waves at Madden, who approaches his sister and slings an arm around her shoulders.
He says something that makes Nat roll her eyes and shake her head, and Wren laughs.
Her eyes continue to scan, softening when she sees Jesse and Hallie, before her gaze stops on me.
For a moment, there’s confusion, the same confusion that’s moving through me, but then her face lights up.
A mix of relief and happiness moves over her face before she steps in my direction.
For a moment, she looks at me, and the breath leaves my lungs.
For a moment, I almost don’t recognize her, instead seeing someone different altogether, someone I knew for the shortest time before reality crashed down around us.
For a moment, I almost smile.
That is, until the irritation comes barreling in.
She is here.
Willa is here, in Holly Ridge.
Apparently moving in.
Right next door.
I’m breathless.
I’m in awe.
I’m absolutely furious.