Chapter 8
Lucas
Lucas had just glanced out the window and was totally thrown to see Willow standing outside The Diner, staring right back up at him.
For a moment, he froze. What the hell was she doing here?
Surely, she hadn’t come alone to see him?
What would be the purpose of that? And then, he saw Jenn coming up behind her, tugging her arm before they both hurried off behind the building.
Lucas sighed and ran his hand through his thick hair.
He had barely slept last night, and his entire body ached with tiredness.
The small amount of sleep he had gotten had been racked with dreams about Willow and distorted memories of when she had been here before. Things had been so different then.
He had been so different then.
Lucas had spent so much of his life unpicking things that had happened in the past and knew he was in a better place now.
But Willow being in Honey Springs had knocked him a few steps back.
He paced the small apartment for a bit, trying to still his thoughts.
The chances were, Willow was just back for a fleeting visit.
She was a city girl, everyone knew that, and now that her grandma, Martha, had died, there was nothing left for her here.
She would soon get bored, Lucas was certain.
And surely, she would miss Jake? Lucas had never been in a long-distance relationship before, but they couldn’t be easy.
Just thinking about Jake and Martha made Lucas stop in his tracks for a moment.
He walked back towards the window and pulled open the curtains fully to let in the light.
From here, he had a good view of the town, and he could just about make out Martha’s house on the corner of the next street.
A deep ache filled him. He knew she would offer him some good advice if she was still here. So would his mom.
He missed them both so deeply.
He shook his head. He knew he had to face things. Wherever Willow went, trouble was bound to follow her.
And if those two were poking around near his property, he needed to go and investigate properly.
With another desperate sigh, Lucas pulled on his sneakers and headed downstairs.
The women were standing by the van. That stupid, brightly painted van that Jenn had dumped here a few months ago with some high-flying ideas about using it to sell cakes or something.
Lucas had seen her ad on the Honey Springs website and assumed it would be sold to someone with fresh ideas, ideally something that didn’t involve selling food or drinks in his parking lot!
Someone who would hopefully take it far away from Honey Springs.
They were both giggling like idiots and touching the sides like it was magical or something. A nervous pulse trickled through him.
This was not a good sign.
‘Hey,’ he said, in an attempt to draw their attention away from the van. ‘What you doing?’
Willow spun around first. Her cheeks immediately flamed red as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t have. She touched her chest instinctively. ‘Just checking out the van, that’s all.’
Her response was quite breathy and defensive. Lucas circled around towards Jenn.
‘I thought you were giving this up to hike around Europe or something? Aren’t you selling it?’
Jenn grinned at him, one of her wide-mouthed, all-teeth smiles that Lucas knew Greg hated because he said it was jarring. He could kind of understand why. It was so fake.
‘Yeah, I am. I’m leaving soon.’
‘So, what are doing? Saying goodbye?’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘To be honest, I could do with you moving this monstrosity before you go. It’s an eyesore.’
Jenn chuckled lightly under her breath. ‘It’s right behind The Diner at the moment, Lucas, no one can see it. Stop being such a drama queen.’ She was now stroking the side of the van lovingly like it was a horse or something. ‘I’ll miss my lovely Vera.’
Vera? Lucas sighed. She was as bad as Greg with that car of his. ‘What’s with the stupid name anyway?’
‘Vera isn’t a stupid name. It suits her. Anyway, she is being moved. Probably tomorrow. Or at least I’ll get the boys to. I won’t be here and Willow can’t drive.’
‘Good,’ he muttered.
‘She’s moving to the parking lot, like we agreed.’
‘What? I don’t want this thing dumped on me, Jenn, that’s not what we agreed! Especially if it’s not even being used.’
Lucas was very aware that he was stammering, but he no longer cared. He thought he was getting shot of this van – not having it put in prime spot next to The Diner to gather rust. Was Jenn deliberately trying to annoy him?
‘Yes, I’m leaving,’ Jenn said calmly. ‘But I no longer own the van. Willow does. And she’ll be running things like we agreed. She’ll have a new name for it and everything. So, the stupid name Vera will be gone.’
Lucas turned to Willow in shock. She was just standing there, coolly assessing him with those large liquid eyes of hers. Lucas felt something spark inside himself.
‘I thought you were just passing through or something?’
‘What gave you that idea?’ she asked quietly. ‘I never actually said that.’
Lucas shook his head. Instant replies flooded his mind. I dunno, the way you left five years ago with your nose in the air, declaring you’d never set foot in this town again, all whilst clasping the hand of that rat Jake …
‘Nothing,’ he muttered instead. ‘I just figured you had your life set up in Seattle. With Jake.’
‘Well, you figured wrong,’ Willow replied with a stiff smile. ‘I’m back and I’m ready to make this new venture work. I hope that won’t be a problem for you, Lucas.’
‘That won’t be a problem, will it, Luc?’ Jenn added sweetly.
Lucas couldn’t find the right words to respond, so instead he muttered something under his breath and marched back towards The Diner.
He always knew that van was going to bring him trouble, but Willow being responsible for it made it a million times worse.
Now they were totally stuck with each other.
Why did he agree to let Jenn use electricity and water from his place?
Lucas was regretting his choices now, as he stomped around The Diner getting ready to open up.
He should have known that Jenn would do something crazy, like sell it to someone that he couldn’t stand.
Now he was going to have to face Willow every day, and even worse, she would be using his utilities for a bargain price, so he couldn’t even profit from it.
Lucas slammed his cloth against the counter. Why was she back anyway? And where was Jake? Would he eventually be heading back too? That really would be the last straw. None of this was making any sense.
He looked up as the bell on the door jangled and the two women walked in.
‘We hope it’s OK to grab a coffee,’ Jenn said brightly. ‘And maybe some pancakes or something. I need to go through some more details with Willow before I go.’
Lucas frowned but handed them a menu and took their coffee orders. ‘What are you planning to sell in that van anyway?’
‘Matcha,’ Willow replied. ‘It’s really nice.’
‘Matcha?’
Wasn’t that some kind of grass-like drink everyone seemed to be drinking in New York when he was there? Lucas suppressed a laugh.
‘Oh yeah, I can just see the Parker twins slurping that up. And old Ernie.’
Willow glared at him. ‘It has health benefits you know, and it can be drunk hot or cold. I think you’d be surprised.’
‘Besides, the tourists will love it,’ Jenn added. ‘They like anything like that.’
‘Tourists? What tourists?’ Lucas made a deal of looking around the place as if seeking them out. ‘They’ve all been heading over to Westpine Ridge. There’s more for them to see there.’
Willow’s eyes widened. ‘Seriously? This was always the main town to come to before. It’s far prettier. What about the Falls?’
Lucas shrugged. ‘I dunno, folk seem to have forgotten about them. They just want the shops and all that. The Ridge offers them more bang for their buck, I guess.’
He was trying to sound casual about the whole thing, but he didn’t add how worried he actually was and how he spent most nights churning over the day’s sales, wondering what he could do to improve things. He wasn’t even sure how long The Diner could carry on with such limited customer traffic.
‘Maybe my matcha van will help bring in business,’ Willow said. ‘It could be just what the town needs.’
Or it could be the final nail in its coffin, Lucas thought as he handed the women their lattes. He kept his mouth shut though. What was the point of complaining now?
But Willow was badly misguided if she thought matcha alone was going to save this diner.
Or this town for that matter.
He served them a simple breakfast of maple pancakes with bacon and stood back and watched as they talked over their plans.
Willow looked so glowing and excited; it reminded him of what she was like when they used to hang out – before the days of Jake.
Back then, Willow had been a real tomboy and so full of life.
They had had so many adventures together: climbing trees, building forts, hanging out by the Falls …
Willow’s laugh broke through Lucas’s thoughts and he turned towards the backroom, trying desperately to ignore it.
He didn’t like how the sight and sound of her was making him feel.
It was like the coldness that he had fought hard to melt away had come back inside him.
He knew he was better off trying to ignore it.
He managed to keep himself busy while the women chatted, trying hard to tune the noise out while he cleaned the coffee machine.
He heard fragments of the conversation – ‘so exciting’ and ‘the change I needed’ – but none of it was making him feel any better and it wasn’t answering any of the questions that he longed to ask.
Where was Jake? Were the two of them even still together?
Was she planning to be back for long, or was she just setting this van up for someone else to eventually take over?
And how did she feel, seeing Lucas again? Did she remember the good times as well, or only the weird, awkward way things had ended up?
Of course, he could have just asked these things. But that would have been weird and shown that he cared about her, which he didn’t at all. Not now anyway. He just wanted to know what the hell was going on, that was all.
He couldn’t help but sink with relief when they both pushed their plates away and got up to leave.
‘See you later!’ Jenn called over to him loudly. ‘I’m sure Willow will catch you up on everything you need to know soon.’
Willow simply smiled at him, almost shyly.
Lucas’s smile back was stiff and tight. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Willow was going to shake things up around here, and probably not in a good way.