Willow
Standing in the doorway to the kitchen, I stare at the older woman who’s bustling around trying to get plates and silverware set up at the table as the adorable little girl buzzes around her like she’s on about six shots of coffee.
“Memaw! Did Daddy get my pancakes?”
“You know that he said he did. Give me a minute and I’ll get them out for you.”
“Can I help you with anything?” I say, my voice so soft I’m surprised she hears me over the kid.
She turns and smiles at me. “Absolutely not. You just sit yourself down and get comfortable. I’ll get everything set up. I hope you’re hungry. It looks like Jasper bought the whole damn place out this morning.”
The little girl shakes her head, whistling. “Memaw. You said a bad word. You have to put a dollar in the swear jar!”
The older woman smiles at her. “You know darn well that it’s only a quarter. Don’t try and cheat me, young lady.”
“How are we gonna go to Disneyland if you don’t pay more?”
I laugh, startled.
The older woman’s silvery gray eyes laugh at me. “Claudia settle down in front of our guest.”
The little girl smiles and sits down, grabbing for her plate when her Memaw puts it down in front of her.
“I can’t believe Daddy got me pancakes today! It’s not even Saturday!” She slathers it with butter and syrup and takes a bite, growling under her breath.
The other woman shakes her head. “Since Jasper didn’t bother to introduce us, I’ll do it. I’m Maggie Lockhart and this wild thing is his daughter Claudia. And you are?”
“I’m Willow Wilder,” I say, blushing bright red.
“Well, sit down, Willow Wilder. What would you like for breakfast?”
“I usually just like coffee for breakfast.”
Maggie sniffs. “You’re too tiny. You need to eat more than that. Nobody can function on just coffee.”
She slides a platter of scrambled eggs in front of me with a side of bacon. “Eat,” she orders.
I pick up my fork and sniff the delicious smell of bacon. I love bacon, dammit!
I bite into the perfectly crispy strip and moan.
Maggie grins. “Bacon lover, huh? I don’t blame you. If I wasn’t worried that my cholesterol would go nuts, I’d eat it too!”
My brow lifts. “I find that hard to believe, Maggie. You look like you’re in good shape.”
She snorts. “Tell my doctor that. He’s a real pain in my ass.”
“Swear jar, Memaw!” Claudia growls while chewing up a bite of food.
“Eat, Claudia.”
“Fine,” she huffs, scarfing down her pancakes.
Maggie glances over at me. Her brow creases. “You look familiar.”
Sighing, I push my plate away. I hate this part. “I write.”
“Yes! Oh my god! You write the best romances I’ve ever read. They’re so real and yet just…perfect. Except…” Her voice trails off.
I know what she’s going to say. She’s going to say the last book wasn’t like me.
I know. Livvy knows it. Hell, everybody knows it. I got royally panned in the trades. My feedback was awful. Not that they didn’t like the story. Just that it didn’t sound like my usual stories. Like my voice was muted somehow.
And it is.
I can’t forget that damn man. Can’t stop the nightmares. Can’t get enough sleep.
I can’t forget. Any of it. Not the pain, not the awful look in his eyes. None of it. It’s haunting me.
Poisoning my writing. My life. All of it. Seeping into every damn piece of me until I’m just a shadow of myself.
A scared, tiny, insignificant shadow.
“I know,” I mutter under my breath.
“I’m sorry,” Maggie says. “I didn’t mean to say it like that. It was still a great book. I just didn’t feel as connected to the characters as I usually do.”
“I get it. I do.”
“So are you working on something new?”
“I am. It’s not going great. But I am.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit a nerve,” she says, patting my hand lightly. I pull it back and smile.
“It’s alright. It will come.”
“Thank you. I know it will.”
“You need to get out of your head. I bet you’ve been working too hard. Pushing it.”
Laughing, I push back from the table. “I usually do.”
“Why don’t we watch something while Claudia goes to clean her room.”
“Hey,” she groans. “How did I get sold out here?”
“You’re not. But you didn’t clean up after you built your masterpiece last night. Your dad isn’t going to be happy. You know how he loves everything in its place.”
I can picture that. Jasper Lockhart seems like a guy that’s a little stiff and sober.
Nothing like his mother with her wide smile and sparkling eyes.
“Have you checked out the new bachelor show?”
“No.”
“Oh, you’re missing out. There are some men on there that seriously need to be a hero in a romance book. You just need some inspiration.”
Laughing, I cross my arms and follow her to the living room. “If you say so.”
“I do. I could use a little inspiration as well. Even old ladies like to see a little eight-pack abs every once in awhile. Maybe those little v’s that drive all you young girls crazy.”
“And you older ladies don’t like those?” I laugh, sinking down on the cushions of the couch as she grabs the remote and turns the tv on.
She smirks. “I don’t think I ever said that.”
The show comes on and as soon as the bouncy music tapers off and the first guy pops up on the screen, shirtless of course, I let myself sink into the trials and tribulations of sexy singles trying to find the one.
It doesn’t take much for me to lose myself in the stories and the drama.
The girl is not nice. Not heroine material. But the guys? There are a few that might have enough character to make a good hero.
Maggie leans into me and we laugh as one of the guys makes a plan for a date that absolutely won’t work with this girl.
They grab the bicycles and hop on. Or at least the guy does.
The girl is wearing heels and immediately falls off of the bike. He hops off to help her but she pushes his hands away.
I have a feeling he’s gonna be heading home real soon.
Three episodes later and the door opens as Maggie and I laugh our asses off at the guys dancing on the screen.
It’s a challenge to see which guy can get her attention in a glorious strip tease.
They’re doing pretty good but I’ve seen two of them fall over their feet and off the makeshift stage.
“What the hell are you two watching? And where’s Claudia?”
“She’s taking a nap. She got her room all cleaned up and then decided to go outside and run around the yard with Fred.”
“Fred doesn’t run. He’s a stuffed dragon.”
“He absolutely does run, Daddy. He’s super-fast. How do you think that he always catches the prince before he can run off with the princess?”
“I thought you were sleeping, Claudia?”
“I was. But then I heard you get home. I wanted to see you. You’ve been gone all day long.”
“Only half the day is gone, kiddo. But I need to take Willow home. I’m sure she’s got stuff she needs to do.”
I glance over at him as he picks up Claudia and twirls her around, laughing at her.
“I can come with you, Daddy. I promise I’ll be good.”
“I don’t know, kiddo.”
“I promise, Willow. I will be very good. I won’t touch anything at all. I’ll take Fred and he can guard the place while we’re there. I bet you’d love to have a dragon. I can even loan you Fred if you need him.”
My lips tremble and I fight the urge to laugh. I don’t think I’ve felt like laughing in forever.
Not since…
But I push that thought away. Nothing’s going to spoil my day today. I’ve had too much fun with Maggie and Claudia.
Jasper’s gray eyes find mine and he lifts one dark brow. I nod my head.
“As sweet as that is, Claudia. I can’t take Fred away from you. But if you want to come with us, I’m okay with that.”
I don’t know what’s going on. All of a sudden, I’m hanging out with people and laughing.
This isn’t me. But I’d sure as hell like it to be.
“Okay. Go get shoes on and meet me out here, kiddo. Then we’ll take Willow home.” He turns to Maggie who’s been watching us with this little smirk on her lips.
“You gonna be alright by yourself?”
“Of course I am. I raised you, boy. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“Alright. We’ll be back in a little bit. Don’t let any strangers in.”
She rolls her gray eyes and turns to give me a hug. “He thinks he’s my boss just because he’s the Sheriff. I changed his damn dirty diapers, you know.”
“Ma!”
She grins at me and I have to fight to keep the smile off my face. “It was nice meeting you, Maggie.”
“I’ll be along to see you, sweetie. It was lovely meeting you. We’ll have to check out the rest of that show.”
I throw my head back when Jasper shoots us both a baleful look. “I would love that, Maggie.”
She smirks. “Don’t let that last thing throw you. You’ll find your voice again. Just let yourself relax.”
My smile fades and I fight the tears that spurt into my eyes. I sniff. “Thanks, Maggie. I’ll try that.”
“And for heaven’s sake, try and have a little fun. That will clear the cobwebs out of your head.”
“Got it.”
Claudia shoots past us and out the door. “Let’s go! Fred really wants to see Willow’s house.”
Jasper shoots me a smirk. “Let’s get you home, sprite.”
I can’t help smiling even when he touches my shoulder gently. He grins back and then follows me out the door.
Time to get home and see what the heck he’s been up to.