Chapter Five #2
Lily considered that through barely open eyes. “Jay, big house.”
A deep voice came from behind the SUV. “See? She appreciates it.”
Willow laughed. “She also ate yogurt with her fingers this morning. I wouldn’t put too much weight behind her opinions.”
Jay Bird appeared carrying several grocery bags in each hand. “Still counts.”
He led them to the front door and unlocked it, then stepped back instead of entering first.
Willow hesitated, but Jay Bird nodded toward the doorway.
“Go ahead.”
She stepped inside.
Behind her, Jay Bird said quietly, “Welcome home.”
She looked back at him, but he had already turned his attention to the security panel beside the door, as if nothing he had just said carried any weight at all.
Willow stood there for a moment, feeling those two simple words settle painfully in her chest, unsure whether he truly hadn’t noticed, or if he had and was quietly giving her the space to not have to respond to them.
With Jay Bird, she was beginning to suspect either was possible.
He punched several numbers into the keypad.
“I’ll give you the code. You can arm or disarm it whenever you need.”
Willow nodded, a small sense of relief settling in as she did. She liked that. Having the code meant control, and control meant she could breathe a little easier.
She stepped farther into the house, and the inside matched the outside almost perfectly. It was beautiful and spacious, yet completely devoid of personality.
The entry opened directly into an enormous living area with high ceilings and an open floor plan stretching toward the kitchen. A massive leather sectional faced an equally massive television mounted on the wall. That was essentially the entire living room.
Jay Bird walked past carrying groceries, and Willow followed him toward the kitchen.
“Did you just move in recently?” she asked.
“Nope. I bought the place four years ago.”
Willow’s eyes widened. “Four years?”
“Yep.”
“You’ve lived here four years, and that’s all the furniture you own?”
“I’ve got beds and a kitchen table.”
Willow shook her head.
Still, the house itself was gorgeous. Large windows lined the back wall, and she could imagine how much sunlight flooded the room during the day. The ceilings made the already enormous living area feel even bigger.
It felt like a family house, built for laughter in the hallways, toys left out on the floor, and people gathering in the kitchen at the end of the day.
The kitchen might have been her favorite part. It had a large center island, stainless steel appliances, plenty of counter space, a deep sink, and double ovens.
“I could do some damage in this kitchen,” Willow said, looking around.
Jay Bird glanced at her while putting groceries away.
“Good damage?”
“I like cooking.”
“In that case, do as much damage as you want.”
Willow watched him place Lily’s yogurt in the refrigerator.
There was something unexpectedly domestic about watching Jay Bird unload the groceries, especially when Willow noticed that half the bags were filled with things he had picked out specifically because Lily liked them—strawberries, yogurt, juice, macaroni and cheese, and Goldfish crackers.
It was like he had already taken the time to learn a small piece of their world and quietly made sure it was stocked.
Willow looked away before the strange warmth in her chest could turn into something more complicated.
“You really didn’t have to buy all of this.”
“We’ve been over this,” he said, not bothering to turn around.
“I know, but—”
“No buts.”
Willow sighed. Fine. He would just have to discover the fifty dollars later.
Jay Bird finished putting away the refrigerated items, then looked at her.
“Do you want the tour?”
“Sure.”
Lily stirred against Willow’s shoulder but made no effort to wake completely.
Jay Bird gestured toward the left side of the house.
“My room is over there. The laundry room is next to the garage door.”
He led her back toward the living room and pointed toward the staircase.
“The upstairs is unfinished. It is basically just a loft area. I’ve been using it as storage.”
They moved toward the back of the house, and Jay Bird opened a set of glass doors.
Willow stepped outside, and her mouth fell open. The backyard was enormous, yet completely bare. Apparently, Jay Bird’s feud with landscaping extended to the rear of the property.
A large stretch of grass extended toward a line of trees, and beyond that Willow could see water reflecting the late-afternoon sunlight.
“Is that a creek?”
“Yeah.”
They walked a little farther onto the patio, and Willow could see a small private dock extending over the water.
“The whole property is fenced?” she asked.
“Yep. And cameras cover every exterior entrance and most of the property. Motion sensors too. I can show you the camera feeds later,” he added. “That way you know exactly what you can see from inside.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded as though it wasn’t a big deal, but it was.
They went back inside and crossed toward the opposite side of the house.
“This side will be yours and Lily’s.”
A short hallway branched away from the main living space with two bedrooms separated by a full bathroom.
Jay Bird opened the first door. “This is my office.”
Willow glanced inside and found a simple, no-frills office with a desk and computer, a set of bookshelves along the wall, and, unsurprisingly, very little decoration.
“I see a theme here,” she said, a small smile tugging at her lips.
Jay Bird leaned against the doorframe. “What theme?”
“Possessions are unnecessary.”
Jay Bird snorted. “Less shit to clean.”
Willow laughed, and he closed the door.
“I don’t spend much time on this side except when I’m working in there, and I clean the spare room every so often so it doesn’t turn into a science experiment.”
He opened the next door. “This is yours.”
Willow stepped inside and almost died of shock.
The bedroom itself was simple but comfortable, with a queen-size bed, matching nightstands, a dresser, and a chair near the window.
But Willow barely noticed any of it because the bed was completely covered in shopping bags.
There had to be dozens of them scattered across the mattress like someone had tried to hide a small store in plain sight.
“What is all this?”
Jay Bird stepped behind her. “Some things friends dropped off for you and Lily.” He pointed toward several brightly colored bags. “There are clothes, shoes, toys. Somebody bought books. I think there’s a nightlight in there.”
Willow couldn’t believe this. There were bags from children’s stores, department stores, a bath store, and several places she didn’t recognize.
She peeked inside one bag and found tiny pajamas; another held toiletries, and the next held clothes in her size.
Her eyes stung with tears.
“This wasn’t necessary,” she said, turning towards Jay Bird.
“You haven’t met my friends yet.”
Something in his tone made her suspicious. “Should I be worried?”
“Probably.”
Willow laughed softly through the emotion tightening her throat.
Jay Bird’s mouth twitched. “They mean well. They just don’t understand moderation.”
Willow wiped quickly beneath one eye. “Thank you.”
“I wasn’t me.”
“You let them bring it here.”
“I couldn’t exactly tackle them at the door.”
Given his size, Willow suspected he absolutely could have.
Right at that moment, Lily lifted her head. “Bed?”
“Yes, bug. You can go to bed.”
Lily examined the room sleepily. “Jay bed?”
Jay Bird pointed toward Willow. “That is yours and Mommy’s bed.”
Lily considered that for a moment, then slowly pointed at him.
“Jay bed?”
“My bed’s way over there, peanut.”
She frowned, as if the arrangement was questionable.
Willow laughed. “I think you’ve acquired a stalker.”
Jay Bird looked at Lily, his expression softened, and he winked at her.
Then he motioned toward the hallway. “The bathroom is right there. Fresh towels are in the cabinet. Somebody stocked it with shampoo, soap, kid stuff, and whatever else you might need.”
Willow shook her head. “You people are unbelievable.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
That sounded suspiciously like he expected her to be around long enough to actually get used to it, and the idea left Willow unsure what to do with it or how to even begin responding.
“I’ll let you get settled. If you need anything, just holler.”
“Okay. Thank you again.”
He nodded, and then his expression changed slightly.
Still serious, but not intimidating. “Just remember that you are safe here. The alarm stays on whenever we’re home.
You can check the cameras anytime you want.
Nobody gets through the gate without being cleared, and nobody comes into this house unless you know about it.
” He then nodded toward the bedroom door. “And you can lock that.”
She scrunched her eyebrows together. “What?”
“The door. There’s a lock. Use it.”
Willow stared at him. He must have seen something change in her expression because his voice softened.
“You don’t ever have to leave it unlocked for me. Or anyone else.”
For several seconds, Willow couldn’t speak.
Three long years of doors that had never truly belonged to her, of bedrooms she couldn’t secure, of locks that existed only to keep her inside rather than protect her from the world outside.
Chen had come and gone whenever he pleased, day or night, as if her time, her space, even her body had never been her own.
It hadn’t mattered if Lily was asleep, if Willow was changing, or if she had only needed five quiet minutes to breathe.
There had never been privacy. She had never had a door she could close and trust to stay closed, that no one would come through without permission.
Willow looked toward the brass lock, something so ordinary, something she’d once taken completely for granted, and now it nearly brought her to tears.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Jay Bird held her gaze. “This is your home too while you’re here. Treat it that way. Eat what you want. You can cook, watch TV. Hell, move stuff around if it annoys you.”