Chapter Fourteen
“Do you think I have enough?”
Riley slowly turned her head and stared at the two carts Willow had somehow managed to fill with flowers, plants, bags of potting soil, and enough gardening supplies to suggest she was either landscaping a front yard or opening her own nursery.
“You’re asking the wrong person. I just spent two hundred dollars on things for a baby who isn’t even here yet.”
Willow laughed as she pushed one of the carts farther down the aisle of the garden center.
Their morning had started with baby shopping, although Willow had quickly learned that shopping with a seven-months-pregnant Riley was dangerous.
Riley had gone in needing a few things and walked out with several bags, including an outfit she had insisted the baby absolutely needed because it had tiny little FBI badges printed on it.
Now it was Willow’s turn, and apparently, she’d lost all self-control around flowers.
Lily sat in the child seat of the second cart Riley was pushing, happily holding a small yellow watering can she had somehow convinced Willow she needed.
It was strange how normal the morning felt, especially since normal was still something Willow was getting used to.
A month ago, she had been terrified to walk into a grocery store. Jay Bird had ordered groceries online because he knew without her admitting it that she wasn’t ready for crowded aisles and strangers brushing past her.
Today she had spent hours going from store to store with Riley.
She had still caught herself looking for exits.
When a man had stepped too close behind her at the baby store, she had instinctively moved away and positioned herself where she could see him.
But she hadn’t panicked or left. Every day seemed to bring another small victory, and over the past month, there had been more of them than she could count. Somehow, little by little, she was beginning to feel like she had a life again.
Tink had worked whatever magic he possessed and helped her establish a new bank account, recover the money that had been turned over to New York’s unclaimed property division, and, somehow, get the life insurance money her father had left her released far quicker than Willow had thought possible.
Twenty thousand dollars wasn’t a fortune, but to Willow, it had felt like one. It gave her a sense of security, but more importantly, it was something her dad had left behind for her.
She hadn’t spent much of it. Most of it went directly into a new savings account, but she allowed herself one major purchase.
A used Honda CR-V that wasn’t flashy, wasn’t new, and didn’t have half the bells and whistles Jay Bird’s SUV had. But it had excellent safety ratings, low mileage, and was entirely hers.
The first time she had driven it alone, she had cried. Then she had laughed at herself for getting so emotional over a Honda.
Jay Bird had understood. He usually did.
He had also bought her a phone, something she had initially argued about until he had handed it to her and told her she needed a way to call someone if she was ever in trouble.
When she had opened the contacts, she had found nearly everyone already programmed into it.
Then there was work. She had started at Mia’s clinic two weeks ago and loved every second of it.
Some of what she had learned before her kidnapping had come back immediately, while other things required refreshing, but Mia had been patient and encouraging.
Just being around the animals again made Willow feel connected to the woman she had been before Chen.
Except she was beginning to realize she didn’t necessarily want to become that woman again. She wanted to become whoever she was supposed to be now.
Lily was thriving too. Juliette and Hannah had been taking turns watching her while Willow worked, usually along with some combination of the other children. Lily had gone from barely tolerating strangers to squealing when Willow told her she was going to see her friends.
And then there was Jay Bird. Willow smiled to herself.
That had been changing too, slowly and exactly as they had promised.
Their kiss on the beach hadn’t suddenly turned into some whirlwind physical relationship. If anything, it had made the little moments between them sweeter.
A kiss before he left for base, his arm around her while they watched television, Willow curling against his side, and a kiss in the kitchen whenever Lily was distracted.
Once or twice, those kisses had grown heated enough to leave Willow breathless, but Jay Bird always eased back first. He never pushed her or assumed she wanted more, and that made every moment between them feel safe.
And when he had left for a week of training out of state, Willow had discovered something important.
She could be alone.
The first night had been horrible. Every sound had woken her. She had checked the security panel so many times she was surprised she hadn’t worn the buttons off.
By the third night, she was feeling better, and by the fifth, she realized that she and Lily were perfectly fine on their own.
The women checked in constantly, and Willow suspected at least two members of Alpha Team had driven through the neighborhood during the week.
She had survived without Jay Bird, but she had missed him like crazy. There was a difference between needing someone to get through the day and simply wanting them there, and Willow was proud that she finally understood it.
“Earth to Willow.”
She turned toward Riley and found her staring.
“What?”
“You were smiling at a hydrangea.”
“I like hydrangeas.”
“Sure you do,” Riley said with a knowing smirk.
Willow rolled her eyes and placed another plant into her cart.
Riley surveyed everything she had accumulated.
“You know you’re basically marking your territory, right?”
Willow frowned. “With petunias?”
“I’ve seen stranger mating rituals with these men.”
Willow burst out laughing. “I’m landscaping.”
“Uh-huh.”
“His yard is depressing. It has no color.”
Riley grinned. “I’m just saying, first you move into his house. Then you’re using his last name. Now you’re landscaping his property.”
“The last name is temporary.”
Lily held up her watering can. “Flowers!”
Willow pointed toward her daughter. “See? Lily wants flowers.”
Riley nodded solemnly. “Clearly Lily is also marking her territory.”
Willow shook her head and kept walking. She couldn’t stop smiling.
By the time Willow dropped Riley off and headed home, Lily was fading fast in the back seat.
The back of Willow’s SUV was packed with enough plants that Riley had asked if she needed to alert the Department of Agriculture before Willow crossed county lines.
Willow had a plan. Jay Bird wasn’t due home from training until the following day, which gave her plenty of time to plant everything and surprise him.
She turned into the neighborhood, hit the button for the gate, and smiled when Lily immediately perked up.
“Home?”
“Almost.”
Willow turned into the driveway. Then she hit the brakes when she spotted Jay Bird’s SUV parked near the house.
Her heart immediately jumped. “No way.”
Lily leaned forward as far as her car seat allowed. “Jay?”
Willow couldn’t stop the smile spreading across her face. “Looks like it.”
“Jay home!”
“Yes, baby. Jay’s home.”
Apparently Lily’s excitement was contagious because Willow suddenly couldn’t get parked fast enough.
She climbed out and had barely opened Lily’s door when the front door swung open, and Jay Bird stepped outside.
God, she had missed him.
He wore jeans and a dark T-shirt, his wild hair still damp, as if he had just showered.
Lily started kicking. “Down! Momma, down!”
Willow laughed as she unbuckled her.
The second Lily’s feet hit the driveway, she took off. “Jay!”
Jay Bird crouched. “There’s my peanut.”
Lily slammed into him. He scooped her up and stood, laughing when she immediately wrapped herself around him.
“Did you miss me?”
“Jay gone.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“No go.”
Something softened in his expression. “I’ll work on that.”
Then his eyes found Willow, and for a second, neither of them moved.
A month ago, she might have hesitated, but today she didn’t. Willow walked straight to him.
Jay Bird opened his free arm, and Willow stepped into it, his arm wrapping around her waist while Lily remained between them. When he kissed her temple, she closed her eyes and let herself relax against him.
“Hey,” he murmured.
She smiled against his chest. “Hey.”
“Miss me?”
“Maybe.”
“Liar.”
She laughed and lifted her face.
“I missed you.”
His expression softened. “Missed you too.”
Jay Bird kissed her softly. But after a week apart, it felt anything but insignificant.
“Momma!”
Willow pulled back, laughing.
Jay Bird’s gaze moved past her. His eyebrows rose. “What the hell is in your car?”
Willow looked innocently over her shoulder. “Just a few plants.”
He walked toward the back of her SUV with Lily still on his hip and stared through the window.
“Were you planning to plant a yard or a jungle?”
Willow crossed her arms. “I was going to surprise you.”
Jay Bird laughed. “I leave for one week and come home to a hostile gardening takeover.”
“You told me I could decorate.”
“I was thinking throw pillows.”
“You should’ve been more specific.”
He shook his head. Then his expression changed.
“Well, I have a surprise for you too.”
Willow narrowed her eyes. “What is it?”
“Actually, it’s mostly for Lily.”
He set Lily down. “Come on.”
Curious, Willow followed them inside. Jay Bird led them toward the side of the house containing the bedroom she and Lily shared.
He stopped outside the closed door. “Peanut, open it.”
Lily grabbed the handle, and the door swung open.
Willow stopped breathing.
“Oh, my God.”
The room was completely different.
Purple and blue covered the space in soft, cheerful shades. The queen bed was gone, replaced by a small toddler bed with a purple comforter covered in stars. A little bookshelf stood against one wall beside a cushioned reading corner filled with pillows.