35. Chapter 35
The ringing of my phone startles me out of a deep sleep.
It’s reminiscent of only a few days ago when all of our lives changed irrevocably. This sense of déjà vu hits me hard, and I cautiously grab my phone. Willow rolls over, facing me as she blinks her eyes open.
“Tell them to fuck off.” Her voice is raspy with sleep and so fucking adorable.
“Wish I could, Trouble.” I show her Kellen WoodcroftCalling on my phone, and she immediately wakes up and sits up.
“Yeah,” I grunt out as I answer.
“Be on the ready. We held them off as long as we could, but the media has descended.”
“Fuck,” I groan and tip my head back.
“I’m shocked it took this long, honestly.”
“I am too. I just forgot this part of the job,” I tell him.
“Rosedale is basically covered in news vans right now, and it’s only a matter of hours before they head your way. I’ve already called Sheriff Arlo, and he’s preparing the town for the invasion.”
“I haven’t looked at the news. What’s the story they have?” I ask, knowing they won’t give them all the details.
“Tennison is dead. The Task Force received an anonymous tip that led to the outskirts of Sam Houston National Park that eventually led to his demise. No other statements will be made.” He says it robotically as if he was speaking with the media.
“So, no me, no Lennox, and no Willow?”
“As of right now, no, but you know that information won’t be protected. It only takes one person talking.”
“I know. I’m not worried about Bluebell Falls talking, more about the hospital staff in Rosedale.”
“I’m trying to lock it down, but you know how it is. Someone always falls through the cracks.”
“Yeah. Okay, well, call me if something happens. I’ll try to prepare as much as possible here. And Kellen?” I ask.
“Yeah?”
“Stop by before you leave, okay?”
“Will do. You sound better, Oak. Does that mean you got your thumb out of your ass?”
I chuckle. “Yeah, that’s exactly what it means.”
“Tell Willow hi for me. And I’ll see you later.”
I smile over at Willow, who I assume heard the entire conversation judging by the grin on her face.
“Honeymoon’s over.” I sigh when my thoughts turn back to the original reason for the call.
“What exactly does the ‘media descending’ mean?”
“It means the story of Tennison’s death is out. And as you can imagine, he’s a bit of a national sensation so the interest in the full story will be huge. Every national, regional, local news station will want a piece of the pie.”
“Shit.” She scrubs her face. “So, what do we do?”
“I call Sheriff and see what needs to be done. I’d love nothing more than to hide out until the hype is over, but I don’t know that I’ll get that luxury.”
“It might be the safest option.” She climbs out of bed and heads to the bathroom.
I quickly follow the sway of her naked ass, and I growl in frustration that one, I’m not in any shape to fuck her right now, and two, we have shit to figure out before that’s even a consideration.
“Put on some damn clothes so I can focus,” I call out.
“What? Am I distracting?” She turns back with a smirk before shutting the door.
Trouble. Too fitting of a nickname if you ask me.
I take my time to put in that call to Sheriff.
“Morning Oakley,” he answers with his normal tone. No hint of the turmoil coming to take over our sleepy town.
“I just heard from Woodcroft and wanted to check in, see what I could do to help.”
“Well, the busybodies have been informed, so I think whoever decides to show up is in for a rude welcome. Honestly, I think it’s probably best to hide out. If they catch your scent or Willow’s, they won’t let up. If we give them nothing, they’ll leave faster. I can make sure you both are stocked up on food, supplies, whatever you need.”
My throat works extra hard to swallow. The support and the unquestioning loyalty that I still don’t completely feel worthy of are humbling to say the least.
“Will and I are at her house. I have no clue what we have for food, but I can text you later and let you know. I don’t want to hide out, but I agree it’s the easiest way to get rid of the circus sooner.”
“You’re a part of the Bluebell Falls family, Oakley. We support each other, and you can bet the people of this town will protect you from whomever decides to stick their noses here.”
I clear my throat at the emotions rushing to the surface. “Thanks ,Sheriff,” I whisper.
“For the love of God, Oakley, call me Arlo. And while you’re hiding out, think about coming to work at the office. Please. I could use your experience.”
I chuckle at his continued offer.
“I’ll think about it. Thanks, Sheriff Arlo.” I smirk, though he can’t see it.
“You’re a pain in the ass. Text me what you need.” He hangs up before I can give a rebuttal, and I laugh out loud. He’s a good guy, but he can be grumpy as hell.
“Arlo?” Willow asks from the door I didn’t even hear her open. She’s put on a pair of shorts and an oversized T-shirt, and I’m almost regretting telling her to cover up.
“Yep. We’re officially hiding out. He said he’ll bring us anything we need.”
“You think hiding out is the right move?”
“I think it’s the right move to get everyone out of town faster.”
“Okay.” She nods. “I have no clue what we have here, so we’ll have to do inventory. And I need to check my work email.” She cringes. “It’s a good thing I finished that book when I did, at least.”
“Easy.” I swing my legs over and climb out of bed, already feeling a million times better than yesterday. My wounds are starting to itch a little, so I know it’s on the road to healing, thankfully.
“Jesus, put some pants on or something.” Her murmur makes me smirk.
“Payback sucks, huh?” I chuckle.
She shakes her head, walking into the living room without another word.
A couple of hours later, Willow is sitting at her desk checking emails while I wait for grocery delivery from Sheriff—Arlo.
“Well, I think I just found something to do while we’re stuck in here,” she says.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” My eyes watch as she starts typing frantically. I don’t think I’ll ever stop being amazed watching her work.
“I just got back edits on the book.” I can’t tell from her tone if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
I stand up, only feeling the slight pull of the stitches in my side, and walk over to her. One hand on the back of her chair, the other on her desk, I lean over and try to work out if she’s happy or not.
“Walk me through this. Are you happy? Dreading this? What’s the process like?” I ask.
She looks up at me with a soft smile on her face.
“It’s probably really boring.”
“If it has to do with you, it’s never boring, Will.” I lean a little closer.
“Well, this is only half, but I started skimming them, and honestly? They look amazing. Usually for me, editing is the bane of my existence. There’s a ton to work through, usually some huge plot hole I fucked up, and I bank about a full month to make things perfect before sending it off for proofreading. If the notes accompanying the edits are to be believed, it looks pretty good. There’s obviously still some smoothing out that needs to happen, but my editor is loving the whole thing, no huge plot holes or rewrites needed.”
“That’s amazing,” I tell her. “How can I help?”
She cringes. “I’m not sure there’s a ton to do. If I dive in, you’ll pretty much be solo until I’m done.”
“I can handle that. I’ll make sure you’re fed and have plenty of coffee. Just like old times.” I wink.
She bursts out laughing. “Like, a week ago?”
“God, I can’t believe it’s only been a week.” I sigh.
“A lot has happened.”
“Too much. I’m really worried about Lennox and what happens when they release him, and all these fucking news vans are still here,” I confess.
“Yeah, I was thinking about that too. I need to call Ledger and see how things are going there anyways. I’m not sure if Arlo has filled them in on what’s going on here or not. but I don’t want Lennox to leave the hospital at all if he’s going to get bombarded with nosey-ass people.”
“I agree.” A knock on the front door tells me our food is here. “I’ll take care of that. Why don’t you call Ledger, so we’re all on the same page.”
She nods as I head to the front door.
I take a look through the peep hole—you can never be too careful—finding Arlo, so I open the door, ushering him in.
“I’ve got more in the car, but stay in here.” He drops off the armload he was carrying. He spins right around and walks out the door, coming back only a minute later with the rest of the groceries.
“Okay, I couldn’t find that fancy coffee thing you were asking for.”
“An Areo-press?” I laugh.
“Yeah, we’re small town here, man. We don’t have fancy shit like that. Why do you think Grind Time is so successful?”
“I thought it was because I cook good food and provide something pretty to look at,” I joke.
He blankly stares at me before moving to put food in the refrigerator. “I took the liberty of ordering one online. It’ll be here tomorrow. I got rush shipping.”
I don’t even try to hide my smile. His thoughtfulness, despite his gruff nature, tells me more about him as a person. “I appreciate that. How much do I owe you for everything?” I motion to the counter as we both put groceries away. It takes him far longer because he has no clue where things go.
“It’s taken care of,” he grunts.
“Arlo…”
“Look, Willow is like a sister to me. Hell, the whole family means a lot to me. I’m just trying to do what I can to make sure everyone is taken care of. And you’re not half bad, especially if you join me at the sheriff’s office.” He sneaks it in so subtly I have to admire his recruitment tactic.
“Well then, I owe you one.”
“You don’t, but I don’t have time to argue. Jim, Mabel, and Alice are down at the station, so we can discuss how we’re going to ‘take care’ of the media.”
I really laugh then. The three of them will keep not only Arlo busy but the media as well. Probably send them in circles on some wild goose chase. Honestly, I’d pay to see it.
“Have fun with that. Keep me updated,” I tell him.
“Will do. Let me know if you need any other supplies. The coffee thing is getting shipped straight here, so you won’t be long without your caffeine.” He doesn’t wait for a response, the pattern really starting to stand out, before he walks out the front door. I follow him, making sure to lock the door before turning back to go find Willow.
I find her sitting on her bed, looking far too beautiful for words. Her hair is in a messy bun on the top of her head and her blue eyes look exhausted, but she looks happy. I lean against the doorframe as she starts talking.
“Ledger said doctors are aware of the media shit and are planning to keep him until it dies down a little more. Lennox is fucking pissed. I had to talk him out of just walking out when he overheard Ledger talking about it. He’s stir crazy. He is literally never inside, so this is basically the worst-case scenario for him.” She sighs. “But everyone agrees that you and I need to just hide out and let everything pass. Ledg also wants to do a family dinner in the next few days.”
“Family dinner? Is this the same one you talked about a while ago?”
“Yep. Every week, we get together and cook one of our favorite meals. It’s been a thing since before our parents died, and Ledger kept it going.”
“I love that,” I whisper, wanting nothing more than to be included. To be important enough in her life to be considered family.
“It keeps us connected in a time where we’re all super busy. I’m not sure when that’ll be, but I told Ledger you would be coming. If that’s okay with you.” Her voice quiet, like she’s unsure if I would actually be okay with it.
“I would be fucking honored.” Uncrossing my arms, I walk closer to her, caging her in with my arms before she falls back against the bed.
“Yeah?” she squeaks as I press a kiss to her cheek.
“Very fucking honored.”
A few kisses turn into a make out session that wreaks havoc on my libido, but Willow stands by letting me heal more, refusing to do anything more. It’s sweet she’s worrying about me, but if she said it was go time, I’d pop those stitches in a second.
I’ll be patient though. This new intimacy we’ve found outside of sex is amazing too, so it’s no hardship. Luckily, we’ve got some time, and I’ll get her to cave eventually.