Chapter 2
The pool party at Monica”s turned into an all day event. On her way home Willow noticed a few missed calls from Brandi. When she got in, Brandi was just getting in from work and came out to the cottage to have a word.
“Busy day?” she asked. “You’re just getting in.”
“Yeah,” Willow said, tossing her things down near the door. “I went over to talk to Monica and ended up staying around for a party she had.”
“Monica, huh?” Brandi had a twinge in her voice.
Jealousy? Or maybe she was concerned. Whichever one it was, Willow wasn”t really in the mood for another one of her lectures. She was tired, hot, and tipsy from the champagne.
“I thought we agreed to stay away from her until this was over,” Brandi said. “Now you’re having day parties with her?”
“She’s fine, Brandi. Okay? Really. She’s gone through the same thing I have with Charlie. She knows how this works.”
She gave Willow a condescending look that said, “yeah, okay.”
Willow didn”t have the energy to go back and forth. All she wanted was to have a shower and crawl into bed. But Brandi wasn’t about to let it go. She was concerned for Willow”s safety.
“You need to really think about this, Willow. You don’t know this woman from a hole in the wall. So what if you’ve been through the same thing with the same man? That’s even more of a reason for you to be cautious with her. The same way the police think you have something to do with this, could be the same way she does. Or worse, they think you’re both in on it and being seen together won’t help with any of that.”
She knew Brandi was only trying to help, but Willow just wanted to be left alone. She’d been staying in Brandi’s guest cottage for three weeks now, and she wondered if it was time she found her own space.
They were best friends. She didn’t want anything to come in between that but Brandi telling her what to do as if she was a child suddenly sent her over the edge.
“Brandi, please! Give it a rest, okay!” She snapped, completely losing her cool. “I don’t need you to micromanage my life. I’m a grown woman and I can figure things out on my own. I know you feel like you know everything because you’re some hot shot lawyer, but you don’t. Sometimes, you’re wrong.”
Instead of arguing back, Brandi threw her hands up and walked away. She left the cottage without saying a single word.
After her shower, Willow lay awake in bed and thought about what she said. Some of her words were a little harsh, but they were true. Though she should have worded them better. The last thing she wanted was to ruin their friendship.
When she woke up the next morning, she looked around the house in search for Brandi, but she had already left for work. Willow felt terrible about the night before and wanted to make sure Brandi knew how much she loved her and how sorry she was, so she crafted a text to explain everything. She couldn’t lose her friend and her sanity all at once.
Brandi, I”m so sorry about how I treated you last night. I know you’re only trying to help me get through this tough time in my life right now. I don’t know where I”d be if it weren’t for you most days. I was tired and frustrated last night and let it get the best of me. I’m really struggling to keep my head on straight with all of this going on.
Please forgive me. With that said, I think it’s best for me to go back home for a while. At least until all of this is squared away. The tension is high between us and the last thing I want is for our friendship to suffer because of this. Love you with all my heart.
She started to pack her things and clean up her mess. By the time she had everything packed and loaded into her car, her phone began to ring.
“Willow, have you lost your mind? You can’t leave in the middle of an investigation! They’ll think you had something to do with this. That’s a sure sign of guilt. No matter how frustrated you are, you have to stay put while you’re under investigation. Tommy will have you sat in a cell before you could even get past the county line.”
Reality set in once again. She was thinking so unclearly that she had forgot all about being under investigation and Sheriff Tommy telling her not to go too far. Once again, Brandi was right.
“Oh,” she said. “I guess I didn”t think that all the way through…”
“Listen, no matter how tense things get between us, you’re my best friend and I love you. I realize I can be a little overbearing at times, but it’s only because I want the best for you, especially during something like this. We’ve been best friends for years. Nothing will change that. I promise you.”
By the time their phone call ended, Willow was in tears. She realized how jumping the gun would have only caused more problems and going back home to Tallahassee wasn’t a good idea. She did miss being home though. For the first time in weeks she thought about everything she’d left behind. Her garden. Her bed. The restaurants. There was a lot about being home that she missed. The comfort of knowing she was safe was one of them. Well, before she found out who Charlie really was. She went back out to the car and unpacked her things.
When the sun started to set, she brought a light beach bag and headed for the waves. With everything cleared up with Brandi, she felt better. Her life was still in shambles and her freedom was still on the line, but she felt like she had a fighting chance.
She thought about Monica’s offer to talk to her lawyer while she sat listening to the waves crash against the shore. Brandi was great, but Willow thought having someone who was already familiar with Charlie’s criminal history might have been a better option. She wasn’t sure. Her mind was all over the place.
“The Sanibel Scandal.” She heard some girls snickering behind her back. “I wonder who her next victim will be. Hey! Who are you here to scam next, huh?”
She turned around to see who they were. It wasn’t like she would have known them either way, though. Some kids. Looked to be around Richy’s age and just as snarky as he was at times. It didn’t take long for Richy to show up either.
“Hey! Leave her alone!” he shouted and shooed them away. Willow was surprised. It was the first time she”d seen him be so assertive with anyone other than her. “They’re some stupid brats who go to my school. Ignore them.”
“I intended to.”
It was weird for her to be taunted by kids, especially for something she didn”t do. She guessed that was how criminals felt after they got their lives together. Like no one would ever forget what they’d done, no matter how much they changed.
“I read that article about you. Whoever wrote that is a real jerk. Putting something out like that without having all the facts. That’s messed up.”
“I agree,” she nodded. “But what can I do? I don’t even know who wrote it. I thought it was you at first.”
“Me?” he scoffed. “Why would I do something like that? I want to find this guy just as bad as you do.”
Willow knew he was telling the truth, but Brandi’s words tried to creep into her head again. It was just her life playing tricks on her because she was going through such a difficult time.
“Yeah, I know,” she said. “I don’t know. I guess it’s hard to trust anyone right now. I couldn’t even trust the man I fell in love with. Look where that got me.”
Falling in love with Charlie was one of the worst mistakes she had ever made in her life. She wished she could have gone back in time and changed ever meeting him. But she couldn”t. She had to deal with the consequences of falling for a scumbag.
“I get it. You have watch out for guys like him,” Richy said. “I don’t know much about dating, but I know you have to be careful. Some people are great at pretending.”
“Have you ever had a girlfriend?”
He sat quietly for a moment. She assumed the answer was no. But Willow gave him the benefit of the doubt anyway. Who knew? Maybe Richy had a girlfriend before and it was why he was so secluded and kept to himself. Like he said, people were great at pretending.
“Something like that.” He spoke softly and kept his eyes down at the sand. “Two years ago, I asked my crush out to the school dance. It was a stupid idea, but I did it anyway.”
“What happened?”
Willow was curious to get a glimpse into his life.
“She said yes. But when we got there, she pretty much blew me off. I begged my mom to buy me a nice suit with money she didn’t have to spend. I got her flowers and chocolate. You know… was a complete gentleman. But when I showed up, all she did was make fun of me for being too nice. She said no girl would ever take a guy like me seriously. I thought the goal was to be nice to the people you cared about?”
Willow threw an arm around him and sighed. “Some women can be really tricky,” she said. “But don’t lose faith. The right one is out there for you.”
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