Chapter 6
The following morning, Willow woke up to the loudest thuds coming from the front door. She thought she was in some sort of apocalyptic dream. When the thuds didn’t stop, she jumped to her feet, realizing that it was reality.
“Richy!” She called out to him still sleeping on the couch. “Richy! You don’t hear the door.”
“Huh?” he groaned. “What door?”
“Ugh!”
She grabbed her robe from the back of the couch and threw it on. When she opened the door, she saw two angry parents that belonged to Richy and a confused sheriff Tommy.
“Yeah?” Willow squinted due to the brightness of the sun.
“Yeah?” The father scoffed. “Yeah? Is that how you greet people? Where is my son? Richy! You in there!?”
He was so loud Willow wanted to throat check him. It was nine o’clock in the morning and the man already smelled like a pint of liquor and a full pack of cigarettes.
“Yeah,” she interrupted his shouting. “He’s here. He said it was fine if he slept over last night. But, seeing as how you’re here being louder than the entire town, I take it that wasn’t true?”
Richy’s father gave Willow a long, dry look. The way his beady eyes tried peering through her robe made her want to vomit. His mother didn’t say much. She just stood behind her husband, looking like a battered and fearful woman.
“Yeah, Dad. I’m here.”
Richy looked just as terrified as his mother when he came to the door. The last thing he wanted to do was upset his father, but he had.
“What are you doing here, boy? I thought I told you about staying off all night without telling me where you’re going.”
“I told you I was staying with a friend,” Richy said. “You were halfway passed out on the couch. Maybe you don’t remember.”
His father made this nasty sucking sound with his teeth and cocked his head to one side. He was trying to intimidate Richy. Willow too. She didn’t fear the old drunk the way Richy and his mother did, however. She stood her ground.
“I remember everything,” the grouch said. “And this is a grown woman. She’s no friend. What, are you some kind of pervert who likes hanging around little boys because you can’t keep a husband of your own?”
He chuckled a little. Obviously she was offended but she didn”t clap back. It was too early in the morning to fight with someone who could barely stand on his own two drunken feet.
“You stay away from my son, you hear? I read about you in the paper. All that scamming you and that sleezy husband of yours. I don”t want my son having no part of that. You hear me, Richy?”
His question was directed at Richy, but he glared directly at Willow. There was so much hate and disgust for her in his eyes that it made her wonder how everyone else in Sanibel felt about her. She knew it couldn’t have been anything good after they read that article, but she was innocent. Sheriff Tommy even vouched for her.
“That article wasn’t true. Willow had nothing to do with what Greg had going on.”
“I don’t want to hear any of that crap, Tommy! Some strange woman has my boy sleeping over at her house without me knowing?! I have a problem with that and I want something done about it.”
Richy went off to collect his things while the rest of them stood there staring at each other. Willow was worried Sheriff Tommy would have to take her to jail just to make Richy’s dad happy, so she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Richy hates being at home with you!”
His father’s eyes grew wide. It was as if he was completely oblivious to the way his son felt. His mother didn’t seem too surprised. She looked like she didn’t like being home either.
“What did you just say?” his father’s voice lowered and his eyes grew angry again. “What the hell do you know about my home that I don”t? You think you know my own family better than I do? Just like a cheat and a scammer. You’ll say anything to take the heat off of your own behind.”
“He talks to me,” Willow said. “He tells me everything. About how you drink all day long and got fired from your job. You won’t even let him get himself a job to have money for the things he likes to do. You don’t even know he goes to the beach every day just to escape the horrors of that prison you call a home!”
His father stepped in closer to her, prompting Sheriff Tommy to step in between them. There’s no telling what Richy’s father might have done if he wasn”t there. Before he could spew another word though, Richy ran out the door with his mother hot on his trail.
“You better watch yourself, Missy. And stay away from my son. If I catch you around him again, there won’t be no sheriff here next time. I promise you that.”
Sheriff Tommy stood watch until Richy and his parents were gone. It wasn’t until their car was completely out of sight that he let his guard down and let out a huge sigh of relief. Willow did the same thing.
“What the hell was that?” Sheriff Tommy asked. “Are you trying to get yourself into more trouble?”
“How was I supposed to know he was going to call the police and come banging down my door?”
“He son’s a teenager, for crying out loud. Dale doesn”t mess around. If you were smart, you’d stay away from his son to prevent anything further happening.”
“Yeah,” Willow scoffed. “This is all my fault, right? Richy told me he had permission, and I was only trying to help the kid. He confided in me how horrible it was living at home, and I had the means to give him a safe and comfortable place to stay. He just wanted to get away from it all for a night. I mean, look at the man he has to live with!”
She pointed in the direction of their car, even though they were long gone. Willow didn’t even know the man and she absolutely despised him. She hated the way he talked and the way he looked, and she hated the way he treated Richy and his mother.
“That poor woman.” She shook her head while glaring at Sheriff Tommy. “Isn’t there something you can do to help them? Richy says you and his dad are close. How can you let him treat his family the way he does?”
Sheriff Tommy sighed and lowered his head. He didn’t look so tough when she asked him about Richy and his mother’s wellbeing. Instead, he looked sad and disappointed in himself.
“Dale is…” He paused to find the right words to say. “He’s been having a rough time lately. He lost his job… they’re under a lot of pressure these days. I’m sure Richy’s fine and things will blow over once Dale gets back on his feet. It’s true. He could be a lot nicer to his wife and son, but it’s his family. He’s going to run it how he sees fit.”
Willow only shook her head. It sounded like a bunch of lame excuses for Dale to get away with what he did to his family. Willow’s father had lost jobs before and he never once treated her or her mother differently. Even on his most frustrated days. He certainly didn’t drink his life away to add fuel to the fire either.
“Anyway,” Sheriff Tommy sighed. “Any word from your husband? I’ve got a few guys looking into some potentials right now. We haven’t dug up much, but I think I want to go and pay Monica a visit. How is she?”
“She seems fine,” Willow shrugged. “Doesn’t seem too fond of you, though. She says you tried to do her the same way you did me.”
He chuckled a little as if he remembered something about her. Willow wondered what it was but she didn”t ask. The start of her morning was already terrible, and she didn”t want to make it worse.
“What about that article?” she asked. “Did you have it pulled?”
“I did,” he said. “I called a buddy of mine over at the news station and told him the article wasn’t true. It took some convincing, but it’s been taken care of.”
“Wow. Thanks.”
The way the sun beamed down on him made Willow see the sheriff in a different light. She already thought he was handsome, but something was different about him that morning. Softer now that they were alone. More open and compassionate. She didn’t know. Maybe he saw something in her too that he liked. There was a bit of awkwardness between them, but she let her guard down.
“Do you want to come in for a cup of coffee?” she asked. “That way, you’ll know for sure there was no funny business going on here last night.”
He laughed and said, “Sure. Coffee sounds nice.”
Willow expected him to decline the offer and say he had to get back to the station. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised when he made his way in and found a seat at the island while she got the coffee pot started.
“Wow. It’s nice and cozy here,” he said. “I’d sure like to live on that big lawyer salary Ms. Jacobs has. She’s doing well for herself.”
“She sure is,” Willow agreed. “She works very hard and she’s very good at what she does. I’m sure you know that already.”
She loved being able to brag about her best friend”s success, but it often reminded her of her own failures in life. At times, she wished she lived on Brandi’s big salary too. That was one thing the Sheriff and Willow had in common.
“I’ve known Brandi for a while now,” he said. “Great woman. Very head strong and can be a handful, but I guess she’s pretty cool.”
“She is very cool.” Willow chuckled and handed him a cup of joe. “I took a guess, you like yours black? If not, there’s creamer and sugar in the fridge.”
“You guessed it right. Black keeps me on track.”
His joke was corny, but she laughed anyway. Something about the airiness in the room made her forget all about her troubles. It felt good to be able to disconnect and have a lighthearted conversation for once.
“Do you have any family here?” he asked. “I don’t hear you talk much about anyone other than Charlie and Brandi.”
“No. My mom and dad live upstate. Brandi’s my only family here. I only ever came here because of Brandi and I needed to get away for a while. I love this place, though, so I”m sure I would have found my way here either way. Do you have any family?”
“No family for me. It’s just me. I never had any children. Sometimes I regret it, but what can I do about it now?” he chuckled. “I’m getting too old to be starting fresh.”
“It’s never too late to start fresh.”