Chapter 6
Tommy set Willow up in a guest room that was stationed away from the rest of his house. Not because he didn’t want her near, or she didn’t want him near, he just wanted to give her some space and privacy. She loved the room he had her in. It was huge, had high ceilings and large windows where she could see the ocean. It smelled amazing too—like fresh laundry with a hint of the ocean breeze.
She slept like a baby the night he took her back to his place. They stayed up late for another glass of wine and talked a little more about their lives. They nearly shared a kiss but stopped each other before things went too far. Willow wouldn’t have been upset if they did share a kiss. He sure made her feel comfortable enough.
The next morning, she woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. It was him calling to wake her up for breakfast. She was shocked. Flattered even. When she got into the hallway and smelt the savory scent of bacon, her mouth started to water.
“Ah! There she is. Good morning.”
He was up early and seemed to be in a very good mood that day. There was a large spread of pancakes, bacon, eggs, grits, a fruit platter, freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee, and donuts on the table when Willow got there. Enough to feed the entire island of Sanibel.
“What’s all this?” she chuckled. “Are we having company this morning?”
“What? Is this too much? I thought you might be hungry after last night. It’s been so long since I”ve had anyone to cook for. I guess I got a bit carried away.”
Carried away was right. There was no way she would be able to finish even half of the spread in front of her. It all looked really delicious, though.
“Did you sleep okay?” He sat down at the table with her and started to dish out their plates.
“I was out for the count,” she said. “That was probably some of the best sleep I”ve had since I”ve been here. That bed feels like heaven.”
“Good. I’m glad,” he said.
Willow wondered how long he expected her to stay. Truthfully, that bed was so comfortable she wouldn”t have minded moving in. As happy as Tommy was that morning to have someone there with him, she didn”t think he would’ve minded her moving in either. He was like a kid who was having a sleepover for the first time since his parents allowed it.
He fixed them both large, hefty, plates of food that morning. Willow was sure he would eat every drop of his, but she wasn”t so sure how much her belly could handle. He let her know that if they didn’t finish it all, they could donate the leftovers to the homeless, and she was cheerful about that. Back home, donating to the less fortunate was something Willow always loved to do.
“Are you not working today?” she asked. “I thought you’d be gone by now.”
“Today’s my day off,” he said. “The Sheriff does get to take some time off when he wants to, you know?”
“Oh,” she chuckled. “That’s right. You’re the boss.”
Willow tried to keep her thoughts in order while they enjoyed their breakfast that morning, but she couldn”t get over how sweet he was to her. It made her think of how much intimacy her life lacked. She had longed for a long time to feel fulfilled and cared for. It had been so long since she felt any spark in her romantic life. She craved that affection, that attention and vulnerability, and surprisingly, Tommy knew how to give it to her in the most subtle way.
“I was thinking,” he said. “After breakfast, we could go over to Ding Darling… it’s a fishing hole where I like to fish. I’ll pack up my truck with all this food; we can share plates with the homeless crowd at the park nearby and sit out by the water. Cast a few lines.”
Fishing was something Willow hadn”t done in ages. Her father used to love it. That was where she picked up the habit. She loved fishing, especially when she needed some chill time to clear her head. So, she was all for going on a fishing trip.
“I would love that,” she smiled. “It’s been so long, I probably forgot how to cast.”
“That’s all right. I’ll teach you everything you need to know. I’m a pro.”
He looked like a fisherman. If he wasn’t the sheriff, Willow probably would have guessed he lived on a boat somewhere and only came to shore every few months to pick up groceries and other personal items.
A houseboat didn’t sound too bad that day. She would have loved to sail out into the middle of the ocean, away from the world, and just rock to the rhythm of the sea. That was actually one of her dreams before she met Charlie. Willow didn’t necessarily want to live in the middle of the sea, but somewhere off the water where she could walk out onto her dock and stick her feet in. Being with Tommy reminded her of that feeling.
She helped him pack up the food and load his truck up after breakfast. Willow was surprised to see that he actually had a boat. When she asked about it, he quickly suggested they load that onto the truck too and he would take her out for a spin. A spin around the island. That was the highlight of Willow’s morning.
“You all set to go?” he asked, as he climbed into his rig and buckled in.
“Yep. I”m ready to get rolling. I’m excited about this. I haven’t been on a boat since my dad got sick.”
The first thing she noticed when they got to Ding Darling, was how beautiful it was. The water was calm and there were a lot of pelicans and other pretty birds flying above. She even saw a dolphin sprout up for some fresh air.
“Have you ever been here before?” Tommy asked. “This is one of my favorite spots. I catch some of the best grouper and reds out here.”
“I haven’t. It looks nice, though. Very beautiful out here. Looks peaceful too.”
“Oh, you’re in for a nice surprise then.”
He was so excited to get out and get the boat docked. He smiled the entire time he worked on it. He even had Willow helping him back his truck up to the dock, which she almost failed at. She wasn’t as good as she thought she”d be behind the wheel of such a big truck.
Once the boat was docked and they had everything loaded, they grabbed the tins of food they had from breakfast and walked over to the picnic area where the homeless camped out. It was a sad sight to see that afternoon, but Willow was happy to be able to give something back to the community. Even if it was only food.
“Ugh! It always makes me so sad to see how some people have to live,” she said. “If I was a billionaire, I would help as many people as I could.”
“I say the same thing.” Tommy sighed as they made their way back to the boat to get ready to hit the water. “Sometimes I come out here just to see some of them. It is sad to see. I wish there was more I could do for everyone.”
Hearing his sentiments made Willow fall for him even more that day and he had no idea. It was nice to come across a man who thought of someone other than himself. A man who looked out for people who couldn’t look out for themselves, and he loved doing it.
She was honest with herself about the way she prejudged him in the beginning. Tommy wasn’t the rude, arrogant, judgmental man she thought he was at first. He was someone kind. Gentle. Sweet. He was a little arrogant at times, but when you pushed that aside, he was great.
They sped off into the ocean, far away from the land and Willow was living the life that day. She wore a two piece bathing suit and a large sun hat to shield her eyes from the heavy rays of the sun, while Tommy wore a pair of trunks and a sleeveless shirt. Luckily enough for both of them, his boat was large and covered with shade; otherwise, they would have been completely sunburnt.
While he cast out his lines, Willow laid out on the deck with a frozen margarita and watched on as he snagged at his poles. He looked so manly sitting out there with a beer in one hand and fishing rod in the other. She missed seeing a man do manly things. It helped that Tommy was a handsome devil who knew how to treat a woman too.
“You enjoying yourself out there?” he called over to her on the deck. “I haven’t heard a peep from you in a while.”
“I am,” she laughed. “Just taking it all in. It”s been a while since I”ve sailed into the middle of nowhere, away from everyone. I love it.”
Being in the middle of the ocean made Willow feel more alive than she had in years. You would’ve thought she felt alive in her marriage, but she didn”t. She felt trapped and overlooked. Willow thought she would never see the day again when she had her freedom to be herself and do the things she loved to do. Tommy made that possible for her again, by simply taking her for a ride on his boat.
“How often do you come out here?” She got up and went to sit beside him.
“Not very often, sad to say. After the accident, I stopped doing a lot of things I loved to do. This is probably the most peace I”ve had since then.”
Willow felt the same way. Though Brandi and Richy brought her some peace, it was nothing compared to what she felt being out on the ocean with Tommy. She felt like they understood each other without even trying to. Everything was so easy with him. Even when they got into their bickering matches earlier on, they always found their way back to common ground. Willow adored that even more while they sailed.
“Maybe we should make this a thing for us,” he said. “You know, get away from time to time. Whenever you’re here for a visit, that is.”
“Oh yeah?” She blushed. “Maybe we should. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do when this is all over. Maybe I might stay a while. Tallahassee is where this all started for me and I”m not sure if I want to go back there to relieve this pain again.”
His eyes brightened at the possibility. He didn’t say anything, but she could tell he liked the idea of having her around. It was the way he perked up when she spoke about staying. The way his smirk curved into a tiny smile, and the way his cheeks reddened at the sound of her voice.
Tommy was into Willow a lot more than he spoke about. She was the same way for him. They flirted more and more as time went on. It was cute and full of tension and passion. Willow was eager for him to make the first move most of the time, but she didn”t pressure him to do anything. She was enjoying the heat and tension fizzling between them.