Chapter Seventeen Lena #2
Willow grins at me. “I know. Debbie was the best cook, and she made sure all three of us knew the basics. But Gideon loved being in here with her. He’d spend hours and hours with her, learning everything he could.
I don’t think it was the food per se—I think it was that he wanted to be with his mom.
We were all close to Debbie and Ray, but Gideon and Debbie had something special.
Maybe because of the tragic way his biological mom died. ”
What the hell happened to her?
I want to know everything, but my gut tells me that digging into that information is probably best done with Gideon.
Instead, I keep focusing on Debbie.
“How did Debbie die?” I ask softly.
“Cancer.” Her nose wrinkles as she sprinkles cheese over the sauce in her pan. “Fucking cancer. Ryker had just won the Stanley Cup the year prior, and he was going for year two in a row.”
“Wow.”
“He was in the middle of the season, and we found out about the cancer. It was aggressive, and already systemic. She passed when Ry was in the middle of playoffs, and he didn’t get to come home for the funeral.”
“Oh my God, that’s horrible.”
“Gideon came home when I called him and told him that time was running short. Ray wouldn’t leave her side, of course.
Ray and Deb had the kind of love that you read about in those novels.
That you dream about. He was obsessed with her, completely devoted to her.
Gideon and I took turns bringing him food, sitting with her while he freshened up, but he slept with her, held her, wouldn’t budge.
Not that that surprised either of us, because Ray was the OG of feral men for his woman. ”
She takes a breath and a sip of her wine. We’ve almost made it through this bottle already, and I’m feeling . . . floaty.
I’m also riveted. Gideon rarely talks about his adoptive parents, and hearing this tragic story only makes my heart soften toward him even more.
“Gid and I were both in the room with Ray and Debbie that morning. Just quietly sitting, listening to her breathe. And then, suddenly, she just . . . wasn’t. Wasn’t breathing. It was the calmest, most peaceful transition.”
“Wow.” I wipe a tear off my face.
“Debbie loved so big, so hard, and she deserved to die with complete love and peace, and she did. But man, it broke us all for a while. Ray never recovered, and he passed two years later.”
No wonder the three of them are so close to one another. They’ve been through so much together. How can I be mad at her for wanting to jump in and defend Gideon when I first arrived? She thought I was the cause of him almost being killed.
Because I was.
But I don’t want to focus on that now.
“Do you have a photo of them that I could borrow? I’d like to sketch a gift for Gideon.”
“Honey, I have hundreds. Give me your number, and I’ll text them to you so it’s on the down-low. I know that Gid has a couple in his office, but I have some great ones that are better.”
“I can’t give you my number. I’m not allowed to have a phone.” I finish my wine and then lift a brow when I see that Willow’s opening a fresh bottle.
“Why can’t you have a phone?”
She pours me more wine, and I try to decide how to answer her.
“Because cell phones can be traced, Willow.”
She watches me for a moment and then nods slowly.
“And you’re hiding here.”
“Yeah, I’m hiding here. Gideon’s keeping me safe, just like he’s always done for me. And no one else can know where I am. But I’ll happily borrow some pictures, if you don’t mind.”
“You got it.”
We sip quietly for a moment, and then she grins at me.
“Okay, give me a hint. Are you guys having sex? Or do I have to liquor you up a bit more before you spill the beans?”
I can’t help but laugh at that. “Fine, I’ll talk. Yes, we are. And holy shit.”
Her smile is wide as she clinks her glass to mine. “Attagirl.”
“I would have thought for sure that you’d be pissed that I’m sleeping with your brother.”
“A month ago? Yeah, I probably would have been. But frankly, I’ve seen a change in him with you here. He smiles more, and that’s big for him.”
“He hardly ever smiled the whole time he was on my detail. And he has the best smile.”
“He really does.” She nods and puts the pan of lasagna in the oven. “He’s always been ridiculously handsome, even as a gangly, awkward teenager.”
“I mean, Ryker is fucking hot, my new friend.” We cheers again, and Willow preens. She’s so pretty. “You hit the freaking jackpot with him.”
“I know, right? All those muscles just do it for me.”
“The Muscles!” I do a little happy dance, and Willow giggles. “You really have to thank whatever god you believe in for giving men those V’s on their hips that lead to the promised land.”
She flips her blond hair over her shoulder and sips her wine. “Also, the tattoos. Who knew ink was so damn hot?”
“Me. I knew.” I snort and sip my wine. “But it’s so much hotter on Gideon than any other man I’ve seen. Does Ryker have a lot of tattoos?”
“So many,” she confirms with a nod. “And one of them is for me. A willow tree.”
I stop and blink at her, feeling all of me melt at the admission. Is it from the sweetness of the tattoo or all this wine? Maybe both.
“That is the sweetest.”
“I know. And the best part? He got it years before we fell in love. My man is the best.”
“I love that.”
“Do you want to see my recording studio while this bakes?”
“Hell yes, lead the way.”
We grab our glasses, and Willow snags the bottle and leads me up the stairs to the second floor.
“This house is enormous,” I comment as we pass a gym and many guest rooms.
“I know. Ray and Debbie wanted tons of kids, and Ray built this house for her right after they got married. But she ended up being infertile.”
“Oh my God.”
“Yeah.” Willow nods and points out Ryker’s office. “But they had me, and then the boys, and they always had each other.”
She opens a door at the end of the hallway, and we step inside.
The walls are covered in what must be soundproofing. There’s a desk with a laptop and lots of notes, and then there’s a corner with another computer, an iPad, a mic, and lots of other things that I don’t understand.
“This is incredible.”
Willow grins, looking around. “Ry built it for me.”
“Swoon.” I take a sip. “Okay, I want to hear you.”
“You want me to demonstrate?”
“Yes, please.”
“I might be a little too drunk for that. We’ve almost polished off this second bottle. But I can play what I recorded this morning for you.”
“Ooh, that’s perfect.”
She turns on the laptop and hits some keys, and then her voice comes out of the speakers, all sultry and sexy.
“Look at what a good girl you are, all spread out for me.”
I purse my lips, my eyes go wide, and Willow laughs. She recorded a spicy scene this morning.
“Logan, I can’t do this. It’s too much.”
“You can do it, baby girl. You’re such a good little slut for me. Fuck, look at that wet pussy.”
“Oh my God.” I snort and then keep listening to this very explicit scene, and then she stops the playback. “I need that title, please. It’s going to the top of my list.”
“It’s a good one.” She winks and then leads me back downstairs. “Let’s sit on the couch and gossip some more. I want to know all about the famous people you’ve met. I’ll trade stories with you.”
“Have you met a lot of famous people too?”
“A few, because Ryker is a hockey legend. We sometimes attend functions for charities and stuff. You probably know all about that.”
“I’ve attended plenty of those things. I wish you’d been there. It would have been a lot more fun.”
“You know, the annual private concert is happening in Seattle just before Christmas for Ry and Gideon’s charity. They had to move it from summer because of a scheduling conflict this year. You and Gid should go.”
“I’m absolutely positive that the drill instructor will not let me off this ranch. He definitely won’t let me go to a fancy dinner with a bunch of people. No way. Not to mention, I might not be here by then.”
Her bottom lip pokes out in a pout.
“But now I want you there,” she says and pretends to cry, making me snort. “Okay, let’s gossip. Who’s the most famous person you’ve met? Besides your mom, because duh.”
It’s in this moment that I realize something alarming.
I really, really like Willow.