He’d spent a lot of time these past years thinking about how much he missed Ransom. But he missed Willow too.
Now that she was home, maybe he could finally make things right with his best friend. They were both single dads, and they probably had more in common than ever.
Maybe we can rebuild our friendship,he thought to himself.Lean on each other from time to time.
Willow was home now, and safe. Maybe that would be enough to start pulling down the wall between them.
But the thought of her brought back the moment inthe truck when she smiled her secret smile, the scent of her hair teasing his senses. Jensen could think of a thousand words to describe that smile, but one floated to the surface of his mind above all the others.
Dangerous…
3
WILLOW
Willow sat beside Joe Cassidy in his truck the next day, carrying a bag with a pumpkin pie in it on her lap as they left the little town behind and headed out toward the open countryside on her way to visit Ransom.
“Thank you again for doing this,” she told Joe. “I really appreciate it.”
“Least I can do for one of our brave soldiers,” he told her. “Besides, I was heading home anyway.”
“Well, thank you,” she said.
Her car was still in the shop, and without it, Willow felt absolutely useless. Trinity Falls didn’t exactly have a bustling taxi or ride-share scene, so it was tough to get around without a vehicle. In desperation, she had wandered down to Carla’s Place to see if anyone there might be headed back to the farmland west of the village and gotten lucky when Joe offered her a ride.
Joe was her landlady’s father-in-law now, and shehoped he didn’t feel obligated on that account. But if anything, he seemed pleased by the company.
“How’s your brother doing these days?” he asked.
“Fine,” she said. “He keeps pretty busy with the kids.”
She honestly wished she knew more about Ransom’s life. Maybe today would be the beginning of that.
“A shame your mom’s not around,” Joe said, nodding. “Understandable though.”
Everyone knew that their aunt in Boston was having health troubles. Mom had opted to sell off most of the farm and join her up there. Willow wondered if she would have made that move if she’d known then that Ransom was going to come home from his service and immediately take over as a single parent to the two kids Cassie had left him with.
But Willow was glad it worked out like it did. Mom deserved a quiet retirement and a chance to be there for her beloved sister in her time of need. And it made sense to pass the farm off to someone else. Growing up, neither Willow nor Ransom had shown any interest in keeping the business going. They each had their own dreams, and Mom had always respected that.
“Here we go,” Joe said, rousing her from her thoughts as he pulled onto the narrow dirt and gravel road that led through a thicket of honeysuckle to the section of land Mom had kept for Willow and Ransom.
This was where Mom’s cousins and their kids used to stay when they came for the summer. There was a small pond, a big red barn leftover from the days when they’d kept goats, and an A-frame cabin overlooking the woods.
It was strange to think of Ransom living here with hiskids, but Willow figured it was good that he had a home to come back to.
“He know you’re coming?” Joe asked quietly. “Or do you need me to wait and make sure he’s home?”
“He knows,” Willow said.
She had sent a text to tell him she wanted to stop by, and he had responded with a thumbs-up.
Compared to their teen years when their text chain had been a never-ending series of jokes and Muppet memes, it was pretty dark, but at least it was a response.
She wasn’t exactly sure how long she would be here, or how she was getting home again, but hopefully Ransom would give her a ride.
Things are going to get better between us, starting now,she reminded herself.
As they pulled closer to the house, a movement in the trees caught her attention.
