She was suddenly thrust back to the past, where shewas the hopeless third wheel in the epic friendship Jensen had with her brother. The two of them had been inseparable—like they were on another plane of existence sometimes, laughing like they were on top of the world and tromping around the woods behind Jensen’s house pretending to be soldiers or cowboys.
“I do,” she said, her heart hurting for him. “I was feeling hopeless about things myself, but yesterday was nice. Not quite like old times, but close.”
“I guess I need to find a reason to get in touch with him,” Jensen said, nodding.
They both applied themselves to their tasks after that, but it was in companionable silence instead of the tension from earlier.
Willow was happy to see that there was already a good selection of items at the booth. She noted down a list on her phone of other things they ought to have. Maybe Tarker County General would be willing to donate a few things.
When she had everything set up more or less the way she wanted it, she scanned the area to see if she could find something better than the folding chair she had.
“What do you need?” Jensen asked when he saw her looking around.
“Oh,” she said. “I was just thinking it would be good to have a bench over here, in case someone isn’t feeling well and needs to lie down.”
“I think there’s one out by the entrance,” Jensen said. “I’ll help you carry it.”
“Let me just check with Sam first to make sure it’s okay to take it,” Willow said.
She jogged through the crowd of volunteers who were setting up various tables. The festive atmosphere of it all made her smile. Folks she had known since childhood and plenty of new faces had all gathered to make this event a success. After a few minutes, she found Sam by the big model train set, talking with someone. Sam turned immediately as Willow approached.
“Hey,” Willow said. “Sorry to interrupt, Sam. Is it okay for me to take the bench from out front? If someone isn’t feeling good it would be good to have something other than a chair.”
“Sure,” Sam said. “Great idea. Should I have some of the guys bring it back for you?”
“That’s okay,” Willow said without thinking. “Jensen and I can carry it.”
Sam nodded and gave her a knowing smile.
Is my crush on the man that obvious?
It was kind of humiliating, honestly. But she wasn’t going to embarrass herself. They were both here to help out, and that was all.
Sam probably just fancies herself a matchmaker,she decided. She’s not from Trinity Falls, so she doesn’t know there’s a history.
Willow headed back through the market and waved to Jensen.
“We’re good to take it?” he asked.
“Yes,” she told him. “Thanks a lot for helping me.”
“Not a problem,” he said.
“I didn’t know you were a tech guy,” Willow said.
“Well, I know my way around the audio stuff at least,” he told her. “I have a studio set up at home for work.”
“Really?” she asked. “What kind of work?”
“Corporate trainings, mostly,” he said, then pressed his lips together, like he didn’t want to say anything more, which was odd, but she wasn’t going to press.
“That sounds like a good job,” she told him.
“It’s freelance,” he said. “So it has its ups and downs, but it leaves me mostly flexible for Henry.”
“That’s great,” she told him. “And it’s so nice that you came back here to work.”
“I could say the same,” he said, flashing a smile at her that would have sent her reeling back in high school.
