Willow’s mouth was already watering at the mention of that roast. Judy and Ron loved to cook, and it was sure to be a wonderful meal.
“She’d love to,” Mrs. Lennox announced, handing Willow the cookie plate and hopping out of the car before Willow could even reply.
“Yes, thank you,” Willow said. “I might just stay a few minutes though. I really should stop by my brother’s place.”
“That’s my girl,” Judy told her, patting her cheek. “Why don’t you head on out back to see Jensen first? I know he’ll chop more wood for me if he’s got company.”
Willow’s stomach twisted at the thought that maybe her crush on Jensen had been so obvious back in school that Judy would send her straight to Jensen.
Does this mean she approves?
“Okay,” she said, eager to get away as she felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment.
Ron and Judy’s house was an enormous cedar shake colonial with light blue shutters. Willow had trooped all the way around it before she realized she was still clutching the plate with the cookies in her hands. She had been so distracted by her chat with Judy that she hadn’t thought to put it down in the passenger seat after Mrs. Lennox got out, like she meant to.
“Willow,” a familiar deep voice called out to her.
Jensen stood by the woodpile, axe in hand. He looked larger than life, his wide shoulders straining at the flannel he wore, his gray eyes fixed on her.
“Hi,” she said, stopping in her tracks like her feet knew that if she went any closer he would realize she was staring.
“Come on over,” he said, gesturing to the logs they had used as benches around the old fire pit forever. “Keep me company.”
She hesitated, and he turned back to his task, placing another piece of wood on the old stump. With a flash of the axe and a sharp crack, the wood split and the pieces thumped onto the ground.
Don’t be weird,Willow told herself sternly.You’ve beenout here a million times while he and Ransom were chopping wood.
She picked her way down the slight hill, boots crunching in the snow, and seated herself on one of the logs.
Jensen looked up from his work and grinned at her.
“What’s that?” he asked, looking at the plate in her hands. “Please tell me it’s those cookies you used to make.”
“You remember them?” she asked, surprised.
“Of course I remember,” he said. “I still dream about those things.”
She couldn’t help laughing at that. Pies, chocolate cupcakes, and now cookies… Did they have any memories not based around desserts?
“Well, come have some when you’re ready for a break,” she told him, figuring that she could always make more for Ransom another time.
And I’ll go straight to his house next time. No stops.
Jensen left the axe sticking into the big log he’d been chopping on and came to sit beside her.
Instantly, she felt like he was too close. She could practically feel the warmth pouring off him and taste the spicy forest of his aftershave on the air.
“Hey, kids,” Judy called out as she came down the hill. “Someone wanted to come see Willow.”
Willow turned to see Henry on Judy’s hip. The toddler clung to his grandma like he was feeling shy, but his gray eyes lit up with interest as soon as they landed on Willow.
“Hi, Henry,” Willow said, remembering to keep hervoice calm and even. She was super excited to see him, but she didn’t want to scare the little guy.
He didn’t reply, but his little mouth turned up in a smile.
“Hey, buddy,” Jensen said, gray eyes crinkling as he smiled at his boy.
Henry immediately tried to swim out of his grandmother’s arms to go to his daddy.
