“No tips,” he told her, jumping back as if she might be about to pull a grenade out of her pocket.
“Really?” she asked. “How does your dad get anyone to work here?”
“Hepays a living wage,” Wyatt said in a way that made it sound like he’d heard the phrase repeated a time or two.
“Good for him,” Willow laughed. “Tell him Willow Wright said hello, and congratulations.”
“I will, Miss Wright,” Wyatt said politely, making her feel about a thousand years old.
Maybe he thinks I’m old just because my car is.
She patted the steering wheel reassuringly as she got in, feeling a little guilty for thinking anything bad about the wagon. She had so many happy memories in this thing. Mom used to drive them all through the country on clear nights. Willow and Ransom would sometimes just lie down in the “wayback” and look up at the stars through the rear windshield.
Nowadays, Mom would probably get arrested for letting us do that.
Those had been good times. She missed her brother so much. It was strange, since he was right here in Trinity Falls, but their relationship just wasn’t the same as before.
Don’t think about it…
But as she pulled out of the parking lot and down the gravel drive toward Knowlton Road, the thoughts invaded anyway.
Growing up, she and Ransom had been so close. They never had a dad around, so Ransom made himself his little sister’s protector and supporter. The titles went unspoken, but as an adult looking back, she could see that he had taken his self-appointed responsibility very seriously.
Ransom had kept a sharp eye on her, but he had also always been willing to include her in his games and schemes. As soon as she was old enough to be allowed, she tagged along with her big brother and his friends on their treks through the woods and excursions in the village, and he made sure everyone was nice to his baby sister.
The one boy he never had to worry about was his best friend, Jensen Webb. Jensen was always kind and patient with Willow, ready to slow down when she couldn’t keep up, and happy to respond right away when she wanted to practice a knock-knock joke. As she got older, he was also the one most likely to listen when she wanted to talk.
Jensen grew up strong and tall, with a deep laugh and twinkling eyes. And by the time she was a teen herself, Willow had developed a helpless crush on her brother’s handsome best friend. The fiery jealousy she had felt seeing him in his tux along with her brother and their dates on prom night had stayed with her for years.
Looking back, she was pretty sure Jensen must have known. She’d been too innocent not to be obvious.
Her brother had certainly noticed. He finally stopped inviting her along on their adventures, and started closing the door on her whenever Jensen was over.
Eventually, the boys graduated and moved on, both choosing to pursue military service, as so many of the football players had done under the advisement of their coach, who had served in the Army himself as a young man.
Then, during spring break of her senior year of college, they had all been home at the same time. Axel Williams threw a party at his aunt and uncle’s place, and she’d been curled up on the sofa by the fireplace when Jensen came in, flushed from chopping wood.
“Senior year, huh?” Jensen asked. “What’s next for you?”
Willow had tried bringing up the idea of joining the military as a nurse with her brother twice already, and herefused to even talk about it.Get a job at a hospital or a doctor’s office,he told her, shaking his head.You don’t need to join up.
But here was Jensen Webb, his gray eyes lit up with gentle curiosity, ready to listen to her, like always.
She opened up to him, and instead of shutting her down like Ransom had, he sat with her and asked some good questions. Her answers launched a serious conversation about the Army that went on for almost an hour, and ended with both of them bent over her phone, scrolling through all the options she might have.
When she got home that night, she told everyone all about her amazing conversation and her final decision to serve. Mom had been pleased for her. But Ransom was so upset that he stopped speaking to Willow for days, and nothing had been the same between them since.
And as far as she knew, he still wasn’t talking to Jensen Webb.
We’re all home for good now,she reminded herself as she drove past snowy fields and farmhouses.We’re going to work this out.
She adored her big brother, and she knew how close he and Jensen had been. The three of them had nothing but time now to smooth over the rough patch. She would find a way to make things right, no matter how much time it took.
She was just crossing over the bridge on Route One, and almost back to Trinity Falls when the car began to splutter and stall.
“No,” she murmured. “No, no, no…”
But the battery light popped on, and the spluttering quieted just as the radio faded out.
