Ryan had slipped out of the tow truck, and he was smiling as he looked on. Willow was pretty sure he was laughing at her tiny Christmas tree. Jensen shook his head at the other man, then put her bags in his truck before going back for the tree.
Before long, the two of them got the old station wagon hooked up together and Ryan drove off toward town with it.
Jensen turned back to the truck, and heaven help her, Willow couldn’t help noticing how gorgeous he looked with the wind ruffling his dark hair.
“That’s a lot of pies you’ve got there,” he teased as he got back into the truck. “You must be pretty hungry.”
She laughed, grateful for the distraction from her earlier thought, and maybe just a little ashamed that he’d seen her stash of goodies.
“Well, they’re not all for me,” she told him.
“Of course not,” he said as he pulled back onto the road. “You’re a chocolate cupcake girl.”
How did he remember such a silly thing?
2
JENSEN
Jensen watched Willow smile that secret smile of hers.
She had always been fun to talk to, even when he was a little kid that mostly wanted to talk about stuff like which dessert was best or how many days were left before summer vacation.
But now… well, Willow had grown up while he wasn’t looking, into a distractingly pretty young woman. She even smelled nice, like there was a hint of vanilla in her hair.
You’re already in the doghouse with her brother. You can’t notice stuff like that.
It had always been kind of cute back when she was just an awkward tween, batting her eyelashes and blushing at him all through middle school. That kind of thing was easy to brush off when they were kids.
But they weren’t kids anymore. It would be a very different story if she flirted with him now.
She’s not flirting though. So why am I even thinking about it?
He should have been relieved, but for some reason he felt vaguely disappointed instead.
“Let’s get you home,” he said gruffly, tearing his eyes away. “Ryan will call when your car’s ready. Where are you staying?”
“I’ve got an apartment in town,” she told him, shaking her head.
“You’re home for good?” he asked, looking over at her again without meaning to.
“I’ve got a job waiting for me at Tarker County General,” she said, nodding.
She looked really happy about it. Something about that filled his chest with a sensation like warm honey.
“That’s great, Willow,” he told her. “I knew you would do amazing things with your degree.”
She bit her lip and all the good feelings dissipated. The last time he’d talked to her about her career, her brother had turned his back on both of them.
They drove on in silence for a few minutes.
Though he hadn’t spoken to her since that night at the party, Jensen knew that no one else understood the pain he felt at being shut out by Ransom like Willow did. It was bad enough to lose a best friend—he couldn’t imagine how it must have felt for her to lose the support of her brother.
“I’m really sorry about what happened,” Willow said softly after a few minutes. “I knew he didn’t approve of me joining the Army. But if I had any idea he would cutyou out like that, I never would have told him I talked to you.”
The heartbreak in her voice cut him to the quick.
“Hey,” Jensen said, glancing over. “Don’t you feel bad for one second. Your brother has always been very protective of you, that’s all.”
