She narrows her gaze on me, and it strikes me again how she’s like a dried up, bitter version of her daughter. “Willow set you up to this?”
Why would Willow do that? Sending her husband to fix her problems is not her style. “She doesn’t know I’m here.”
She takes a sip of coffee, then sets the cup on her lap, both hands around it as if this wasn’t a hot summer morning. “You lie to her already?”
My laughter is bitter. It’s hard to stay cool around Marcy. I don’t know how Willow does it. “I’m hoping to surprise her. Tell her I had a nice talk with you and we understand each other. That she doesn’t need to be concerned about… whatever was going on between the two of you.”
She looks me up and down, shakes her head. “Men,” she drops, then reaches down for the cigarette stub, flicks it clear of dirt, lights it again, then takes a long drag.
I wait for the rest of her answer. When it doesn’t come, I chuckle. “That’s it?”
She shrugs. “She’s a big girl. She’ll figure it out soon enough. Thought she knew better. God knows she used to tell anybody who cared to listen that she’d never marry, but… you come along and she thinks you’re different.”
My coffee is still hot but already my patience is wearing thin. When she’s with Willow, her snark is directed at me. But when she’s with me? It’s Willow who’s in her line of sight. I stand and give her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “I’m different, Marcy. You got that right.” At least that part of Marcy’s anger didn’t rub me the wrong way.
Her fingers tremble when she brings the cigarette to her lips.
“I hope you’ll see that, with time.” I hesitate, then add, “Come by Lilyvale whenever you want. Just don’t make my wife sad, please. She loves you, and I love her. It’s that simple.”
thirty-eight
Willow
“Zach was at the store again today?” I ask Noah. On a whim we decided to walk Calla around town after dinner, and we plopped the puppies in a wagon, dragging them along.
Lazy’s and Chloe’s Nook are open, shining bright on The Green. Maybe we’ll go later, once the puppies are back home. For now, there’s nothing else I’d rather do than walk under the early evening’s silver sky with our little rescue family.
Noah nods. “He came to have me sign off on his project.”
Something in his tone sets off alarm bells. “It wasn’t good?”
He shrugs. “It was great. Why?”
“You look… preoccupied.” He’s been off all day. I wish he’d just tell me what’s going on. Lowering my voice, I nudge him. “Gail again? Mom thought she saw her at the store. I thought maybe… maybe that was why she was on edge, yesterday.” The memory of our argument still burns.
He grunts. “Beck told me he’s seen her around town, and Elaine mentioned she came by the deli.” He pushes his glasses up his nose. “But it’s not about Gail. It’s your mother. I went to see her this morning.”
I stop us, Calla pulling on her leash. “What for?” She didn’t mention anything when I sent her my daily text, and I just assumed Noah was on a random errand.
He runs his hand through my hair, his gaze roaming my face like this is where he’ll find the right words. “I just… wanted to clear the air.”
Tough luck with that. Mom revels in drama. “How’d that work out for you?” I snort. Feeling my mood, Calla pulls forward, and I follow her.
Noah pulls me closer under his arm and kisses my temple. “I think she got the message.”
Oh, Noah. Mom only hears her own tune.“What message?”
“That I love you.” His words come out strangled.
I stop us again and wrap a hand behind my husband’s neck. Calla sits on my foot, and even the puppies are quiet. A tear forms in the corner of my eye, surprising me. “I love you too, Noah. I don’t care what she thinks. It’s her loss.” I deeply resent Marcy right this moment for putting Noah through this. He doesn’t owe her anything. My breath shudders, anger threatening to spill out.
He kisses me softly on the lips. “You love me,” he repeats, bringing his forehead to mine—our cocoon of privacy in the middle of town.
“Of course I do,” I whisper. “Always have. Always will.” Standing in the middle of The Green, stars above us, puppies at our feet, I savor this perfect moment with my husband.
He tightens his embrace and leans in for a deep kiss.
Calla exhales a loud sigh, making us giggle. Pulling away from my lips, Noah curls a strand of my hair around his finger. “Sherepeated that you swore you’d never get married. Made it sound like a serious rule you had for yourself. Is that true?”
