“It was my pleasure.Everything go okay in town?”
“Well...”She looked back at Tripp.
“Not exactly.”
His dad’s expression sobered.“Oh?”
Tripp quickly ran through everything.“You know anyone involved with the militia?”
“Yeah, I know a couple guys.Retired military.I golf with them.They don’t seem like the kind of people to be involved with anything criminal.”
“Let’s hope you’re right.Rafe’s going to let us know what he finds out.”
“That’s good.Have you both eaten?I’ve got some bolognaise still on the stove if you’re hungry.”
“We grabbed something before leaving town.”
“Okay.I fed Rufus too.”
“Thank you,” Willow said.“I bet you’re ready for a nice walkies now, huh?”
Rufus’s ears perked up and he trotted toward her.
“Yeah?Walkies?”
He did an excited little tippy tap on the porch, his nails clicking on the planks.
“Hold still.”Willow snickered, grabbed a leash and clipped it to his collar.“He’s like one of those Irish dancers in Riverdance.”
“But a lot hairier,” Tripp’s dad said, and Willow laughed, the bright, happy sound so carefree and natural Tripp felt the knot in his chest loosen.
“I’ll go with you,” he said to Willow and fell in step beside her as they walked down the driveway.
“Where should we go?”
The sky was a mix of blue and purple, the moon just starting to rise through the trees.“There’s a path near the end of the driveway that loops around back through the woods.”
“And no caches up here to worry about stumbling upon, so bonus.”
“Exactly.”
The dense forest swallowed them as they walked farther away from the entrance.They walked side by side, Rufus a little ways out front at the end of his leash, sniffing at whatever he found interesting.
“It’s so beautiful and peaceful up here,” Willow said softly.“I can see why you love it so much.”
“I like the quiet, but mostly it’s the space I love.And this property was big enough to build my workshop next to the house.”
She stepped closer, looped her arm through his.“I’m really glad I’m here.I feel way safer up here with you.”
He didn’t answer.Couldn’t, the words he needed to say sticking in his throat.The truth was, he didn’t want to tell her.Didn’t want to lose her before he’d even had the chance to make her his.
Not gonna happen, buddy.You gotta let that shit go already.
Except it wasn’t that simple.Willow had stolen his heart when he was just a kid.To lose her now was unthinkable.
They didn’t talk much for the rest of the walk.He wrestled the voice in his head into submission, focused on Willow and the simple peace and joy that spending time with her like this brought.
But he couldn’t stem the need to keep scanning the forest as they moved through it, the protective part of him aware that someone might be watching her.
