Willow knelt on the sofa and opened her arms. “Would you like a hug?”
Zac couldn’t move. When had it become so hard to accept comfort from another person? The woman he loved was offering him a safe place to fall, somewhere to shelter when everything was too hard to handle. But he couldn’t take the first step.
With a heartfelt sigh, Willow reached forward and wrapped her arms around him. “Everything will be okay.”
She didn’t realize how wrong she was. Each day, he had to be careful not to trigger the symptoms that crippled him. It was unfair to expect her to be there for him when he couldn’t do anything to help himself.
He was a broken man who desperately wanted a normal relationship. And as much as he craved a happy ending, he was worried his time with Willow would end in tears.
Chapter Seventeen
The following day,Willow handed the sound engineer the microphone and forced herself to smile. “Thank you. That was great.”
Even though everything had run smoothly at last night’s concert, they weren’t leaving anything to chance. For the last hour, she’d patiently waited while Ryan and the band completed another sound and lighting check.
After Ryan was finished, he’d left to catch a steamboat cruise of Flathead Lake with his family.
Willow’s sound check took half the time.
“No changes?” the sound engineer asked.
She shook her head. “It’s perfect.”
“In that case, we’ve finished for the morning. I’ll see you back here at five o’clock.”
Willow shook his hand and walked off the stage. A round of applause greeted her as she stepped onto the grassy arena. Even before the sound check had started, a group of eager fans were standing outside the barriers, waiting to hear everything they could from Ryan and Willow.
She lifted her hand, acknowledging their support, but not stopping to sign autographs or answer the questions that were on everyone’s lips.
Videos of some of the songs from last night’s concert had made their way to Facebook. If she thought people’s reaction to the video from Levi and Brooke’s wedding was over the top, the comments following the latest postings were worse.
People who didn’t know her were convinced she was returning to Nashville. Others thought it was a publicity stunt timed to coincide with the release of Ryan’s next album.
Someone yelled her name. After last night, she desperately needed some time alone. So she bowed her head and kept walking.
Instead of going to the parking lot, she veered left, walking toward the lake. The water had always soothed her soul, calmed her overactive mind, and helped her focus on what was important. And right now, Zac was the most important person in her life.
The tall, dark, handsome doctor who seemed to have everything, was hurting. She wanted to be there for him, to help him move forward with his life, but she didn’t know how.
She wasn’t a doctor, a psychologist, or even a therapist. PTSD was as foreign to her as walking on the moon. But she loved deeply and true, and maybe, if Zac could trust her, it might be enough to see him through the worst of his symptoms.
As the mid-morning sunshine glistened off the water, Willow stood in a quiet area to meditate. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The turmoil of last night settled inside her, found a quiet space to lay while her mind processed everything that had happened.
Footsteps slowed behind her.
She moved closer to the lake, hoping whoever had come to enjoy the scenery would leave her to her thoughts.
“Your voice is even better than it was three years ago.”
Her eyes shot open. Willow would have recognized the deep, gravelly voice anywhere. Turning around, she smiled at the gray-haired man standing behind her.
Ian Derrick had been the one bright light in her last months in Nashville. As the chief executive of Sunset Records, he had grown her career in ways that no one else could have achieved.
“Hi, Ian. It’s good to see you.” Willow hugged her friend and mentor.
“It’s good to see you, too. I bet you’re wondering why I’m here.”
Willow frowned. “You’re disappointed I didn’t sign the recording contract?”
