And why she wasn’t leaving.
By Wednesday afternoon,Willow was exhausted. But that didn’t stop her from coming into The Welcome Center.
Tonight, she was on dining room duties. It was just as well Mabel hadn’t asked her to do anything more strenuous. With the way she was feeling, setting the tables was the best job for her.
“I’d know that look anywhere,” Emma said from beside her. “We’re having Mr. Jessop’s meatloaf for dinner, aren’t we?”
Willow forced a smile. Mr. Jessop’s one and only attempt at cooking had ended in disaster. His secret meatloaf recipe had burned in the oven, sending the volunteer fire department hurtling toward the church. Instead of finding the building in flames, they’d poked and prodded the charred remains of ten meatloaf pans. From then on, Mr. Jessop had stuck to his vegetables, finding new and inventive ways of encouraging the children at the center to eat their greens.
“No meatloaf tonight,” she told Emma. “Mabel has cooked chicken pot pie for everyone.”
Emma frowned. “That’s one of the most popular meals. Why are you looking so worried?”
“I’m not worried about dinner.” Hot tears filled Willow’s eyes. “It’s Zac. This is going to sound really pathetic, but he hasn’t talked to me in three days. He won’t even return my calls.”
“I thought you were getting along really well.”
“So did I.” Willow wiped her eyes. It wasn’t like her to fall apart. She was a strong, fierce, independent woman. If Zac didn’t want to be part of her life, then it should have been his loss. But his silence cut deeper than telling her why he didn’t want to see her.
“Was it because of what happened at the concert?”
“I think so. I asked him if he wanted to talk about his panic attack, but it was like a heavy metal door slammed shut between us. I thought he trusted me.”
“It can’t be easy living with PTSD. Have you talked to Pastor John? He might be able to give you some advice.”
Willow had thought the same thing but had quickly discarded the idea. “John has enough to do without me adding to his troubles. Besides, I wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to him without Zac knowing.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
Emma took a knife, fork, and spoon out of the cart Willow was pushing. “Maybe it’s not as bad as you think. He could be busy setting up the medical clinic or working on the next two tiny homes.”
Willow appreciated Emma’s optimism, but if Zac was doing either of those things, he would have called her. “It’s probably just as well I’m going to Bozeman tomorrow. Helping Mr. Costas set up my exhibition will be a good distraction.”
Emma gave Willow a hug. “I can’t come to the opening, but Megan promised to take lots of photos. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the canvases sell on the first night.”
Willow hoped so. Half the sale price of each photograph was going toward the tiny home village. If the exhibition was as popular as Mr. Costas anticipated, she would be able to donate enough money to build two new homes.
“I’ll call you on Sunday morning and let you know how it went.”
“That would be awesome.”
Willow checked her watch. “We’d better get a move on. Mabel will be serving dinner soon.”
Emma looked over Willow’s shoulder. “Take a deep breath and don’t look around.”
“What’s—”
“Zac is heading this way.”
Willow’s heart pounded. Instead of doing what Emma suggested, she turned around. Her breath caught when she stared into Zac’s worried face. Whatever he was here for, wasn’t good. And given that he was walking straight toward her, she guessed that she wasn’t going to be smiling anytime soon, either.
“Hi, Emma,” Zac said in a low voice. He turned to Willow, and she wished he hadn’t.
It was one thing imagining the worst. It was something else entirely when you saw the truth on someone’s face. Zac wasn’t here to apologize for not returning her calls. He was here to say goodbye.
For the last few days,Zac had thought long and hard about what he would say to Willow. He loved her, but any relationship between them wouldn’t last. One day, she would realize she was better off without him. It was better to cut any emotional ties now before it became even more painful.
