“Star here?”
“Yep, I’ll let her know you’re here.”
“Appreciate it.”
She calls through the intercom and a few seconds later, Star opens her office door. She and Nevada have twins who are terrorizing the world. “Haze,” she says. “How you doing?”
I give her a chin lift. “I’m good. How’s life with those little devils?”
“They’re growing up fast, so is Nevada.”
I snort a laugh as she lets me into her office. I’ve no fucking clue what she’s going to say, but it has to be significant since we’re here and all. I understand better than anyone that we must at least try every angle, even though some roads can lead nowhere. It’s a long shot. In the back of my mind, we don’t know for sure Bolt is dead, and that’s troubling considering his family lineage.
“So, tell me you have some good news.” I take a seat when she gestures to the chair opposite her desk.
“I do, but probably not in the way you may be thinking.”
I pique a brow. “Now you’ve got me intrigued.”
She slides a pair of reading glasses onto her nose, then passes me a piece of paper. “Aaron Bolt, right?”
“Yeah, that’s him.”
“Well, there’s his death certificate,” she says, as I take it from her hands.
“He died a year ago in a house fire in Alabama.”
Well, I’ll be damned.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
Willow
“Dad?” I say when he finally picks up. “What the hell happened?”
“What happened is that no good ex-husband of yours took a swing at me,” he barks down the phone. “Apparently, you two are getting back together, and as usual I’m the last one to know.”
“That isn’t true. I was going to tell you.”
“When?” he scoffs. “After he’s rubbed it in my face?”
“I knew you’d react like this, that’s why I hadn’t told you yet, but Haze is right, Dad, we’re giving things another go.”
“You’ve clearly lost your mind,” he mutters. “Just like your mother.”
Anger boils in my veins, making me ball my other hand into a fist. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He sighs. “Just tell me you’re not really going to give that thug another shot.”
“Thug? Dad, don’t even get me started. But what did you mean,just like your mother?You take no responsibility for anything, do you?” I may not hear from my mom very often, butthat doesn’t mean that I won’t stick up for her. My dad drove her away, just like he drove us kids away. Not that he’d ever see that.
“Don’t speak to me like that,” he warns.
“Or else what?” I fire back. “Listen closely, because I’m not going to say this again. I love Haze. I always have, always will. We love each other. Things have changed since we broke up. We both know what we want now, and if you can’t accept that, then that’s your loss.”
“Willow,” he sighs. “You’re always so impulsive with that man. You never saw sense when it came to him, and you’re still the same wide-eyed teenager, acting like he’s the only thing that matters.”
