Garret twisted back as Carter led him out. “She’s overreacting. You know how things can get.”
She stepped back. “I never want to see you again.”
And before Garret had even left the bakery, Willa bolted out the back door. I shot a quick text to Jameson, then followed her.
She was sitting on the steps, her lithe frame shaking. I lowered myself down and put an arm around her, holding her close. “I’m so sorry. I should have told you.”
She lifted her tear-streaked face. “You should have. How could you have kept this from me?”
“I didn’t want to worry you.” The explanation sounded feeble, even to my own ears.
“Why does everyone always think I’m too weak to handle reality?”
I hesitated, not wanting to upset her more by telling her she usually lived in a world of her own. “You do have a habit of ignoring the bad and concentrating on the good.”
“Tell me what happened.” Her voice was still shaky, but she’d stopped crying.
“Garret found me at the hotel in LA. He got physical, and Grayson punched him. There were enough witnesses there to get your dad arrested. I’m sorry, but I had to do something. We need to stop letting him get away with everything. He’s only getting worse.”
I rushed out the last part, knowing Willa didn’t want to hear something like that about her dad.
“I’m sorry he did that to you. I never thought—” Her voice broke, and she buried her head in her hands.
The door opened and Jameson rushed out, panicked and breathless, like he’d run the entire way from the garage. “Babe.” His voice sounded strangled, as if looking at his wife’s pain was too much to bear.
That was all it took for Willa to jump up and into his arms. He lowered himself on the stoop and held her tight, whispering to her.
I quietly stood up and left them there, knowing Jameson had it handled. He was one of the good ones.
Grayson wasn’t sitting at one of the tables as I’d expected him to; instead, I found him behind the counter, making coffee.
There was a long line almost to the door, and Cal looked like he was about to have a stroke at his young age. “Sorry, Cal.”
Grayson greeted me with a warm smile. “Everything okay?”
I tied on my apron and went through the line of dockets. “Jameson is with her.”
Grayson nodded and turned back to showing off his terrible coffee making skills. I took over making the coffees and he plated up cakes and sandwiches. We silently worked through the rush, not having time to talk.
Willa and Jameson came back a few minutes later, and she rushed to the kitchen to make more muffins and sandwiches, as we were almost out of both.
When there were only a few stragglers left in the café, I leaned against the counter behind me. “I think I need to hire someone else.”
Cal shot pleading eyes at me. “Today was brutal. Not that I can’t handle it,” he was quick to reassure me.
“I’m sorry, Cal. I shouldn’t have made you deal with the café on your own.”
He waved me off. “I saw Garret. No need to apologize.”
When even your college student barista knew about Willa’s dad, things were bad.
“Feel free to clock out early. I’ll still pay you for the whole day, of course.”
Cal’s shoulders slumped in relief. “You sure? I do have a paper due tomorrow that’s only half written.”
I waved him off. “I’m sure. Go. And thank you for today.”
Grayson hugged me to him, and I placed a kiss against his pecs before cuddling into his side. “You want to sue Garret?” he offered. “I can come up with a few things we can throw at him.”
